Students sharpen math skills during cribbage tourney

Smith Valley School fourth-graders Aaron Conners and Royanne Wiedenmeyer jumped up from their seats, their jaws dropping slightly in astonishment.

The last hand of a single-elimination cribbage game had won them the round. They would now go on to compete for first or second place at the Flathead County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program’s 24th annual cribbage tournament for area schools at the Gateway Community Center Wednesday.

With a crib containing a flush, the pair slipped past their competitors. After cards are dealt in cribbage, players give up a card to the dealer that makes up the crib.

“They were all the same suit and it was awesome,” Wiedenmeyer said.

Exclamations of “oh, wow,” “what a game,” and “what a finish,” could be heard from a small audience that had gathered on the sidelines to watch.

“The other team needed only two points to win and they were eight points back,” volunteer cribbage coach Laura Osterman said. “It was the very last hand. Not only was it the combinations, but every card was a club, which gave him an extra five points.”

The flush earned the team extra points, propelling them into the lead.

“They blew it out of the water,” Osterman said. “That’s one of those [instances] where they say it came out of left field,” Osterman said.

The Smith Valley team won second place overall. Lakeside Elementary fourth-graders Cole Butler and Will Wendle were tournament champions. East Evergreen Elementary fourth-graders Theodore Barker and Khirsten Scott placed third.

There were 18 teams from eight schools in the Flathead Valley that participated. Tournament participants received handcrafted cribbage boards made by volunteer Ed Blank. The rectangular wooden boards are used to keep score.

The all-school cribbage tournament is the culmination of weeks of cribbage coaching by volunteers with the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Fifty volunteers coached roughly 450 fourth-graders. Students advanced to the tournament after winning at the school level.

The cribbage program has been a way to help students become fast at simple math such as addition.

“I call it surreptitious math. They’re learning math skills while they’re playing a game,” Muldown Elementary volunteer coach Doug Gilbertson said. “You need to be nimble in your mind.”

Cribbage is a numbers game with the objective of combining cards whose values reach 15 or 31. Strategy lies with a player who decides whether to score points for him or herself or prevent an opponent from scoring. It’s a balance, according to Gilbertson.

“It depends on where you are in the game,” Gilbertson said. “You may want to hold a hand that’s a scoring hand.”

Jessica Mintz, a Muldown Elementary fourth-grade teacher and parent of a participating tournament player, said cribbage is a high-level card game for many children in this age group.

“What do you play before then — ‘Goldfish,’ ‘Old Maid’ — so this is definitely a higher level,” Mintz said. “There are a lot of steps involved. There’s a lot to learn and they pick it up pretty quickly.”

Barker and Scott said they enjoyed learning to play cribbage.

“Cribbage is fun,” Scott said. “It helps with math.”

“And we love math,” Barker added.

Importantly, the cribbage program brings together different generations. Gilbertson, 79, has coached for 10 years and learned how to play from his grandmother when he was around 9. He got into coaching when his grandchild competed in the fourth grade. One of his grandchildren was a tournament champion.

“It’s great,” Gilbertson said. “Kids will see you out in town and they’ll grab you by the leg and give you a big hug.”

Mintz added that she uses the weekly visits to teach respect and manners.

“Get your guest a chair, shake hands, say ‘thank you,’” Mintz said, giving examples.

Gilbertson added, “I’m so proud of the kids.”

This is the final year the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program will organize the school cribbage program. The senior program will end March 31 due to a funding shortage, but it’s expected that current members will be able to continue volunteering at sites where they were placed by the program.

Whether another agency or organization takes on the cribbage program, Gilbertson and his wife Pat, who is also a volunteer coach, said they will continue teaching students how to play.

“It’s an addictive game and it’s fun, ” Gilbertson said.

Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.