MINER TEAM: Miner-Balderson, Bi-Kaplan, Bernstein-Wheeler

System Information

Miner-Balderson System Summary Form, ACBL Convention Card

Bi-Kaplan System Summary Form, ACBL Convention Card

Bernstein-Wheeler System Summary Form, ACBL Convention Card

About the Players

Carole Miner

Carole Miner was born and continues to live in Rochester, Minnesota. She is married, and has 4 children (3 of whom also live in Rochester, while 1 spread his wings and moved to Iowa!), and 7 grandchildren. Carole retired from IBM in August 2007 after a 46-year career in programming and technical marketing. Carole played in her first Women's National Pairs in 1968 (when not yet a life master) and came in 2nd. She never played another National Women's event until she partnered with Cynthia Balderson in the early 2000's. She has had many Regional wins, and has come close in some National events over the years. Carole's hobbies include watching her family play sports (hockey, fast and slow-pitch softball, baseball, football, basketball, tennis, soccer), vacationing with family, taking long walks with her golden retriever, and boating on the Mississippi River. She is also an avid solver of LOGIC problems.

Cindy Balderson

The first time I played duplicate bridge, it was 1972 and my daughter,
Stephanie, was just about to arrive on the scene. On the first hand, my
partner bid 1NT, I bid 2C, and much to the surprise of our opponents, that was
the end of the auction! I’m sure we bid the rest of the hands just as well,
because we won! Little did I know then how that one round of bridge would
be the start of a series of events that would have such a major impact on
my life. Events such as my marriage to Bob Balderson (a great bridge star
and my mentor), the many incredible and long-term friendships I have
enjoyed with fellow bridge players, and the chance to compete at the
highest levels of the game. Along the way, I’ve always been a total
promoter of women bridge players because I feel that they have all the
right skills and qualities to be the strongest competitors. Today, I run my
small commercial Real Estate company, Balderson Management, Inc., in
Minneapolis with the help of my darling (and full-grown) daughter,
Stephanie.

Melody Bi

In memory of my partner, mentor and friend Jim Hall. -Melody
Melody works as a regulatory specialist for 3M Health Care. She is orgionally from China and came to the U.S. in 1994.
Away from the bridge table Melody enjoys tennis, hiking and travelling; and struggles with golf once in a while

Peggy Kaplan

Peggy's Aunt Rosalie lured her into attending tournaments thirty years ago. Since then, you can frequently find her at the bridge table, real or virtual.

When not engaged in her favorite hobby, you might also find Peggy peering into her camera's viewfinder, aiding a client who needs her real estate expertise, or entertaining her pet parrots.

Peggy is tremendously grateful to all the partners and teammates who have dragged her across the finish line - and for the many lifelong friendships she has been privileged to enjoy through bridge.