District 20

Conditions of Contest

for

2006 North American Teams

 

A.            General

 

            1.            National Conditions:  The 2006 North American Teams Conditions of Contest as published on the ACBL website are incorporated into these Conditions.

 

            2.            Participation:  To advance beyond the club level, a player must be a member in good standing of both District 20 and the ACBL.  Exceptions may be allowed for students, military, and others; but pre-approval is required, which approval will not be unreasonably denied.  Requests should be sent to District 20's NA Teams Coordinator, currently Bernadine Lacy, 208 NW 5^th Street, Grants Pass, OR  97526; e-mail: voilamonami@msn.com; telephone no. (541) 301-4183  (hereafter “NA Teams Coordinator”).

 

            3.            Flight Restrictions:  Subject to §A2, above, the Open Flight is open to all players; Flight A is open only to players who have fewer than 5000 ACBL masterpoints as of 9/1/2005; Flight B is open only to players who have fewer than 2000 ACBL masterpoints as of 9/1/2005; and Flight C is open only to non-Life Masters who have fewer than 500 ACBL masterpoints as of 9/1/2005.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, no player who is under disciplinary suspension imposed either by the ACBL, the World Bridge Federation or any zone thereof, or by any National Bridge Organization that is a member of the World Bridge Federation, will be eligible to enter, or otherwise participate in, any Flight.

 

            4.            Unit Responsibilities:  Each Unit will promote the club level play in their own Unit.

 

B.        Club Level

 

            1.            Qualifying Period:  The qualifying stage at the club level will be held during the months of December 2005, January and February 2006.  All clubs may receive information from District 20's Secretary/Treasurer, currently Jo Anne Murdock, 998 Bogue Rd, Yuba City, CA 95991-9221 (hereafter “Secretary/Treasurer”).

 

            2.            Table Fees:  Clubs may charge up to $8.25 per team above the normal club entry fee and must remit $7.00 per table to the Secretary/Treasurer with a copy of the ACBL score report form and $1.25 per table to the ACBL with a copy of the ACBL score report form.   These fees will be used to help defray the administrative costs associated with the event and  the travel subsidies District 20 pays to the winners of each Flight. 

 

            3.            Club Qualification Format:  Clubs may either run separate games for one or more Flights, or a combined event.  Subject to the approval of the NA Teams Coordinator (which approval will not be unreasonably denied), each Club may choose its own format for the Club qualification event. 

 

            4.            Club Qualification for Advancement:  Those teams that enter a club qualification event will qualify for the District Semifinals in the Open Flight and the District Finals in all other Flights for which they are eligible in accordance with § A3, if:

 

            a. They finish in the top 50% (including ties) of the teams who play in their Flight;

 

            b. They win at least half of the available victory points; or

 

            c. They win at least half of the matches they play.

 

In a Unit in which only one club qualification event is held, all Flight C players who participate in the event will qualify for the District Final.  A District 20 player may qualify to advance from a club qualification even if he plays with a player from another district who is not eligible to advance.

 

            5.            Exemptions from Club Qualification:  Provided they apply in writing before the end of the club-qualifying period, D20 members will be exempt from qualifying for the District Semifinals provided:

 

            a. No club qualifying event was scheduled within 50 miles of their home;

 

            b. A significant business or personal reason prevents them from participating in any of the Club qualifying events within 50 miles of their home; or

 

            c. They submit a $50 special dispensation fee to the District Secretary at least one week prior to the District Semifinal.

 

All such applications will be made to the NA Teams Coordinator.  Players receiving an exemption from Club qualification must, in addition to the foregoing requirements, remit $1.75 to the District Secretary at least one week prior to the District Semifinals.

 

C.        Unit Level

 

            Any Unit may choose to hold a Unit Final to either supplement or replace club qualifying games in the Unit’s area.  To do so, a Unit must secure an ACBL sanction.  At least the top 50% of the players plus ties in each Flight who play in a Unit Final will qualify for the Open Flight Semifinals or the Finals of any of Flights A, B and C for which they are eligible.

 

D.            Semifinals (Open Flight Only)

 

            1.            Semifinal Tournaments:  The Semifinals for the Open Flight Semifinal will be held at a single site at the East Side Bridge Club in Portland, Oregon on May 6 and 7, 2006.  In addition, Hawaii may conduct a separate Semifinal for the Open Flight, provided it so notifies the NA Teams Coordinator on or before January 30, 2006.  The Open Semifinal dates and location are subject to change by the NA Teams Coordinator for good cause. 

