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This document is provided
courtesy of the
American Contract Bridge League
2990 Airways Blvd.
S
Memphis TN 38116–3847
901–332–5586
S
Fax 901–398–7754
NOTE: to view the latest revision of the
handbook,
download the latest version of
ACBLScore
(Rev.04/2004) CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 1)
___________________
NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS CONDITIONS OF CONTEST
2004-2005
THESE CONDITIONS OF CONTEST MAY NOT BE CHANGED
AT ANY LEVEL OF PLAY
DURING THE COURSE OF THIS EVENT. LACK OF
KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE
CAUSE FOR EXCEPTION TO THESE CONDITIONS OF
CONTEST.
SCHEDULE
1. Club Level Must be held only in June,
July and August of 2004
2. Unit Level As scheduled by Units &
approved by the District
NAP Coordinator
3. District Level Must be completed by the 3rd
Sunday of January 2005
4. National Level Pittsburgh, PA Spring 2005
NABC
Flight A Wednesday and Thursday March
9 and March 10
Flights B & C Saturday and Sunday March 19
and March 20
FLIGHT ELIGIBILITY
Masterpoints won in other bridge organizations,
such as the ABA and
foreign organizations, must be taken into
account for placement in the
appropriate flights.
1. Flight A Open to any Player
2. Flight B Players with less than 2000 MPs as
of the 2004 June
masterpoint cycle.*
3. Flight C Non-Life Masters with fewer than
500 MPs as of the 2004
June masterpoint cycle.
* The June masterpoint cycle is run by ACBL
data processing between
May1st and 15th. Any points won but not
included in this cycle do not
affect masterpoint eligibility.
PRIOR TO THE NATIONAL LEVEL OF PLAY
Flight C Eligible Players May play in Flights
A, B & C until
concurrence forces a
choice
Flight B Eligible Players May play in Flight B
and Flight A until
concurrence forces a
choice
Flight A Eligible Players May play in Flight A
only
However, please note that in a stratified event
at the unit or
district level, a player must have played in a
club qualifying game
and earned qualification in that flight to be
eligible. If not
eligible to qualify for higher flights, the
pair will receive
masterpoints, but not qualification to the next
stage for the higher
flight for which he did not qualify at the club
level. When noting
qualifiers from a field stratified field,
select players who are
eligible for qualification, disregarding the
ineligible pair(s).
FLIGHT-MIXED PARTNERSHIPS
1. Partnerships consisting of an A player and a
B player, must enter
the event as a Flight A pair. If the pair
qualifies in the Flight
A strat or event, the A player is eligible
for the next stage in
the Flight A event only. The Flight B player
is eligible for the
next stage in the Flight A and Flight B
event.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 2)
___________________
2. Partnerships consisting of an A player and a
C player must enter
the event as a Flight A pair. If the pair
qualifies in the flight
A strat or event, the Flight A player is
eligible for the next
stage in the flight A event only. The Flight
C player is eligible
for the next stage in the Flight A, Flight B
and Flight C event.
3. Partnerships consisting of a B player and a
C player must enter
the event as a Flight B pair.
If the pair qualifies in the Flight A strat or
event, the Flight B
player is eligible for the next stage in the
Flight A and Flight B
event only. The Flight C player is eligible
for the next stage in the
Flight A, Flight B and Flight C event.
If the pair qualifies in the Flight B strat or
event, the flight B
player is eligible for the next stage in the
Flight B event only. The
Flight C player is eligible for the next stage
in the Flight B and
Flight C event.
CLUB LEVEL PARTICIPATION
2. Club level qualification may be earned at
any club in any unit in
any district.
1. Club level qualification is earned as an
individual and not as a
partnership. A player may play at any
participating club as often
as desired and with as many different
partners as desired.
2. At the club stage, a player may qualify and
earn masterpoints with
any member of the ACBL or with a non-member
of the ACBL.
UNIT LEVEL PARTICIPATION
1. Both players must be members of the parent
district. (see Appendix
I in these Conditions)
1. Both players must have qualified in a club.
2. Any player that qualified in any club may
play with any other
qualified player in any unit in their
district. Each player must
be a member of a Unit of their parent
District.
3. Each player must be an ACBL member in good
standing. An ACBL
member in good standing is defined as: A
player who is not
currently on suspension, indefinite
probation or serving probation
in excess of ninety days that resulted from
a suspension, the
initial term of which was in excess of
ninety days and whose dues
are current OR, A life master with life
member status (must have
joined the ACBL prior to January 1, 1996 and
have never resigned
his membership at any time) who is not
currently on suspension,
indefinite probation or serving probation in
excess of ninety days
that resulted from a suspension, the initial
term of which was in
excess of ninety days whose fees may or may
not be paid.
5. A player may enter only one unit stage
competition per flight. (A
stratified event covers all club flight
eligibility options)
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 3)
___________________
6. A player whose membership dues are paid at
or prior to the Unit
competition is deemed to be a paid member at
the time of entry.
ONLY PAID MEMBERS, INCLUDING LIFE MASTERS
WITH LIFE MEMBER STATUS,
WHOSE DUES OR FEES ARE CURRENT AT THE UNIT
STAGE AND BEYOND WILL
BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ANY SUBSIDY THAT
MIGHT BE AWARDED BY THE
ACBL BOARD OF DIRECTORS. ONLY PAID MEMBERS,
INCLUDING LIFE
MASTERS WITH LIFE MEMBER STATUS, are
eligible to play in the
national final.
DISTRICT LEVEL PARTICIPATION
1. A player who moves to a different district
during the course of
the event may elect to continue in his
original district and not
his new district for the remainder of the
event.
