District Director's Report
August 2009 ( Rich DeMartino)

Washington NABC

The Summer NABC was held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington DC. Attendance was 14,115 tables, which is about 10% above pre-tournament expectations.

As we have come to expect in Washington, the local volunteers did an outstanding job making the NABC as enjoyable as possible for the players. Hospitality was provided every night and there was also excellent evening entertainment including a wonderful show by The Capitol Steps comedy group. There were also numerous very good places to eat either near the hotel, or via a short cab ride or trip on the Metro. I believe most everyone loved Washington and thought it was a great place for the Summer NABC.

The only complaints I heard involved the playing space: there were the usual complaints about playing rooms being either too hot or too cold and the lighting was not up to par in the main ballrooms where the NABC events were held. On the flip side, having all of the events in one hotel is a big plus which is why this requirement remains one of the highest priorities for NABCs.

Top 10 Finishers in NABC Events - District 25

Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs

David Becher, Peabody MA
8
Alan Watson, Lexington MA

0 - 5000 Life Master Pairs

Joseph DeGaetano, Atkinson NH
10

0 - 1500 Life Master Pairs

Thomas Proulx, Norwalk CT
5
Jason Rotenberg, Fairfield CT

Robert Bertoni, Haverhill MA
7
Peter Manzon, Waltham MA

Senior Swiss Teams

Richard Budd, Portland ME
6
Dan Colatosti, Waltham MA
John Malley, Pascoag RI

Geoff Brod, Avon CT
8
Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT
Pat McDevitt, Brookline MA
John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT

0 - 500 Mini Spingold

Natalie Bassil, Boston MA
3/4
Joseph DeGaetano, Atkinson NH

Donald Caplan, Waltham MA
3/4
Lew Gamerman, Westwood MA
Adam Grossack, Newton MA

Brian Duran, Somerville MA
9/16
Lon Sunshine, Framingham MA
Gloria Tsoi, Arlington MA
Ivanie Yeo, Brighton MA

Wernher Open Pairs

Lawrence Lau, Westport CT
10
Allan Wolf, Ridgefield CT

Open Swiss Teams

Doug Doub, West Hartford CT
10

Highlights of ACBL Board Meeting

CEO Report

CEO Jay Baum reported that we have gained 1,421 members for the first half of 2009. Jay believes that a net gain of over 2,500 members is possible for the year, which would be a fantastic result. We now have over 160,500 members. Retention of new members remains above 65%.

Tournament attendance is expected to match or slightly exceed the very good table counts from 2008. Average tables for StaCs are on a pace to break all previous records, and the total number of STaC tables will probably exceed 100,000 tables for the year. Club tables are down about 1% for the year.

Financial Status

Management reported that for the first five months of 2008, revenues exceeded expenses by about $190,000. Based on these figures, the CFO and the Finance Committee are now projecting a gain of in excess of $200,000 for the calendar year, which represents a big improvement when compared with the 2009 budgeted loss of $195,000.

I am also pleased to report that the CEO has hired a new CFO, Dee Wallace, who comes to the ACBL with a strong financial background. As you know from my prior reports, we need to do a better job in budgeting and forecasting financial results. I'm confident our new CFO will be a strong addition to the ACBL management team, one who will quickly improve the ACBL in all phases of finance.

2010 ACBL President

I am pleased and honored to report that I was elected by the Board to be the 2010 ACBL President. I assure you I will do the best job I possibly can to serve the organization well.

New ACBL Home

The ACBL has entered into a lease purchase agreement for a new building in Horn Lake, Mississippi. The inside of the building is now being completed to suit our needs. The anticipated final cost for the building is well below the amount previously approved by the ACBL Board. Optimistically, all work will be completed by early 2010 and plans are to move as soon as the building is ready. The new building is just over the Mississippi border, about 10 miles from the existing headquarters. Expectations are that the site will be a wonderful home for the ACBL.

