The Smith Life Master Women's Pairs North American bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC).
The Smith Life Master Women's Pairs is a four session MP pairs event, two qualifying sessions and two final sessions. The event typically starts on the first Friday of the NABC. The event is restricted to female players that have achieved a Life Master rating.
History
The event was introduced in 1961. The event is named after Helen Sobel Smith who won 35 North American trophies. She is generally recognized as the best female player of all time.
The parallel Life Master Men's Pairs was opened to women in 1990. No pair of women has won that event, but a few women have won the revised competition as part of a mixed pair, and the 1987 Women's winner Jill Meyers has won it twice.
Winners
Only one pair has defended its championship—on three occasions, as Mildred Breed and Shawn Quinn won annually from 1999 to 2002.
| Year | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Dorothy Hayden, Helen Portugal | Gratian Goldstein, Jane Mueller |
| 1962 | Barbara Kachmar, Margaret Wagar | Anne Burnstein, Edith Kemp |
| 1963 | Anne Burnstein, Hermine Baron | Carrie Arnold, Neva L. Gray |
| 1964 | Margaret Alcorn, Betty Kaplan | Agnes Gordon, Sylvia Stein |
| 1965 | Ann Sheaber, Jan Stone | Mary Jane Farell, Peggy Solomon |
| 1966 | Emma Jean Hawes, Dorothy Hayden | Mary Jane Farell, Peggy Solomon |
| 1967 | Nancy Gruver, Sue Sachs | Mary Jane Farell, Peggy Solomon |
| 1968 | Dorothy Talmage, Rhoda Walsh | Katherine Blanchard, Mary Jane Farell |
| 1969 | Gratian Goldstein, Sylvia Stein | Karen Allison, Gladys W. Collier |
| 1970 | Bette L. Cohn, Marietta Passell | Louise Krauss, Betty Mangan |
| 1971 | Ruth Bloomfield, Delle Levinson | Betty Ann Kennedy, Carol Sanders |
| 1972 | Amalya Kearse, Rhoda Walsh | Emma Jean Hawes, Dorothy Hayden Truscott |
| 1973 | Frieda Arst, June Deutsch | Edith Kemp, Barbara Rappaport |
| 1974 | Bernice Larson, Joan Stein | Edith Kemp, Barbara Rappaport |
| 1975 | Dorothy Moore, Marion Weed | Nancy Gruver, Helen Utegaard |
| 1976 | Barbara Furbeck, Barbara Herr | Carol Crawford, Joan Remey |
| 1977 | Edith Kemp, Barbara Rappaport | Bernadine Jenkins, Joan Remey |
| 1978 | Emma Jean Hawes, Dorothy Hayden Truscott | Ann Economidy, Anne Leverone |
| 1979 | Nancy Gruver, Edith Kemp | June Deutsch, Sandi Leavitt |
| 1980 | Kathie Cappelletti, Claire Tornay | Nancy Gruver, Edith Kemp |
| 1981 | Nancy Gruver, Edith Kemp | Betty Ann Kennedy, Carol Sanders |
| 1982 | Dorothy Buchanan, Barbara Morris | Mary Albert, Rhoda Walsh |
| 1983 | Beth Palmer, Lynn Deas | Sandra Low, Joan Stein |
| 1984 | Karen Singer, Sharon Soules | Kathie Wei, Judi Radin |
| 1985 | Lynn Deas, Beth Palmer | Rama Linz, Kerri Shuman |
| 1986 | Mickie Kivel, Judi Cody | Rama Linz, Kerri Shuman |
| 1987 | Jill Meyers, Gaye Herrington | Mary Ann Coyle, Jackie Hess |
| 1988 | Nancy Passell, Nell Cahn | Brenda Keller, Renee Mancuso |
| 1989 | Rhoda Walsh, Sabine Zenkel | Lynn Deas, Beth Palmer |