2. District Conditions of Contest will define
qualification
requirements. In general to be eligible for
the District stage:
A) If there is a Unit stage - a player
must have qualified at the
club stage and at the Unit stage; or
B) If there is NO Unit stage - at the club
stage.
NATIONAL LEVEL PARTICIPATION
A person or pair may represent a district in
only one flight at the
national level. The North American Final will
be a four-session event,
with between 52 and 78 pairs competing in a
two-session play-through
to qualify for a 28 pair two-session
play-through final with
carry-over as per ACBL formula.
ONLY PAID MEMBERS, INCLUDING LIFE MASTERS WITH
LIFE MEMBER STATUS,
WHOSE DUES OR FEES ARE CURRENT AT THE UNIT
STAGE AND BEYOND WILL WE
ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE ANY SUBSIDY THAT MIGHT BE
AWARDED BY THE ACBL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS. ONLY PAID MEMBERS,
INCLUDING LIFE MASTERS WITH
LIFE MEMBER STATUS are eligible to play in the
national final.
QUALIFYING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
FROM CLUB STAGE
Eligible partnerships finishing in the top 50%
of their field (rounded
up and including ties) plus any pair with
"average" not in the top
half of their field. New partnerships between
Club Stage qualifiers
may be formed at the Unit Stage.
FROM UNIT STAGE
Eligible partnerships finishing in the top 50%
of their field (rounded
up and including ties) plus any pair with
"average" not in the top
half of their field. Plus, at District option,
a unit may qualify 60%
of the field to the next level. New
partnerships between Unit Stage
qualifiers may be formed at the Unit District
Stage.
SPECIAL ADVANCEMENT TO DISTRICT STAGE
An ACBL member who qualified at the club stage
whose representation of
his NCBO or ACBL in WBF competition prevents
participation in the Unit
Level competition is granted qualification to
the District Final and
may play with a player who has qualified at the
club level and has not
played in a level beyond the club level. This
also applies to ACBL
members who are WBF officials, and NPCs and
coaches on official
ACBL/NCBO business preventing participation at
the Unit qualifying.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 4)
___________________
FROM DISTRICT STAGE
The top three eligible pairs in each flight
qualify to the National
Finals. Plus, two additional pairs in each
flight will be invited by
the method outlined in Appendix II. Districts
may opt to qualify
alternate players for qualified players who
choose not to play in the
District Final.
(Consult your District NAP Conditions of
Contest). Pairs qualifying
to the National Finals qualify as a pair and no
new partnerships may
be formed at the National Finals regardless of
the circumstances.
MULTI-FLIGHT QUALIFICATIONS
Flight C category players Retain qualification
in each flight (A,B&C)
in which they have
achieved the finish
stated for each level
of play.
Flight B category players Retain qualification
in each flight (except
Flight C) in which
they have achieved the
finish stated for
each level of play.
Flight A category players Compete in Flight A
only.
CONVENTIONS
1. At the club stage, subject to established
ACBL minimum guidelines,
each club determines the conventions to be
allowed in its games.
2. At the unit stage, the ACBL General
Convention Chart applies.
3. At the district stage, the ACBL General
Convention Chart applies
except that at District option Flight A may
use the ACBL
Mid-Chart.
4. At the national stage, the ACBL Mid-Chart
applies for Flight A,
and the ACBL General Convention Chart
applies to Flights B and C.
SUBSTITUTES
1.1 At any stage of the competition, the
district director (or his
designee), the district NAP coordinator,
the tournament director
or the tournament committee may approve a
substitute in an
emergency. A substitute must meet the
eligibility requirements
listed on page 1, under FLIGHT ELIGIBILITY,
and may not
appreciably strengthen the partnership and
is subject to the
following limitations:
A) At the Club or Unit stage, if a
substitute plays more than
fifty percent of the boards, he becomes
the contestant of
record if otherwise qualified.
B) At any stage beyond the Unit stage, a
substitute is not
permitted for more than fifty percent
of the boards played in
a qualifying session or sessions; for
more than fifty percent
of the boards played in a final session
or sessions; or for
more than one session in any case.
Additionally, the
substitute must be a member of the
district and must be
either eliminated from the event or not
yet qualified from
the unit stage.
2. A replacement is not permitted beyond the
District stage of the
competition.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 5)
___________________
MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS
1.1.1 A player whose membership dues accompany
the unit stage game
report (if there is a unit stage) is
deemed to have been a
member at the time of entry. In order to
receive reimbursement
to the National Finals, a player's
membership dues and/or Life
Master service fees must be current at
the unit stage, district
final and the commencement of the
National Final.
2. When a District Final is held at split
sites, the qualifiers may
be apportioned on any objective basis,
provided the basis is
published in the District's Conditions of
Contest. Should a
qualified pair decline to participate in
the North American
Final, an alternate pair (based on the
order of finish in the
District Final from the same qualifying
field) will replace
them.
SUBSIDIES TO NATIONAL FINALS
1. To be eligible for any subsidy that may be
awarded all
participants must be current in the payment
of dues or life master
fees at the time of the Unit Level
competition and beyond. If
there is no Unit Level, then the
participants must be current in
payment of dues or life master fees at the
time of the District
Level and beyond.
2. Those who qualify for participation in the
National Finals will be
notified by the ACBL Special Events Manager
of any travel and/or
lodging subsidy their finish in the district
finals may have
earned.
DISTRICT DIRECTOR AUTHORITY
All ACBL tournament regulations, though not
specifically included in
these conditions, apply to this event
throughout. Only in the case of
an unforeseen situation, the district director
(or his designee), in
consultation with the ACBL NAP coordinator, may
make exceptions to
these conditions. In emergency situations
only, the district director
on his own may make decisions consistent with
the spirit of these
conditions of contest. In cases of dual
residence, active military
duty, school attendance or similar cases of
extended temporary or
permanent relocation, the ACBL NAP coordinator
has final authority of
the residency and/or the qualification
requirements (see Appendix I to
these conditions). The district director has
final authority on any
item not specified in the conditions of
contest.
