District Director's Report
August, 2003

Long Beach NABC

Long Beach, California is an excellent site for an NABC. The weather was generally great, the playing facilities are excellent and there are numerous good restaurants either near the playing site or a short cab ride away. Despite this, attendance was a disappointing 12,246 tables, more than 10% below pre-tournament expectations. The host organization scheduled several enjoyable late night activities and also provided good hospitality after many of the evening sessions. As anticipated, there were fewer New Englanders at this NABC than other NABC’s closer to home but I believe that all who attended had a great time.

The only problem brought to my attention is that two of the recommended hotels, The Westin and Courtyard by Marriott, were a little further from the playing area than the players were led to believe. The Courtyard by Marriott is a little more than half a mile from the Convention Center and The Westin is a quarter of a mile from the Convention Center. Jay Stiefel took the time to document this problem in a letter to Jay Baum and, as a result, management will implement steps to be more accurate in reporting walking distances from various hotels to the playing site in the future.

 

TOP 10 FINISHERS IN NABC EVENTS – DISTRICT 25

WAGAR WOMENS KO TEAMS

Karen McCallum, Exeter NH
1

MIXED BAM TEAMS

Richard Zeckhauser, Cambridge MA
2
John Stiefel, Wethersfield CT
9/10

GNT – CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT
3/4
Steve Becker, Old Greenwich CT  
Allan Rothenberg, West Hartford CT  
Steve Earl, West Hartford CT  
John Malley, Pascoag RI  

GNT – FLIGHT A

James Rasmussen, Cambridge MA
3/4
Pamela Miller, Cambridge MA  
Jonathan Weinstein, Cambridge MA  
Walter Lee, Cambridge MA  
Mark Aquino, Jamaica Plain MA  
Carl Saldinger, Watertown MA  

GNT – FLIGHT B

Luke Guillespie, Jr., Wayland MA
5/8
Andrew Quinton, Moody ME  
Ralph Ross, Kennebunkport ME  
Timothy Goodwin, Standish ME  

SENIOR SWISS TEAMS

Carolyn Lynch, Marblehead MA
3

SPINGOLD KO TEAMS

Douglas Doub, W. Hartford CT
5/8

Mini- SPINGOLD II KO TEAMS

Samuel Ieong, New Haven CT
5/8


HIGHLIGHTS OF ACBL BOARD MEETING

NAP and GNT Events
As previously reported, overall participation has been declining in the NAP and GNT events, more so in some districts than others. A committee met after the main board meetings to determine what might be done to restore these events to their former stature.

Most of the discussion centered on the NAP’s. The most significant problems are:

Several good suggestions were made including: (i) find a way to either eliminate the $1.75 additional fee by recovering the money needed to subsidize the trips as a modest increase to sanction fees, or at least reduce the extra fee to $1.00, the regular fee for most special games; and (ii) award the trips based on overall participation at the district level (districts which do not promote the events would receive only one subsidized trip in each flight, while districts with a large participation would receive several subsidized trips). After more analysis, the committee hopes to make our recommendations to the full Board, at the New Orleans NABC.

2004 ACBL President
Bruce Reeve (District 7) and Chuck Wilkinson (District 10) were the previously-declared candidates. By secret ballot, Bruce Reeve was elected to the office of ACBL President for a one-year term beginning January 1, 2004.


NABC Starting Times
A motion was made to authorize management to experiment with 10:00am and 3:00pm starting times during an upcoming NABC, but only with the approval and cooperation of the local sponsoring organization. Effective Spring 2004

This motion passed 21 to 3, with one member absent. I voted in favor of the motion.

Preliminary 2004 Budget Assumptions
Each year at the Summer NABC, the Finance Committee develops preliminary budget assumptions. Following are the proposed price increases for 2004:

 
Item
Proposed Change
  Membership Dues No Change
  Club Fees No Change
  Tournament Sanction Fees + 8.0%
  Tournament Directors’ Fees + 6.5 % (3.5% salary + 3.0% catch-up)
  NABC Entry Fees + $4.00 per table

Please note that for the second consecutive year, the Finance Committee is recommending no change in club sanction fees. The board recognizes the importance of our clubs and we are pleased to be able to keep the fees at the present level.

Age For Senior Events
A motion was made that the eligibility age for ACBL Senior Events is that a player must have reached his/her sixtieth birthday. Effective date: January 1, 2004

This motion failed 18 - 6 with one member absent. I voted against the motion

ACBL Convention Charts
A motion was made that would treat any well-defined defense to a 1NT opening bid as a general chart convention. This motion failed 18 - 6. I voted against the motion.

Another motion was made that would permit the reversal of the 1S and 1NT (forcing) response to a 1H opening on general convention chart. This motion failed 23 - 1. I voted against the motion.

TOP 25 MASTERPOINT WINNERS – LONG BEACH- NABC

   
Name
Total Points
Points Won in
NABC Events
1.
 
Richard Zeckhauser
136.79
136.79
2.
  John Malley
125.61
51.08
3.
  Carolyn Lynch
116.11
56.25
4.
  Douglas Doub
106.55
106.55
5.
  Karen McCallum
100.00
100.00
6.
  Daniel Colatosti
77.45
1.08
7.
  Richard Budd
77.01
25.00
8.
  Simon Kantor
73.78
13.85
9.
  Rich DeMartino
72.22
52.50
10.
  Sheila Gabay
70.03
1.86
.
  Paul Kinney
70.03
1.86
12.
  Mark Aquino
69.37
10.58
13.
  Pat McDevitt
64.39
14.
  Robert Rosenberg
57.63
5.89
15.
  Lawrence Lau
52.56
20.00
16.
  Steve Becker
52.43
50.00
17.
  Walter Fontaine
51.15
12.12
18.
  Allan Rothenberg
50.00
50.00
  Stephen Earl
50.00
50.00
20.
  Walter Lee
44.52
21.
  John Stiefel
44.19
32.88
22.
  David Becher
41.58
    Alan Watson
41.58
24.
  William Braucher
41.14
3.80
25.
  Margaret Williams
41.10
18.02

The Fall NABC is in New Orleans from November 20 – November 30. New Orleans promises to be an outstanding site, with lots of wonderful places to eat. Please make your plans now as I’m confident this is one NABC you will not want to miss.

Rich DeMartino
District Director