ACBL Director's Report
ACBL Director's ReportHello, everyone --
I would like to start with a reminder to all of those of you who plan on playing in the Grand National Teams District Final (April 30 and May 1 in Riverton) to please send in a reservation with the names of your team members and the flight you are entering in. So far, I have the grand total of two reservations and I just know there are more of you who plan on playing. The District 8 website has been corrected and April 30-May 1 is the correct weekend. If you don’t have a team, find one. This is a great event and a great weekend. I hope to see many of you there.
Technology advances: I am going to deviate from my normal review of all of the motions from the recent board meeting and only discuss a few topics. The ACBL website has a new front page – have you noticed? Work continues on the website and on rewriting ACBLScore. A great emphasis has been put on keeping the ACBL current with technology. Last year’s effort to report game results on the ACBL website has been greatly appreciated, with hundreds of clubs taking advantage of this free service. We continue using the BridgeMates and BridgePads and one will eventually be chosen to be used in all tournaments. The ACBL has many technology-savvy members who have donated many hours to these efforts, saving the ACBL thousands of dollars. What I find interesting is that one of the volunteers -- Sandy Arlinghaus from Michigan -- doesn’t even play bridge, yet she has chaired the technology committee for several years and works tirelessly on the project. She has also co-chaired an NABC and is working on the Seniors/Womens trials this spring and is a patron member of the ACBL. As you have probably guessed, her spouse is a bridge player.
Online masterpoints: Online bridge was also discussed. A new policy was passed for online masterpoints, and this will be addressed again in the masterpoint review now being done. And yes, you can still win masterpoints in robot games, but not as many as before. And I did raise the concerns of those of you who have been writing me on this topic.
International bridge: The other big issue at the March meeting was the ACBL’s role in international bridge. You may know that $1.00 of your dues goes to pay dues in the World Bridge Federation, which runs the world championships every year. The ACBL sends five members to the WBF Executive Committee (their version of a Board of Directors), of which I am one. The International Fund and the Junior Fund were both created to raise money to pay the expenses of the teams representing Zone Two (the ACBL minus Bermuda) in the world championships.
The Junior Fund has been so successful that only a part of the funds thus raised are now used for this purpose. The majority is used to pay for other Junior activities. There were motions at this meeting to stop using the money raised this way for these purposes. Based on the hours of heated discussion, it appeared this was a close issue. Voting revealed otherwise. But it is a valid discussion. I grew up following the Olympics and other sporting world championships and when I started playing bridge, I began to follow the ACBL’s teams in those events. And most years, we had at least one team in the medals. I see these funds as a legitimate expense of the organization. I know that many of these teams are professionals and sponsors, but they aren’t all. And while some of our junior representatives play pro, they aren’t while representing us in international competition. I see this as a marketing expense, one of the things we do to try to gain exposure for the game and thus build interest.
The marketing budget of the ACBL is nearing $1 million. The vast majority of the money is spent trying to reach baby boomers and teaching people to play bridge. The Cooperative Advertising Program is our biggest expense. Clubs and other bridge organizations are reimbursed part of their costs for qualifying advertising. Most of the money used for international expenses is paid for either by that portion of your dues or from the surcharges on International Fund Games and on certain NABC+ events.
There are allegations being made that the money is going for wining and dining and the expenses of the representatives, who are living high off the hog. It is true that representatives to both the ACBL Board of Directors and the WBF Executive Committee receive reimbursement for their expenses. But serving on these boards is volunteer work, not a source of income. I enjoy the work, the discussions, the challenges. My passion on the boards is the disciplinary process, and I work in this area on both boards. This year, I am hearings chairman of the Appeals and Charges Committee for the ACBL and of the Disciplinary Commission for the WBF. The DC is exciting because we are developing it right now. It will be in place for the first time in October at the world championships. Let’s hope it doesn’t have to meet.
I hope I see at least 160 of you in Riverton on April 30 for the GNTs.
-- Georgia
If you have questions or suggestions about ACBL Board actions or other bridge matters, please contact me at gkheth@hotmail.com or 917 S. Main St., Morton IL 61550-2419.