APPENDIX I
2004-2005 NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS CONDITIONS OF
CONTEST
DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP - (Board Item 003-106)
Members of the ACBL are normally expected to
belong to the unit in
which they reside. If a member chooses to
belong to a unit in which
he/she does not reside, the member must
specifically make this request
in writing to the ACBL stating the unit of
preference and the reasons
for the request. Further, if the unit is not
in the same district as
where he/she resides, both districts must
approve the membership in
the other district. The following are some of
the reasons why a member
would be given permission to belong to a unit
outside the district of
residence (To warrant consideration, a player
should meet at least two
of the six reasons listed.):
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 6)
___________________
1. Plays at least once a month in a club in
that unit
2. Attends STaCs or sectionals in that unit at
least twice a year
3. Attends the annual unit dinner and/or
membership meeting
4. Participates in unit special events
5. Serves on the unit board and/or unit
committees
6. Serves on the district board and/or district
committees
If it is determined that a member requests a
change of unit membership
for the sole purpose of Grand National Teams (GNT)
or North American
Pairs (NAP) play, the request must be denied.
The membership approval granted by a district
in which the member does
not reside may be reviewed by that district at
least every five years
to assure the above criteria continue to
justify non-residency
membership.
If a player has been a member of that unit and
wishes to remain and
does not participate in GNT and NAP events in
that district,
permission may be granted by the district
without the player meeting
any of the six criteria.
APPENDIX II
2004-2005 NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS CONDITIONS OF
CONTEST SELECTION OF
ADDED PAIRS TO NATIONAL FINALS - ALL FLIGHTS
In addition to the three top pairs determined
at the 25 District
Finals, two more pairs for each Flight will be
invited to participate
in the National Finals determined as follows:
FLIGHT A - One of the two extra pairs will be
the previous year's
winners at the National Final. This
pair may, if they wish,
play in the current event at any
stage for which they are
eligible and qualified. Should
either or both players move
to a different district, the pair is
deemed to represent
the original district. The second
pair will be determined
by the method described below.
FLIGHT B - Both pairs will be determined by the
method described
below.
FLIGHT C - Both pairs will be determined by the
method described
below.
DETERMINATION OF EXTRA PAIRS
Districts (and each Flight) will be ranked from
1 to 25 on two scales:
1. The total tables in play at the club level
(in each flight) based
on reports received in Memphis by October 1.
(The lowest table
count will be assigned a value of 1 and the
highest a value of 25)
1. The ratio of total tables in play at the
club level in each Flight
to the total membership of that Flight in
the District as of the
May 1 cycle. (In the case of Flight C this
number once determined
will be doubled)
2. The values determined in numbers one and two
above will be added
and the districts with the highest total
will earn the extra
berth.
3. Ties will be broken in favor of the highest
participation
percentage and then by total club level
participation.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 7)
___________________
4. The home district of the previous year's
Flight A winner is not
eligible to earn the other Flight A extra
pair regardless of their
ranking as determined by steps 1-4 above.
APPENDIX III
2003-2004 NORTH AMERICAN OPEN PAIRS CONDITIONS
OF CONTEST
RIBBON QUALIFICATIONS EARNED
FLIGHT SINGLE-SITE SPLIT-SITE SEPARATE
RANKING NATIONAL FINAL
DISTRICT FINAL DISTRICT FINAL
A 1st&2nd+ties 1st at each site+ties
Top 10+ties
=BR qual =BR qual
BR qual
B&C 1st&2nd+ties 1st at each site+ties
Top 10+ties)
=Appropriate Q =Appropriate
Q =Appropriate Q
APPENDIX IV
2003-2004 NORTH AMERICAN OPEN PAIRS CONDITIONS
OF CONTEST
MASTERPOINT AWARDS
CLUB STAGE
FLIGHT COLOR RATING
RATE & COLOR CLUB IS INV
A 1/2R 1/2B 100% of SECTL B
ONLY 80% OF SECTL
B 1/2R 1/2B 86% of SECTL B
ONLY 60% OF SECTL
C 1/2R 1/2B 60% of SECTL B
ONLY 45% OF SECTL
UNIT STAGE
FLIGHT COLOR COLOR-TWO SESSIONS OR
MORE RATING
1 SESS O'ALLS SECTION
A R 20%G 80%R
R 100% of SECTL
B R 10%G 90%R
R 86% of SECTL
C R 5%G 95%R
R 60% of SECTL
UNIT STAGE - CONSOLATION
FLIGHT A - BLACK POINTS AT 65% SECTIONAL RATING
FLIGHT B - 53% OF SECTIONAL RATING
FLIGHT C - 39% OF SECTIONAL RATING
DISTRICT STAGE
FLIGHT FIRST OVERALL COLOR
COLOR COLOR RATING OF
2 3 4 O'ALLS
SECT SESSION SESSION
SESS SESS SESS AWARDS
TOP AWARDS AWARDS
A 24 30 36 100%G
G R REGL
B 16 20 24 100%G
G R 86% REGL
C 10 12.5 15 25%G 75%R
G R 60% REGL
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 8)
___________________
NOTE: In districts holding a separately scored
and ranked split-site
final, the applicable first place award will be
divided in proportion
to each site's share of the total tables.
