Two neighbors in Lehi open a winter league after their first ones filled

At the start of this year, next door neighbors Amanda Beirdneau and Betty Parker of Lehi, Utah knew next to nothing about mahjong. By June they were teaching it. Their group, Our Mahjong Table, now runs beginner classes, open play nights and leagues, and its own site shows a Winter Mahjong League 2027 open for registration.

Per the listing, the winter league meets on five Wednesdays starting January 13, from 7:30 to 9:30 in the evening at Lehi Bakery, 172 West Main Street. It costs $125 for all five weeks and comes with scoring, rankings and prizes. It is meant for players who already know American Mahjong and can play on their own, and the group says all skill levels are welcome.

From a domino night to a neighborhood of players

Parker told the American Fork Citizen in September that it began at a monthly domino group. The host ordered a set, the ladies spent one evening reading the instructions, and nobody could make sense of it. Parker took a class, came out wanting to play at once, and brought Beirdneau and other neighbors to a beginner lesson. Soon, she told the paper, they had taught the whole neighborhood and decided to do it properly.

Each partner brings something different, according to the report. Beirdneau, a stay at home mother, is the one who gathers people. Parker spent a long career in human resources and keeps the spreadsheets. Both of their husbands and Parker's son turn up to the weekly beginner class, unpaid and unasked, to set up tables and guide new players through their first games.

“See what the obsession is about.”Betty Parker, to the American Fork Citizen

Why a league, and how it runs

Beirdneau told the Citizen there was simple demand for league play, and that they had not seen anyone in Utah run one, so they decided to try. Their first league met once a week for six weeks, aiming for six games per table in a two hour window, with points adding up until one player won. That league filled, the paper reported, and a Holiday League followed on Tuesday nights from late October into December. The January league is the next in line.

Beginners are not left out. The group's calendar lists Mahjong 101 classes at $40 a person, including a daytime class on Tuesday, November 10 at Shake It, Lehi, and evening classes on November 11 and 19. A daytime open play the same Tuesday is $25. The group also brings the game to private parties, birthdays and team gatherings.

The partners told the paper they hope to work with other local groups, to pair mahjong with pickleball nights, and to add tournament play in time. Beginner lessons, they said, always come first.

Prim's view

In my opinion, a league is the kindest gift a teacher can give a graduate. A class teaches the game; a standing seat every week is what makes a player. I admire that these two built one within months of learning, and that they kept the beginner table at the heart of it.

I am also fond of the husbands and the son who simply kept coming to set up tables. That is good manners in its truest form, quiet help nobody had to request. If you are in Utah County and already play, the winter seats are worth claiming early.