District Director's Report
March, 2003

Philadelphia NABC

Attendance at the Philadelphia NABC was 10,840 tables, somewhat higher than pre-tournament expectations. The local organizers did a great job with both entertainment and hospitality. There were two Casino nights, a Bridge Hollywood Squares show, and great entertainment and good food almost every evening. I extend my thanks to all the local volunteers who did such a great job making this tournament a success.

All of the games were played at one site, the Philadelphia Marriott (fourth and fifth floor ballrooms). There was ample space and lighting and numerous good places to eat in all price ranges either near the playing site or via a short cab ride. Having NABC’s at locations where all events can be played in one building is highly advantageous to our players and this was certainly the case here. Other than the high room rates and parking fees (certainly familiar to Boston players), I heard few complaints.

There were numerous District 25 players present but unfortunately, despite several good showings, we were unable to achieve the same degree of success District 25 players have enjoyed at the most recent NABC’s.

DISTRICT 25 TOP 10 FINISHERS IN NABC EVENTS

NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS - A

MIXED PAIRS

NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS - C

WOMEN'S SWISS TEAMS

OPEN SWISS TEAMS

RED RIBBON PAIRS

HIGHLIGHTS OF ACBL BOARD MEETING

President Levy decided to reduce the length of the BOD meeting from four days to three days both to encourage the Board to work more efficiently and to reduce expenses. The agenda for the meeting was relatively light so whether three days will be sufficient for future meetings, especially the fall meeting where the budget is set, remains to be seen. I definitely support the concept of shorter meetings and improved efficiency in conducting the meetings.

CEO Report

CEO Jay Baum presented the Management Report. In the area of Human Resources, a major concern is the rising cost of health insurance. For 2003, health care rates will be 12% higher. Total staff for 2003 is expected to remain at about the same level as in 2002.

For ACBL Online, new memberships were 5% below expectations and sanction fees were 9% below expectations for 2002. The BOD asked Mr. Baum to review our current policies regarding on-line bridge and to develop an action plan for the future. If any of you have comments or suggestions regarding on-line bridge, I’d love to hear your views.

Total membership, including unpaid Life Masters, dropped from 167,269 to 165,423, a decrease of 1,846 members. I firmly believe that the biggest challenge by far facing the ACBL is our declining membership. After a slight increase in 2000, membership has declined both in 2001 and 2002. We are in desperate need of a good marketing plan and our CEO has assured the BOD that such a plan will be presented at the summer meeting. Frankly, I am not optimistic about our capability to solve our long-standing problem with declining membership.

Table counts for Regionals, Sectionals and STAC’s were up slightly in 2002. NABC table counts were down in 2002 but this result was expected because in 2001, NABC’s were held in Toronto and Las Vegas, our two biggest attendance sites. Total counts in club games were also up 1.5% in 2002.

Financial Status

For calendar year 2002, the ACBL had a profit of $739,000. As stated in my last report, the BOD decided that rather than raise fees or reduce the marketing budget below levels previously approved, we would budget a deficit for 2003 of $291,000.

Even with this projected deficit, the overall financial status of the ACBL will be well within the guidelines previously established for our organization, primarily due to the large gains for calendar years 2001 and 2002. Overall, the financial status of the ACBL continues to be excellent.

There are NO increases in ACBL sanction fees for 2003. For tournament session fees, the only change will be a 3.5% increase in directors’ session fees, to cover salary increases.

In my view, there were no major actions taken at this meeting which would be of general interest to everyone. For complete details of the board motions made in Philadelphia, please refer to the BOD Minutes on the ACBL Web Site. These should be in final form by the beginning of April.

TOP 25 MASTERPOINT WINNERS – PHILADELPHIA- NABC

The Summer NABC is in Long Beach, California from July 17 through July 27.

I encourage all of our players, clubs and units to make every effort to support the North American Pairs event this year. As previously reported, some Board members believe the NAP and GNT events are no longer worthwhile and are trying to have them removed from the schedule. The best way to show that you want to keep the events is to support them. The club qualifying games are in June, July and August (check dates with your club) and the district finals are scheduled for Sturbridge on October 18 and 19. The 2004 Spring NABC is in Reno, Nevada, a very good site.

Rich DeMartino
District Director