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