Gatlinburg

Last week was the annual bridge tournament in Gatlinburg, probably the most dense gathering of bridge players in the world. It's not a world championship or even a national championship - just a regional - but 4000 bridge players in that small tourist town is a lot. I never really understood why people like going there for the bridge tournament. It's hard to get to. If you drive, there are all those mountain roads you have to take, at least if you're coming from the south, and if you fly, there's no major airport within an hour and no major public transportation to get there. Gatlinburg is, however, one of the southerner's favorite places to go for a mountain vacation - to hide away in a quaint village lined with junk stores, to enjoy the smoky mountain national park, even ski or hike a little bit. It's nothing like a ski village in the Rockies or the Alps but I suppose for people living in the south, it's good.

But why does it attract twice as many bridge players as any other regional bridge tournament in the US. It's not like bridge players get out and enjoy the scenery much. As a whole, they are a very sedentary bunch. At about 40% the size of the Gatlinburg tournament are the next largest regional tournaments in Atlanta, Hilton Head, and Las Vegas. I can understand Vegas - it's a card player's and gambler's heaven, two categories bridge players fit right in with. Atlanta - well, they have a very strong bridge community and the tournament is one of the cheapest and easiest to get to even sans car.