 

            2.            Advance Entries:  To facilitate the duplication of boards, the NA Teams Coordinator may (by publishing adequate notice on the District website) require teams to pre-register as much as one week in advance.  Teams that fail to pre-register may compete only if the Tournament Director believes that their participating will not adversely impace the use of duplicate boards.

 

            3.            Semifinal Qualification to the Finals:  The mainland Open Semifinals will advance a total of four teams to the Finals; however, if fewer than seven teams compete in the Semifinal, the Open Flight will advance only two teams to the Finals. 

 

                        If Hawaii conducts a Semifinal, it will be entitled to send up to two teams to the District Finals, thereby increasing the number of teams eligible to compete in the Finals to five or six.  For Hawaii to be eligible to send a second team to the District Finals in a particular Flight, at least eight teams must have competed in that Flight at the Hawaiian Semifinals.  Hawaii must notify the NA Teams Coordinator of the names of the team members on each Hawaiian finalist not later than the beginning of the mainland Semifinal.

 

            4.            Semifinals Format (2-15 Teams):  The Mainland Open Semifinals will be conducted as a four-session round robin scored on a 20 VP scale as set forth in the table below.  The Tournament Director may modify the number of boards and sessions to be played to accommodate unanticipated circumstances.  The minimum and maximum number of boards for each Semifinal will be 100 to 120, as follows:

 

 

ROUND ROBIN SESSIONS

Open Flight (15 or Fewer Teams)

 

 

 

                        If only two, three or four teams enter the Open Semifinals, then the Semifinals will become the District Finals^1/ and will be conducted as a seeded knockout [for three teams see § E2(d) below].

 

            5.            Semifinals Format (16+ Teams): If sixteen or more teams enter the Open Semifinal Flight, they will be divided into four brackets based on seeding points.  Each bracket will conduct an internal round robin.  Round robin match length and order will be determined by the Tournament Director.  The winning team from each bracket will compete in the District Finals.

 

            6.            Order of Round Robin Matches:  The director will order the round robin matches to achieve maximum fairness and to minimize the possibility of unsportsmanlike conduct.  The Semifinals will be conducted as two round robins – one each day.  The second day’s round robin matches should be reordered based on the victory points that would have been realized by each team on the first day had the first day’s round robin matches been considered complete matches. 

 

            7.            Starting Times: Either two or four sessions are reserved for the Semifinals.  The estimated times for the sessions are set forth below:

 

Open Flight

 

Please Note the Starting time for Saturday

 

 

Provided reasonable notice is given to the participants and he receives the consent of either the NA Teams Coordinator or the Chairman of the NA Teams Committee, the Tournament Director may change the starting time of any session.

 

            8.            Second Day’s Playing Schedule:  In the Open Flight Semifinals round robin, the first day’s projected results are used only to determine the second day’s playing schedule and not for seating purposes.

 

            9.            Breaking Ties:  In the event of a tie in the Semifinals for a qualifying place, the two tieing teams will play an eight-board playoff match.  Succeeding ties will be broken by six board playoffs.  Tiebreakers will continue until one team scores a 1 IMP or greater lead at the conclusion of a playoff match.  Tie-breaking sessions will be scheduled by the director to best suit the players’ convenience and may be deferred to another day.

 

                        If three or more teams are tied, they will play a seven-board round robin match to reduce to two teams based on win-loss record if possible; otherwise based on IMP quotient.  If necessary to break a further tie(s), additional four-board round robin matches will be played.  Thereafter, another seven-board segment will be played between the survivors, with full carryover from the earlier playoffs.  If necessary, the two teams will play additional seven-board matches until one team has obtained at least a one IMP margin.

 

            10.            Duplication of Boards:  The Tournament Director will make best efforts to supply duplicated boards at least for late round robin matches involving contending teams.

 

            11.            Sportsmanship:  Participants’ bidding and play decisions must be motivated only by a desire to secure qualification for their team and not to affect which other teams may qualify for further play.  Teams whose results make qualification effectively either impossible or certain must continue to play their best, without implementing any dramatic changes in their bidding or play strategy.

 

            12.            Team Withdrawals:  Teams may not withdraw from a Semifinal without the permission of the Tournament Director, who may allow the withdrawal if it will not damage the movement or unfairly prejudice some other team.  If a team withdraws, its round robin results will be calculated based on the results achieved thus far, unless the team has not played the same number of boards against each other team, in which case the withdrawing team’s results will be disregarded in their entirety.  Entry fees are not refundable to teams that withdraw.

 

E.            District Finals (Flights Open, A, B, and C)

 

            1.            Final Tournaments:  The four teams who emerge from the District Open Semifinals will compete in the District Finals. 

