Dear Cindy,

The ACBL Board of Directors held its spring meetings face-to-face (F2F) Monday, March 11 through Wednesday, March 13 in Louisville. The Board, Task Forces and Committees continue to meet regularly through Microsoft Teams and Zoom.  

This report highlights the key goals of the organization, membership and financial information and provides detail on EDGAR, a computer-based cheating detection program now being used by ACBL. 

The NABC in Louisville was fantastic! The final table count totaled 6,757 and surpassed expectations. ACBL met its room block commitment thanks to those who chose to stay at The Galt House, the host hotel. Players enjoyed this vibrant city that combines heritage, originality and friendliness, the abundance of restaurants and of course, our great game of bridge! Over 65,000 masterpoints were earned by 2,722 players.  

While in Louisville, I had the pleasure of attending the Club and Teacher Reception where I spoke to many teachers and club owners from our District and abroad. We owe a great deal of gratitude to these individuals who provide new and experienced players communities in which to thrive.  

I look forward to seeing you at the Denver Rocky Mountain Regional, May 21-27, the home to the District 17 GNT Flights A/B/C Finals. 

It is a pleasure to serve as your representative to the ACBL Board of Directors. 

Respectfully, 

Cindy Shoemaker

Region 10 ACBL National Director

region10director@acbl.org

719-337-6258

February had a gain from operations of $198k, better than budget by $136k and $80k better than 2023. Revenues for the month totaled $1.2M, which was $100k more than the budget of $1.1M.

Expenses were $999k which was $36k or 3.5 percent less than the budget of $1.03M.Overall, the YTD gain in net assets were $294k, which was above budget by $232k and $333k better than the prior YTD loss of ($39k). 

The balance sheet is strong with investments of $8.2M and deferred revenue up 15 percent vs. 2023, reflecting paid memberships that expire in the future. The investments are needed to protect the organization from major loss. 

ACBL membership continues to stabilize. As of March 1, ACBL membership totaled 130,615; down 1.2 percent from the previous year. New members totaled 1,199; an increase of 1.0 percent from the previous year. New guest members totaled 895; an increase of 6.5 percent from the previous year.  

The Committee of the Full Board established the strategic goals of the organization. 

Focus remains on building and retaining membership, financial stability and combating cheating, mainly online. The development of a social bridge division is a new strategic goal. Improving IT infrastructure remains an operational priority.   

Four Task Forces—Clubs, Recruitment and Retention, Online Provider and NABC Business Model—were initiated to facilitate and streamline the planning process. Each is comprised of Board members and non-Board liaisons. 

The Chair of Appeals and Charges (A&C) reported the disciplinary matters A&C reviewed on January 31, 2024 - three Negotiated Resolutions (NR), one automatic review of an Online Ethical Oversight Committee (OEOC) decision and one appeal of a District Disciplinary Committee decision. Also, an NR submitted to A&C on February 6, rejected with condition for acceptance, revised and then accepted on February 23.  The Report was received by the Board.

Item 241-AC02 moved to streamline the Codification as it relates to discipline, clarifying language and removing procedures and “redundant” content that is already included in the Code of Disciplinary Regulations (CDR). Clarifications to the Codification include that each Unit is responsible for handling non-compliance with its bylaws, and that slow play should be reported to the ACBL National Recorder and not to Tournament Directors. 

Item 241-AC02 includes an Action Item that states if an A&C Committee member is unavailable to seat a panel of three for a disciplinary procedure, an alternate member of the Board shall be chosen by the A&C Chair in consultation with the President. All Board members are approved for consideration. 

Carried: 13-0-0.

Effective: March 13, 2024. 

ACBL is using a Computer-Based Cheating Detection Program (CBCD) EDGAR (Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach) to detect cheating in ACBL masterpoint (MP) games held on BBO.  

EDGAR went through a rigorous validation program of statistical review, testing and evaluation, demonstrating to independent outside experts, the A&C Committee and the Full Board that it is fit for use. 

The initial launch included 7,226 players who were screened during six weekly runs that occurred from January 31 through March 7. There are an estimated 30,000 ACBL members currently playing in ACBL games held on BBO. All players will be screened.

EDGAR places screened players in one of three categories: Red (cheating beyond a reasonable doubt), Green (not cheating) and Yellow (needing further review). Of those screened during the initial launch, 96 players, with MPs ranging from fewer than 300 to over 10,000, were identified as Red, 7,044 were identified as Green and 84 were identified as needing further review. 

