May 2005 - 9

The American Contract
Bridge League
President
Roger Smith
Chair, Board
of Directors
Bruce Reeve
Chief Executive Officer
Jay A. Baum
ACBL Counsel
Peter Rank
Chair, Board
of Governors
Linda Mamula
Board of Directors
District 1 * George Retek
District 2 * Jonathan Steinberg
District 3 * Joan Levy Gerard
District 4 * Craig Robinson
District 5 * Sharon Fairchild
District 6 * Nadine K. Wood
District 7 * Bruce Reeve
District 8 * Georgia Heth
District 9 * Shirley Seals
District 10 * Bill Cook Jr.
District 11 * Jim Reiman
District 12 * William Arlinghaus
District 13 * Harriette Buckman
District 14 * Sue Himel
District 15 * Phyllis Harlan
District 16 * Dan E. Morse
District 17 * Jerry Fleming
District 18 * Richard G. Anderson
District 19 * Barbara Nist
District 20 * Jeffrey Taylor
District 21 * Roger L. Smith
District 22 * Jim Kirkham
District 23 * Alan LeBendig
District 24 * Alvin Levy
District 25 * Richard De Martino
To contact your district director,
address your e-mail to
district"*"director@acbl.org
(Enter the district number
where you see "*".)

May 2005
2005
May

From
the CEO
Now's your chance
If you read this column regularly, you know
I like to promote the NABCs, especially the part
about there being games for everyone.
Now here's a tip that might help you get to next year's Spring NABC in
Dallas on the ACBL. It's simple: play in the North American Pairs. District
winners in three flights (see page 24) will have their airfare to Dallas paid,
plus hotel accommodations for three nights. Second place will receive
airfare to Dallas.
Last year, we promoted the NAP more vigorously, and it paid off in much
greater participation. We're expecting a similar, if not greater, turnout this
year.
I have played in the NAP final (known back then as the Grand National
Pairs), and I can tell you that it is a lot of fun. It's the only pairs event on
the calendar which allows you to qualify at the club level and make it all
the way to the final of a national event.
ACBL has lowered sanction fees for club qualifying games, so it's likely
that wherever you live, there will be lots of chances for you to take that first
step.
Something new
Last year, we commissioned an online survey of ACBL members that
covered a variety of topics. One of them concerned the playing schedule at
NABCs. The question: "How would a change of start times to a morning (10
a.m.) and afternoon (3 p.m.) schedule for all events (rather than the traditional
afternoon and evening start times) affect your decision to attend an NABC?"
The results were somewhat surprising: 40% said it would not make a difference, 37.2% said they would be more likely to attend, and 7.2% said they
would definitely attend. On the other side, 3.4% said they definitely would
not attend, and 12.2% said they would be less likely to. Take away the latter
two categories and you're looking at 84.4% who are favorable to the concept
or at worst neutral.
That survey helped give rise to the play schedule for the 2005 Summer
NABC in Atlanta: all games will be at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. There will be
some events in the evenings - "midnight" games will commence at 9:30
p.m. - but most play will be over in time for players to make plans for a
leisurely dinner or other activity.
We will be watching the schedule closely and listening for feedback from
players, hoping to learn from the experiment. It is worth noting that some
regionals and most European tournaments have followed the morningafternoon schedule for years.
Kudos
It takes a lot of preparation to put on an NABC, and I'm always impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the local organizing groups.
We're just back from the 2005 Spring NABC in Pittsburgh, and I can tell
you the locals, led by Tournament Chair Roni Gitchel, did an outstanding
job of getting ready for the players - and then putting on
a terrific show once things got under way.
Congratulations to all involved for an excellent
tournament.
Jay Baum, CEO
9

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2005