1 - GENERAL RULES

As a service to its members, the ACBA has decided to publish this document, which is a guide to its main events, and the regulations governing them.

The Avon Contract Bridge Association (ACBA) is one of the 39 counties affiliated to the English Bridge Union (EBU). Each county holds a share in the EBU, normally held by the county secretary. Each county also has a number of delegates to the EBU based on its total membership (Avon has two). It is these people who form the EBU council, and on behalf of their respective counties, elect nominees to the various EBU committees and its board of directors. They attend a number of meetings each year to put forward suggestions about, and to discuss and vote on, every aspect of the way in which bridge is organised and run in this country.

Whilst individual clubs have a very free hand in the way they organise themselves, their members, and their competitions, the counties are closely tied to EBU regulations and directives. In the absence of its own specific regulations, the ACBA defaults to those published by the EBU. This can include areas such as tie-breaks, seating rights, methods of scoring etc. Reference is taken from the Orange and White books, the commentary on the laws of bridge, the bye-laws and other publications.

1.1 - MEMBERSHIP

Each county may organise a small number of events in which non-members may play. Two of these are the lowest league (when 3 or more exist), and the inter-club simultaneous pairs. They are intended to encourage new members. For all other events, membership of ACBA is obligatory. In order to join ACBA, membership of the EBU is required.

1.2 - ELEGIBILITY

A pair/team fielding a non-member or otherwise ineligible player will be automatically sanctioned as follows:

• Pairs/Teams/Individual Events: Disqualification.
• League/Knockout: Loss of match.

Any prizes/trophies/master points acquired will be forfeited by ALL members of the pair/team.

1.3 - ALLEGIANCE

In order to represent the ACBA in the Pachabo, Corwen, or Tollemache, players MUST have Avon as their county of primary allegiance. This is normally when EBU subs have been paid through ACBA.

1.4 - CONDUCT & ETIQUETTE

The EBU byelaws and the laws of bridge provide a firm footing, and members should acquaint themselves with these principles. Players breaching the conduct and etiquette requirements of Law 74 can expect to receive a procedural penalty in terms of the final method of scoring on each and every occasion and without a previous warning.

A member found in possession of an illegal substance at an ACBA event or on the premises of an affiliated club, will have their membership suspended. The matter will be referred to the EBU for their consideration.

1.5 - SMOKING

Having no premises of its own, the county adheres to those regulations of the host club in force at the time of the event. The EBU publishes guidelines in respect of matches played privately (a little tolerance goes a long way).

1.6 - DRESS CODE

Please refer to the current EBU guide lines.

1.7 - EVENT SELECTION and CHOICE OF VENUE

Before the start of the ACBA tournament season (which currently runs from 1st September until 31st May), the committee will decide which events to run for that season, and publicise these events in the ACBA diary, which is normally distributed to members early-mid August (and also publicised on the ACBA website at http://www.avoncba.org.uk).

The choice of venue for theses events is based on a club’s ability to host the event on the date specified. For weekend events, this has historically been the West of England bridge club or Bristol bridge club, but any affiliated club may apply to host such an event provided it meets the required criteria. New applications will be considered for the following season.

1.8 - ENTERING EVENTS AND ACBA FEES/TABLE MONEY

Where events require pre-entry, entry forms will be posted in advance at clubs by the ACBA Publicity Officer. Competitors who have failed to pre-enter but decide to turn-up on the day can usually be accommodated (although where tea is provided they may have to go without because of insufficient provisions). Conversely, competitors who pre-enter an event but fail to turn up may be asked to pay the host club a sum consummate with the catering costs incurred on their behalf.

Creating a half table in a small field (causing many other players to sit out for a large number of boards) or turning the event into a non all-play-all movement are examples. Organisers may well have gone to considerable trouble to achieve a full number of tables, and that should not be abused. The TD has the right to refuse entry where this would inconvenience other players or the movement.

With the exception of the "Inter-Club Simultaneous Pairs" and the "Mens' and Ladies' Pairs", all ACBA events carry an entry fee. This fee is reviewed annually by the committee and is currently waived for juniors. It is the intention of the committee this season to get the hosting clubs to quote a charge to the County for the use of their premises and facilities and for providing bar staff for a County event. The committee will administer the catering issues and cost of a director. These changes are reflected in the presentation of the cost of entry shown on the relevant competition pages.

Entry fees for the league and knockout competitions are payable at the time of registration, along with the entry form. A table money charge will be made by the club where the match is held.