 

                        All eligible teams (see §A3 above) who qualified in a Club may compete in the Flight A, B and C Finals.  The A, B and C Finals will be held in Ashland, Oregon at the Ashland/Bellevue Grange on Tolman Creek Road in Ashland with the Flight A Finals to be held on Saturday March 18 and Sunday March 19, 2006; the Flight C Finals on Saturday March 18, 2006; and the Flight B Finals on Sunday March 19, 2006.  The Open Flight Finals will be held in Portland, Oregon on  Saturday and Sunday, May 13 and 14, 2006 at the East Side Bridge Club.  The dates and locations for the Finals are subject to change by the NA Teams Coordinator for good cause.  Permission may be granted to choose an alternative location and/or date for the Open Finals should all competing teams so agree.

 

            2.            Event Format: 

 

                        (a)            Open Flight  –  The Open finalists will play a four-team 60-board knockout with the winner of the mainland Semifinals choosing its first-round opponent from the 3^rd and 4^th place Semifinal finishers.

 

                        (b)            Flight A – Flight A will be conducted as a one-day victory pointed Swiss followed by a one-day knockout of 28 board matches between the four teams that place highest in the Swiss.  The team that places first in the Swiss may choose its round of four opponent from the teams that finish 3^rd and 4^th.  Team pairings will be determined by placings in the Swiss with the higher-placing team entitled to choose seating in either the first or second half.  If the team holding seating rights fails to declare otherwise, it will be deemed to have exercised its rights in the first half.  The total boards to be played in the Swiss will be not less than 54 nor more than 64.

 

                        (c)            Flights B and C  –  In Flights B and C, the Finals will be conducted as a one-day victory pointed Swiss.  The total boards to be played will be not less than 48 nor more than 60. 

 

                        (d)            Three Team Open Finals  –  If only three teams advance to the Open Finals, they will play a round robin of 30 board matches to eliminate one team (by win-loss record if possible and by IMP quotient if necessary) and then a continuation match of the same length with full carryover. 

 

                        (e)            Five and Six Team Open Finals:  If Hawaii sends one or two teams to the Open Flight, an additional session will be held to reduce the field to four teams.  If Hawaii sends one team, then the two lowest mainland finishers will play a preliminary elimination match.  If Hawaii sends two teams, then each of the Hawaiian teams will play a preliminary elimination match against one of the two lowest mainland finishers with the pairings determined by lot.  Pairings after the field has been reduced to four teams will be determined by lot with the proviso that the 1^st and 2^nd mainland Semifinalists (or in the event of a split site Semifinal the winner at each site) may not meet until the round of two.^2/  The additional session will be played either the day before the scheduled Final, or at some other time agreeable to the players.  Notwithstanding this paragraph, the Finals format will proceed as described in § D4 n1 should less than five teams enter the mainland Open Semifinals.

 

                        (f)            Format Changes:  The Chairman of the NA Teams Committee may, after consultation with the Tournament Director and the NA Teams Coordinator modify the format for any of the Finals as needed to accommodate unanticipated circumstances.

 

                        (g)            Starting Times:  Session starting times for each of the Finals will be determined by a committee consisting of the Tournament Director, the NA Teams Coordinator and the Chairman of the NA Teams Committee with a view to facilitating out-of-town travel by scheduling morning sessions.

 

            3.            Ties:  Ties in any flight Finals will be broken by an eight-board playoff.  Succeeding ties will be broken by six-board playoffs.  Tie-breaking sessions continue until one team scores a 1 IMP or greater lead at the conclusion of a session. 

 

F.        Team Pairing and Seating for Open Flight

 

            1.            Team Pairing for Open Flight Finals:  If less than 16 teams enter the mainland Semifinals, team pairings for the Open Flight Finals will be determined by placings in the Semifinals.  The winner of the Semifinals may choose its round of 4 opponent from the 3^rd and 4^th place Semifinal finishers. 

 

            If 16 or more teams enter the mainland Semifinals, then the team pairings in the Finals will be determined by pairing the winners (or successors thereof) of the original #1 and #4 mainland brackets and the winners of the original #2 and #3 mainland brackets. 

 

            In either event, however, if Hawaii sends a team or teams, then pairings after the field has been reduced to four teams will instead be determined by lot with the proviso that, if fewer than 16 teams entered the mainland Semifinals, the 1^st and 2^nd place mainland Semifinalists may not meet until the round of two. 

            2.            Seating:  Seating rights in the Open Flight Finals will be determined by placings in the Semifinals with the higher-placing team entitled to choose either the 1^st and 4^th or 2^nd and 3^rd quarters.  If the team holding seating rights fails to declare otherwise, it will be deemed to have exercised its rights in the 1^st and 4^th quarters.

