A NEWSLETTER FOR Club Managers

Dear Club Manager,

We hope the New Year has started off well for you and your club.

ACBL’s resolution this year is to help support your Zero Tolerance efforts at both clubs and tournaments.

• Zero Tolerance posters were mailed to club managers in late January. We hope you’ll take the time to hang these newly designed posters at your club. Together we can continue to grow our game through concerted efforts to reward the good behaviors at our venues and eliminate those that have no place at the bridge table. nter Edit Wi ion • • Phyllis Harlan of Oklahoma City OK in District 15 F e b was elected ACBL President for 2014. u r a r • Congratulations are in order for Silvana Zangri of Syosset NY and Kitty y

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2 Gottfried of Silver Spring MD for being named the 2013 Volunteer

0 1 Members of the Year. The 2013 Goodwill Member of Year was awarded NEWS 4 to Karl Dencker of Lake in the Hills IL. Inside • An Information Fair will be held at the Dallas NABC ACBL Announces Youth on Saturday, March 22 at the Sheraton Hotel from Protection Policy______2 9:30 to 11:30 am. This is your one-stop shop for Goodwill Idea______2 ACBL information. Team members will be on hand The Longest Day______3 to answer questions about Marketing, Clubs,

Changes to Convention & Membership, ACBLscore+, Education programs, Alert Charts______3 Ruling the Game and more. Click here (http://www.acbl.org/Dallas

Follow the Law______4-5 Education ) for a full list. Coffee and pastries will be available. We hope to see you there. Peparing the Hands______5 From Carol’s Mailbox______6 Your effort to promote and support our great game is appreciated. Electronic Scoring Devices____6

King/Queen of Bridge______6

Special Event Corner______7-8 Director of Club and Member Services Be Scent-sitive______8

6575 Windchase Blvd. Follow us on American League and @ACBLbridge Horn Lake MS 38637-1523 www.acbl.org ACBL announces Youth Protection Policy The ACBL has added a new policy to the Handbook of Rules and Regulations governing interactions between minors and every ACBL member, district and unit official and all other persons having direct contact with minors at ACBL events (such as day care providers, counselors, trainers, chaperones and teachers). This policy follows similar guidelines that were You are Invited! recently issued for ACBL employees. Reception for The ACBL Youth Protection and Abuse Club Officials and Teachers Prevention Policy and Code of Conduct went Friday, March 21 into effect in January. The purpose of the policy is “to clearly and definitively communicate the This is the ACBL’s “thank you” ACBL’s commitment to ensuring the safety of reception for the club officials and its young players, volunteers and caddies. A teachers who help recruit and retain comprehensive policy to protect youth from our members. Club managers, abuse is a necessary component to effectuate teachers and club directors are our goal of promoting a safe and secure encouraged to attend. environment for youth who participate and/or are involved in events, programs and activities Fee: Free sanctioned and/or sponsored by the ACBL.” Date: Friday, March 21 Time: 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m The complete policy be reviewed at Sheraton Hotel, Dallas TX http://www.acbl.org/youthprotection.

Goodwill Idea One thing I’ve experienced at my club that’s somewhat goodwill related is keeping slow players moving along without over-nudging them and annoying them. This is a common and tough problem everywhere.

I have found that if I award one late play to the first offender, I Manager of will then announce to the entire room that this is the first and Uptricks Duplicate Club only late play that will be allowed for the day, and the next time in Overland Park KS we are delayed (by anyone) there will be no late play, and penalties will be issued across the (I don’t say who or how many) if we run over on time. This is a relatively small game with mostly Howell movements, and not a larger multi-section game.

So far this “just one late play” rule seems to be working quite well. If there is a late play assigned, it’s usually early on, and then once the late play is announced and put on the Bridge Pad, everyone seems to scurry around and make sure the others are moving also. So far we are still getting the game over ahead of schedule, even after the late board is played.

In fact, we sometimes finish earlier with the one late play than we do when there are no late plays.

It’s far from perfect, but it works better than anything else I have tried.

ACBL - Club Managers Newsletter ♣ Winter Edition - Feburary 2014 Changes to the Convention & Alert Charts for 2014 The ACBL General Convention Chart has been amended to allow: • An opening bid of 2 or 2 that shows a in that major (five or six cards) with a four-card .

