May 2021 - 7

IN Box

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

No more KOs for me

club, and it's rewarding already.

I'd like to share my observations about
the results from the 0-1500 KO group
(my level) in the March NAOBC to
illustrate the continuing problem of
knockout qualification inequities.
Each group advanced two teams,
even though some were four-team
groups and some were six-team
groups. That means teams from the
group of four had a better chance of
advancing (50% vs. 33.3%).
Put another way, each of the 40
teams played 48 boards. One of the
four-team groups qualified a team
with 26 Victory Points (rounded)
to advance. In the six-team groups,
however, there were 15 teams with
significantly higher VP totals who did
not advance. Four of these teams had
between 52 and 58 VPs!
With 40 teams, why not simply
have 10 groups of four teams each? Or
perhaps the experts can repair this
some other way. But this obviously
unfair situation needs to be fixed
before it cripples registration for
ACBL knockout events.

JERRY FRANKEL

JILL KOLODY
Pasadena MD

On apologies, volunteering
I don't know Sylvia Shi, but I was
moved by her heartfelt apology for
cheating (March issue, pg. 8). She is
paying a severe penalty, but it takes
a big person to accept responsibility
for their actions. When she returns to
this great game, I wish her nothing but
the best.
Concerning all the great suggestions
by the many members' letters, I have
a suggestion for them: Why not work
on your suggestions or other ideas you
have at the local level? Run for office
at your local club or ACBL unit. Many
improvements start close to home.
I just started on the board of a local

Plano TX

Forging ahead
I totally disagree with the negative
opinion of the resumption of face-toface bridge expressed by two readers
in the March issue. One of the
functions of the Bridge Bulletin is to
report bridge news, which was done
by writing the article on face-to-face
bridge. The article did not imply
that the ACBL thought it was a safe
practice. Furthermore, the idea that
one rule fits all is a misconception.
The commonsense approach to the
COVID-19 virus is that each community makes rules appropriate for
its situation. I have been playing at
Bonita Bridge Club in southwest
Florida since July. There has been no
incidence of viral infection thanks to
the safety measures they instituted.
Fortunately, our area has been
relatively free of the virus, so our
businesses, restaurants and concert
halls are open by taking reasonable
safety measures. After all, we are the
" land of the free and the home of the
brave, " so let's keep it that way.
JANE ROBERTS

Bonita Springs FL

Sub flubs
As a club director online, I would
like to address the issue of online
substitutes.
It would be better to use the term
" fill-ins, " as directors use these people
to complete a half-table or put a
player in for someone who has been
disconnected or has to leave.
I would ask people that are reading
this to please follow through with
your obligation to be a substitute. It is
very frustrating when a game begins
to find someone to fill in those half

tables. The director indicates they need
a substitute and gets a list of people who
are available.
What has happened to me several
times is that a person refuses to sub into
my game. What are you waiting for? A
better offer from a bigger club? It's like
someone waiting for a better date to the
prom.
Some subs are too picky, and when
they find they are playing with a nonLife Master in an open game, they
disappear without saying a word. Now
I have to figure if it's a disconnect or the
person has just abandoned the game. (I
believe that if one does that in real life,
they could be sanctioned.)
On rare occasions, I have had to kick
subs out. Recently, one of our players
lost their electricity two minutes before
the game started. I subbed someone in
who volunteered. However, I checked
the chat on the first hand he played, and
he made the comment to his partner,
" When did we decide that? " This was
someone playing for free with one of my
regular partners. I just re-subbed him
and put him on my Ignore list.
So if you're on the sub list or volunteer
to sub, please fulfill the societal obligation of subbing into a game. And if you
are subbing, remember you are a free
guest and should act accordingly.
THOMAS J. STILLMAN
San Francisco CA
Sunset Bridge Club

Tactile importance
Letter-writer Maggie Symington (March
issue, pg. 7) suggests that when COVID
is over, we all bring our electronic
devices to in-person games.
She says, " No more need for dirty
cards, bidding boxes, scoring devices, or
dealing machines. "
My view is that bridge is not about
efficiency, but community. There's a
great deal of pleasure in setting out the
bidding boxes. This is likewise so for »
May 2021 | Bridge Bulletin | 7
May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2021
