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Exploring
the Laws
Chapter
IX & Chapter
X
Chapters 9 and
10 cover the responsibilities and duties of the Sponsoring
Organisation and the Tournament Director.
The use of the
term 'Sponsoring Organisation' is directed at any club,
national or zonal body in addition to the WBF or any organisation
conducting a tournament under these laws. This terminology
is important, for implicit in this responsibility is the requirement
to abide totally within these laws and to ensure there are
no conflicting regulations.
Most of the requirements
of the Sponsoring Organisation listed are of a expected nature
such as appointing Tournament Directors, finding venues, scheduling
of events, conditions of entry, bidding procedures, appeal
processes etc. For the most part, the average club, whether
they realise it or not, have most, if not all of the list
incorporated in their yearly programme as their club games
are regulated by either supply and demand or venue availability.
Law
81, 'Tournament Director', 'Responsibilities', 'Duties
and Powers' is listed to ensure that the Director is fully
aware of his authority and that in upholding the law, his
power is absolute. Once appointed as The Director, he is responsible
for the smooth running of the event, all technical areas,
the scoring and is bound by these laws and any supplementary
regulations. The duties expected of the Director are all designed
to provide a professional approach and whilst he may delegate
, he is still ultimately responsible. Such duties include
the announcement of conditions of play, the maintenance of
discipline, keeping the movement going, interpreting the laws,
assessing penalties etc. The list is very comprehensive.
Law
82 deals with the 'Rectification of Errors of Procedure'.
This requires the directors to deal with procedural errors
by way of awarding adjusted scores or requiring late plays.
Encompassed in this law is the procedure to follow if a wrong
ruling is given, every Director at some stage in his career
will have a blind spot and either give a wrong ruling or miss
out an important option, recognising that nobody is perfect,
the players will applaud the Directors honesty in owning up
and will graciously accept the ruling of a 60-60 adjusted
score, deeming both sides as non-offending. For the Director,
when giving rulings, ensure that every option is covered with
ramifications if applicable for as sure as eggs are eggs,
the one time you bypass an option, it will backfire on you.
Section 2
of Chapter 10, Law
84 gives the procedure to follow when rulings are
made on agreed facts, no problems. In certain instances, there
are disagreements regarding facts, such as in claims, played
cards, revokes etc. When this happens the prime objective
is to keep the game going without too much delay, especially
in Pair games; Gather whatever facts you can and if necessary
make a ruling that will allow play to continue. The unhappy
pair can always appeal any decision.
Section 3 of
chapter 10, Law 86 'Correction
of Irregularities' in team play. Law
12c refers to 'artificial adjusted scores' and awards
certain percentage scores according to the degree of responsibility,
this law 86 refers to adjusted scores in teams play as equating
+ or - 3 IMP's to 60% and 40% or Average +, Average -.
Law 86B
looks at when the Director awards two differing scores in
knockout matches, the formula to be used is that each team
separately computes their score for that board and the average
of the two scores is the result.
Law 86C
refers to the authority of Law
6 to redeal boards, disallowing any redeal if the
final result of a match could be known to any one of the contestants.
This law would only refer to the final segment of a match.
If, in earlier portion of a match, it was deemed that a substitute
board was in order, this could be lawfully added to the next
segment if appropriate.
Law
87 defined 'Fouled Board". Just because a board does
not conform to the hand record, this does not necessarily
mean that the board was fouled, providing players had a direct
comparison in an identical form, then the board can be
scored normally. However, when, it is established that a board
was fouled, it is necessary to find the point at which the
cards changed and divide the board into two groups. The board
can then be scored in accordance with any regulations of the
tournament.
Law
88 refers to artificial adjusted scores in pairs events
and awards a minimum of 60% to a non-offender. In order to
give more than the prescribed 60% would depend on the percentage
game of the pair concerned with an upward adjustment given
if their game exceeded the prescribed amount. Otherwise to
give more would require exceptional circumstances with reference
to a tournament committee.
Law
89 'Penalties in Individual Events'. Any penalty for
an infraction is awarded equally against a pairing, however
procedural penalties can be given individually.
Law 90 identifies the areas of
'Breaches of Procedure' and gives the authority for the Director
to penalise whenever he believes that such action is necessary.
Bridge is a game and the issuing of penalties should only
be given when clearly warranted and not as a matter of course.
There are, naturally, situations when the Directors hands
are tied by way of regulations requiring automatic penalties
irrespective of feelings, such instances can rightfully include,
late arrival or late finishes; These generally are promulgated
in major tournaments only. For the ordinary club game,
such draconian action will only upset your regular players
and serve very little constructive purpose.