1.9 - WEEKEND EVENTS

Some ACBA events (especially finals) are played on a Saturday or Sunday. All such events start at 2.15pm. Players should be seated and ready to commence play at that time. Unless they have previously advised the TD, latecomers may be excluded from the event if their inclusion would disrupt proceedings.

1.10 - PERMITTED CONVENTIONS

In general, ACBA events are level 4 licence as set by the EBU. Exceptions are the lowest league (where more than two leagues exist), which is level 3 licence (unless both captains agree to play level 4) and the Inter-Club Simultaneous Pairs, which is played at the level used by the club concerned.

ALL players are required to have a fully completed and accurate convention card in all events. The TD may require a pair to play EBU "Simple System" until this duty is met.

1.11 - TIE-BREAKS

Where, for qualification or prize purposes, a tie needs to be split between two or more competitors, current EBU methods will be utilised. A tie in a knockout is broken by the play of a further number of boards, equivalent to one eighth of the original number of boards played (rounded up). There are no seating rights, so each captain should commit their line-ups to paper before play starts and play in those seats.

1.12 - ADJUDICATIONS

In the case of an adjudication being necessary in the league or knockout, it will be made by a sub-committee of three ACBA members (appointed by the ACBA committee), and will not contain anyone who has a vested interest in the outcome of the result or who could be seen to have a conflict of interests.

Only a team captain (or a proxy team member) will be invited to put their case before the sub-committee, which can either be in person or in writing. One appeal will be allowed but it must be made to the sub-committee within 48 hours of the adjudication result being made available to the team captain.

1.13 - RULES APPERTAINING TO LATE ARRIVALS FOR THE LEAGUE AND KNOCKOUT

1) After 45 minutes of un-notified late arrival or one and a half hours of notified late arrival, the match is awarded to the non-offending side. Note that one member of a team being present within 45 minutes of the scheduled starting time is an indication of the intention of the team as a whole to arrive, and thus constitutes notification within the meaning of this clause.

2) After 30 minutes of late arrival (whether notified or not). The match is to be reduced by two boards, awarding the non-offending side 3 IMPs per board removed. For each further complete 15-minute period of notified late arrival, further sets of two boards are removed and the non-offending side continues to be awarded 3 IMPs per such board. The maximum number of boards which can be removed is eight (which occurs for notified late arrival of at least 75 minutes, but less than 90 minutes).

3) For the league, where a match is awarded to the non-offending team they will normally receive the most beneficial of i) 12 VPs, ii) their season average excluding this match or iii) the compliment of their opponent's season average. The offending team will normally score zero VPs.

1.14 - QUALIFICATION FROM HEATS

The ACBA permits any affiliated club to hold qualifiers, but clubs should liaise through that body to avoid a clash of dates. It is not envisaged that any pair with a score of less than 50% or a team in the lower half of the field will qualify to play in a final. A minimum of 25% will qualify, but the total number will be determined according to the number of entries, usually on an historical basis. The final figure is normally decided by the ACBA Tournament Secretary, the CTD and the host club but with the committee having power of veto.

1.15 - FINALS

A one-winner type of movement must be used, i.e. for a "Pairs" event this must be a Howell or scrambled Mitchell. This result must not be merged with a normal club event, and all players must be bona fide entrants. An all-play-all movement will normally be used but in extreme circumstances the TD may alter this arrangement.

It is considered highly desirable that there be a non-playing TD at these events. The TD for a final is appointed by the committee.

The remainder will be added later ...

1.16 - SUBSTITUTES

No substitutes are permitted in later stages of pairs events where the pair has qualified from a previous heat(s). A team of four may apply to substitute one member for due cause, as long as that player does not significantly improve the quality of the team, and has not played for another team in that event.

1.17 - APPEALS

The county requires a cash deposit in order to hear an appeal. That deposit is half the current rate set by the EBU. The deposit will be retained should the appeal committee consider the matter to be frivolous. Should a deposit be retained, it must be forwarded (along with the appeal form) to the ACBA committee. They will review the matter, reserving the right to return the deposit if appropriate.

An appeal can only take place where there has been a ruling from the tournament director (TD). For pairs, both players must wish to appeal, and for teams, the captain must agree. Under L80G, the Chief TD referred to in L90A shall be the Avon CTD or an appointed substitute if unavailable (or if that position is vacant).