The ACBL Mid-Chart has been amended to allow: • A weak 2 or 2 opening bid showing at least 5-4 in the majors, if the five-card suit The LongestJoin us Day for The - Saturday, Longest Day June to raise 21, 2014 is known. funds for Alzheimer’s research and awareness! Continuing the partnership between the ACBL • A weak 2 bid showing 5-5 (or more) in hearts and the Alzheimer's Association and any other suit. June 21 $20.00  Join us for the second year of our(per partnership session) • A weak 2 bid showing 5-5 (or more) in with the Alzheimer's Association on The Longest spades and a minor. Day! In 2013, more than 160 ACBL bridge clubs • A weak 2 or 2 opening bid showing at John Smith ABC Bridge Club and999-555-5555 tournaments participated inAbc the Lane event West least 5-4 in the majors, if the five-card suit is [email protected] more than $575,000. Don'tHorn missLake MS out88888 on unknown in events where the each round or your chance to join the fun while raising funds! segment is at least six boards long. Help us reach our goal of $750,000. The ACBL Superchart is amended to allow: The Longest Day is a sunrise-to-sunset event to • Opening one bids which by partnership raise funds for the care, support and research agreement could show fewer than 8 HCP in efforts of the Alzheimer's Association. Held on third and fourth seats. June 21, 2014, the longest day of the year, this event asks participants to push themselves The following changes have been made to the to complete approximately 16 hours of a ACBL Alert Chart: consecutive activity — such as playing bridge. It is one day to honor the strength and courage 1. A weak jump shift by advancer is not displayed by people with Alzheimer’s and their Alertable. “Advancer” is defined as the caregivers every day. partner of an overcaller. 2. All 2 responses to a strong 2 opening are Show your support by registering your club as an non-alertable. official "team," donating to a bridge club team, participating in The Longest Day games — or The updated versions of the Convention Charts all three! You'll be honoring the more than 35 and the Alert Chart are now on the ACBL website. million people worldwide who are living with Alzheimer's and countless caregivers who face this disease. And by playing bridge, you'll show the world there is a fun game that may help slow the onset of this disease. There has also been a change to For more information and to register click here the GNT Flights in 2014: http://www.acbl.org/play/thelongestday/ • Flight C: Non-LM up to 500 MP • Flight B: 0-2500 MP • Flight A: 0-6000 MP • Championship Flight: 0-unlimited ♣3 Follow The Law When it comes to matters within your club, the ACBL believes that you know best; but you still have to follow the Laws of .

The sanctioned club bridge game is the backbone of the ACBL. More than three million tables of bridge are played each year (in approximately 3200 clubs) under ACBL’s sanctioning system. Clubs receive the right to award to their players by acquiring a sanction.

Unlike the purchase of a franchise, ACBL makes almost no demands on the clubs. The club manager is free to operate the club as he sees fit, as long as the operation of ACBL sanctioned games falls within the limits prescribed by ACBL.

Those limits are simple — ACBL requires that games be conducted in accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the .

Recently there have been a number of requests from club managers and directors to ignore or alter certain parts of the Laws of Duplicate Bridge. Barring psychs, simplifying/revising laws, eliminating player options or penalties, or trying to be fair by misapplying a law are not options when running an ACBL sanctioned game.

Barring psychs ignores Law 40.C.1. This does not mean that clubs can’t develop policies to curtail frivolous, unsportsmanlike, repetitive or excessive psychs.

One club director wants to eliminate leads out of turn by having the offender just put the card back in hand and have the correct person lead with a one trick penalty at the end. Another chooses not to apply all of the options regarding leads out of turn.

The Laws give five very distinct options to declarer when there has been an out of turn. In ACBL sanctioned games every player must receive all five of them, not ones hand-picked by a club director or club management.

Often, in a desire to be fair, a very common decision made by club directors is to misapply a significant element of the Law.

It’s a common story. N-S are in a spade slam missing only the ace of trumps. East at trick six and West wins his ace on trick 10. The law is very clear here: one trick is restored to the non-offending side. Players and directors alike will scream “But that’s not fair! You can’t make seven on a hand when you’re missing the ace of trumps!” And they’ll thumb through the Laws until they read something about “restoring equity” and think, “Aha!” and proceed to allow E-W to keep the trick despite the Law stating otherwise.

There is nothing in the Laws prohibiting a pair from receiving a windfall due to a rectification and Law 12.B.2 expressly states that a director may not adjust a score because a rectification provided under the Laws is unduly severe or advantageous to a pair.

Continued on next page ACBL - Club Managers Newsletter ♣ Winter Edition - Feburary 2014 Law 64C, which is called the Equity Clause, only protects the non-offenders with regard to the rectification of a revoke; it provides no protection to the offender.