| After 1989 the parallel Life Master Men's Pairs was opened to women players. As the Nail Life Master Open Pairs it remains parallel on the habitual schedule. | ||
| 1990 | Carol Sanders, Betty Ann Kennedy | Barbara Sartorius, Marla Chaikin |
| 1991 | Sue Weinstein, Tobi Deutsch | Janice Seamon, Cheri Bjerkan |
| 1992 | Shawn Womack, Jan Cohen | Joan Jackson, Sabine Zenkel |
| 1993 | Janice Seamon, Sabine Zenkel | Sharon David, Trudi Nugit |
| 1994 | Lynn Deas, Rhoda Kratenstein | Cynthia Balderson, Peg Waller |
| 1995 | Flo Rotman, Susan Miller | Lila Perlstein, Juanita Chambers |
| 1996 | Suzy Burger, Barbara Sion | Judy Randel, Linda Lewis |
| 1997 | Janice Seamon, Sylvia Moss | Linda Perlman, Hjördis Eythorsdottir |
| 1998 | Sharon Hait, Barbara Sartorius | Shannon Lipscomb, Rhoda Walsh |
| 1999 | Mildred Breed, Shawn Quinn | Nell Cahn, Ellen Siebert |
| 2000 | Mildred Breed, Shawn Quinn | Joan Jackson, Robin Klar |
| 2001 | Mildred Breed, Shawn Quinn | Jayne Thomas, Barbara Nudelman |
| 2002 | Mildred Breed, Shawn Quinn | Jan George, Roni Gitchel |
| 2003 | Lynn Baker, Kerri Sanborn | Joan Jackson, Robin Klar |
| 2004 | Cynthia Hinckley, Diana Schuld | Pam Granovetter, Migry Zur Campanile |
| 2005 | Jill Levin, Malle Andrade | Mildred Breed, Claudette Hartman |
| 2006 | Sara Sivelind, Cecilia Rimstedt | Janice Seamon-Molson, Gigi Simpson |
| 2007 | Lynn Baker, Karen McCallum | YouMei Zhou, Jian Wang |
| 2008 | Lynn Deas, Betty Ann Kennedy | Janice Seamon-Molson, Gigi Weinstein |
| 2009 | Sue Picus, Shawn Quinn | Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva |
| 2010 | Disa Eythorsdottir, Valerie Westheimer | Lynn Deas, Judith Shulman |
| 2011 | Cheri Bjerkan, Rozanne Pollack | Nancy Passell, Peggy Sutherlin |
| 2012 | Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva | Miriam Varenne, Migry Zur Campanile |
| 2013 | Patti Hartley, Barbara Nist | Cheri Bjerkan, Rozanne Pollack |
| 2014 | Bronia Jenkins, Bernace De Young | Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva |
| 2015 | Pam Granovetter, Yiji Starr | Gail Greenberg, Sue Picus |
| 2016 | Victoria Gromova, Tatiana Ponomareva | Ellen Kozlove, Anne Brenner |
| 2017 | Pamela Granovetter, Sylvia Shi | Georgiana Gates, Pat Levy |
| 2018 | Sally Brock, Fiona Brown | Doris Greenwald, Terry Lubman |
| 2019 | Rozanne Pollack, Cheri Bjerkan | Gigi Simpson, Gen Geiger |
| 2022 | Migry Zur Campanile, Margie Cole | Anam Tebha, Sally Meckstroth |
See also
- Nail Life Master Open Pairs, Men's Pairs before 1990
- Whitehead Women's Pairs – the premier North American championship for women pairs, 1930 to present
Sources
- List of previous winners, Page 7. Daily Bulletin (PDF), vol. 81–1, November 21, 2008
- 2008 winners, Page 1. Daily Bulletin (PDF), vol. 81–3, November 23, 2008
- NABC Winners - ACBL
External links
- NABC Winners: Smith Life Master Womens Pairs – official database view, all years
- "Life Master Women's Pairs – A Look Back". November 19, 2013. ACBL. Retrieved 2014-06-06.