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
Pre Philadelphia, PA.
June 23, 2012
June 23, 2012
Greeting Everyone,
A little over 3 years ago Dick Anderson announced he would not be rerunning for the District 18 Board of Director position. Dick had served our District for 18 years and at the time it seemed like that was forever. The past 3 years have flown by and I am pleased to announce I will be your representative for 3 more years. It has become evident how Dick served for 18 years. The contact and support I have received from players across the District has made this a most fulfilling experience. Thank you for your support and I
hope I continue to be deserving of that support.
This is a time of change at the Horn Lake head office. I would like to share some of the positive moves Robert Hartman, our new CEO, has made. Under Robert’s guidance our membership has grown from 165,418 members at the beginning of 2012 to 166,627 members at the end of May. This comes in a time of restraint and is mainly due to Robert’s marketing background. When contacting Horn Lake you will be meeting some new people. Bruce Knoll is the new head of IT and Bryan Delfs is our new head of Education. You will find both Bruce and Bryan positive additions to our staff. Beginning in September we have a new agreement for publishing the Bulletin. Marketing is another area that will see improvements. We are currently searching for a bridge player with a strong marketing background who is willing to relocate to Horn Lake. If you know of any potential candidates be sure to mention this to them.
The Philadelphia meetings do not have a large number of items but there are some that are very important to our membership. The most important is the continuing evaluation of the proposed Strength of Field motion for calculating masterpoints at Regionals and Sectionals. Presently the formula for calculating awards for A/X games has been problematic. The new formula deals with this problem but I believe it has gone too far in the increases it generates for more experienced players in Open Games. In an attempt to have a more thorough look at the new SoF proposal I have co-sponsored a motion which asks that we hold off on making any decisions until a complete study of the entire masterpoint award system can be completed. I believe we need to make sure we are not simply exchanging one problem for another. Please give me your thoughts on this issue.
Other issues for Philadelphia are:
Item 122-02: Cheating
In Memphis this was referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee. There should be a decision made in Philadelphia that will include a stricter masterpoint removal policy for those found guilty of severe conduct and ethics violations.
Item 122-28: NAP Online
After the success of holding GNT’s online we are looking at the possibility of holding District NAP finals online. In large geographical Districts like ours this is another option for holding our finals.
Item 122-48: Election Regulations
With increased speed and decreased cost of online services the Horn Lake staff is proposing that future BoD and BoG elections be held online.
Item 122-55: Establish and define purposes of the Grass Root Funding
In recent years GNT and NAP costs have increased and funding has decreased. This motion proposes that these events be evaluated and ways to stimulate both participation and funding be developed.
Item 122-58: Unit 390 Bylaw Waiver
The Calgary Unit has been in an ongoing struggle with the Alberta government to be recognised under the Societies Act. If the ACBL permits this waiver in the wording of their bylaws it will satisfy both ACBL and Alberta government regulations. This would be a positive step for the Calgary Unit as it may enable them to receive special funding from the Alberta government.
Item 122-80: Masterpoints
This motion looks at the definition of what is a legal ACBL sanctioned game as it pertains to internet robot play. If the motion is passed it would stop the practice of awarding masterpoints for robot games.
You can find a complete listing of all motions with full details on the ACBL web site and as always I am very interested in your thoughts on any and all motions.
http://www.acbl.org/about/BogMeetings.html ***Watch for the Philadelphia posting to be added soon***
Claire Jones
ACBL Board Of Directors, District 18