a n e w s l e t t e r f o r Cl u b Ma n a g e r s Dear Club Managers, San Francisco is often called “Everybody’s Favorite City,” a title earned by its scenic beauty, cultural attractions, diverse communities, and world-class cuisine. We hope you will join us Nov. 22 to Dec. 2 for the 2007 Fall North American Bridge Championships. An ACBLscore question Fall Edition • Sept. 2007 and answer session will be held on Sat., Nov. 24., from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Join Rick Beye, Chief Tournament Director, for an informative and entertaining 90 minutes on hints to help Look make your club’s computing problems disappear. Time: 10:30 a.m. – noon. A complete listing of seminars and education programs can be found on our web What’s site at www.acbl.org. Your 2007 game sanction renewal form is being mailed to you this month. Please Inside return the form with the appropriate fees at your earliest convenience. The sooner we receive and process them, the quicker we send you the materials for 2008. We appreciate your assistance. Special Events...... 2

Club Discipline...... 2 Carol Robertson Director of Club and Member Services Cooperative Advertising Program...... 3

Seeding for Dan Morse Elected ACBL President Club Games...... 3 Dan Morse of Houston, Texas, was elected president Wireless Scoring of the ACBL for 2008. Morse represents District 16, Devices...... 3 which includes Texas (except for the Panhandle and El Paso) and Mexico. Duplicated Boards...... 3 Morse was first elected to the Board in 1993 and is Monthly Club Report..... 3 completing his fifth consecutive term.

Passed By BOD in Nashville TN...... 4

Charles Goren DVDs..... 4 Welcoming ACBLscore Update A new version of First-time Visitors ACBLscore, 7.49, How do you treat new players is now available. when they come to your club Vista: For those of you considering the for the first time? Do you American Contract purchase of the new Microsoft Vista Bridge League have a plan for making them software, make certain it is the 32-bit 2990 Airways Blvd. feel welcome? Check out the version, not Vista Ultimate (64-bit). We Memphis TN 38116 information on the friendliest continue to be strong advocates for www.acbl.org club in town at www.acbl.org/ Windows XP. clubs/clubManagers.html. Special Events Jane Johnson Club Appreciation Month We  our s, especially during October. Clubs may hold a Club Appreciation Pairs game and a Club Appreciation Swiss Teams during the month of October for each sanctioned session. Masterpoints awarded: 100% sectional-rated black for the Club Appreciation Pairs game. For team events, the club awards 5% gold masterpoints to a maximum of 0.25 per player. The remaining masterpoints are sectional- rated black.

Special event sanctioning for 2008 Your 2008 Club renewal packet will include your Club Discipline Special Events sanction form. This form lists the dates of upcoming 2008 special event games as This is a reminder that the jurisdiction of well as the deadline for submission. It is imperative behavior of players at club sponsored games that you complete and return the form in a timely was changed in July 2006 such that it is manner. The mailing of your game supplies depends solely up to club management. The club is on it. You may also sanction the games online by solely responsible for addressing complaints visiting Special Events page for Club Directors and about a player’s behavior in a club sponsored Managers. game. This means that, in such an instance, a complaint to the unit to request that charges As you know, these special event games entice be made to the unit’s disciplinary committee more players into the club and offer enhanced may not be made. The complaint should go to masterpoints. All special event games offer expert the club manager. hand analyses. So please, don’t delay in signing your club up to host one or all of the special events ACBL However, for games at a club that are sponsored has to offer. by the unit (e.g. unit championship and STaC), district (e.g. GNT qualifier) or ACBL (e.g. NAP ACBL-wide Charity Pairs qualifier) someone may make a complaint to the unit requesting that the unit make charges The second of two ACBL-wide Charity games will to its disciplinary committee. be held on Nov. 26, 2007. Please do not miss this great opportunity to support a variety of charitable A document explaining the changes is available organizations. Materpoint awards are black at 100% on the Club Manager page (www.acbl.org/ sectional rating. For more information, please contact clubs/club-managers.php) of our web site [email protected]. under Guidelines and Procedures NOTE: If you forget whether you have sanctioned ACBL disciplinary information is available on a game or would like to see other participating the ACBL web site at: www.acbl.org/play/ clubs in your area, go to the ACBL web site. Click charts.html under Ethics and Discipline. on Play>Special Events>Participating Clubs. For more information, please contact the Special Events Department.

