ACBL Director's Report
ACBL Director's ReportHello, Everyone --
Good news from the San Francisco Board meetings: There is some very good news from the San Francisco board meeting. Next year's budget was passed without the normal drama as it included no increases in any fees or charges for next year. The ACBL had a very good year this year, and expects to make more than $1 million. We are projected to make about half that next year. This is good news, as we have possible extraordinary expenses of about that amount coming up and now we know how we are paying for them. We sold the building on Airways Boulevard this summer and have to find a new headquarters, and we face potential liability for overtime pay for tournament directors.
Another piece of good news is that Jay Baum signed a three-year employment contract to continue as CEO of the ACBL. It is also bad news, as he plans to retire at the end of that time. We will begin looking for a new CEO during the next two years, planning to have someone hired early enough to work with Jay for a significant period of time before taking over. Jay's dedication to the ACBL cannot be doubted and he deserves his retirement.
Expelled members: The Board passed a motion dealing with readmission of members expelled for cheating. If a member has been expelled, or resigns his membership with allegations of cheating pending, or a combination of the two, on two occasions, he can never be readmitted to the ACBL. The competing motion proposed that readmission be refused after one expulsion. I believe that there is a chance a member can be rehabilitated once, and opposed the "death penalty" for a first expulsion. I also think expulsion should be used more frequently, and believe that if it carries a death penalty, committees would refuse to impose it. I think it is better to expel them and make them prove they have earned readmission than to give them a suspension with the subsequent automatic readmission.
Disciplinary committees: The Appeals and Charges committee also overturned a decision by a disciplinary committee for the first time since I have been on the committee. We did so on procedural grounds, never getting to the merits of the case. Please, if you serve on these committees, make sure you follow the proper procedures. We also amended the Code of Disciplinary Procedures to require witnesses to give statements to committees, but allowed them to do so in person, by telephone conference call, by written statement or by electronic statement, to minimize the burden on the witness.
Online bridge: Fred Gitelman, one of the owners of Bridge Base Online, made a presentation to the board. He has offered to help any regular club with links from BBO to their own website. He believes that online bridge can help grow local clubs and that the two forms of bridge can and should coexist. Many clubs have reported getting new players who became interested after playing online. The online clubs also offer an outlet for players who can no longer physically make it to the club.
The "Shanghai Seven": Jan Martel, President of the USBF, appeared and told us about a potential settlement of the "Shanghai Seven" case, in which a member of the USA women's team that won the Venice Cup held up a political sign at the awards ceremony, held in Shanghai in October. I believe the joint statement has now been signed by all parties. I sure hope the old saying "any publicity is good publicity" holds true in this situation. I was amazed at how many people who don't know a thing about bridge were aware of this incident. The ACBL had no jurisdiction in this matter because it did not occur at an ACBL-sanctioned event and the ACBL has not picked the teams for international competition for some years now. Those teams are selected and governed by the respective bridge federations. The Canadian Bridge Federation already has a policy covering this type of situation. The USBF is working on one.
Future NABCs: No new contracts for NABCs were presented in San Francisco. We will have to wait until next year to see when St. Louis gets its next one. I have been told that if local support and volunteer ability were the only guideline, we would be first in line. I still can't believe what a good job the St. Louis tournament committee did this spring. Most NABCs that put on that much entertainment and hospitality have major corporate sponsors and extensive fundraising. Our people did it without a major sponsor and no tournament surcharges. District 8 has already started the funding for our next St. Louis NABC, just in case.
Other actions from the San Francisco meetings included:
The motion to eliminate International Fund month was defeated.
Players under the age of 16 can now play for free in the regionally rated events at NABCs. Previously, they paid $1.00. Junior coupons at the NABCs were standardized as a $10.00 discount. The previous value depended on the entry fee of the event entered. Both of these changes were made to simplify bookkeeping and entry selling.
Management presented procedures for canceling game sanctions and directors' accreditations. These motions were passed.
A committee will be formed next year to study the requirements for becoming a Life Master and other rank changes. Please email me your comments if you have any opinions on this.
Spring NABC: The 2008 Spring Nationals are in Detroit -- a site our members can drive to. This looks like it will be a great tournament. It is being held in a complex with many restaurants, so you don't even have to go outside to eat. They have an extensive entertainment schedule planned, including performances by two Motown groups. They swear the crime rate you have heard so much about does not affect the downtown area where the tournament is being held, so don't let that stop you from going. Sandy Arlinghaus, cochairman of the tournament, is one of the biggest boosters of bridge you have ever met and she doesn't even play. The local bridge group has been sponsoring workshops for new duplicate bridge players to encourage them to attend the NABC, and they have had more than 500 people attend.
Fall Bridge Weekend: I attended the bridge weekend run by Karen Walker and Mike Halvorsen in Champaign in early November. I learned several good things in the morning workshops and had fun playing in the silver-point games. I was surprised to see people come from as far away as St. Louis. We all had a great time and I hope they run another one next year.
Grand National Teams: The Grand National Teams District Final is only five months away. Have you formed your team yet? I am going to be asking for non-binding reservations this year to help me set up the site correctly. This event runs at a major loss -- it pays out $4000 in prize money, more than twice what it brings in -- and I would like to minimize expenses while still providing the great hospitality we all expect at these events. I hope to see at least 40 teams in Springfield in May. Flight C players: do you know you can win gold points at this event?
Old faces: Rick Beye, Chief Tournament Director (CTD) of the ACBL and formerly one of our local directors, will be directing his first tournament since being named CTD. He'll be the director-in-charge at the Saluki Swiss in January. Be sure to show up to see if he still remembers how to run a tournament.
Happy Holidays,
-- 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.