DISTRICT STAGE - CONSOLATION
ONE OR TWO-SESSION CONSOLATION AND 1ST SESSION
OF TWO ONE-SESSION CONS
FLIGHT A
65% OF REGIONAL RATING - 50%R 50%B
2ND SESSION OF A TWO ONE-SESS CONSOLATION
65% OF SECTIONAL RATING - 100%B
FLIGHT B
ONE OR TWO-SESSION CONSOLATION AND 1ST SESSION
OF TWO ONE-SESSION CONS
53% OF REGIONAL RATING - 50%R 50%B
2ND SESSION OF A TWO ONE-SESSION CONSOLATION
53% OF SECTIONAL RATING - 100%B
FLIGHT C
ONE OR TWO-SESSION CONSOLATION AND 1ST SESSION
OF TWO ONE-SESSION CONS
39% OF REGIONAL RATING - 50%R 50%B
2ND SESSION OF A TWO ONE-SESSION CONSOLATION
39% OF SECTIONAL RATING - 100%B
NATIONAL FINALS
FLIGHT 1ST OVERALL POINTS
SESSION AWARDS
A 65 GOLD G/R
at Natl Rating
B 45 GOLD G/R
at 86% Natl Rating
C 30 1/3G 2/3 R R at
60% of Natl Rating
(Except Sect Top 1/2G 2/3R)
APPENDIX V
2004-2005 NORTH AMERICAN OPEN PAIRS -
CONDITIONS OF CONTEST
STRATIFYING YOUR CLUB, UNIT, AND DISTRICT NAP
GAME
NOTE: ALWAYS SET YOUR STRATS USING THE NAP
LIMITS - NONE/2000/NLM
1. At the club level, the choice to stratify or
not is the
independent choice of the club for all or
any qualifying games (in
any flight) held at that club.
2. At the unit level, Units are encouraged to
stratify rather than
not conduct a particular flight.
3. At the district level, stratification is NOT
recommended but a
two-session play-through stratified event is
allowed when
attendance is insufficient to support
separate flights.
4. Pairs from each flight should be evenly
distributed in the
North-South and East-West fields.
5. Flight A, B or C pairs finishing in the top
half (rounded up and
including ties) of the Flight A field (NS or
EW) qualify for the
next level of play in Flight A.
6. Flight B or Flight C pairs finishing in the
top half (rounded up
and including ties) of the Flight B field
(NS or EW) qualify for
the next level of play in Flight B.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 9)
___________________
7. Flight C pairs finishing in the top half
(rounded up and
including ties) of the Flight B field (NS
or EW) qualify for the
next level of play in Flight C.
8. A pair playing "average" (even though the
finishing position is
not in the top half of the field) is deemed
to also be in the top
half of the field.
9. Flight C may be a "stand-alone" stratified
event with the only
permissible strats being 0-20, 20-100,
100-NLM<500.
10. Flights A and B may be run as a stratified
event (with Flight C
run separately).
11. Flights B and C may be run as a stratified
event (with Flight A
run separately).
12. At the unit level, to be eligible to
compete in any particular
Flight a pair must have played at the club
level and qualified in
that particular Flight. For example, Any
Flight C player who
qualified at the club level in both B and C
may compete at the
Unit Level in B and C but not in A.
13. At the district level, to be eligible to
compete in any
particular Flight a pair must have played
at the unit level and
qualified in that particular Flight. For
example, Any Flight C
player who qualified at the unit level in
both B and C may
compete at the Unit Level in B and C but
not in A.
14. Qualifiers are determined for each stratum
across the field at
large.
15. Ineligible players are disregarded when
selecting qualifiers from
a stratified field.
16. At District option 60% of the field may be
qualified.
17. At District option, when an insufficient
number of pairs (fewer
than five pairs) enter a scheduled
qualifying event (unit or
earlier stage), all players who pay their
entry fee are qualified
to the next stage of competition. This also
applies when an
insufficient number of pairs enter the
lowest strat of a
scheduled stratified game. Sanction fees,
player numbers, and
names must be submitted to ACBL.
18. A District running a stratified District
Final must continue the
same format for all sessions.
APPENDIX VI
2004-2005 NORTH AMERICAN OPEN PAIRS -
ORGANIZERS CONDITIONS OF CONTEST
Organizers and directors should be familiar
with all Conditions of
Contest in order to conduct the event.
DISTRICT COORDINATOR
Each District will appoint a District NAP
Coordinator whose duties are
to:
1. Submit to ACBL Headquarters, prior to
commencement of the event, a
set of District NAP Conditions of Contest
supplementing the
National Conditions with the District's
options and specifics.
2. Provide necessary information to players,
clubs and units.
3. Perform all other functions necessary for
the smooth and efficient
operation of the contest at all stages
within the District.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 10)
____________________
CLUB STAGE
1. Clubs may hold up to two (2) club qualifying
game in each of the
three months (June, July, August) for each
weekly sanctioned
session held that month. This applies to
each flight.
1. No special sanction is required and Clubs
should use the club
number as the sanction number.
2. A club may hold a qualifying game at a time
for which it is not
sanctioned only by obtaining permission from
the District Director
or his designee
3. A club may hold a qualifying game at a
different location (to
accommodate expected attendance) provided
the game is at the same
time as their regularly sanctioned game and
the move is adequately
publicized.
4. A club may hold a regular club game
simultaneously with any flight
of a NAP qualifying game.
5. An Invitational Club (a club open to members
only) may conduct a
NAP qualifying game:
E.A Under its usual rules and award
masterpoints at 80% of an
open club or,
E.B May, with unit permission and
appropriate publicity, hold an
open qualifying game for any NAP flight
provided the game is
open to any ACBL member fitting any
applicable flight
participation requirements
6. A club-stage game may not be held within 25
miles of a sectional
tournament within the district without
permission of the District
Director or his designee.