The severity of discipline will depend on the total MPs of each player and on aggravating factors: previous discipline for ethical violations, members in positions of authority or honor (ACBL Board members, ACBL employees, Advisory Council (AC) members, national committee members, District and Unit officials and awardees), cheating with multiple players and players with over five platinum points. 

Discipline is as follows: 

• Partnerships where both players have fewer than 300 MPs will receive warnings if no aggravating factors exist.

• Partnerships where both players are under 2,500 MPs are eligible for Fast Track discipline (FTD) if no aggravating factors exist. 

• Partnerships where one or both players have 2,500 or more MPs or those with aggravating factors, are not eligible for FTD, but will be sent to the Institute of Bridge Arbitration (IBA) if an agreement on an NR is not made.

Hearing Reports and the Under Discipline List can be found on the Ethics & Discipline page of the ACBL website: https://www.acbl.org/ethics/

Governance continues to refine the roadmap to streamlining the ACBL Codification, the compilation of the rules and regulations passed by the Board. The goal is to create a user-friendly document that is less complex in language and in structure. 

Guidelines for ACBL regulations, policies and procedures were completed in January, and include definitions, scope and positions responsible for enforcement. The procedures will be used to identify ACBL regulations, policies and procedures that will be removed from the Codification and then “live” in an online document library for ease of access and scheduled/periodic review. Redundancies and outdated provisions and language will continue to be removed from the Codification. 

Governance/Communications produces the National Board Report and provides content for the Board page of the ACBL Bridge Bulletin. Board policies and protocols are being reviewed. A correspondence to stakeholders that clarifies the distinction between Regions and Districts and the use of Regional logos is underway.   

As part of its preparation for Louisville Board meetings, Governance reviewed five motions, provided input on one discussion item and put forth one action item. 

The Committee reviewed five motions and a proposal by the Competition and Conventions Committee:  

Item 241-BR01 moved to update the Codification, Chapter X - Sectionals, A. Sectional Tournaments - Scheduling, Sanctioning and Events and B. Finance.

Substantive changes are as follows: 

• Removes management’s ability to override sanctioning rules. 

• Adds a section on sectional scheduling to clarify required timeframes of sectional tournaments. 

• Removes management's ability to grant an exception for the weekend requirement; i.e., STaCs may be scheduled for up to seven consecutive days, but may include only one weekend.

Carried: 12-0-0 with one Board member absent at the time the vote was taken. 

Effective: April 15, 2024. 

Item 241-BR03 moved to update the Codification, Chapter VI - Club Sanctioned Games.

Substantive changes are as follows: 

• Gives management the ability to fine clubs for noncompliance with sanctioning rules. 

• Reduces lesson time allocated to pupil games from 45 minutes to 30 minutes to give teachers the flexibility for students to play six boards and to hold the play/learn time to under two hours. 

• For weekly clubs, increases Club Championship sessions for each regularly scheduled weekly game from four to eight yearly. 

• Requires clubs to hold two of the eight Club Championship sessions during a different calendar quarter of the year. Also, to not allow clubs to carry over Club Championship sessions from one quarter to the next. 

Carried: 12-0-0 with one Board member absent at the time the vote was taken.

Effective: March 13, 2024.  

Non-agenda Item 241-01 was introduced to select Chicago or Las Vegas as the location for the 2027 summer NABC. Following a discussion of the financials for Chicago (Sheraton) and Las Vegas (Caesars), the Board by a majority straw poll vote, approved both locations and provided the Executive Director with the discretion to choose the final location in consultation with the NABC Site Selection Committee.

Lamya Angelidis was appointed by the ACBL Board President to serve as Chair of the ACBL Goodwill Committee through December 31, 2024. 

Danny Sprung was appointed to the Competition and Conventions Committee for a three-year term from the end of the Spring 2024 NABC through the end of the Spring 2027 NABC.

Effective: March 25, 2024. 

Lynn Baker, Josh Donn and Paul Lewis were appointed to the Hall of Fame Committee for a three-year terms from the end of the Spring 2024 NABC through the end of the Spring 2027 NABC. 

Effective: March 25, 2024. 

Bart Bramley, Lesley Davis, Craig Kavin, Alex Kolesnik and Karen Walker were appointed to the Ethical Oversight Committee for three-year terms from the end of the Spring 2024 NABC through the end of the Spring 2027 NABC.

Effective: March 25, 2024.