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This document is provided
courtesy of the
American Contract Bridge League
2990 Airways Blvd.
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Memphis TN 38116–3847
901–332–5586
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Fax 901–398–7754
NOTE: to view the latest revision of the
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ACBLScore
Rev.(12/03) CCGEN.033 (PAGE 1)
__________________
ACBL GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTEST
- ACBL events are conducted in accordance with
the current version of
the "Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge" as
promulgated in the
Western Hemisphere by the ACBL.
- Conditions of Contest for an event may not
be changed at any level
of play during the course of that event.
- Lack of knowledge does not constitute cause
for exemption.
- These conditions apply to all events, and
should be posted. There
are General Conditions for specific event
types that apply and there
may be additional specific conditions for
specific events. In cases
where there is disagreement between these
conditions and more
specific ones, the more specific conditions
will take precedence.
- Sponsoring organizations may, with ACBL
approval only, amend these
conditions for a specific event. Such
amendments should appear in
all printed tournament schedules and be
posted prior to the start of
event.
- The final decision on any item in these
conditions shall be made by
the Director in Charge. Furthermore, any
issue not specifically
covered will be resolved by the Director in
Charge.
ENTRY AND PARTICIPATION
1. ACBL events are open to any bridge player
unless otherwise
restricted or the player is under discipline
that prohibits
participation.
a. Foreign Players (those who reside outside
the geographical
boundaries of the ACBL and who are not
citizens of an ACBL
country) who are not members of ACBL are
not permitted to play in
any North American Bridge Championship
events.
b. In flighted events at any level, foreign
players who have
represented their country in International
competition shall be
permitted to play only in Flight A. They
may however apply for
relief for cause from this requirement.
a. Players with bridge experience from
non-ACBL venues (such as
but not limited to play in other
countries) must check with
the DIC to insure that they are placed
in the proper category
and/or seeded correctly.
2. Unless prior arrangement has been made with
the DIC, upon entry
into an event a player is expected to
complete that event.
a. Any pair may withdraw between sessions of a
multi-session pair
event if it has the permission of the DIC,
who may allow the
withdrawal if there is no irreparable
damage done to the seeding
or the movement. Any entry fees already
paid shall be kept by
the sponsoring organization. Such
contestants are allowed to
play only in side games (no gold points)
until the completion of
the event from which they withdrew.
CCGEN.033 (PAGE 2)
__________________
b. A five or six person team may enter a KO
event at a tournament
with one or two of its members not having
the intent to complete
the event (as long as there are at least
four members continuing)
with the following restrictions:
In a seeded knockout, the players
intending to withdraw must not
appreciably affect the seeding or strength
of the team. In a
random draw, the players intending to
withdraw must not
appreciably affect the strength of the
team.
3. Informal or casual dress is usually
acceptable and appropriate.
Conformity to generally acceptable standards
of decency and
cleanliness is expected. Tournament
Directors may, subject to
consultation with the DIC, refuse to sell an
entry to a person or
persons inappropriately dressed or not
conforming to the above
standards. Subject to consultation with the
DIC, Tournament
Directors may remove from the tournament
area anyone who is
inappropriately dressed.
4. BETTING AT TOURNAMENTS
Wagering on the results of an ACBL-sanctioned
event is
specifically prohibited. Any member found
guilty of any form of
such betting in a game or tournament is
liable to severe
disciplinary action.
DEPORTMENT
1. While it is recognized that bridge,
especially tournament bridge,
is a very competitive endeavor, all players
are expected to
maintain proper decorum throughout. The ACBL
Board of Directors
and Management are committed to improving
player behavior at all
times. The ACBL "Zero Tolerance Policy"
outlines what is expected
of all players during ACBL sanctioned
tournaments as well as in
the playing area before and after each
session.
2. The ultimate purpose of this Zero-Tolerance
policy toward improper
behavior is to create a much more pleasant
atmosphere at our
tournaments. We are attempting to eradicate
unacceptable behavior
in order to make the game of bridge more
enjoyable for all. Below
are some examples of commendable behavior,
which will
significantly contribute to the improved
atmosphere:
- Being a good 'host' or 'guest' at the
table.
- Greeting others in a friendly manner.
- Praising the bidding and/or play of the
opponents.
In the following list are some examples of
behavior which will not
be tolerated:
- Badgering, rudeness, insinuations,
intimidation, profanity,
threats, or violence.
- Negative comments concerning opponents'
or partner's play or
bidding.
- Constant and gratuitous lessons and
analyses at the table.
- Loud and disruptive arguing with a
director's ruling.
