AMERICAN CONTRACT BRIDGE LEAGUE
6575 Windchase Blvd. Horn Lake, MS. 38637
Claire Jones
District 18 Director
(901) 332-5586
2708 Lakeview Ave FAX: (901) 398-7754
Regina, Sk. S4S 1G3
Canada
H: (306) 584-3516
F: (306) 585-1443
Email: stats@accesscomm.ca
Greeting from New Orleans, LA.
July 25, 2010
Greetings to Everyone,
The past while has been busy. At the end of June I had the good fortune to attend the grand opening of our new Headquarters in Horn Lake, MS. If you are in the Memphis area this is a must. This will not only give you an opportunity to put faces on the many people you deal with over the phone but the Virtual Museum is filled with bridge memorabilia that you will find very interesting.
Starting the first of July there has been continuous internet conversation concerning the many motions that were discussed here in New Orleans. I won’t list everything here but I will try to outline the ones I feel are of the most concern in our District. Be sure to check the upcoming bulletins for a complete listing of the motions.
As with every NABC meeting I attend, I am asking for your input on the various motions. A large thank you to everyone who sent in comments. Please contact me with any further concerns or questions.
May our paths cross on the tournament trail and may all your finesses be successful,
Claire Jones
District 18 BoD
Item 102-30 Preempt Pre-Alert
Moved That: Eliminate the requirement to pre-alert weak (5 card weak 2’s and 6 card 3 level major suit) pre-empts and undisciplined (less than Queen) pre-empts. Replace the pre-alert with an alert upon occurrence.
Carried: 22-3
I voted in favor of this. The practice of light pre-empts has become so commonplace that partnerships have developed ways to deal with them and an announcement on occurrence is really all they need.
Item 102-46 Amendment to the General Convention Chart
Moved that: Defense to natural no-trump openings and over-calls, except that direct calls, other than double, two clubs and two diamonds must have a least one known suit.
Defeated: 10-15
I voted against this motion. The 2 diamond overcall showing an unspecified major is becoming more common but as of yet I feel it is not common place enough to place it in the General Convention chart where we would be dealing with in club play and at our tournaments. I do see that if this treatment continues to grow in popularity it may soon be added to the General convention chart.
Item 102- 47 General Conditions of Contest
Unless instructed otherwise by a tournament director, a member of each side must be present and seated before cards are removed from a board.
Carried: Unanimous
It has always been the practice to have the other side there before shuffling boards but under this regulation you should be aware that in pairs games hands should not be taken out of the board before your opposition arrives.
Item 102-50 Amendment to the Club Conditions of Contest
In order to be eligible for overall awards in a StaC, or any event that is scored across more than one club, the minimum number of boards played is set at 20.
Carried: Unanimous
This is primarily meant for StaCs. In the past it was not been a firm regulation and it was felt it had to be stated to prevent clubs that played 15 or 18 board games from participating in overall awards with other clubs running full games.
Item 102-53 Two Session Swiss Teams
It was moved that when you are running a two session Swiss Team with 9 or fewer teams it was desirable to run a full round robin.
Carried: Unanimous
This is the preferential movement but it was worded in a way which allowed directors to run other movements if they had special situations.
Item 102-GNT Conditions of Contest
It was moved that there would be specific formulas for calculating District GNT finals for any number of teams.
Carried: Unanimous
Under the present structure there were different awards in different Districts depending on how the event had been entered into the computer by the head director. This corrected that problem.
Item 102-55 Tournament Director Per Diem
The per diem rate for ACBL Tournament Directors working in Canada will be determined by the treasury Board of Canada’s published travel rates for Canada and the USA.
Deferred to Orlando
This was a motion I moved to have deferred to Orlando. The present rate is one that is based upon US calculations and we need a formula that looks at Canadian expenses. The Government of Canada rate does not take into account regional differences. Between now and November a chart that takes these differences into consideration will be developed. If you have any information on this I am anxious to here from you.
Item
102-110 Canadian Bridge Federation Simultaneous Pairs
Moved that the ACBL sanction a one-session Canada-Wide Pairs game stating in 2011. This game would be Sectionally rated and have over-all awards in each of the six Canadian Zones as well as a Canada-Wide award.
Carried: 17-8
This is a motion I sponsored and am looking forward to participating in next year.
Item 102-112 Oil Leakage Disaster Charity Day
There had been a motion to give support for the damage done by the oil leakage in the Gulf of Mexico. It was felt that with the NABCs being hosted in New Orleans something should be done. We were pleased to hear the ACBL Charity Foundation had stepped forward with a large donation and the motion was withdrawn. In addition to this any clubs or units that wished to hold charity games for this purpose are still able to do so.
Item 102-114 Regionals at Sea
Moved that only the ACBL itself may sponsor or conduct a Regional at Sea.
Carried: 13-12
NOTE: Deferred with a moratorium on review of future sanction requests for Regionals at Sea received after July 19, 2010.
I voted in favor of this motion. Regionals at Sea are new and they have become a very controversial issue. Which Districts can host them, who runs them, and how are profits handled are all controversial questions. It was hoped that by suspending future sanctioning and having a full report available in November we will be better able to establish a policy that deals effectively with this issue.
Item 102-134 Slow Play for NABC KO Events
A detailed appendix was developed for the NABC Team events. This has been a serious problem for both the Vanderbilt and Springold Teams. It should be noted that this appendix will be looked at for expansion into pairs games. This is something that everyone can watch with an eye to how we can apply it to both our club and tournament play. Watch for the full appendix in the bulletin.
Carried: Unanimous
Item 102-139 Masterpoint Structure Committee
Moved that the ACBL president appoint a committee to discuss the entire structure by which ACBL masterpoints are awarded.
Carried 21-4
I voted in favor of this motion. With the pending rewrite of ACBL SCOR and the many questions on how well our current system is working this is an excellent time to look at our system for any possible changes and revisions.
Items 102-42 & 43 Tournament Entry Forms
Both these items dealt with putting conditions on how entries are sold at our tournaments
Both items were defeated.
I voted against both items as they would eliminated the present practice many tournaments have of selling meals along with their Sunday Swiss team entries.
Besides the motions, be sure to read the full Board minutes to find the various committee reports. Special mention should be made of the marketing programs for clubs and teachers. The programs for grants to teachers for programs aimed at students and the Cooperative Advertising Program for advertisements that target beginner and/or newcomer players are of note.
Claire Jones
District 18 Director H: (306) 584-3516
2708 Lakeview Ave. F: (306) 585-1443
Regina, SK. S4S 1G3 Email: stats@accesscomm.ca
Canada