 

            3.            Three-way or Round Robin Matches:  In three-way or round robin matches, whether they be in the Open Flight Semifinals or the Finals of any flight, there will be no seating rights.  Any disputes as to seating positions will be resolved by having each team’s captain submit a lineup to the Tournament Director.

 

            4.            One-Stage Knockouts:  If only four teams enter the Open Flight Semifinals so that it proceeds as a seeded knockout (see § D4, above), seeding points will be awarded as follows:

 

• Previous Year’s Winner  –  If the previous team winner in a Flight returns with at least 60% of its members, that team will be seeded first.  Thereafter, the teams will be seeded according to their seeding value. (See, § F5, below).

 

            • Life Master  –  Each team receives one point for each Life Master. 

 

            • Master Points  –  Each team member receives 1/10 point for every 100 master points as of the February computer cycle.  Masterpoints from other National Bridge Organizations will be considered in seeding on an equitable basis to be established by the NA Teams Coordinator. Each player is limited to six seeding points based on total masterpoints from all sources.

 

            • Past GNT Performance  – Each team member receives seeding points for past GNT performance according to the following schedule:

 

                        ý Each team receives four points for any member who has placed first in a District NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last ten years.

 

                        ý Each team receives two points for any member who has placed second in a District NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last 10 years.

 

                        ý Each team receives one point for any member who has placed third/fourth in a District NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last 10 years.

 

                        ý Each team receives 10 points for any member who has placed first in the National NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last 10 years.

 

                        ý Each team receives six  points for any member who has placed second in the National NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last 10 years.

 

                        ý Each team receives four points for any member who has placed third/fourth in the National NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last 10 years.

 

                        ý Each team receives two points for any member who has placed fifth through eighth in the National NA Team Finals in his or a higher Flight within the last 10 years.

 

            • Seeding points for past NA Teams performances only apply in the Open Flight and shall decay at 20% per year beginning in year six.

 

            5.            Calculation of Seeding Value:  To calculate the value that will determine its seeding position, a team's total seeding points will divided by the number of its team members.  Any team shall have the right to appeal the number of seeding points credited to its members to the Tournament Director, whose decision concerning such appeals shall be final.

 

G.            Conditions of Play

 

            1.            Entry Fees:  The entry fees for each session of the Semifinals and Finals for all Flights will be $38 per team, regardless of the number of players.  Except for knockout events, the entire entry fee for all planned sessions is collected at the start of the event.

 

            2.            Bidding Boxes/Screens:  Bidding boxes will be used during all sessions of each Flight and screens will be used in the Open Finals if they are available.  If available, screens may also be used in the Flight A knockout stage. 

 

            3.            Seating Changes:  No change in seating may be made after the auction has started at either table except on instructions from the Tournament Director.   Playbacks are permitted.

 

            4.            Slow Play:  The Tournament Director will take steps to monitor any aggravated slow play to determine who is at fault.  The Tournament Director will report the pair or pairs responsible for any aggravated slow play to the District’s Appeals Chairman, who may convene a conduct committee to consider play penalties in future events.  The Tournament Director will use hospitality breaks to ameliorate the adverse effects of slow play on other teams. 

 

            5.            Lateness:  The penalty for failure to seat a complete team at announced game time will be:

 

            a. First 10 minutes – no penalty

            b. More than 10 minutes, up to 15 minutes – 2 IMP’s

            c. More than 15 minutes, up to 20 minutes – 6 IMP’s

            d. More than 20 minutes, up to 25 minutes – 12 IMP’s

            e. More than 25 minutes, up to 30 minutes – 18 IMP’s

            f. More than 30 minutes, up to 35 minutes – 24 IMP’s

            g. More than 35 minutes, up to 40 minutes – 30 IMP’s

 

            The match will be curtailed one board, up to a maximum of four boards, for each 7½ minutes or fraction thereof of tardiness after the first ten minutes.  Three IMP’s per board curtailed will be awarded to the non-offending team in addition to the penalty above.  If play has not commenced (with or without a substitute) forty minutes after announced game time, the match will be declared forfeit.

 

            6.            Substitutes:  In his discretion, the Tournament Director may allow a team to add an emergency substitute for any segment or segments, provided that so doing does not appreciably strengthen the team.

 

            7.            Per Person Play Requirements:  Exclusive of playoffs played to break a tie, each player on a team must play at least 50% of all boards played by his team in the Semifinals and 50% of all matches played by his team in the Finals.  Players are not required to play 50% of any particular Semifinal match.  No player may continue to play in the Semifinals or Finals where it is impossible for him to satisfy this requirement.  Per person play requirements shall not affect a team’s rights under § I to add members prior to advancing to the District Finals or from the District Finals to the National Finals.

