Non-Life Master Participation in the 0-750 NAP and GNT Flights
At our August 27 special meeting the ACBL Board of Directors accepted the recommendation of the Advisory Council to limit participation in the 0-750 flights of the NAP and GNT to Non-Life Masters. This change is to encourage newer players to participate in both events.
ACBL Code of Disciplinary Regulations (CDR)
On October 17, the board held another special meeting to consider changes to the CDR to extend Fast Track Discipline to all masterpoint levels. One change is that the warning level was increased from 300 to 500 masterpoints, and suspension lengths were reduced for all masterpoint levels. The lighter sentences will apply retroactively for those still under suspension or probation if they have less than 2500 masterpoints, or have entered into a negotiated resolution.
The reasoning behind the changes is to make the punishment easier for members to accept and to force those who wish to contest the allegations of collusive cheating pay the $900 fee for the Institute for Bridge Arbitration (IBA) to hear the case. If the charged parties prevail, the IBA will most likely refund the fee and may have other costs of the charged parties reimbursed by the ACBL. The board feels that with these changes we will enable all members to be screened by EDGAR within the next nine months and thus eliminate the backlog of disciplinary cases.
EDGAR
I hope you took the time to read the excellent article on EDGAR in the August edition of the Bridge Bulletin (make link?) and ACBL Executive Director Bronia Jenkins’ letter to the membership about EDGAR. Much misinformation about EDGAR has been spread by players (and their supporters) who claimed innocence and then admitted cheating to the ACBL for a more lenient sentence. As Bronia stated, EDGAR’s probability of cheating exceeds 99.9%. EDGAR’s principals have devoted countless hours writing about their system on Bridge Winners (make link) and talking with charged parties and their advocates/advisors explaining how the determination of cheating is made which includes their personal review of every case. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their work.
Another change to the CDR eliminates the reduction in sentence if a player is found to publicly state that they were innocent after admitting guilt to the ACBL for a reduced sentence. This change is not intended to apply retroactively.
Bridge Base Online (BBO) Negotiations
Negotiations on a new contract with BBO continue with the hope that a new contract will go into effect January 1, 2025. I am optimistic that agreement will be reached and approved at our Las Vegas meeting in November. As I wrote previously, ACBL does not intend to grant exclusivity for masterpoints or robot games to BBO as we want to encourage innovation and provide opportunities for other online providers while recognizing that BBO will be a preferred partner for years to come.
I hope you and your families have a wonderful Holiday Season this year, and wish you all the best in 2025!