District 25 - November 2006 Director's Report

District Director's Report
November 2006 ( Rich DeMartino)

Hawaii NABC

The Hawaii NABC was held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, a fantastic site on beautiful Waikiki beach in Honolulu. This resort features exotic wildlife including tropical penguins, botanical gardens and 5 pools. There are numerous good restaurants of all types both in the Village and within walking distance or a short cab ride away. Room rates were very reasonable for Hawaii, with very good rooms as low as $150 per day. Both the playing space and the hospitality were excellent. I wish to commend the local volunteers for doing a terrific job as hosts.

Unfortunately, attendance was only 8,608 tables, about 1,400 lower than expectations. One of the reasons is that many brought their families and took advantage of the super weather to tour Honolulu and the numerous beautiful and historic sites. Others either left early or arrived late to tour other islands. Still others stayed home believing the trip was too long.

This was the first NABC held in Hawaii since 1983. In my six years on the Board, this is first NABC I can recall where everyone who attended had a wonderful time; complaints were almost non-existent. I’m sorry that more of you were not there to enjoy this great tournament. Don’t miss the next one!

I’m happy to report that Pat McDevitt won enough masterpoints in the Senior KO to become District 25’s eleventh Grand Life Master. Kudos to Pat on achieving this important milestone.

Top Ten Finishers in NABC Events from District 25

MINI-BLUE RIBBON PAIRS

Lawrence Lau, Westport CT

2nd

Senior KO Teams

Geof Brod, Avon CT	3rd/4th
Pat McDevitt, Brookline MA
Thomas Smith, Stamford CT
Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT

Simon Kantor, Agawam MA

5th/8th

Highlights of ACBL Board Meeting

Financial Status

For calendar year 2006, Management is currently projecting a loss of $116,000, compared to a budgeted gain of $65,000. A significant reason for the difference is the sale of the ACBL Product Store to Baron Barclay. This sale will be beneficial to the ACBL bottom line starting in 2007 but for last the few months of 2006, the reverse is true since there is a loss of revenue from product sales without a corresponding decrease in salaries and benefits.

For 2007, I am pleased to report that the Finance Committee is projecting a profit of about $175,000. What makes this result even more favorable is that there are no proposed changes in fees, except for the following:

Tournament Directors’ Fees will be raised 4%, to provide for salary increases. Since TD fees charged are still lower than actual salaries plus benefits paid to the TDs, the Finance Committee approved an 8% increase in TD fees to bring the fees more in line with actual TD costs (a catch-up). The additional 4% in TD fees will be offset by a corresponding decrease in Sanction Fees for Regionals and Sectionals (about a 6.7% decrease).

Mini Life Master Pairs – Conditions of Contest

Based on a survey taken of the players, this event will consist of six sessions, two qualifying, two semi-final and two final sessions. Those playing in the event had a definite preference for this format.

CEO Report

CEO Jay Baum reported the following:

Membership has grown by 1,067 since January 1. This is a very good trend and the CEO is especially optimistic because of the increase in paid members.

Participation in 2006 sanctioned tournaments has been strong. Regional tables are up 3.4%; Sectional tables are up 2.7%, due in part to 17 additional tournaments; and, STAC tables show an increase of 2.8%.

Masterpoint Committee

The Masterpoint Committee, which I chair, will begin its work in earnest at in St. Louis. Many ideas are on the table for consideration so if you have input, now is the time to let us know your thoughts. I am proposing a new method for computing masterpoints for KOs which is based on the quality of the field, rather than the number of tables in play. Significant additional analysis is needed to determine whether or not this idea has merit.

ACBL Goodwill Committee & Charity Committee Appointments

It gives me great pleasure to announce the following appointments to the ACBL National Goodwill Committee and the National Charity Committee. These are lifetime appointments honoring players who have contributed substantially to bridge in our District.

National Goodwill Committee

Ann Borgshulte, Lexington MA

Frank Lombardo, Winchester MA

National Charity Committee

Frank Hacker, Barre VT

Robert Smith, Manchester Ctr VT

TOP 25 MASTERPOINT WINNERS – Hawaii NABC

	Name	Total Points	Points Won in NABC+ Events
1.	Simon Kantor, Agawam MA	114.77	69.18
2.	Rich DeMartino, Riverside CT	112.46	106.37
3.	Jim Gordon, S. Burlington VT	92.02	32.00
4.	Lloyd Arvedon, Bedford MA	71.98	40.00
5.	Florence Hackman, Chatham MA	67.39
6.	Pat McDevitt, Brookline MA	66.92	60.00
7.	Judith Murray, Harwich Port MA	65.87
8.	Geoffrey Brod, Avon CT	62.62	62.62
9.	Lawrence Lau, Westport CT	48.98	48.98
10.	Allan Rothenberg, W. Hartford CT	46.37	46.37
11.	William Nason, Groton MA	42.86
	Robert Bertoni, Haverhill MA	42.86
13.	Nathan Glasser, Somerville MA	41.18	0.96
14.	Lois Zeisler, Fairfield CT	36.96
15.	Bud Biswas, Lexington MA	36.43
16.	Nataly Goldin, Auburndale MA	35.12
17.	Edward Spear, Bangor ME	34.54
	Rosalind Spear, Bangor ME	34.54
19.	Peter Manzon, Waltham MA	33.57
	Rick Holcomb, Malden MA	33.57
21.	Lon Sunshine, Framingham MA	29.78	0.92
22.	Phyllis Fireman, Chestnut Hill MA	25.98
	Paul Fireman, Chestnut Hill MA	25.98
24.	Sandra DeMartino, Riverside CT	23.29
25.	Sheila Middleton, Milton MA	22.96

Top Platinum Masterpoint Winners - 2006

The ten leading masterpoint winners in NABC+ events for 2006 are: Rich DeMartino (243); Geoffrey Brod (211); Doug Doub (205); Simon Kantor (204); Steve Earl (147); John Stiefel (143); Lloyd Arvedon (140); Pat McDevitt (115); John McLaughlin (96) and Dick Budd (94).

The 2007 Spring NABC is in St. Louis from March 8 - 18. The 2007 Summer NABC is in Nashville and the 2007 Fall NABC is in San Francisco (beginning on Thanksgiving Day).

Rich DeMartino
District Director