ACBL recognizes that the duties of directors can be difficult and the Laws are something that requires continual study. We hope you’ll avail yourself of these resources:

• Duplicate Decisions, the free online companion book to the Laws of Duplicate Bridge is a great resource for understanding some of the more difficult laws, it also contains many helpful examples. http://www.acbl.org/assets/documents/clubs/Duplicate- Decisions-2008.pdf

• Within your ACBL membership portal at the ACBL website you have access to years of the monthly Bridge Bulletin where you can go back and read Mike Flader’s column Ruling The Game.

• Another online resource is our newly-developed Rulings: Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.acbl.org/play/rulingsFAQ.html Here you’ll find the answers to questions that appear in our rulings box on a regular basis.

• Bookmarking this page, http://www.acbl.org/play/charts.html, will help give you ready access to the Alert Chart, Alert Procedures, the General Convention Chart, and other types of regulations that are standard for tournaments and adopted by almost all clubs.

• Consider lobbying your district representatives to offer a Club Director Refresher Course at a nearby regional or sectional. We have a high number of qualified Tournament Directors ready to teach this course. Contact Joyce Stone at [email protected] to see about scheduling one in your area. They are also presented at each NABC. The next one will be in Dallas on Tuesday, March 25 and Wednesday, March 26 from 9:00 a.m. to noon each day. The cost is $15 and covers both sessions.

In 2014, ACBL is planning to do several 20-minute webinars covering various rulings and regulations. These will be live and interactive. We will also record all of these sessions so they can be a resource for many years to come.

Preparing the Hands In ACBL-sanctioned games, the person who manually prepares the hands for the duplicate boards may not play in the game and be eligible for masterpoints awards. If the player is needed as a fill-in, the partnership must be ineligible for awards.

If the person preparing the hands for the boards is using a duplicating machine and has the machine set so he or she cannot view the hands, that person may participate and earn masterpoints.

ACBL - Club Managers Newsletter ♣ Winter Edition - Feburary 2014

from Carol’s Dear Carol,

I’m Michael Rice and I played at a club in Denver (Denver House of Cards) for five years before moving back to San Diego. One of the directors and owners, Paul Ossip, was a wonderful help. His direction and explanations are clear and decisive. Talking to him gives one the sense of the rules. He is calm in all situations, handling them in a professional manner.

He is a joy as a partner, taking pains to answer questions from weaker players. He is a consummate professional.

Yours truly, Michael J. Rice

Electronic Scoring Devices Electronic scoring devices have become more and more prevalent in club games. This technology has certainly improved the bridge experience for directors and players, but keep these things in mind when using them at your club:

• These devices can reduce or even eliminate scoring errors, but players must be vigilant when entering and King/Queen of Bridge approving their If you are a graduating high school senior and an results. Be sure to ACBL member who plays and promotes bridge, encourage your East- you may become the 2014 King/Queen of Bridge. West to double-check Recent winners have been cited for outstanding the score before tournament performances plus administrative and accepting it. recreational activities related to bridge. The ACBL Educational Foundation will present a $1000 • These devices offer the ability to review the scholarship to the King/Queen of Bridge. results at other tables once a board is played. Players must be careful not to let this slow down This competition was established in 1973 by Homer the game. Shoop, an Indiana banker, and is administered today by the ACBL Educational Foundation. A • When reviewing the scores aloud they must be list of previous winners reads like a who’s who of very careful not to embarrass anyone at the table bridge: Jeff Meckstroth, Bobby Levin, Steve nor provide unauthorized information to those Weinstein, Brad Moss, Martha (Benson) Katz, who haven’t played the board. Joel Wooldridge and Eric Greco.

• While there is some amount of instant To enter the contest, email your name, ACBL gratification at learning right away what one’s number and a letter addressing why you should percentage on a deal is, that percentage is be chosen as the next King/Queen of Bridge to very likely to change. The best practice might [email protected] by May 30, 2014. be to turn this feature off as it is at all ACBL tournaments. ACBL - Club Managers Newsletter ♣ Winter Edition - Feburary 2014 February is Junior Fund Month Any regularly scheduled sanctioned session during the month of February can be a Junior Fund Game. The cost is an extra $1 per person, and players can win 70% sectional-rated black points. Junior Fund games cannot be held during the months of January, April or September. The expenses for Junior programs have exceeded the revenue generated

Special Event for the Junior Fund. ACBL's Juniors depend on these to keep the youth programs going strong! CORNER ACBL-wide Senior Pairs Game Fund/Foundation Games Reminder On Monday afternoon, March 3, participating January: All sanctioned sessions may be held as clubs will host the ACBL-wide Senior Pairs game. Grass Roots FUNd games The game is open to anyone age 55 or over as of Dec. 31, 2013. Masterpoint awards are 80% All sanctioned sessions may be held as February: sectional-rated black. In addition to masterpoints Junior Fund games. earned at clubs, there will also be ACBL-wide and April: All sanctioned sessions may be held as district-wide awards. Printed material is sent by Charity championship games. mail approximately four to six weeks in advance of the game. Please click here (https://web.acbl.org/ September: All sanctioned sessions may be held SpecialEvents/index.do) to register online. as International Fund games.