CCGEN.033 (PAGE 3)
__________________
If a player at the table behaves in an
unacceptable manner, the
director should be called immediately. Annoying
behavior, embarrassing
remarks, or any other conduct that might
interfere with the enjoyment
of the game is specifically prohibited by Law.
The tournament director
has the authority to assess disciplinary
penalties.
If it is established that there was
unacceptable behavior, an
immediate quarter board disciplinary penalty (3
IMP or 1 VP in team
games) may be assigned to all offenders. This
may involve any one or
all four players at the table irrespective of
who initiated the
unacceptable behavior.
PLAY
1. MARGIN OF VICTORY
Any margin of difference in score between
contestants breaks a tie
for qualification purposes. A margin of
difference in score of a
least 0.01 breaks a tie for purposes of rank
and masterpoints.
NOTE: This applies to all forms of scoring,
including IMPs, even
if a ruling awards fractions of an IMP.
2. A player may play and earn masterpoints in
as many sessions of
bridge as possible while not entered in a
concurrent or
over-lapping event, except that players on
teams with more than
four members or teams with byes may play in
concurrent one-session
events only (for this purpose Side Game
Series (Continuous Pairs)
are considered one session events, but no
access to gold points
for that session).
b. A player who is on a team that has
received a bye is considered
entered in that event when that event
begins.
c. Morning and evening knockout events are
not considered
overlapping or conflicting events
regardless of times
scheduled.
3. ACBL events at NABCs are non-smoking.
4. Except for health related equipment or by
permission of the DIC,
cell phones, pagers, and all similar
communications equipment may
not be operated or operable in the playing
area during a session
of play at NABCs. Violations of this policy
may be penalized
without warning. Minimum penalties of
one-quarter board for
matchpointed events and three IMPs or one
Victory Point for other
events will be assessed if a player's cell
phone or pager is
audible or if a cell phone is being used in
the playing area.
Sponsoring organizations of other ACBL
sanctioned events are
strongly encouraged to adopt this policy.
5. Players are expected to play each hand to
win at all times. No
dumping is permitted even if such dumping
may be in the
contestant's best long-term interest.
6. The percentage of the boards a player must
play to receive
masterpoints varies with the type of
contest. Consult the general
conditions for that type event and the
specific event conditions,
if any.
CCGEN.033 (PAGE 4)
__________________
7. CARDING AGREEMENTS:
A pair may not elect to have no agreement
when it comes to
carding. There have been pairs that say
they just play random
leads or that they lead the card closest to
their thumb. They
must decide on a carding agreement and mark
their convention cards
accordingly. Of course, some leeway needs to
be given to fill-in
pairs or very last minute partnerships.
8. The refusal of a player, pair or team in an
ACBL sanctioned
Sectional, Regional, NABC, Grand National or
North American Pair
event to play against another player, pair
or team duly entered in
the event shall require the disqualification
of the player, pair
or team refusing to play from further
participation in the event
and the forfeiture of any masterpoints
earned by the player, pair
or team in the event. Such refusal shall
constitute conduct
unbecoming a member of the ACBL and shall be
referred to the
disciplinary body having jurisdiction for
appropriate disciplinary
action.
9. FACE-DOWN OPENING LEADS
Face-down opening leads are required at all
ACBL sanctioned
events.
KIBITZING
1. BARRING KIBITZERS
No player has the right to bar all kibitzers
from his table, but
each player has the right to bar one
individual (excluding
tournament officials, the recorder or his
designee(s), or
officially approved members of the press)
from kibitzing play at
his table during a session without assigning
cause. (A traveling
player may bar only one individual during a
session without
assigning cause). Any kibitzer may be barred
for cause by the
Tournament Director.
2. KIBITZING TEAM MEMBERS
A kibitzing team member must sit at least
two tables away from
each table of his/her team's match and may
not kibitz at any table
playing duplicated boards also being played
by his/her team.
ALERTS
1. While Alerts are generally noted in red on
the convention card and
Announcements in blue, refer to the ACBL
Alert Chart and/or
procedure for complete information.
1. All players have an obligation to disclose
their agreements
according to the procedures established by
ACBL. When asked, a
full explanation of the agreement must be
provided. Stating the
common or popular name of the convention is
not sufficient. The
opponents need not ask exactly the "right"
question. Any request
for information should be the trigger.
Opponents need only
indicate the desire for information -- all
relevant disclosures
should be given automatically. The proper
way to ask for
information is "Please Explain".
CCGEN.033 (PAGE 5)
__________________
2. A player who remembers that a call requires
an Alert but cannot
remember the meaning must still Alert.
3. Players who, by experience or expertise,
recognize that their
opponents have neglected to Alert a special
agreement will be
expected to protect themselves.