Use of Average Masterpoints for Stratified & Limited Pair and Team Games

The Board previously passed a motion to permit stratification in stratified Swiss or pair events based on the average masterpoints of the pair or team. The following motion was passed which extends this concept:

"In stratiflighted and limited pair and team events, once the flight of the pair or team is determined, stratification within each flight may be based, at sponsor option, on the average masterpoints of the team or pair."

As an example, in a limited game with strats from 0 to 300 and 300 to 750, no player with more than 750 masterpoints could play in this game. But a pair with one player holding 350 masterpoints and the other player holding 100 masterpoints would be placed in the 0 to 300 group if the sponsoring organization chooses to determine stratification based on averaging.

NABC Winners

Management has just completed a project recommended by the Technology Committee which will enable players to access on the ACBL website winners (and seconds) of all NABC events, either by person or by event. Those interested in who wins NABC events will enjoy this new feature.

Reporting of Club Results

The Technology Committee is also evaluating the feasibility of making available to all of our clubs the option to post club game results on the ACBL website. Not only will this project provide a valuable service to our clubs and players but it will also result in more players accessing the website on a regular basis, which is clearly desirable. If all goes well, I believe we will be able to pilot this new service within the next two months.

Platinum Pairs

As reported in March, a new event, the Platinum Pairs, was added to the Spring NABC schedule, starting in 2010. The event will be a 6 session event starting on the first Friday. The existing Silodor Open Pairs will be moved to the Thursday before the last weekend and the IMP Pairs will be moved to the first Friday (to run concurrently with the Platinum Pairs). Finally, the Vanderbilt will start on Monday rather than Sunday.

For more detail on Board actions, please read the minutes of the Board meeting on the ACBL website (ACBL.org). The minutes will be posted within the next two weeks.

Top 25 Masterpoint Winners – Washington NABC

   
Name
Total Points
Points Won in
NABC+ Events
1.
  John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT
132.34
58.05
2.
  Adam Grossack, Newton MA
104.42
2.28
3.
  Lewis Gamerman, Westwood MA
101.21
5.57
4.
  Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT
97.19
31.83
5.
  Doug Doub, West Hartford CT
92.04
67.08
6.
  Daniel Colatosti, Waltham MA
89.32
37.95
  John Malley, Pascoag RI
89.32
37.95
8.
  Shome Mukherjee, Randolph MA
81.63
27.16
9.
  Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT
74.35
33.85
10.
  Joseph DeGaetano, Atkinson NH
73.68
11.
  Sheila Gabay, Newton MA
73.34
65.99
12.
  Pat McDevitt, Brookline MA
72.38
35.88
13.
  Joyce Pearson, Framingham MA
71.90
1.06
14.
  David Becher, Peabody MA
70.06
70.06
  Alan Watson, Lexington MA
70.06
70.06
16.
  Melody Bi, West Warwick RI
68.39
68.39
17.
  Natalie Bassil, Boston MA
63.51
1.06
18.
  Victor King, Hartford CT
61.10
56.49
19.
  Melvin Marcus, Waltham MA
56.48
14.53
20.
  Stephen Gladyszak, Chelsea MA
54.64
38.38
21.
  Bill Irvine, Quincy MA
52.86
13.79
22.
  Lawrence Lau, Westport CT
52.68
50.13
23.
  Simon Kantor, Agawam MA
52.26
49.44
24.
  Bret Adler, Westport CT
51.42
34.09
25.
  Zachaey Grossack, Newton MA
50.83

The Fall NABC will be held from November 26 through December 6 at the marvelous Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in downtown Seaport Village in San Diego. The Manchester Grand Hyatt provides a spectacular view of San Diego Bay and is reported to be a luxurious facility. Please note that the tournament officially starts on the day after Thanksgiving. To learn more about this great venue and all of the planned activities, please visit www.sandiegofallnabc2009.com. I hope to see you all there.

Rich DeMartino
District Director