Import 9F31 Main
The King Has Entered the Building
by Henry FrancisImport 9F31 Main |
| by Henry Francis |
Richard Pavlicek Jr., graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale FL, has been named the 1987 King of Bridge by the International Palace of Sports and the American Contract Bridge League.
As a result of his outstanding record in bridge competition, the “Richard Pavlicek Scholarship” has been established at his high school and announced May 19 at graduation. It will be awarded to a worthy and outstanding student from Pavlicek’s class as a scholarship or career award.
Rich, who was 17 on Jan. 26, is the son of Richard and Mabel Pavlicek, both outstanding Life Masters and bridge teachers. Pavlicek Sr., one of the top North American players, holds many NABC titles and is a writer as well.
Rich has been an ACBL member since he was 10, and with 846 masterpoints on his record, has one of the highest total masterpoint records of any 17-year-old in history.
He became a Life Master in 1983, just two months after his 13th birthday. This did not break Dougie Hsieh’s record as the youngest ever to become a Life Master, but it made Pavlicek the youngest Life Master playing at the time. Today he is still the League’s youngest Life Master.
Rich has placed first in nine regional championships, and his been second several times. He has also won a number of sectionals, and was first in his Unit category in the Little McKenney race on three occasions.
He takes advanced (honor) courses in math, computer science and physics. He has taken AP exams for college credit in computer science, calculus, advanced calculus and physics.
| Year | Name | Year | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Richard Pavlicek Jr. | 1980 | Tony Marks |
| 1986 | Martha Benson | 1979 | Regina Barnes |
| 1985 | Adair Gellman | 1978 | Matt Franklin |
| 1984 | Jim Munday | 1977 | Marc Franklin |
| 1983 | Billy Hsieh | 1976 | Warren Spector |
| 1982 | Steve Weinstein | 1975 | Robert Levin |
| 1981 tie | Doug Levene | 1974 | Jeff Meckstroth |
| 1981 tie | Steve Cochran | 1973 | J. Merrill |
Rich has cut down on bridge during his senior year, and is working part-time in a financial office where he does programming and word processing. Apart from bridge, his other hobbies are racquetball, working out with weights, ice skating, chess, table tennis and white-water rafting. Immediately following graduation, his grandparents, who live in Buenos Aires, treated him to a two-week vacation in Argentina, his mother’s native country.
Runners-up in the 1987 King of Bridge contest were Chris Coffman of San Ramon CA, who joined the ACBL in 1983 and has Senior Master ranking; Stuart Michael Collis of West Bloomfield MI, who joined the League in October of last year; and Kelly Remy of Chehalis WA.
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© 1987 Henry Francis