4. When an Alert is given, ASK!, do not
ASSUME.
5. Adjustments for violations are not
automatic. There must have
been damage, and an adjustment will be made
only when the Alert
violation was a direct cause of the damage.
Note also that an
opponent who actually knows or suspects
what is happening, even
though not properly informed, may not be
entitled to redress if
he or she chooses to proceed without
clarifying the situation.
6. At the conclusion of the auction, if
declarer or dummy is aware
that partner has given misinformation to
the opponents, he or she
is required by law to correct the
misinformation before the
opening lead is made. Failure to do so may
result in a procedural
penalty as well as a score adjustment.
A defender must announce the
misinformation to his opponents at
the conclusion of the play of the hand and
the director should be
summoned.
CONVENTIONS AND CONVENTION CARDS
1. The ACBL General Convention Chart will
govern bidding and playing
methods unless the Sponsoring Organization
has announced or
published that the MidChart and/or
SuperChart will be permitted.
2. A partnership is responsible for knowing
when their methods apply
in probable (to be expected) auctions. A
pair may be entitled to
redress if their opponents did not
originally have a clear
understanding of when and how to use a
convention that was
employed.
3. Players should review their own convention
cards before the start
of the session to make sure that they are
current on the
agreements with this particular partner. In
cases of
misinformation vs. misbids, it is the
responsibility of the
bidding side to prove beyond reasonable
doubt that a misbid was
made rather than misinformation given. The
convention card and
previous auctions are the most obvious ways
to resolve any
disagreements concerning misbid vs
misinformation.
4. Official ACBL convention cards or convention
cards which are
similar must be used at all ACBL sectional
or higher-rated events.
Generally, the color red on the convention
card indicates that the
agreement must be Alerted but the Alert
pamphlet is the final
authority in cases of disputes on the
Alertability of any
conventional call. Similarly, the color blue
on the convention
card indicates a call requiring an
"Announcement."
CCGEN.033 (PAGE 6)
__________________
5. Each member of a partnership MUST have a
completely filled out
convention card available for the opponents.
A. Both cards of a partnership must be
identical and include the
first and last names of each member of the
partnership.
B. If a Director determines that neither
player has a substantially
completed card, the partnership may only
play Class A Conventions
the ACBL Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC)
and may only use
standard carding. This restriction may
only be lifted at the
beginning of a subsequent round after
Convention Cards have been
properly prepared and approved by the
Director. Further, the
partnership will receive a 1/6 Board Match
Point Penalty for each
Board played, commencing with the next
round and continuing until
the restriction is lifted. In IMP team
games penalties shall be
at the discretion of the Director.
C. If the Director determines the partnership
has at least one
substantially completed Convention Card but
has not fully
complied with ACBL regulations, then the
director may give
warnings or, if the deficiency is not
corrected in a timely
manner given the circumstances, assign such
penalties as he deems
to be appropriate under the circumstances.
TIMING
1. Players are normally allowed 7.5 minutes to
bid and play each
bridge hand.
2. When a pair has fallen behind it is
incumbent on them to make up
the time lost as quickly as possible whether
at fault or not. All
players are expected to make a concerted
effort to catch up when
they have fallen behind, regardless of the
reason for their
lateness.
PENALTIES
1. FOULING (OR MISDUPLICATING) A BOARD
In Individual, Pair and B-A-M Team events,
penalties for fouling a
board will automatically apply any time the
offense causes the
board to be scored as a fouled board.
A full board penalty for a foul during
duplication will apply to
all contestants assigned to the table at
which the board was
"made" unless the director determines that
there are mitigating
circumstances. A full board penalty for a
foul during play will
be imposed on the pairs responsible.
2. Slow play, especially habitual slow play, is
subject to penalty.
3. COMPARISON OF SCORES
No comparison of scores or discussion of
results is permitted
during the course of a session. Violation
of this regulation
carries an automatic penalty of one full
board of the session in
progress.
CCGEN.033 (PAGE 7)
__________________
TARDINESS & SUBSTITUTIONS
1. Substitutes are subject to the discretion of
the Director in
Charge or his designee and may not
appreciably strengthen the
partnership or team.
2. For qualifying events, a qualified pair
which fails to seat both
members of the partnership ten minutes after
the announced
starting time of a final session or the
first final session in
events of more than one will be replaced by
the highest available
alternate qualifier.
CORRECTION AND APPEAL PERIODS
1. The appeal period of or for a Director's
ruling expires one half
hour after the completion of a session or
the starting time of the
next session, whichever is earlier.
2. The correction period varies by type of
event. See the General and
Specific Conditions for the event.
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