Director,
pleaseDirector,
pleaseCorrection periods
The Correction Period for correcting errors in scoring, asking for rulings, and appealing rulings made, ends 30 minutes after the score has been posted, according to both the 1997 Laws and the new 2007 Laws, unless the people organizing the tournament specify a later time.
This was why the person who wrote the excellent article on claims in the October Advocate referred to the time limit for canceling a concession as "usually 30 minutes after the session ends". He actually made a small mistake: the same Correction Period applies to his (3) where a trick has been conceded that cannot be lost by any normal play of the remaining cards. This is a well-known trap for Directors and is caused by the convolutions of Law 71C: the second sentence is entirely superfluous and adds nothing whatever.
But I was thinking about that 30 minutes. It is actually from when the scores are posted, not from the end of the session. It is my view that there are few tournaments for which this length of time is correct.
Suppose you play in a two session pairs tournament. At the end of the first session you dash off to dinner, get back, find a mistake - and it is too late! Is that fair? My advice to everyone who runs tournaments that where there is more than one session and no qualifying is involved, the Correction Period should end at the start of the next session.
It is different at the end of the day: people who are interested in the results usually wait, and check them. The same applies when at the end of the first day only a proportion qualify for the next day. Thirty minutes seems to work there. But remember: it is only after the results are posted. In fact the English Bridge Union, which has done a fair amount of work on this subject, suggests 20 minutes is enough. If you want to read their work in detail, download the 2004 White book and read Section 146. It is at http://www.ebu.co.uk/lawsandethics/misc/2004whitebook.htm .
How about clubs? Well, in some clubs everyone stays and checks the results: in others the results are not done that night at all. Nowadays good clubs have the results on the internet so there is no need to stay -- but what do you do if you find a mistake then? Because some clubs meet once a week, and those that do not, have several players who only play once a week, I recommend that the Correction Period should end at the start of next week's session.
In other publications where I answer Laws & Rulings problems I get lots of problems. Is this ruling right? Why did the Director give us an average? What is a weighted score? Can you play on after a claim?
But here I get very few. Does no one ever call the Director in District 8? Are all the rulings simple? Do you all understand the ACBL regulations?
Remember to send me your queries to me. I shall answer you and put the answer in the Advocate. Please tell me you are an Advocate reader since I get queries from all over North America. My new email address is webjak666@googlemail.com .
If you ever want to talk to me direct, I usually attend two Nationals a year, and the Directors will always find me.
David Stevenson's home page, with links to articles on bridge laws and proprieties: http://blakjak.org