In the remaining eight months of the year (March, ACBL-wide International Fund Game # 1 May, June, July, August, October, November and Help support North Americans in international December) a club may choose from the following bridge competition. On Thursday afternoon, fund/foundation games to hold only one of these March 13, clubs across ACBL will host the first games per month per sanctioned session: of three events designed to help support North Junior Fund American teams entered in international com- Charity Foundation petition for titles. International Fund Masterpoint awards are ½ red, ½ black. In addition Educational Foundation to masterpoints earned at clubs, there will also be ACBL-wide and district-wide awards. Printed Grass Roots FUNd material is sent by mail approximately four to six weeks in advance of the game. Please click here A regularly scheduled club game held at a (https://web.acbl.org/SpecialEvents/index.do) to frequency other than weekly may hold one spe- register online. cial "fund" game every fourth game.

It is important to your club and your members to ACBL-wide Charity Game # 1 adhere to the regulations for Fund/Foundation Help support the ACBL Charity Foundation and games as set forth by the ACBL Board of Directors. the Canadian Bridge Federation Charitable Foundation. On Tuesday afternoon, April 8, the first of two ACBL-wide charity events will be held in clubs across ACBL. Masterpoint awards are sectional-rated black. In addition to masterpoints earned at clubs, there will also be ACBL-wide and district-wide awards. Hand records and analysis are provided by email. Please click here (https://web.acbl.org/Special Events/index.do) to register online. Continued on next page ACBL - Club Managers Newsletter ♣ Winter Edition - Feburary 2014 April is Charity Month ACBL-wide Games Reminders Your club can help by hosting a To ensure we have ordered enough printed charity club championship game during material for ACBL-wide special event games, all regular sanctioned sessions for the entire it's important you register at least 60 days in month of April. The cost is an extra $1 per person advance of the game. If you register after that and players can win 70% sectional-rated black time, there is a possibility there will not be points. Clubs may not hold more games to enough material for your club. benefit a local charity than they hold to benefit the ACBL Charity Foundation or the Canadian If you discover that you will be unable to hold Bridge Federation Charity Foundation. Charity one of the games that you've already registered games cannot be held during the months of for, please send an email to SpecialEvents@acbl. January, February or September. For more org as soon as possible so we do not mail information, contact the ACBL Charity Desk at unneeded material. 662-253-3129 or [email protected]. If you would like to register for any 2014 ACBL- wide Special Event games, please click here Inter-Club Championship Games (https://web.acbl.org/SpecialEvents) to register. Players at your club play face-to-face with the perk of across-the-field scoring through the Please send an email with Internet to determine overall rankings at all clubs questions about fund/foundation that participate on the same date. Hand records games to [email protected] and are sent by email a few days before the game is questions about other held. The club director sends the game file by Special Event games to email to ACBL the next day to be included in the [email protected]. overall scoring. Your players earn black regular club masterpoints at the club in addition to club Other ACBL-wide Games: championship masterpoints if they place in the ACBL-wide International Fund Game #2: overalls. The fees are $1 extra per person. Please May 14, 2014 click here (http://www.acbl.org/play/icc-games. ACBL-wide International Fund Game #3: php) to register online. July 11, 2014 ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game: Oct. 16, 2014 ACBL-wide Charity Game: Nov. 5, 2014

Be Scent-sitive!

Some people have an extreme sensitivity to fragrances (colognes or perfumes). Many ACBL clubs, units and districts have adopted policies that prohibit players from wearing fragrances. The ACBL has not issued an official policy on the matter, preferring instead to appeal to the goodwill of its members to refrain from using fragrances.

Because duplicate bridge requires players to be in close proximity to each other, individuals who suffer from fragrance-related reactions cannot avoid those who are wearing them. Among the commonly reported symptoms are intense headaches (indeed, fragrances can frequently be a trigger for migraine sufferers) or breathing-related problems. For these individuals, the issue is much more serious than simply disliking a particular smell — it’s a real health problem.

The ACBL asks everyone to give this issue the consideration it deserves. Please, if you’re going to play in a club or a tournament, don’t wear cologne, perfume or scented lotions.

ACBL - Club Managers Newsletter ♣ Winter Edition - Feburary 2014