Member Guide The ACBL from A to Z As a member of the ACBL, you are one of more than 167,000 people who enjoy the camaraderie and fun of participating in a game of skill and strategy. ACBL members agree that duplicate bridge is one of the most challenging and exciting mind sports in the world! The ACBL provides an automated Customer Service Line that is available 24 hours a day, toll-free, 800–467–1623. You can check on your masterpoint holdings, or leave a message about your magazine, dues status or other concerns, and your call will be returned within 24 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). The ACBL also offers members the opportunity to check masterpoints and get updated bridge information on its website at www.acbl.org. This booklet has been created to provide information of interest and serve as a reference guide to all ACBL members. Please note these special features: A list of ACBL Member Benefits on page 7. A guide to the different types and colors of masterpoints and how to earn them on page 25. The masterpoint ranks that members can achieve on page 34. Website links to lead you to more information online. Enjoy! You hold the winning hand as a member of the ACBL. Be sure to visit www.acbl.org often for the latest news and activities. Follow us on American Contract Bridge League and @ACBLbridge 1 A The ACBL Bridge Series is available for purchase at Baron Barclay Bridge American Contract Bridge League Supply at www.baronbarclay.com or by calling 1-800-274-2221. The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a not-for-profit organization ACBL Bridge Museum established in 1937. Headquartered in The American Contract Bridge League Horn Lake MS, it is the primary and Museum is not only the premier largest official sanctioning body for collection of bridge-related artifacts in competitive and duplicate bridge in the world, it is also an interactive North America. Each year, more than showcase of the history of the game. three million tables of bridge are played From Vanderbilt to Culbertson to Goren under ACBL auspices at clubs and to the modern era, bridge comes alive tournaments in North America, with photos, videos, art, instructional overseas, online and even on cruise material and more. The spectacular ships. See “About ACBL” at collection of championship trophies http://www.acbl.org/about-acbl/. must be seen to be believed. Touch- ACBL Bridge Series screen technology allows visitors to view the history and previous winners of each The ACBL publishes five student trophy. The Bridge Hall of Fame display textbooks and teacher manuals designed includes hundreds of photos of the top to make bridge easy to learn and fun to names in the game, video interviews, play. Each student text is coordinated and biographies of each inductee. The with a teacher manual that offers lesson Joan Schepps Collection of Trump plans for teachers. Each course Indicators is an homage to the early addresses bidding, play and defense in days of the game featuring over 600 eight chapters (eight, two-hour lessons) colorful pieces. In addition to these per book. Some of the textbooks have a highlights, visitors to the ACBL Museum bonus ninth chapter. The five books are: will find dozens of other fascinating “Bidding in the 21st Century (The Club items. Series)”, “Play of the Hand in the 21st Century (The Diamond Series)”, ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame “Defense in the 21st Century (The Heart The ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame was Series)”, “Commonly Used Conventions founded in the 1960s under the auspices in the 21st Century (The Spade Series)” of The Bridge World magazine. The Hall and “More Commonly Used honors people who have made Conventions in the 21st Century (The outstanding contributions to bridge. Notrump Series)”. Also available are sets Now housed at ACBL Headquarters in of coded E-Z Deal Cards that allow the Horn Lake MS, the Hall display includes student to reconstruct the practice deals hundreds of photos of the top names in found at the end of each of the chapter. 2 the game, video interviews, and ACBL Resource Center biographies of each inductee. New members are inducted each summer at The ACBL Resource Center is designed the North American Bridge to be a convenient, easy-to-use tool that Championships. See “Hall of Fame” at allows members of the bridge www.acbl.org/about/hall-of-fame/. community to order or download virtually anything they need to grow the ACBL Charity Foundation game, support their clubs and improve their skills. The Resource Center The ACBL Charity Foundation was contains all materials offered by the created in 1964 to make contributions to ACBL in one place. The best part – various charitable organizations. The ordering online is as easy as shopping foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. on Amazon, and everything, including Contributions are fully tax deductible. shipping, is