An appeal will normally be heard at the time of the event. In the case of a match played privately, or where it is impossible to form a committee on site, the appeal may be held in abeyance and dealt with at a later date. The TD and those involved should ensure that all details have been agreed and fully documented. These must then be passed on to a member of the ACBA committee (normally the Chief TD) who will arrange for the appeal to be heard and the result to be published. Where in the first instance there is no TD, EBU arrangements should be followed, or an attempt made to obtain a ruling from a local TD at a club, or the Chief TD at home.

1.18 - OPEN EVENTS

Members and clubs are advised that all open events need to obtain a licence from the EBU. An open event is any event other than one held at the premises of a club or other organisation for the benefit of its members, employees, and bona fide guests only. Many of these open events are for charity, but that does not remove the requirement to comply with licensing procedures.

Any ACBA / EBU member involved with an event of this nature that does not have a licence, whether playing, organising, directing, or supplying the venue, can be subject to quite severe sanctions from the EBU, including suspension of membership.

The fact that a licence is held should be noted on the entry form and any promotional material. The licence itself must be prominently displayed at the venue.

1.19 - RESULTS

For the league and knockout, as the tournament progresses, the results will be updated frequently on the ACBA website (http://www.avoncba.org.uk). For other events, results will be posted at the club hosting the event and on the ACBA website (normally within 48 hours).

1.20 - MASTERPOINTS

For the Western league, county league and county knockout, master points are issued at the end of the season by the ACBA tournament secretary (or a proxy). No master points are issued for matches that are not actually played (for whatever reason). For other events, clubs are responsible for issuing the master points for events held at their premises, and should be vigilant in using the correct scales for local and green (where appropriate) awards. Advice must be sought from the chief TD where doubt exists.

For the inter-club simultaneous pairs, master points will be awarded (by clubs) for the heat in which they entered, and also awarded (by the ACBA) based on the final rankings.

1.21 - JUNIOR PLAYERS

Junior players can usually benefit from reduced entry costs. A junior player is defined as someone who is either under 19 years of age, or under 25 years of age and in full-time education.

1.22 - TROPHIES

Trophies are awarded to the winners of ACBA events. This includes the League and the Knockout competitions. Winners will receive a trophy (to keep).Their name will be inscribed on the ACBA results board at Bristol bridge club, with the exception of the knockout plate and inter-club simultaneous pairs.

Where a main trophy exists, the winners will be allowed to keep this for one year but it must be returned (in good condition) before the following year's AGM.

All trophies will be presented at the AGM.

2 - LEAGUE REGULATIONS

2.1 - ALLOCATION OF TEAMS AT START OF SEASON

Due to the fact that some teams break up and new teams form each year, the committee will allocate teams to the various leagues (also known as divisions). League 1 is the top league, league 2 is the next highest league, etc. Normally there are three leagues, depending upon the total entry (which tends to vary annually). In order for a team to retain its identity, it must retain at least four of its members. Any other arrangement constitutes a new team. A new team does not have any rights.

Subject to the identity provision referred to above, the winners of league 1 will remain in that division. The winner of any other league will be promoted, and the bottom team in each league (except the lowest league) will be relegated. The committee does not anticipate that players from a relegated team in the previous season will be permitted to play (in the new season) in a league from which they were relegated. The committee will then allocate the remaining teams to a league.

The number of teams in each league will be as balanced as possible, but particular effort will be made to have exactly 6 teams in league 1. In leagues of up to 7 teams, each team plays each other twice (on a home and away basis). In leagues of 8+ teams, only one match is played against each other team (with home and away status randomly drawn).

2.2 - PLAYERS

A team must contain between 4 and 6 players. After original entry, a team of 4 or 5 players will normally be permitted to add eligible player(s) provided they have NOT completed half their schedule. After that time, additions will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. In all these cases, the additional player(s) may not be registered with (or have played for) another team, nor should their addition significantly improve the quality of the team involved. Authorisation to add players must be obtained from the ACBA tournament secretary before those players become eligible to play in the competition.

2.3 - MATCHES

A schedule of matches (and time-windows in which matches against particular teams should be played) is sent to team captains at the start of the season by the ACBA tournament secretary. The dates of matches are arranged between team captains and should be played within or before the time-window specified.

It is the duty of the Away captain to initiate contact with the Home captain and offer a minimum of 3 dates within the assigned time-window and in advance of the time-window in which the match is to be played. The Home captain must then reply within 5 days of receiving these dates. These dates must not a) all fall on the same day of the week, b) all fall within the same week, and c) must not clash with any other ACBA event, nor an EBU or BGB event in which the opposition might reasonably be expected to play. Teams are asked to have some flexibility in these matters, but under aggravated circumstances, the ACBA tournament secretary may be approached to expedite any problems.

