901-332-5586 Extension: #1215
There will be a reception for club officials and teachers on Friday, March 31 at the Spring North American Bridge Championships in Dallas, Texas.
A two-hour ACBLscore seminar will be held on Saturday morning, April 1 from 10 a.m. to noon. Rick Beye, ACBL Chief Tournament Director, will spend the first hour answering questions for beginner and new users of the program. The second hour will be for the advanced user. Bring your questions to Rick. Feel free to stay for the entire two hours. This seminar is very informative and interactive.
ACBLscore version 7.37 is available for clubs to download from the ACBL web site: www.acbl.org.
Club games table fees will increase to $0.74 on April 1, 2006. ACBLscore version 7.37 will automatically apply the new rates for monthly reports beginning with the April report, and will use the old rate of $0.65 for older reports even if the older report is generated after April 1, 2006.
The Windows version of ACBLscore is available for clubs to download. This version is compatible with the existing DOS version 7.37. The DOS and Windows versions can co-exist on a club’s computer system. Clubs that use the Windows version are encouraged to report any problems to ACBL, acblscore@acbl.org.
The ACBL and the American Bridge Association are uniting to hold a special club game on Saturday afternoon, June 24, 2006.
The ABA is the only other national bridge organization in the United States. The ACBL and the ABA work together to promote our common goals and the diversity of the game. Participation in the Unity Game is one way to support these efforts. You can learn more about the ABA at its web site,
In addition to the regular masterpoint awards earned at your local club, overall awards will be issued. Results will be posted on our web site on Monday, June 26, 2006.
This game will be run exactly like our Inter-Club Championship games (across-the-field scoring and hand records, all done electronically). Registration is available online at:
www.acbl.org/play/iccgames.html or e-mail iccg.@acbl.org
Your club will not need a special sanction to participate in this game. If no Saturday afternoon game is being held in your area you may register and participate. Please e-mail iccg@acbl.org for additional information.
NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS 2006 – 2007
NAP Conditions of Contest will be mailed to Club Owners/Managers in April. Club-level games can be held during the months of June, July and August. (The NAP Finals for District 9 will be held at the Vero Beach Duplicate Bridge Club from November 3 – 5, 2006.)
The winners of Flights A, B, and C will compete at the SPRING NABC
held in St. Louis, Missouri in March 2007.
On Thursday afternoon, May 11, bridge clubs across ACBL will host the second of three events designed to raise funds to defray expenses of North American teams entered in international competition for World Bridge Federation titles. Masterpoint awards are ½ red, ½ black. Hand records and analyses are provided. Please contact specialevents@acbl.org or register online. Note: September is International Fund Month. Any regularly scheduled sanctioned session during September can be an International Fund Game. The cost is an extra $1 per person and players can win sectional-rated black points. In addition to September, International Fund Games can be held in every month through the year except February (Junior Fund Month) and April (Charity Fund Month).
WORLDWIDE BRIDGE CONTEST
The 2006 Worldwide Bridge Contest will be held on Friday evening, June 2 and Saturday afternoon, June 3. (The Friday and Saturday games are separate events.) The Worldwide Bridge Contest provides a rare opportunity to compete against pairs from all over the world. Each participant receives a souvenir analysis booklet containing Eric Kokish’s great commentary. Masterpoint awards are ½ red and ½ black at sectional rating. The Worldwide Bridge Contest Conditions of Contest and event instructions are located at www.ecatsbridge.com. The two top district winners by percentage receive bonus awards. Please contact specialevents@acbl.org or register online.
The ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game will be held on Thursday evening, September 14, 2006. This event features a gold point for section-top winners and a booklet with complete analyses of the deals by national champion, Richard Pavlicek. This contest is played by all ACBL-sanctioned bridge clubs at the same time. District winners and the top pair will be listed in the Bridge Bulletin. Overalls are awarded in each direction of a Mitchell movement. Masterpoint awards are 1 gold point to section tops; the remaining points are ½ red and ½ black. Please contact specialevents@acbl.org or register online.
Your players have an opportunity to win more masterpoints while helping the ACBL Charity Foundation help others through district charity grants.
YOUR CLUB CAN HELP by hosting a charity club championship game during any and all of the regular sanctioned sessions for the entire month of April. The cost is $1 per person, per session and players can win sectional-rated black points. The District charity grants are entirely funded by charity games at all levels and help put more donations into the local communities. Hosting a charity club championship game during April will also fulfill the required charity obligation early in the year.
Reminder: In addition to the April games, charity club championship games can be held every month except February and September. For more information, contact the ACBL Charity Desk at 901-332-5586, Ext. #1225 or charity.fdn@acbl.org.
ACBL’S FIND-A-TEACHER SITE
If you have a bridge teacher working with your club who isn’t listed online, ask your teacher to register. This is one more way to advertise your club.
Your teacher needs to go to www.acbl.org/teachers/index.html and click on Online Teacher Application.
HANDBOOKS FOR CLUB MANAGERS AND CLUB DIRECTORS
The Club Managers Handbook is full of basic information and tips for running a successful club. You can download a copy at www.acbl.org/clubs/index.html (bottom of the page).
MIINI-LESSONS FOR YOUR IN GAMES
A new collection of mini-lessons donated by our speakers in the NABC Celebrity Speaker Program is now available online. You can find the lessons at www.acbl.org/teachers/celebritylessons.html.
FREE MASTERPOINTS!!!
The ACBL Board of Directors recently approved an amnesty program for previous members. Between January 1 and June 30, 2006, upon payment of membership dues or service fees, a player whose membership has lapsed will be credited with all masterpoints earned during the lapsed membership period. Please encourage your lapsed members to rejoin and support the ACBL and bridge.
TABLE FEE INCREASE
Club games table fees increase to $0.74 on April 1, 2006. ACBLscore version 7.37 will automatically apply the new rates for monthly reports beginning the April report.
These fees have not increased since April 2001. Please update your records accordingly beginning with the April 2006 month-end financial reports.
The ACBL monthly masterpoint computer cycle is generated around the sixth of each month. You have until the 10th of the following month to submit your month-end reports to ACBL without being assessed late fees. Your players love to see their masterpoints listed as quickly as possible.
If we do not receive your reports by the sixth of the following month, the players have to wait an additional month to see the points listed in their copy of The Bridge Bulletin. We appreciate your getting these reports to us as quickly as possible at the month-end. Reporting via e-mail using ACBLscore is the quickest way to do so. For instructions on how to do so, please see our web site at www.acbl.org and click ACBLscore on the left side of the page.