free. The Resource Center http://www.acbl.org/about- has materials for players, district and acbl/charity-foundation. unit officials, teachers and club owners. ACBL Educational Foundation ACBLscore® The ACBL Educational Foundation was ACBL has developed a computer-scoring created in 1987 and provides grants to program known as ACBLscore® that is promote bridge education. The available to clubs and tournaments. This foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. program enables a game to be scored Contributions are fully tax deductible. almost instantly once the last deal has https://sites.google.com/site/acbleduca been played and the results entered. The tionfoundationorg/ program is free for ACBL-sanctioned ACBL “Play” courses games. For a small fee, ACBL offers an online course that teaches club officials ACBL offers a number of four-week how to use the ACBLscore® program. supervised play courses to supplement The course is available in the ACBL the lessons found in each of the five Learning Center ACBL Bridge Series courses. The “Play” (https://lms.discoverlink.com/acbl/). courses are excellent tools for teachers to use to get students to practice what Accredited bridge teachers they have learned and to move them The ACBL has trained bridge teachers into duplicate. The Play courses can be since 1986 through the Teacher purchased from Baron Barclay at Accreditation Program (TAP). The TAP http://www.baronbarclay.com/category introduces bridge teachers to the most /acbl-playcourse. successful methods for teaching bridge to beginning players. It is offered at all NABCs and, when requested, at regional tournaments. In addition, ACBL also 3 recognizes as accredited those who have “Adventures in Duplicate” successfully completed the Easybridge! Presenters course and the Better Bridge “Adventures in Duplicate” is an excellent Teacher Training course. paperback book designed to guide www.acbl.org/tap beginning players through their first three years of duplicate bridge. Written Active Ethics by Edith McMullin, creator of the Easybridge! program, this book provides A primary objective of the ACBL is to information on basic conventions and instill in all players the concept that the wonderful and unique world of vigorous efforts should be made to duplicate bridge. It is available for provide equity in bridge. Every player purchase at Baron Barclay Bridge should take pains to make sure that the Supply at opponents have in no way been harmed http://www.baronbarclay.com/ or by through incomplete or misleading calling 1-800-274-2221. information as to the meaning of conventional calls and treatments. A Aileen Osofsky ACBL Goodwill proactive approach along these lines on Committee the part of each and every individual will ensure that bridge remains a game that The Aileen Osofsky ACBL Goodwill everyone can enjoy. Committee and its individual members work to create goodwill for the ACBL. Advanced NABC Master They receive, convey and act on suggestions for the betterment of ACBL, A player who joined ACBL after Dec. 31, particularly in the areas of active ethics, 2009 who has at least 300 masterpoints, conduct, tournament conditions, bridge of which 25 must gold or platinum, 25 for Juniors and bridge for the red, gold or platinum, 50 silver and 50 handicapped. The Goodwill Committee black has achieved the rank of celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2005. Advanced NABC Master. Albert H. Morehead Memorial Advancer Library The player who makes a response to his The Albert H. Morehead Memorial partner’s overcall. Library is the largest bridge library in Adjusted score the world, containing more than 2500 different volumes. The library was A score assigned by a club or dedicated in memory of Albert tournament director (or an appeals Morehead, ACBL Hall of Fame member committee) when either an infraction of and bridge bibliophile whose collection the Laws or a procedural error has of books provided the ACBL a solid occurred. The director is empowered by foundation on which to build. Since the the Laws to take this action. library’s dedication, the ACBL has also 4 acquired the personal libraries of Edgar primarily of bridge teachers, is Kaplan, Alfred Sheinwold and Alan dedicated to promoting higher Truscott. standards of bridge teaching and playing. The ABTA holds an annual Alert convention just prior to the ACBL Saying “Alert” is a method of drawing Summer North American Bridge the opponents’ attention to the fact that Championships at the site of the partner’s call has a conventional or tournament. This convention offers the unexpected meaning. When bidding best form of continuing education boxes are in use, an Alert is made by available to bridge teachers. tapping an Alert card on the table or by Announcement tapping the Alert strip on the side of the bidding box and by saying “Alert.” When Announcements are an extension of the bidding boxes are not in use, the partner Alert System.