December 2006 - 9

The American Contract
Bridge League

From
the CEO

President
Harriette Buckman
Chair, Board
of Directors
Roger Smith
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 "*".)

December 2006

New game plan
Masterpoints were created decades ago and have
served the ACBL and its members well through the years. As our stock in
trade, so to speak, masterpoints contributed significantly to the growth of the
ACBL and the popularity of tournament bridge.
It is clear now, however, that the number of masterpoints held by a member
is no longer the best indicator of where that member fits into the competitive
field. Many of today's players have accumulated thousands of masterpoints
from years of playing but are no longer competitive at the higher levels of our
sport.
It is time - perhaps past time - to do something about it.
In the coming year, we will move closer to a system that will allow us to
rank players according to playing ability measured in the short term. We are
still working on details - and the system would apply only to tournaments
initially - but a player's rating might be number of masterpoints earned in a
certain period divided by the number of sessions played.
Ratings could then be used to separate players into flights or strats. For
example, Flight A in an event at a tournament might be the top 20% of all the
players listed in descending order by their ratings. Flights B and C would be
assembled on some division of the rest of the field.
We are already working on programming to help our main computer and
ACBLscore work together to come up with each player's rating.
Our efforts will in no way affect a player's masterpoints totals, nor will there
be any change in the system for advancing in rank, say, from Gold Life Master
to Diamond Life Master.
The details will probably change as we move along toward this goal, but
the concept is clear - we want to help our players remain competitive. In
that way, we promote greater participation in tournaments and, when a rating
system for clubs is worked out, in that venue as well. Your comments on this
concept are welcome. Stay tuned for further developments.
Unit and district alert
On Aug. 17, President Bush signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
The new law contains numerous changes to the tax law provisions affecting
tax-exempt organizations. One of the provisions may affect our units, districts
and some clubs. Beginning in 2008, exempt organizations with gross receipts
under $25,000 must file an annual notice. Information on how to comply will
be available on the IRS web site soon.
Spring NABC
As you could see from the cover of this issue, we are back in St. Louis for
another NABC (see page 10).
There is something for everyone at our big tournaments,
and considering the attractions of the host city, there
will be plenty to do away from the bridge table
as well. See you there!
Jay Baum, CEO
9
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2006