If an agreed date is broken for a valid reason (e.g. illness), then the non-offending team should offer a further two (reasonable) dates on which to play the match (the offending team lose the right to choose dates), provided that these dates are before the final play-by date at the end of the season. If this cannot be achieved (or the date was broken for an invalid reason (e.g. someone forgot to turn up), then the ACBA tournament secretary must be notified by the non-offending team, who will then arrange for an adjudication. If no date can be agreed between captains, the matter must be referred to the ACBA tournament secretary by both team captains for adjudication.

The captain entering a team in the league and the rest of his/her side has a duty to complete their schedule for the season. The committee will take a very dim view of any team failing to fulfil this duty without permission. It reserves the right to sanction those involved. This may well compromise their league placement or the acceptance of their entry to the competition in the following season. The permission to withdraw will only be given under exceptional circumstances.

The final match for each team (barring an odd number of teams in a league) is played on the same night at the same venue, with duplicated boards and a director in charge. The exception to this is if a league has an odd number of teams, in which case one random team will have to complete all of their matches prior to this date. Under exceptional circumstances, and with the permission of the ACBA tournament secretary, the match scheduled for that night may be played before that date. Under no circumstances will any matches be permitted to be played after that date and the match will be adjudicated.

It is the responsibility of the Home captain to arrange a suitable venue to play the match but the county committee would expect the venue to be at one of the county's affiliated clubs so as to be even handed with regards to the travelling distances of the players participating. The cost of the match is to be shared equally between both teams. For matches played in an evening, teams are expected to complete play within a reasonable time frame. Playing eight boards normally takes about 1hr and teams should endeavour to have completed a match by 11.00pm.

The result of a match should be sent to the ACBA Tournament Secretary via E-MAIL on the day following the match. This should be done by the captain of the winning team copying in the losing team captain. The E-MAIL should state the win in imps and list the members that played in the winning team.

It is the responsibility of the ACBA Tournament Secretary to monitor the league to ensure that matches are played in a timely fashion, and to arrange for any adjudication.

2.4 - METHOD OF SCORING/BOARDS PLAYED

All league matches are scored according to the relevant EBU VP chart for the number of boards played. Leagues 1 and 2 are 28 board matches, and lower leagues are 24 board matches. The only exception to this is on the last league night of the season when the lower leagues will also play 28 boards. A maximum of 6 players are allowed to play in any given match, any 4 of which may play in any given stanza.

Seating rights throughout the match are determined before the match starts. A coin should be tossed, and the team winning the toss may either choose first seating rights, or pass that option to the opposing team. The choice depends upon the number of boards/stanzas as follows:

Boards	Stanzas	Seating Rights
24	3 x 8 boards	The captain (A) who has to choose first seating rights chooses one stanza. The other captain (B) then chooses two other stanzas and (if applicable) the last remaining stanza goes to captain A.
28	4 x 7 boards
32	4 x 8 boards
24	6 x 8 boards	The captain (A) who has to choose first seating rights chooses either the odd numbered or the even numbered stanzas.

2.5 - WITHDRAWALS

Most situations where competitors are unable to complete an event are covered by EBU guidelines. The league however is subject to the following regulations:

• Withdrawals before any matches are played. The committee reserves the right to promote teams allocated to other leagues in order to rationalise numbers.
• 
  Withdrawal before completing half of scheduled matches. Any results of that team are cancelled. Should this result in the total of teams in that league being reduced to 7 or less, then (if practical) the committee may decide that each other team play each other twice, rather than the scheduled once.
• 
  Withdrawal after half schedule completed. All results stand, and non-played matches are given an artificial score.
• 
  Match abandoned. Should a match be abandoned for due cause (normally an 'act of God') then, if less than half the match has been completed, it must be replayed from scratch at a later date. Once the halfway point is reached, if both captains agree then the match may be completed at a later date. Otherwise the remaining boards are scored as flat, and the VPs calculated from the chart that would have been used for the full number of boards scheduled, with the score as it stands.

3 - KNOCKOUT REGULATIONS

3.1 - KNOCKOUT DRAW

The draw for the knockout will be made by the ACBA tournament secretary after the closing date for entries, and the draw will then be sent to all team captains. Depending upon the number of entries, at least two teams will be seeded. This will normally be the winners and runners-up of the previous season, but may be different if these teams do not retain their identity for the new season, or if a particularly strong new team enters the event.