7. All club-stage games conflicting with a
regional tournament in
that district may be prohibited by the
district. (Consult your NAP
District Conditions of Contest)
8. A club-stage event must have a club or
higher-rated director.
ACBL recommends a non-playing director, but
games of one section
with 17 tables or fewer (at the club or unit
stage only) may have
a playing director.
9. Sections should not be larger than 17
tables. Boards should be
duplicated when there are two or more
sections. The game should be
seeded regardless of size.
10. The game director must issue qualifying
slips to the qualifiers.
ACBLscore will print qualifying slips.
13. At a club-stage game, each pair must be
scheduled to play at least
21 boards.
14. A list of all the qualifiers from each game
must be submitted to
the district NAP Coordinator or his
designee.
15. Fees of $4.00 (U.S.) per table, per session
are due ACBL and are
paid in one of the following ways:
J.A Clubs using the latest version of ACBLscore
should DBADD the game
file to the monthly report for masterpoint
postings. ACBLscore
will calculate the amount due for the NAP
game and include it
with the monthly report total along with
all other games held at
the club. No separate payment is necessary.
J.B The updated version of ACBLscore will have
the new sanction fee
of $4.00 per table. If you are using an
older version of
ACBLscore or scoring by hand, please make
the necessary
adjustments on your month-end financial
report. Send the game
report and separate payment to ACBL Special
Events Department.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 11)
____________________
16. Club NAP qualifying games may be stratified
using these limits:
Open/2000/Non-LifeMaster<500
17. A stand-alone Flight C event may be
stratified. The only
permissible strats are 0-20, 20-100,
100-NLM<500.
18. See Page 3, Qualifying to the Next Level for
determination of
qualifiers.
19. When an insufficient number of pairs (fewer
than five pairs) enter
a scheduled qualifying event all players who
pay their entry fee
are qualified to the next stage of
competition.
20. When an insufficient number of pairs (fewer
than five pairs) enter
the lowest strat of a scheduled stratified
game, all players who
pay their entry fee are qualified to the
next stage of
competition.
21. A LIST OF ALL QUALIFIERS FROM EACH GAME MUST
BE SUBMITTED TO THE
DISTRICT NAP COORDINATOR OR HIS DESIGNEE.
22. See Appendix V - Stratifying Club, Unit and
District Stage NAP
Games
23. If no clubs in a particular unit hold club
level qualifying games
then the Unit must hold a club level
qualifying game.
UNIT STAGE - ORGANIZATION
1. A District may opt to hold no unit
qualifying games providing each
unit in the District agrees not to run a
Unit Final.
2. If Unit Finals are not held in a District,
that District may hold
a multi-unit single-site Unit Final prior to
the District final;
or eliminate the unit stage, qualifying
directly from the clubs to
a District final.
3. If Unit Finals are held, the following
options are available:
A. A one-unit Unit Final sponsored by the
unit or by the district.
B. A multi-unit single site Unit Final
sponsored by one or more
units or the district.
C. A unit with many club-stage qualifiers
may request district
permission to conduct a Unit Semi-Final
game (club stage
rating) to qualify a reasonable number
of pairs to Unit Final.
D. A unit may hold a multiple-site Unit
Final (but not if a Unit
Semi-Final is held). Games in a
multiple-site Unit Final should
be concurrent. A Unit Final may not
conflict with a North
American Bridge Championship.
4. A sanction application must be submitted to
ACBL Headquarters for
each Unit Final and should be submitted at
least 90 days prior to
the event. Your District NAP Coordinator
must approve scheduling.
A. Go to www.acbl.org, point to
GOVERNANCE, select Sanction
Applications, then select North
American Open Pairs, fill out
the form and click on the submit
button.
B. Your application will come to the
Special Events Department via
email.
C. Your submission will be acknowledged
and copied to your
District Coordinator who can then
approve it or inform you of
any objections.
D. Your sanction number is a "U" followed
by the unit number
unless the event is directed by an ACBL-assigned
director in
which case you will be notified of the
sanction number.
5. The sponsor is responsible for obtaining a
director (club or
higher-rated) for each game site and for
obtaining supplies, etc.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 12)
____________________
1. SEE Page 2 - UNIT LEVEL PARTICIPATION for
eligibility rules.
UNIT STAGE - CONDUCTING AND REPORTING
1. The Unit Final may be one or more sessions.
(Overall awards in a
two-session or more unit final are part
gold. See Appendix IV -
Masterpoint Awards)
2. The first session of a Unit Final may be
used to qualify at least
70% of the field for the second session. The
percent of the field
to qualify must be announced no later than
the second round in
session one. A consolation session for
non-qualifiers may be held
awarding black points at 65% of sectional
rating for Flight A,
black points at 53% of sectional rating for
Flight B and black
points at 39% of sectional rating for Flight
C. See Appendix VI -
ACBLScore and Your Unit Level NAP Game.
3. Each session of a unit final must be at
least 24 and no more than
30 boards.
4. Ineligible pairs playing to fill out the
movement will receive
session awards (no overall awards) won but
may not qualify for the
next stage of the event. If the ineligible
pair includes one or
two players with more masterpoints than
permitted in the flight
they are filling in, duplicate masterpoint
awards will be issued
by ACBL.
5. A player arriving without his qualification
slip should be allowed
to play if he advises the director of the
name of the club at
which he qualified. This information must be
included with the
game report.
6. The game director must issue qualifying
slips to the qualifiers.
ACBLscore will print qualifying slips.
7. Game results must be reported to the
District NAP Coordinator.
8. A fee of $7.00 (U.S.) per table, per session
must be remitted to
ACBL.
