Unlike the 1500 s, however, players today need travel no further than their home computer to enjoy and learn this great game. It is important to note that the Fifth Chair Foundation is an entirely volunteer effort . There are no employees, no stipends, no monetary reward of any sort for Fifth Chair volunteers or board members. These volunteer mentors agree to play weekly with their adopted novice and answer questions via email. But the Foundation's help is not confined to Okbridge.
Future plans are ambitious.
Thanks to a grant from the ACBL s Education Foundation, the Fifth Chair Foundation will open an interactive Bridge Classroom during the first quarter of 1999. Bridge teachers and their students will then have a place on the internet, specifically designed for instructional purposes, to conduct classes. Software beta-testing will begin in the Fall of 1998. The Foundation, along with OKbridge and the ACBL, will sponsor the 1999 Junior Collegiate Team Championships , April 17-18, 1999. Long-term goals include fostering the establishment of bridge education programs on high school and college campuses.