District 9 Update – SUNSHINE BRIDGE NEWS – SEPT/OCT. 2007

Shirley Seals – District 9 Director – ShirleySealsFl@aol.com

SUMMER 2007 NABC BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS - NASHVILLE

Congratulations to Dan Morse from Houston, Texas who will be the President of ACBL in 2008.  Again, I thank all of you for your support. I will run for President again in 2010 when the Fall NABC will be in Orlando.

*Youth North American Championship:

The board unanimously passed a motion to implement a championship for youth under the age of 19. The first championship will be held in Atlanta during the summer of 2008 and 2009.

I would encourage all Units to support this tournament and find ways to subsidize and send Juniors from your area to compete. More details will be forthcoming as to the exact dates of the tournaments. I see this as a wonderful way to promote duplicate bridge and encourage Junior involvement.

*The Unit Membership Rebate Program is being reviewed and will be considered at the San Francisco board meeting.

*Maximum Number of Fund Games an ACBL Club may hold

A motion to allow clubs to only hold 25% of its sanctioned games as Special Games was defeated 19 to 6. Clubs are allowed to hold Junior Fund games in February, Charity Fund Games in April and International Fund Games in September.  By defeating this motion, clubs may also designate any and all sanctioned club game for any of the above three mentioned charities.

I voted against this motion since many clubs have found that holding special games for each club sanction has increased their table count by as much as one-third and is very popular with their members. The cost is only $4 per table and the masterpoint “payout” is at least three times that of a regular club game.

*Motion for ACBL to sever its relationship with the World Bridge Federation

Was defeated.  

*Electronic Devices

Management shall as soon as possible develop a plan for banning all non-medical electronic devices from the rooms, hallways contiguous to and bathrooms on the floors in which any events are being played at NABCs.  Definition of medical devices shall be closely defined. The implementation of this shall be prior to the Fall NABC in San Francisco.

I voted in favor this.

*Additional Regional for Quebec City

The application for an additional Regional in District 1 for Quebec City to commemorate its 400^th year anniversary on April 10 – 13, 2008 was approved.

I did not vote in favor of this motion since I believe it sets a precedent and opens a door to many Districts who would like to hold additional Regional tournaments to celebrate Anniversary years of different cities.

*Fill in Pair

A fill-in pair must play at least 87.5% of the boards to qualify for overall awards.

Motion passed.  Effective date January 1, 2008.

*STaC Conditions of Contest

While only Units may apply for a sanction to hold a STaC, there is no objection to a Unit nominating a District or Districts to conduct the tournament.  In District-wide STaCs, all clubs within the District(s) must be offered the opportunity to participate.  Participation is at the club level when sponsored by a District. 

If a Unit outside of the sponsoring District IS INVITED and chooses to participate, all clubs within that Unit must be invited to participate.

*NAP Conditions of Contest are amended as follows:

Unit Level Participation.

(1) Both players must be members of the parent District.

(2) Both players must have qualified in a club.

(3) Each played must be an ACBL member who is not currently on suspension OR who has not otherwise been placed in an ineligible status by an ACBL disciplinary body. 

(4) A player whose membership dues are paid 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 PRIOR TO THE UNIT STAGE MAY PARTICIPATE BEYOND THE CLUB LEVEL.

Substitutes

(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.

(2)    A replacement is not permitted beyond the District stage of the competition.

NOTICE OF NEW TAX LAWS TO ALL CLUBS, UNITS, AND DISTRICTS

Beginning in 2008, small tax-exempted organizations, which previously were not required to file a return, may be required to file an annual electronic notice Form 990-N. 

Previously, small tax-exempt organizations whose gross receipts are normally $25,000 or less were not required to file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. However, with the enactment of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, these small tax-exempt organizations will now be required to file an electronic Form 990-N with the IRS annually.

Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard, must be filed electronically. There will be no paper form.  The IRS plans to deliver a simple, Internet based process for filing the “e-Postcard”. The e-Postcard will be due every year by the 15^th day of the fifth month after the close of your tax period. For example, if your tax period ends on December 31, 2007, the e-Postcard is due May 15, 2008. 

Please be sure that your Club and Unit is in compliance. The IRS is very serious about 501(c)4 organizations reporting on a 990 form of some kind.  If your club does not have an Employer Identification Number, please get busy and get in compliance with the new law. It does not matter if your club or Unit is incorporated; you must file the 990 each year beginning with 2008. If you fail to file the 990, your tax-exempt status will be revoked with penalties.

I am not an alarmist, but I do know the IRS is taking a very close look at Not-for-Profit Organizations (501(c)4)…such as Bridge Clubs, Units and Districts…and I am very concerned that every Club and Unit in District 9 be in compliance. Be assured that our District 9 files 990 forms annually and is in complete compliance with the law.

For the latest information on filing the e-Postcard, go to www.irs.gov/eo and click on EO Newsletter. Or call customer service toll-free at 1-877-829-5500.

Make your reservations immediately for the San Francisco NABCs.

This is a popular event and hotel space will fill up quickly.

Hope to see many of you at the Naples Regional in September.

Shirley Seals

Shirley Seals