9. See Appendix V - Stratifying Club, Unit and
District Stage NAP
Games
DISTRICT STAGE
1. The District Coordinator must submit the
sanction application to
ACBL Headquarters 90 days prior to the date
of the event.
2. A tournament director will be assigned by
the Tournament
Department to officiate at each District
Final. ACBL will attempt
to assign your requested director. A
District Final may be:
A. A two-session play-through event.
B. A three-session event, the first two
sessions play-through to
qualify 25 to 45% of the field for the
final session. (with
carry-over as per ACBL formula)
C. A four-session event, the first two
sessions play-through to
qualify 30 to 50% of the field for the
final two play-through
sessions. (with carry-over as per ACBL
formula)
D. A four-session play-through event.
3. A District may hold a split-site District
Final; each site
governed by the same conditions of contest
as detailed in the
District's submitted conditions. The DICs at
both sites should
coordinate the reporting of results to be
certain the
determination of rankings is reported
accurately.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 13)
____________________
4. Each session must be at least 24 boards and
no more than 30
boards.
5. Only ACBL members in good standing may
participate. Ineligible
pairs playing to fill out the movement will
receive any session
awards (no overall awards) won but may not
qualify to the next
stage of the event. If the ineligible pair
includes one or two
players with more masterpoints than
permitted in the flight they
are filling in, duplicate masterpoint awards
will be issued by
ACBL.
6. When a qualifying format is used the
district may run a one or
two-session consolation for the
non-qualifiers.
7. Stratification at the District Final is NOT
recommended but a two
session play-through stratified event is
allowed when attendance
is insufficient to support separate flights.
8. See Appendix V - Stratifying Club, Unit and
District Stage NAP
Games.
9. A fee of $7.00 (US) per table, per session
must be submitted to
ACBL. (NAP games held in conjunction with
other tournaments will
not be charged more or less than their
prescribed sanction fees.)
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 14)
____________________
GRAND NATIONAL TEAMS 2003-2004 SPECIAL
CONDITIONS OF CONTEST
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE CAUSE FOR
EXCEPTION TO THESE
CONDITIONS OF CONTEST.
THESE CONDITIONS OF CONTEST MAY NOT BE CHANGED
AT ANY LEVEL OF PLAY
DURING THE COURSE OF THIS EVENT.
THE GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTEST FOR SWISS
TEAM AND KNOCKOUT TEAM
EVENTS WILL APPLY TO THIS EVENT SUBJECT TO THE
FOLLOWING SPECIAL
CONDITIONS OF CONTEST.
It is the spirit of these Conditions that the
Grand National Teams be
a "grass roots" event, with each participant
competing in his/her
District of membership.
A participant who is a full-time student, a
member of the armed
services, has dual residency, or a person whose
full time employment
requires temporary relocation, may play in the
District in which he or
she temporarily resides. Such players must
notify the GNT coordinator
of the District in which he or she intends to
play prior to entering
the competition. Prior to the start of the
2002-2003 GNT, each
District shall review the eligibility of any
member who is not a
member of that District but intends to play in
that District. The
District GNT Coordinator in consultation with
the ACBL GNT Coordinator
shall determine whether or not eligibility
requirements (see Appendix
I to these conditions) have been satisfied,
however, the ACBL GNT
Coordinator is the final authority. In no case
may a player compete
in more than one District in the 2002-2003 GNT.
Out-of-District
members and non-ACBL members may compete in
regular club session
qualifying games.
Each participant in the GNT, beyond the club
qualifying level, must be
an ACBL member in good standing. (The
membership requirement is
deemed to have been met if dues accompany the
corresponding game
report.)
DISTRICT DIRECTOR AUTHORITY
All ACBL tournament regulations, though not
specifically included in
these conditions, apply throughout this event.
Only in the case of an
unforeseen situation, the District Director (or
his designee) in
consultation with the ACBL GNT Coordinator, may
make exceptions to
these conditions. In emergency situations
only, the District Director
(or his designee) on his own may make decisions
consistent with the
spirit of these conditions of contest. The
District Director has
final authority on any item not specified in
the Conditions of
Contest.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 15)
____________________
GENERAL
This is a team event in which each ACBL
District will name a district
champion in each category by means of a fair
competition that is not
necessarily the same from district to
district. These district
champions then may compete in the national
final of their respective
category. A player may represent the District
in only one flight at
the national final. Teams in the national final
will not be subsidized
in any way by the ACBL.
A district may elect not to name a district
champion in flight A
(0-5000).
The Flights are as follows:
FLIGHT
MASTERPOINT LIMITS
Open Championship Flight
Unlimited
Flight A
Under 5000 Mps
Flight B
Under 2000 Mps
Flight C NLM
under 500 Mps
For eligibility in Flights A, B and C stated
limitations must be met
as of September 1, 2003. Exceeding any
particular Flight limitations
after September 1, 2003 does not affect
eligibility for that Flight.
At District option, each flight may be played
at one or more levels.
The Open Championship and Flight A may be
combined at club and unit
level for play and masterpoint awards.
In a stratified field all teams are eligible
for qualification to the
Championship flight. All teams are eligible
for Flight A
qualification with the exception of a team with
a member over 5000
masterpoints on September 1, 2003. Teams are
eligible for Flight B
qualification with the exception of a team with
a member over 2000
masterpoints on September 1, 2003. Teams are
eligible for Flight C
qualification with the exception of a team with
a member over 500
masterpoints or Life Master rank on September
1, 2003.
The September masterpoint cycle (determined
before the second week of
August) will determine a player's eligibility.
ACBL rules and
regulations apply to all play in the event and
supersede District
conditions in cases of conflict.
