TABLE OF CONTENTS

 TOC \o "1-3" 1      Teams:................................................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471064 \h 3

2      Schedule:............................................................................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc273471065 \h 4

2.1       Match Nights:........................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471066 \h 4

2.2       Schedule:.................................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471067 \h 4

2.3       Match Start/End Times:....................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471068 \h 4

2.4       Playoff Qualification:......................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471069 \h 5

2.5       Playoff Format:...................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471070 \h 5

2.6       Overall Ranking:..................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471071 \h 5

2.7       Tie Break:.................................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471072 \h 6

2.8       Butler Scores:.......................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471073 \h 6

3      Scoring............................................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471074 \h 7

3.1       Victory-Point Scale:............................................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc273471075 \h 7

3.2       Handicapping:............................................................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc273471076 \h 7

4      Lateness, Forfeit, Rescheduled Matches..................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471077 \h 8

4.1       Late Arrival Policy:.............................................................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc273471078 \h 8

4.2       No-Show:...................................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471079 \h 8

4.2.1    Penalty for Forfeiture:........................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471080 \h 8

4.3       Unable to Play on Scheduled Night:............................................................................................................. PAGEREF _Toc273471081 \h 9

5      Conventions:................................................................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc273471082 \h 10

5.1       ACBL Mid-Chart:.................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471083 \h 10

5.2       Convention Cards:................................................................................................................................................ PAGEREF _Toc273471084 \h 10

6      Substitutes:................................................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471085 \h 11

6.1       Acceptable Substitute:..................................................................................................................................... PAGEREF _Toc273471086 \h 11

1       Teams:

1. Each team will have a captain, and will be known by the captain’s name.
2. Whenever possible, communications between the League Coordinator and the Team will be through the team captain.  The captain will be responsible to ensure team members are made aware of any relevant communications, as well as the League rules as described in the Conditions of Contest..
3. The captain will be responsible to schedule team members for matches. On any occasion where a team is unable to field four members for a scheduled match, the captain must notify the captain of the scheduled opposition and arrange the rescheduling of the match in accordance with the rules specified in the Conditions of Contest.
4. Teams may have up to 6 registered members.  Substitutes may be used whenever necessary in order to field a team.   

2       Schedule:

2.1       Match Nights:

• The league will play on Wednesday nights at Hazel’s Bridge Club
• Matches will be 26 boards in length
• Play will start promptly at 7:15 P.M.
• It is intended that play will be completed by 10:30 P.M.

2.2       Schedule:

• The first night of play will be September 21, 2011 and the season will run until the end of March, not including playoffs. 
• Matches will not be scheduled during major tournaments, local tournaments, and/or major holidays. 
• First ‘half’ of the season: Teams will play a complete round robin – one match against each other team in their division.
• After the first ‘half’ the bottom 4 teams will not continue on.
• Second ‘half’ of the season: The teams will be divided into two groups based on standings at the conclusion of the first half;
  • Group 1:  Teams 1, 4, 5, 8, 9.
  • Group 2: Teams 2, 3, 6, 7, 10.
  • Teams will then play a round robin within their group of 5.

2.3       Match Start/End Times:

• Matches will start at 7:15 and will end by 10:30.  No board may be started after 10:25.
• There will be a comparison at the half-way point of the match, following which play will resume for the second half.  No board in the first half may be started after 8:45

2.4       Playoff Qualification:

1.      The top four teams in the full round robin stage of the season will qualify to the playoffs.

2.      The highest-placing team during the repechage not already qualified to the playoffs from each group in the 2^nd half of the season will also qualify to the playoffs, bringing the total number of teams in the playoffs to 6

2.5       Playoff Format:

1.      The final playoff match will be 52 boards played over two sessions of 26 boards

2.      All other playoff matches will be 26 boards in length

3.      The two teams with the highest VP total for the entire season will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs

4.      In the first round of the playoffs, based on VP totals, the #3 team will play the #6 team, and the #4 team will play against the #5 team.  The two losing teams in this round will be considered as having finished tied for 5^th & 6^th place

5.      In the second round of the playoffs, the team with the highest VP total for the season will be allowed to select their playoff opponent from the two winning teams in the 1^st round of the playoffs, and the remaining two teams will play.

6.      The final (52-board) match will be played between the remaining two teams.

2.6       Overall Ranking:

1.      The team that wins the final playoff match will be declared the winner of the League

2.      The losing team in the final playoff match will be the 2^nd place team

3.      The two teams that lost in the semi-final matches will be tied 3^rd/4^th.  

4.      The two teams that lose in the first round of the playoffs will be tied for 5^th/6^th. 

2.7       Tie Break:

In the event of a tie between two or more teams at the conclusion of the full round-robin stage or at the end of the season, if it is necessary to break that tie in order to establish playoff position or rights as described above, the following tie break methods will be used;

1.      Matches won during the full round-robin stage (if that is where the tie break is required) or during the entire season (if a tie must be broken at the end of the season):  Each win = 1, each tie = ½, each loss = 0

a.       The team with the superior score wins the tie break.

b.      If a tie must still be resolved the following step(s) will be used;

2.      The total VP result of all head-on matches between the tied teams.

3.      If it is still necessary to resolve a tie, the team whose opponents have the lowest cumulative Victory Point total(s) in their head-on matches will advance.