 

            8.            Kibitzing:  Kibitzers will be permitted at all stages of District events of the 2006 North American Teams but must remain at one table during a particular segment of a match.  A fifth or sixth member of a team may kibitz at a table no closer than 2 tables away from tables at which his own team is playing.  Each partnership has the right to bar one kibitzer without assigning cause, or an unlimited number of kibitzers for cause.  Any kibitzer may be barred for cause by the Tournament Director.  Kibitzers will comport themselves appropriately.

 

H.            Conventions

 

            Conventions listed in the ACBL midchart may be used in the Open Flight and Flight A only.  Players who wish to use midchart conventions must keep detailed written descriptions of the conventions and their common continuations separately from the convention card together with suggested defenses, if the latter are required by the mid-chart.  Upon request, these materials must be made available to opponents at the start of each match for both the Semifinals and Finals.

 

            In addition, upon request, each pair participating in the Open Finals must provide the midchart materials identified in this paragraph plus a reasonably complete summary description of the bidding and play methods the pair uses to other participants in the Finals within two days of the request.  Willful failure to comply with this requirement may, in the Tournament Director’s discretion, result in disallowance of the offending pairs’ use of some or all non-yellow card conventions.

 

I.            Augmentation

 

            1.            Adding or Dropping Team Members:  A team may add or drop members prior to advancing from the Semifinals to the District Finals or from the District Finals to the Nationals, subject to the following:

 

                        A team may add members subject to the following restrictions:

 

                        a) An advancing team may add any player from the second, third, and fourth place teams for that year; and

 

b) An advancing team may add any player from the District, so long as the new player’s strength is not, in the Head Tournament Director’s opinion, materially weaker than that of other members of the team.

 

            A team may drop members, but no team may continue unless at least 50% of the original team members remain.

 

            2.            Replacing Teams:  If a team is not qualified to advance by the above rules, or if a team withdraws, the following rules apply:

 

                        (a)            After the Finals, if the winner of a Flight declines to play at the Nationals, the second place team will be eligible to advance.  If the second place team declines to advance, then the third place team will be eligible to advance and so forth.  If two teams are tied for a place eligible to advance and both teams desire to advance, then the replacement team will be chosen by lot.

 

                        (b)            After the Open Semifinal, if a team declines to play in the Finals, then the next placing team from the Semifinals will be eligible to advance.  Should that team decline to play in the Finals, then the next placing team will be eligible to play in the Finals.  If that team declines to play in the Finals, then the next placing team from the Semifinals will be eligible to play in the Finals with the same method used until four teams agree to advance to the Finals. 

 

                                    If a third or fourth Finals team cannot be arranged, then the Finals will be run as a two or three team knockout respectively.  In the latter case, the winner will be decided by win-loss record, if possible, and by IMP quotient if necessary.

 

J.            Subsidies

 

            The District will subsidize the travel expenses incurred by the winner of each Flight on a basis to be decided separately from these Conditions.  Participants in any Flight may conduct fund raisers, all proceeds of which will be used to supplement the District’s subsidy of that Flight.

 

K.            Publicity

 

            • The District’s champions of each Flight will reasonably cooperate in promoting the event including, if requested, (i) by supplying a short written tournament report of the District and National Finals for publication in the District’s newspaper; and, (ii) by making public appearances.

 

            • The NA Teams Coordinator will promote the event by providing separate, advance e-mail notifications to the captain of each team that entered the 2004 National Open Teams of the months for Club Qualification, and of the dates, times and locations for the District Semifinals and Finals.  The NA Teams Coordinator will arrange to publish both this information and the tournament reports referenced in this paragraph in the District’s newspaper.

 

L.            Contingencies

 

            • The NA Teams Coordinator will resolve all contingencies or ambiguities relating to Club Qualifying Events, Unit Level Qualifying Events, seeding point calculations, publicity, augmentation, playing sites and dates, and subsidies that are not specifically addressed by these conditions.

 

            • Subject to § E2(f), the Tournament Director will resolve all contingencies or ambiguities relating to the format or playing conditions of the Semifinals or Finals that are not specifically addressed by these conditions and which arise after March 1, 2006.

 

            • Unless they directly involve his or her team (in which event the NA Teams Coordinator will act in his or her stead), the Chairman of the NA Teams Committee will resolve all contingencies or ambiguities relating to the format or playing conditions of the Semifinals or Finals that are not specifically addressed by these Conditions and which arise on or before March 1, 2006.  Where feasible, the Chairman should consult with the NA Teams Committee before exercising this authority.