CONVENTIONS
At District option the ACBL Midchart may apply
at the district level
of the GNT - Open Championship and Flight A
provided that this has
been included in the District Conditions of
Contest.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 16)
____________________
DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS
Each District shall determine the nature of the
event by which it
declares its District champions. Prior to
September 1st, each
District must provide ACBL Headquarters with an
outline of their
conditions of play. The name, address and phone
number of the person
to whom questions should be directed concerning
the District's event
should be included. Districts are not required
to subsidize players
at any level, including the national final, and
are not required to
ensure that the District is represented at the
national final. All
Districts must notify ACBL Headquarters by June
15, 2004 of each team
in any flight that will be participating in the
GNT North American
finals.
SCHEDULING
District events commence September 1st and may
schedule play at any
time thereafter. No level or stage may be
scheduled which would
prevent a player from attending one or more
days of a North American
Bridge Championships or participating in the
United States Bridge
Championship, the United States Women's Bridge
Championship or the
Senior Trials. The national final for all
Flights will begin on the
Wednesday prior to the Summer NABC. The Open
Championship and Flight
A commence with an afternoon session and Flight
B and Flight C will
start in the evening.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
The Championship Flight is open to any player,
except as previously
noted. Flight A is open only to a player, who
has fewer than 5000
masterpoints recorded as of September 1, 2003.
NOTE: If the event is
stratified, the Open Championship and Flight A
are combined at club
and unit level. Flight B is open only to
players who have fewer than
2000 masterpoints as of September 1, 2003.
Flight C is open only to
players with fewer than 500 masterpoints who
have not attained the
rank of Life Master as of September 1, 2003.
Teams may consist of
four, five or six eligible players.
Masterpoints won in other Bridge Organizations,
such as the ABA and
foreign organizations, must be taken into
account for placement in the
flights. A player's bridge experience will be
taken into account to
determine a suitable flight. The
Director-in-charge is authorized to
make the decision on the player's
classification.
The first place finishers in the Championship
Flight, Flight A,
Flight B, and the second place finisher in the
Championship Flight of
the district final earn Blue Ribbon Pairs
qualifications. The first
place finishers in the Non-Life Master Flight
in a district final earn
Red Ribbon Pairs qualification.
The first place finishers in the Championship,
Flight A, Flight B and
the second place finishers in the Championship
at the National Final
will earn Blue Ribbon qualification. These
teams will earn qualifying
points, if applicable, for international
competition on the same scale
as in the Blue Ribbon Pairs and the Life Master
Pairs. The first and
second place finishers in the Non-Life Master
Flight at the National
Final will earn Red Ribbon qualification.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 17)
____________________
Overall awards will be based on the
participation of each member (see
page 6).
REPLACEMENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Issues regarding replacements and/or
substitutions not addressed by
the District Conditions of Contest are resolved
by using the
Vanderbilt/Spingold Conditions of Contest.
INELIGIBLE PLAYERS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS
An ineligible player is disqualified. The
ineligible player's team
will be disqualified unless the
Director-in-Charge determines that
teammates were unknowledgeable about the
deficiency of the
disqualified member. Any team reduced to fewer
than three original
members due to disqualification of ineligible
players may not continue
and is disqualified.
When a team is disqualified after the
correction period, the
disqualified team's rank remains vacant. In
ongoing events, teams move
up one qualifying position as appropriate.
MASTERPOINTS
FLIGHT
RATING
Championship (Open) Flight
100% of Open Rating
Flight A - (0-5000)
97.14% of Open Rating
Flight B - (0-2000)
84.34% of Open Rating
Flight C - (NLM 0-500)
60.59% of Open Rating
If stratified, the Championship and Flight A
will be combined as one
flight at unit level and club level.
Size and depth of overall awards below the
district final are based on
the number of teams entered in that game except
when Unit finals are
held. Masterpoints for Unit finals will be as
in regular stratified
team events even if all flights are not held
concurrently.
(NOTE: Higher flights will receive the table
count of all lower
flights even though they are not playing
concurrently.)
Points awarded at club level games are half red
and half black, at
Sectional rating. A club game conducted by
invitation awards only
black points, at 80% of Sectional Open rating
for the
Championship/Flight A, 65% of Sectional Open
Rating for Flight B,
and 48% of Sectional Open Rating for Flight C.
One session unit finals will award red points
only at Sectional
rating.
Overall masterpoints awarded at two or more
session unit finals are
20% gold, 80% red for the Open Championship and
Flight A. Flight B
awards are 86% of Sectional rating 10% gold,
90% red; and Flight C is
5% gold, 95% red at Sectional rating. Match
awards are red at
Sectional rating. Consolations of these games
award black points at
Sectional Consolation rating.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 18)
____________________
A game at any level or stage may give overall
awards only if
qualifying teams from that game will join teams
from another site or
other sites at a further level or stage. The
size and depth of overall
awards at any stage below the district stage in
which teams play swiss
matches to qualify into a knockout will be as
follows:
- If two teams qualify into the KO, the award
for first will be based
on 4 teams with two overall positions.
- If four teams qualify, the award will be
based on 8 teams, with 4
overall positions.
- If eight teams qualify, the award will be
based on 16 teams with 4
overall positions.
- If sixteen or more teams qualify, awards are
based on 32 teams with
8 overall positions.
- In no case will any stage pay overalls based
on more than the
eligible teams in actual competition.
- The qualifying phase will pay match awards
only. Teams entering the
KO phase will be entitled only to the sum of
all match awards or the
overall award, whichever is greater.
Silver points will be available at any unit
level game played in
conjunction with and at the site of an open
Sectional tournament.