A random draw for the first round match is then performed by the ACBA tournament secretary (which is witnessed by another person) with the following provisos:

• If there are at least two seeded teams, seeds 1 and 2 will be scheduled to meet in the final.
• 
  If there are four seeded teams, seeds 3 and 4 will be scheduled to not meet seeds 1 or 2 before the semi-final.
• 
  If there are any BYEs, they will be allocated to seed 1 first, and then seed 2, and so on and so forth.

Any team losing their first round match or their first played match if they had a BYE in round one will be automatically entered into the knockout plate. A random draw for this event (which is witnessed by another person) will take place after round 2 of the main event has been completed.

Any BYEs will be randomly assigned. After the draw has taken place, the ACBA tournament secretary will send out the draw to all team captains playing in the plate. There may be a delay in the start to the plate whilst we wait to see if any first round BYEs then lose in the second round of the main competition. This is unfortunate but it was felt that each team should be able to have at least 2 actual played matches.

3.2 - PLAYERS

A team must contain between 4 and 6 players. After original entry, a team of 4 or 5 players will normally be permitted to add eligible player(s) provided they have not completed half their schedule. After that time, additions will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. In all these cases, the additional player(s) may not be registered with (or have played for) another team, nor should their addition significantly improve the quality of the team involved. Authorisation to add players must be obtained from the ACBA tournament secretary before those players become eligible to play in the competition.

3.3 - MATCHES

A schedule of matches (and play-by date for each round) will be sent to team captains at the start of the season by the ACBA tournament secretary (or after round 1 or 2 of the main event has been completed in the case of the plate). The match must be played either before or on this date. An extension to play the match will only be granted in exceptional circumstances (because this has an impact on the next round) and both captains must apply for an extension to the ACBA tournament secretary, who will either grant an extension or arrange for the match to be adjudicated. Teams are asked to have some flexibility in these matters, but under aggravated circumstances, the ACBA tournament secretary may be approached to expedite any problems.

Seeding issues apart, the draw will be re-done after each round for both the knockout and the plate.

It is the duty of the Away captain to initiate contact with the Home captain and offer a minimum of 3 dates no later than 5 days after the draw has been made. The Home captain must then reply within 5 days of receiving the dates. These dates must not a) all fall on the same day of the week, b) all fall within the same week, and c) must not clash with any other ACBA event, nor an EBU or BGB event in which the opposition might reasonably be expected to play. Teams are asked to have some flexibility in these matters, but under aggravated circumstances, the ACBA tournament secretary may be approached to expedite any problems.

For the 48 board matches of the semi-final and final of the knockout, two of those three dates must be a weekend date, i.e. Saturday, Sunday, or bank holiday, unless both captains agree to play two separate 24 board matches on different dates. They may not both be in the same weekend. Due to the length of these matches, if a definite play date within 1 week of the end of the time window is agreed between the captains, and reported to the Tournament Secretary, it will normally be allowed.

If an agreed date is broken for a valid reason (e.g. illness), then the match is to be played on the play-by date for that round of the competition (unless both captains can agree on an earlier date to play the match).

If the agreed date is the play-by date (or later) then the ACBA tournament secretary must be notified by the non-offending team, who will then either arrange for an extension period to play the match or will arrange for an adjudication. If no date can be agreed between captains, the matter must be referred to the ACBA tournament secretary by both team captains for adjudication.

The captain entering a team in the knockout and the rest of his side has a duty to complete their schedule for the season. The committee will take a very dim view of any team failing to fulfil this duty without permission. It reserves the right to sanction those involved. This may well compromise their ability to be accepted to play in the following season's event.

The result of a match should be sent to the Tournament Secretary via E-MAIL within 24hrs of completing the match, copying the losing team captain. The E-MAIL should include the results in IMPs and state the members that played in the winning team.

It is the responsibility of the Home captain to arrange a suitable venue to play the match. The cost of the match is to be shared equally between both teams. For matches played in an evening, teams are expected to complete play within a reasonable time frame. Playing eight boards normally takes about 1hr and teams should endeavour to have completed a match by 11.00pm.

It is the responsibility of the ACBA tournament secretary to monitor the knockout (and knockout plate) to ensure that matches are played in a timely fashion, to notify winning teams of their next round draw in a timely fashion, and to arrange for any adjudication.