4.      In the unlikely event none of the above has resolved the tie(s), a coin toss will be held to determine which team(s) will advance.  The League coordinator will make the arrangements.

2.8       Butler Scores:

To be considered eligible for any end-of-season Butler Score award, a player must have played in at least 30% of his/her team’s matches
 

3       Scoring

3.1       Victory-Point Scale:

1.      We will use a scale in which Victory Points (VPs) will be awarded on a one VP per IMP basis, to a maximum score of +100 in any match (and a minimum score of 0), based on the margin of victory/defeat.

2.      Teams will start each match with 50 VPs and will either add to or subtract from that total based on the formula described above.

3.2       Handicapping:

1. We will not use handicapping.

4       Lateness, Forfeit, Rescheduled Matches

It is expected that players will arrive in time to be seated and start play by 7:15 p.m. as scheduled, and that play will proceed at an appropriate pace so as to be completed on time by 10:30 p.m.  However, in the event a team is unable to seat four players at the scheduled start of play, or in the event a team fails to appear at all, the following policies will apply.

4.1       Late Arrival Policy:

·        There will be a 10-minute grace period starting at 7:15 P.M.

·        If one team is able to seat 4 players and the opposing team is not, a 3 IMP penalty will be incurred by the late team when the director in charge judges the 10-minute grace period has expired.  A further penalty of 1 (one) IMP per minute penalty will be incurred by the offending team until that team is able to seat 4 players. 

·        A team short of player(s) may ask an acceptable substitute to sit in until the late team member(s) arrive(s).

·        In the event a team has incurred a penalty for lateness, the offending team will also be penalized 3 IMPs for each board not played in the match (see section 2.3 of this document). 

4.2       No-Show:

·        If a team fails to show up for a scheduled match, or is unable to seat a full team within 30 minutes of the scheduled start of a match, the offending team will forfeit the match on that evening.  An acceptable substitute may be used for the entire match if necessary. 

·        If a team fails to field four players in time to play a scheduled match, that team is still required to pay its entry fees for the night.

4.2.1       Penalty for Forfeiture:

·        In the case of a forfeited match, the non-offending team will receive either the average number of Victory Points it has scored in all of its matches, or the average VP total of the opponents of the offending team, or 60% of the available Victory Points (I.E.: a score of +60), whichever is greater.  The final value of this penalty will be calculated at the end of the League schedule.

4.3       Unable to Play on Scheduled Night:

When a team captain realizes he will not be able to field a team for a scheduled match, he must contact the captain of the opposing team to reschedule the match in question. 

i)        The team needing to reschedule the match must notify its opponents at least 24 hours (at least the day before the match) in advance that the match must be rescheduled.  Failure to meet this requirement may result in a match being forfeit.

ii)       Matches must be rescheduled for play on another evening or afternoon that is convenient for Hazel’s Bridge Club (I.E.: a date and time when a director will be onsite running a scheduled duplicate).  

iii)     It will be the responsibility of the team rescheduling the match to notify Hazel’s Bridge Club that the match will not take place as scheduled, and also of the rescheduled date & time. 

iv)     No matches can be scheduled for later than the final match date of the round-robin schedule. 

v)      If a match is not played due to the above, the League coordinator will determine whether one team should be held responsible or whether responsibility is shared.  If the teams are held to be jointly responsible for the failure to play the match, both teams will receive a VP of zero for the match.  If one team is determined to be responsible that the match was not played within the allowed period, it will be treated as a forfeit and the conditions in sections 4.2 and 4.2.1 above will apply.

5       Conventions:

5.1       ACBL Mid-Chart:

The ACBL Mid-Chart will be in use for this event.  Players using conventions listed on the Mid-Chart are expected to acquaint themselves with their obligations as described by the ACBL on its website. 

We take these requirements seriously.  Failure to comply with these obligations will result in disallowing of all Mid-Chart conventions until the offending pair is in compliance with its obligations, and in addition, a 3 IMP penalty will be assessed on the board on which the infraction occurs.

http://www.acbl.org/assets/documents/play/Convention-Chart.pdf

5.2       Convention Cards:

Each pair is expected to have two completed convention cards available for examination by their opponents at all times. 

If the director is called to the table and there is no convention card available, the offending pair will be required complete two convention cards immediately and will be subject to a 3 IMP penalty per board not played based on the Match Start/End Times as specified in section 2.3 of this document.

6       Substitutes:

The team for which a substitute plays is responsible to pay the entry fee for the evening for the substitute player(s).

6.1       Acceptable Substitute:

Any player who is not listed on the roster of another team in the league will be deemed an acceptable substitute.