2 The ACBL’s Cooperative Advertising Program remains a hit! “We have money waiting for you! All you have to do is ask for it.” How many times do you receive an offer like this? Not often, we think. The ACBL’s Cooperative Advertising Program (CAP) has been active for almost 10 years. During that time thousands of dollars have been awarded to club managers and other qualified individuals. The CAP reimburses ACBL teachers, clubs, units and districts for advertising expenses incurred for programs and lessons designed for newcomers and/or to recruit ACBL members. The CAP will refund 75% of advertising costs up to $1000 per project specifically for beginner bridge lessons, newcomer programs and ACBL recruitment. That’s a $750 reimbursement for $1000 or more in advertising costs. We even supply you with ACBL logos and sample ad templates for a professional look! For details about the ACBL’s Cooperative Advertising Program, go to the ACBL web site at www.acbl. org then to “Marketing and Advertising” then to “Advertising” to read all the Cooperative Advertising Program requirements. Here is the direct link: www.acbl.org/marketing/coopAdvertising.html.

Seeding (balancing the field) Monthly Club for Club Games Reporting For other than regular club games, you should Reporting via e-mail seed the game as evenly as possible. This means using ACBLscore with distributing the pairs in each strat level as evenly as a credit card is the possible in both directions and across sections if quickest method to you have two or more in the same event. If for some ensure that the club’s reason you are not able to meet this requirement, the monthly report is processed efficiently and on time. section that does not comply must be set up as an Submitting your report this way will significantly invitational game (80% of open rating). help meet the deadline for the monthly cycle that is generated on the 6th of each month. Wireless Scoring Devices Reminder: If submitting monthly club reports on diskette, please be sure to include the paperwork The ACBL tested two wireless scoring devices for the financial and masterpoints to use as a during the Summer NABC in Nashville. Both devices backup should the diskette prove to be unreadable/ displayed some potential for club and tournament damaged. ACBL will be able to process the reports play. Club and tournament testing will continue on without interruption. Your players will receive their the East Coast and on the West Coast. The Bridge masterpoints on schedule. Administration Division expects to conduct additional testing during the Fall NABC in San Francisco. More Please note: If you submit your report by e-mail on information will be available during 2008. a weekend, we will not be able to process the report until the following Monday. If the 6th of the month falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the report will not be Duplicated Boards processed in time to meet the current month’s cycle. From time to time, clubs run games with boards Instead, the masterpoints will be included in the next duplicated prior to the game. Club directors who month’s report/cycle. duplicate these boards may not play in these games Corrections: Corrected reports must be submitted to under any circumstances. [email protected] for proper handling.

3 Passed by Board of Directors in Nashville TN

Youth North American STaC Conditions of Contest Bridge Championship The STaC conditions of contest were amended as On an experimental basis management in conjunction follow. This becomes effective Jan. 1, 2008. with one or two areas will plan and implement a While only units may apply for a sanction to hold championship for youth under the age of 19. The a STaC, there is no objection to a unit nominating first championship will be held in Atlanta during July a district or districts to conduct the tournament. In of 2008 with a second championship tentatively district-wide STaCs all clubs within the district(s) must scheduled for the summer of 2009. be offered the opportunity to participate. Participation is at the club level when sponsored by a District. If Educational Foundation Games a Unit outside of the sponsoring district chooses to Special games to benefit the ACBL Educational participate, all clubs within that Unit must be invited to Foundation may be held in lieu of or in addition to participate. the current special fund games: Junior, Charity and International Fund games. The Educational Foundation NAP and GNT Conditions of Contest games award masterpoints at 100% sectional black. For NAP and GNT events, the ACBL Board of Please note, Educational Foundation games cannot Directors has amended the Conditions of Contest be held during the other special fund game months by eliminating the words “good standing.” An ACBL (February is Junior Fund month, April is Charity month member shall be deemed to be in good standing when and September is International Fund month). The such membership dues and/or fees are current and capability to hold this event will be implemented in a the member is not currently on suspension or who has version of ACBLscore available in November 2007. not otherwise been placed in an ineligible status by an The ACBL Educational Foundation is a charitable trust ACBL disciplinary body. fund established as a nonprofit organization in 1987. This Foundation provides grants to promote bridge.

Historic Television Show DVDs The eagerly anticipated “Championship Bridge with Charles Goren” DVDs are ready for purchase! This set of four DVDs includes the 26- episode Season 2 of the program that originally aired on national a v a i l a b l e television on Sunday afternoons in 1961-62. n o w When you purchase this extraordinary set of DVDs, you will see legendary players in action­— B. Jay Becker, Easley Blackwood, Edith Kemp, Dorothy Hayden (Truscott) and Sam Stayman, to name a few, along with celebrity guests such as Chico Marx and Les Brown. The “table talk” of the players is delightful, and Goren’s overly dramatized commentary is a history lesson in bidding. Produced by the American League, “Championship Bridge” is just one of the projects under way in preparation for the ACBL’s 75th Anniversary in 2012. You may purchase “Championship Bridge” for $49.95 (plus shipping and handling) at Baron Barclay Bridge Supply, 800-274-2221. Of this amount, $35 will be returned to the ACBL to offset the cost of production and fund additional history initiatives. To learn more about “Championship Bridge” and the ACBL anniversary, visit www.acbl.org and link to About ACBL.

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