Las Vegas North American Bridge Championships
The eyes of the bridge world will focus on Las Vegas this summer when the NABC comes to the Las Vegas Hilton and Convention Center July 17-27. Advance reservations indicate that this will be one of the largest "Nationals" of all time. Las Vegas already holds the all time record of over 24,000 tables, and also boasts the largest Fall NABC ever held with over 16,000 tables. Tourney Chair Ken Monzingo and Assistant Chair Bonnie Bagley have been working for months to make this a very enjoyable tournament. Plan to be part of the festivities! Oh, and if you're willing to help, please let one of them know. Go to http://www.lasvegasnabc2008.com/contact.htm for contact information.
Spring ACBL Board Meeting in Detroit
A number of decisions were made at the ACBL Board meeting in Detroit March 3-6. Craig Robinson from District 4 was elected ACBL Treasurer for a one year term commencing May 1. The future of the ACBL headquarters was discussed at length. The Board heard the pros and cons both of staying in the greater Memphis area and of moving to one of the alternative sites on the short list; Orlando, Atlanta and Dallas. My sense is that the majority of the board favors remaining in the Memphis area. Personally, I need to see a sound business case for moving, as leaving Memphis will cost a lot of money and will require the training/retraining of the majority of the staff. So far, nothing compelling has been offered. It is expected that a stay or leave decision will be made at the next meeting in Las Vegas.
Shanghai Incident Decision
I was surprised at how little I heard about the motion regarding the Shanghai incident I discussed in this space in my last article. While it was clear from the beginning that a motion to censure would not pass, the board was strongly in favor of going on record to discourage such activities at formal bridge functions in the future. The motion passed in Detroit said, "A. The ACBL, acting as the WBF Zone 2 Authority, expresses its disapproval of all non-bridge related public statements and demonstrations by any Zone 2 federation representative participating in an international bridge competition. B. The ACBL requests that the federations in the jurisdiction of Zone 2 adopt regulations disallowing such public statements and demonstrations."
Special Fund Games at Clubs
The motion from the ACBL Board of Governors to limit the number of special games clubs may hold was again defeated 8-17. Therefore clubs may continue to hold as many (or as few) charity, international fund, education foundation or junior fund games as they wish, with the constraint that only junior fund games can be held in February, only charity games can be held in April, and only international fund games can be scheduled during September. Other special games, such as Grand National Team fund raisers, membership games, etc. are not affected.
Unit Game Changes
All unit games, including unit-wide championships and unit extended team games will be replaced with one class of unit championships. The number of such games is increased from 16 to 24 per calendar year. Within this framework, the maximum number of unit extended team games allowed is 3 per calendar year.
Bracketed KO Masterpoint Correction
An error was made in programming the changes to the formula for determining overall masterpoint awards in bracketed KO team events. The error resulted in too many points being awarded in some bracket 1 KO events. This was corrected, effective back to January 1, 2008.
Miscellaneous Board Actions
A motion to have the ACBL Board of directors determine the inductees into the Hall of Fame and name the winners of the Blackwood and von Zedtwitz awards was soundly defeated. The Board agreed that the Hall of Fame committee does an admirable job in this area. Also defeated was a motion to expand the allowable range of a 1NT opening to 10-18 points. The new formula for charging STAC sanction fees was finalized and agreed to. This doesn't affect us except as it affects Western Conference, and there the impact should be minimal.
Also, the Board continues to work to either redefine the requirements for Life Master, or to develop other achievable milestones that will appeal to players after they have become Life Masters. Too many people quit or stop paying dues/service fees because "there are no more achievable mountains to climb". We're also working on a ranking system that takes into account current capabilities. This is also very important, as we lose many, many players to club and tournament play whose bridge skills decline as they age, and they no longer feel competitive in the flight or strat into which their masterpoint total puts them.
Electronic Device Ban
In what is almost sure to be a controversial move, the board agreed Ð for all NABC events starting with the 2008 Las Vegas NABC - that electronic devices, excluding health-related equipment, capable of sending or receiving communication, including but not limited to headphones, earphones, cellular phones and minicomputers 1) shall not be allowed in the playing areas, adjacent hallways, restrooms or accessible break areas, and 2) shall not be used during a session. These restrictions shall apply to all pairs, team members, captains, coaches, recorders and kibitzers, and shall apply throughout any actual playing session or segment. A violation shall result in a disciplinary penalty of one full board (or 12 IMPs) for the first offense. A second offense will result in disqualification of the pair/team.
The board unanimously agrees that the opportunity for abuse (cheating) is just too great given the capabilities of today's communication devices. To ignore this would be a serious breach of the responsibilities we have toward bridge, the ACBL and to our membership. I think it will just be a matter of time before this is extended to all events at NABCs. I also believe that the merits will prompt district and unit boards to consider such a policy for the tournaments they run.
Request for Input
Annually I have the opportunity to name worthy ACBL members to the Goodwill and Charity committees. Players honored in this manner are chosen for their contributions to bridge and for making the game a positive experience for everyone with whom they come in contact. If you know players worthy of consideration, please let me know. I make my selections in early October.
Your input and suggestions on any of the above topics (or any other issues you wish to raise) are always appreciated, whether you agree or not. My phone number is (505)662-3036, you can e-mail me at peanutcat@aol.com, or write me at 2175 La Tierra Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544-2766.