Points awarded at the stage in which the
District champion is declared
are gold for overalls and red for match awards
at Regional rating.
Swiss team events that qualify to a knockout
are considered to be a
part of the district finals whether they are
conducted at the same
site or not and do NOT award overall
masterpoints. Consolations of
these games award half red and half black
points at Regional
Consolation rating. The award for first place
overall for the
District champion is arbitrary and is based on
the number of sessions
in the district final as follows:
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
2 sessions - 24.00 masterpoints
3 session non KO event - 30.00 masterpoints
KO or other longer events - 36.00 masterpoints
Overall awards are gold. Match awards are 100%
Regional rated.
FLIGHT A:
2 sessions - 20.00 masterpoints
3 sessions non KO event - 25.00 masterpoints
KO or other longer events - 30.00 masterpoints
Overall awards are gold. Match awards are 95%
of regional rating.
FLIGHT B:
2 sessions - 18.00 masterpoints
3 session non KO event - 22.00 masterpoints
KO or other longer events - 26.00 masterpoints
Overall awards are gold. Match awards are 86%
Regional rated.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 19)
____________________
FLIGHT C:
2 sessions - 10.00 masterpoints
3 session non KO event - 12.50 masterpoints
KO or other longer events - 15.00 masterpoints
Overall awards are 25% gold and 75% red. Match
awards are 60%
Regional rated.
The winners of the Championship at the national
final will receive 100
masterpoints, the winners of Flight A at the
national final will
receive 75.00 masterpoints, the Flight B
winners 60.00 and the
Flight C winners 40. For the Championship
flight, Flight A and Flight
B event, overalls will be gold and will extend
to the top eight teams
if the entry is 16 or more teams and to the top
four teams with an
entry of 8 to 15 teams. Match awards will be
red at National rating.
Flight C awards will be 1/3 gold and 2/3 red
for the National Final
overall and section top finishes.
SANCTIONS, DIRECTORS AND FEES
Requests for rated ACBL Tournament Directors
should be received in
Memphis 6 months before the event.
The director must be a club rated or
higher-rated director to run
games at the club and intermediate level. A
non-playing director is
recommended by ACBL, but at a club qualifying
event with 17 or fewer
teams may have a playing director. A
tournament director will be
approved by the Tournament Department to
officiate at each district
final. ACBL will attempt to assign your
preferred director.
Game reports are to be submitted on the
official ACBL GNT report
forms, which will be available from the
District GNT coordinator.
A sanction fee of $1.25 per table per session
must accompany the game
report for all games at all levels. A District
may add a surcharge for
games run by its clubs and/or Units.
NATIONAL FINAL
In the national final for the Championship
Flight and Flight A, all
teams will be seeded based on average
masterpoint holdings of all team
members and shall be distributed into four
groups as follows:
I. II.
III. IV.
1 2
3 4
8 7 6
5
9 etc.
In the semi-final, I plays IV and II plays
III. The seeding
provisions of the Vanderbilt/Spingold
Conditions apply whenever a
group is reduced to two teams and for the
semi-finals and finals (the
group 1 winner is 1, etc.)
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 20)
____________________
All other flights will be played as seeded
knockouts which may
commence with round-robins. Seeding will be by
average masterpoints.
Ties will be broken by lot. The championship
and all Flights of the
national final will begin on the Wednesday
prior to the Summer NABC.
The ACBL Superchart will govern conventions in
Championship and Flight
A with segments of 12 or more boards, the
General Convention Chart
will apply to Flights B and C. Details of
tie-breaking procedures,
time and related penalties, playing
requirements and other conditions
related to round-robin and knockout play apply
to the finals as stated
in the Conditions of Contest (and appendices
thereto) for the Spingold
Knockout Team event played at the same NABC.
APPENDIX I:
BOARD ITEM 003-106
Members of the ACBL are normally expected to
belong to the Unit in
which they reside. If a member chooses to
belong to a Unit in which
he/she does not reside, the member must
specifically make this request
in writing to the ACBL stating the Unit of
preference and the reasons
for the request. Further, if the Unit is not
in the same District as
where he/she resides, both districts must
approve the membership in
the other District. The following are some of
the reasons why a
member would be given permission to belong to a
unit outside the
District of residence (To warrant
consideration, a player should meet
at least two of the six reasons listed.):
1. Plays at least once a month in a club in
that Unit
2. Attends STaCs or Sectionals in that Unit at
least twice a year
3. Attends the annual Unit dinner and/or
membership meeting
4. Participates in Unit special events
5. Serves on the Unit board and/or Unit
Committees
6. Serves on the District board and/or
district Committees
If it is determined that a member requests a
change of Unit membership
for the sole purpose of Grand National Teams (GNT)
or North American
Pairs (NAP) play, the request must be denied.
The membership approval granted by a District
in which the member does
not reside may be reviewed by that District at
least every five years
to assure the above criteria continue to
justify non-residency
membership.
If a player has been a member of that Unit and
wishes to remain and
does not participate in GNT and NAOP events in
that District,
permission may be granted by the District
without the player meeting
any of the six criteria.
BOARD ITEM 973-170
The General Knockout Conditions of Contest are
revised to reflect the
following:
1. For any overall award, a player must play at
least 50% of all the
boards played by the team at the time he or
she (and the team)
earned that award.
CCSPEC.041 (PAGE 21)
____________________
2. For the first place award, when the team
wins the final, a player
must play at least 50% of the combined
boards in the semi-final
and final matches.
3. For any given overall award, the player must
have played at least
50% of the boards in the match in which they
earned the award.
EXAMPLE: A player plays 100% of round one and
100% of round four, the
final. If the team loses the final match, that
player will receive
masterpoints (match awards) only for the first
round victory.
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