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
Denver Report
November 22-25, 2015
Greetings to Everyone,
It is an unfortunate fact that in bridge, just as in the News Day World, negative events receive far more press then positive happenings. I would like to reverse that by talking about some positives around District 18 before I delve into the negatives. The ACBL president for 2016 was elected in Denver. Congratulations to Ken Monzingo from San Diego, District 22. The Honorary member for 2016 was also appointed in Denver. Many of you probably dealt with Patty Tucker during her time at the ACBL head office. Patty is an excellent choice as the 2016 Honorary Member. In case you didn’t see this before I would like to again offer my congratulations to Gerald Perry and Lori Bryan the District 18 appointees to the 2016 ACBL Goodwill Committee and to Al Kemp and Linda Connell the District 18 appointees to the 2016 ACBL Charity Committee. It is not only these four but the countless of volunteers that make the ACBL such a special organization.
Now for the bad... The allegations of cheating against the international pairs of Schwartz/Fisher and Fantoni/Nunes are probably the highest profile cases with the allegations about our Mike Passell being a close second. Hearings for Fisher/Schwartz and Fontoni/Nunes were set over to Reno but there was a decision rendered for Mike Passell. The appeal committee upheld the guilty charge of a procedural faux pas for which Mr. Passell himself admitted he should have known better. The applied penalty was loss of the masterpoints for the event in question and a 2 week suspension.
There is good news for the Unit and District advertising people. The ACBL currently uses the Constant Contact system of doing e-mail blasts to advertise tournaments. Beginning in early 2016 a service called Pianloa will replace this service. Using Pianola you will be able to tailor your advertising to specific groups such as novice, senior, or whatever criteria you wish to select. Be sure to watch for the introduction of this service in January 2016. For those of you who plan your tournament travel in advance, Washington, DC has be named as the host Summer 2022 Summer NABCs.
I continue to highlight motions that I feel are of most interest to our District with the complete meeting minutes soon being available on the ACBL web site.
http://www.acbl.org/about-acbl/administration/board-of-directors/meeting-motions-and-minutes/
I’d like to wish you all the best for the upcoming holiday season and as always, may all your finesses be successful.
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
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Item 153-04: Disqualification of Pairs/Teams where a Partner/Teammate has been convicted of Cheating
The partners and teammates of said participant(s) shall forfeit all masterpoints and titles earned in events during the four years preceding the admission or finding of guilt.
Carried 25-0-0 The high profile cases of International pairs accused of cheating has resulted in the ACBL taking a closer look at how we deal with cheating. The addition of this penalty is just one of the ways it was felt we could show cheating has no place in our game.
Item 153- 76: Chapter 1B: Ranking, Masterpoints, and Races, Section 1- Ranking
1.3.3
Ruby Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 1500 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 300 silver, red, gold, or platinum points
1.3.5
Sapphire Life Master: A Life Master with (a) over 3500 masterpoints, including (b) no fewer than a combination of 350 gold or platinum points and (c) no fewer than a combination of 700 silver, red, gold or platinum points.
Carried 25-0-0 Many players felt the time it took to advance from Silver to Gold Lifemaster and from Gold to Diamond Lifemaster was too long. By adding Ruby and Sapphire ranks to our rank structure it is hoped this concern has been addressed.
Item 153- 32: Entry Fees Team Events
At ACBL-sponsored events, entry fees for team events of more than two sessions be charged on a per person basis instead of per team basis.
Carried 18-5-2 The current practice of awarding full master point awards to all members of 5 and 6 man KO teams was reaffirmed in Chicago. The makers of this motion felt that if all players are to receive full awards then all players should pay a full entry amount. This will be in effect at the NABCs but is a District option for our Regionals. I supported the motion.
Item: 153-85: Unit Boundary Special Election
50% of the members with a registered email address plus one voting in favor of the proposed Unit Boundary change will be sufficient to place the issue before the ACBL Board of Directors.
Item 153-86: Chapter III Administration -Section D -Elections
6.1.2
Electronic election.
6.1.2.1
Upon application in writing to the Director of Elections by the 30th business day following June 1, the Unit President or Secretary may request that the unit vote electronically.
6.1.2.2 Election materials will be emailed on or about August 15.
6.1.2.3 Each unit board member is responsible for having their email registered
with the ACBL to allow the receipt of the material and to cast their ballot.
6.1.2.4 In order to be included in the count, the ballots must be received by the Director of Elections by midnight on September 15.
Both motions carried 25-0-0 The development of the internet and e-mail has made regular mail service a virtually obsolete means of handling Unit and District elections. These motions remove the option of using snail mail for these elections and outline electronic procedures for handling future elections.
tem 153-88: Board Composition Review Committee
The incoming President of the ACBL for 2016 form a Board Composition Review Committee and appoint nine members to the committee. This committee would be comprised of 3 Board of Directors members, 2 members from management, 2 members from the Board of Governors, and 2 members at large. The committee chair would be selected from one of the 3 BOD members on the committee
Carried 21-4-0 An important aspect of any organization is that they evaluate their own structure and how that structure is suited for going into the future. I supported this motion.