Director's Report
March 2007 ( Rich DeMartino)

St. Louis NABC

The Spring NABC was held at the Renaissance Grand Hotel and Renaissance St. Louis Suites Hotel in St. Louis. Attendance was 10,232 tables, slightly higher then the pre-tournament estimate of 10,000 tables. Regional Events were held in the nearby Convention Center. Although all games were not held in the same building, as is highly desired, the two playing areas were only about a block away from each other. Most thought the playing conditions were excellent. There were numerous good restaurants fairly close to the playing areas and other excellent restaurants just a short cab ride away.

The most exciting news at the tournament is that three of our players won National Events: Richard Zeckhauser in the Mixed Pairs, Kamla Chawla in the Women's Pairs, and Karen McCallum in the Women's Swiss Teams. Congratulations to all three of these players on their outstanding performances.

Top Ten Finishers in NABC Events from District 25

SILVER RIBBON PAIRS

Dan Colatosti, Waltham MA
10th
John Malley, Pascoag RI

MIXED PAIRS

Richard Zeckhauser, Cambridge MA
1st

WOMEN'S PAIRS

Kamla Chawla, Longmeadow MA
1st

SWISS TEAMS

Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT
7th
Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT
Steve Earl, Avon CT
John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT

WOMEN'S SWISS TEAMS

Karen McCallum, Exeter NH
1st

NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS - B

Paul Bacon, Amherst MA
5th
Philippe Galaski, Amherst MA

NORTH AMERICAN PAIRS - C

Murat Azizoglu, Concard MA
9th
Jan Popiel, Lexington MA

Highlights of ACBL Board Meeting

Financial Status

For calendar year 2006, the ACBL reported an excess of expenses over revenues of $175,000. This result is $243,000 worse than the budgeted gain of $65,000. A big reason for this variance is that the Product Store was sold to Baron-Barclay in mid-2006, which resulted in lower Product Sales of about $250,000. For 2007, the Finance Committee is currently projecting a gain of about $36,000.

The CEO advised the Finance Committee that he is taking steps to strengthen the financial staff in Memphis, which is certainly good news.

CEO Report

The CEO reported that club tables reached a 15-year high, due in part to the increase in the number of on-line tables. Club tables were up about 2.5% over 2005. For tournaments, Regional tables were up about 1% and combined Sectional/STAC tables were up about 2.5%. Membership increased by about 1,500 players, to 155,831. More good news: for the first two months of 2007, new members were up 10% over the corresponding two months in 2006.

The CEO also advised the Board that Management is attempting to develop a ranking system based on current performance. As most of you know, one of the ACBL's biggest problems is that many of our players who attain a certain number of masterpoints do not feel they are qualified to play in the top flights in our pair and Swiss team games. Developing a satisfactory method to place players in the right flight based on current performance will be a formidable challenge but I believe, as many others do, that it is essential that we find a satisfactory solution to this problem.

GNT (NAP) Eligibility

In our efforts to return the GNT and NAP events to their original "grass roots" status, the BOD has learned that there are some valid situations where exceptions might be considered. One clear example is "snowbirds," those who spend more than half of the GNT qualifying period in a district other than the district of their principal residence. Another possible exception is for those who live near district borders but who have been members of a Unit in another district for at least 5 years prior to the start of the event. Those who meet the conditions for an exception must receive permission from both District Directors involved. Further, for players in the top flight, a Board Credentials Committee must approve the exception. I believe the Board's effort to tighten the rules to eliminate some of the abuses that have occurred in the GNTs over the past few years is a major step in the right direction.

NAP Reimbursement

A motion passed 13-12 to change the awards for NAP qualifiers to a fixed amount. The first place qualifiers from each district will receive a flat $700 each and the second place finishers will receive a flat $300 each. The third place qualifiers shall be invited to participate but shall not receive any reimbursement (no change from present rules). Further, no entry fees will be charged for the National Finals of the event. Management requested this change to simplify administration.

Carryover for BAM Events

The maximum carryover for Board-a-Match Events is changed to the following. For the Reisinger, the maximum carryover is being reduced to 3 boards for the second day and 5 boards for the third day. Four session Board-a-Match team events shall have a maximum carryover of 5 boards. These changes were made because many believed the previous carryover formula produced carryovers that were too high.

For more detail on Board actions, please read the minutes of the Board meeting on the ACBL website(ACBL.org).

TOP 25 MASTERPOINT WINNERS – St. Louis NABC

   
Name
Total Points
Points Won in
NABC+ Events
1.
  Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT
135.54
54.19
2.
  Stephen Earl, Avon CT
124.77
72.64
3.
  John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT
122.08
69.95
4.
  Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT
117.44
62.03
5.
  Richard Zeckhauser, Cambridge MA
117.33
117.33
6.
  Kamla Chawla, Longmeadow MA
108.16
108.16
7.
  Lloyd Arvedon, Bedford MA
91.16
39.39
8.
  John McLaughlin, Melrose MA
84.59
37.50
9.
  Stephen Gladyszak, Chelsea MA
83.74
37.43
10.
  Karen McCallum, Exeter NH
77.92
75.00
11.
  Douglas Doub, West Hartford CT
62.59
62.59
12.
  Barton Buffington, North Kingstown RI
61.99
13.
  Daniel Colatosti, Waltham MA
60.12
40.12
  John Malley, Pascoag RI
60.12
40.12
15.
  Jay Friedenson, Morrisville VT
59.71
  Penny Lane, Williston VT
59.71
17.
  Robert Lavin, East Longmeadow MA
54.70
18.
  Lorraine Cable, Dorchester MA
51.88
2.13
19.
  Bud Biswas, Lexington MA
51.87
4.98
20.
  Robert Lurie, Wayland MA
50.94
7.95
21.
  Andy Avery, Jamaica VT
50.11
46.05
22.
  Joyce Pearson, Framingham MA
47.44
0.75
23.
  James Gordon, South Burlington, VT
47.32
25.47
24.
  Anton Tsypkin, Sharon MA
45.80
11.11
25.
  Saul Agranoff, Newton MA
40.96
5.02

The Summer NABC will be held in Nashville, Tennessee - Music City USA - from July 19 through July 29. Nashville is a city rich in history and tradition. I urge you to come and enjoy the fun.

Rich DeMartino
District Director