I am frequently
asked how to deal with slow play which causes more
angst than all other areas of play. A good Director will move
the players when around 75% of tables are complete, should
timers be in use, the allotted time should reflect this time
span. It is no use setting the clock for 8 minutes a board
if 75% of the players complete the round in 7 minutes, similarly,
if you only allow 7 minutes per board and 50% are not finished,
adjust the clock accordingly. Once you have established a
mean time span, move the tables accordingly and as your schedule
is based on 75% completion, there will always be a number
of tables on or near completion when the clock rings. On this
basis it would be prudent to avoid any suggestion of penalties
for slow play at this time.
Late tables will
catch up; If I am called, I adopt the line that the time allowed
is a mean timing, not an automatic right to take the allowed
span. Whilst players are expected to finish on time, some
hands will present problems, whilst others will be of a mamma
papa nature and take no time at all, thus giving all players
the opportunity to play to time and catch up when necessary.
I believe gentle coercion is far more effective than
harsh penalties. Other penalty situations in this law include
for: Loud postmortems, touching opponents cards, failing to
count and all situations whereby other players are inconvenienced.
Law
91, whilst one of the shortest in words, packs a deadly
punch. The authority for the Director to discipline players
either through penalties or suspension. Seldom used and should
only be enacted as a last resort in order to maintain
order and discipline.
Law
92 and Law 93 deal with
'Appeals'. Every Sponsoring Organisation have their own regulation
in this area, the Laws give guidelines as to the rights of
players and committees and it is worth noting that any player
has the right to appeal a Directors ruling that was made at
his table, even though the ruling was based on Law or Regulation.
The only proviso is that both members of a pair or the captain
of a team concur in appealing. Note the words 'that was
made at his table', no appeal can be entertained made
by any other player for a ruling given elsewhere.
The timing for
a request for an appeal is linked to law
79c, the reference point for all laws where 'timing'
is involved. The Sponsoring Organisation may decide a different
time which could be relevant when it is impossible to either
delay a result or convene a meeting in the 30 mins stipulated
in this law. In certain situations, the forming of an appeals
committee is either impossible or impracticable, in such cases
the Law allows for the Chief Director to act as a committee
of one, if however a committee can be properly formed then
such committee is required to adhere to Law and has no authority
to overrule the director on a point of Law or regulation.
They can however recommend he change his ruling if their interpretation
or conclusion differs from the ruling as made.
Law
93c allows for disgruntled appellants to take their
case to their National Authority for consideration. Such Authority
would normally only consider a review if patently incorrect
facts were originally presented or if an incorrect law was
applied.
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Chapter IX
Tournament
Sponsorship
LAW 80 - SPONSORING ORGANIZATION
A sponsoring
organisation conducting an event under these Laws has the
following duties and powers:
A. Tournament Director to appoint the tournament
Director. If there is no tournament Director, the players
should designate one of their own number to perform his functions.
B. Advance Arrangements to make advance arrangements
for the tournament, including playing quarters, accommodations
and equipment.
C. Session Times to establish the date and time
of each session.
D. Conditions of Entry to establish the
conditions of entry.
E. Special Conditions to establish special conditions
for bidding and play (such as written bidding, bidding boxes,
screens - penalty provisions for actions not transmitted across
a screen may be suspended).
F. Supplementary Regulations to publish or announce
regulations supplementary to, but not in conflict with, these
Laws.
G. Appeals To make suitable arrangements for
appeals to be heard.
Chapter X
Tournament
Director
SECTION
ONE
RESPONSIBILITIES
LAW 81
- DUTIES AND POWERS
A. Official Status
The Director is the official representative of the sponsoring
organisation.
B. Restrictions and Responsibilities
1. Technical Management The Director is responsible
for the technical management of the tournament.
2. Observance of Laws and Regulations The Director
is bound by these Laws and by supplementary regulations announced
by the sponsoring organisation.
C. Director's Duties and Powers The Director's
duties and powers normally include the following:
1. Assistants to appoint assistants, as required, to
perform his duties.
2. Entries to accept and list entries.
3. Conditions of Play to establish suitable conditions
of play and to announce them to the contestants.
4. Discipline to maintain discipline and to insure
the orderly progress of the game.
5. Law to administer and interpret these Laws and to
advise the players of their rights and responsibilities thereunder.
6. Errors to rectify an error or irregularity of which
he becomes aware in any manner, within the correction period
established in accordance with Law
79C.
7. Penalties to assess penalties when applicable.
8. Waiver of Penalties to waive penalties for cause,
at his discretion, upon the request of the non-offending side.
9. Disputes to adjust disputes; to refer a matter to
the appropriate committee.
10. Scores to collect scores and tabulate results.
11. Reports to report results to the sponsoring organisation
for official record.
D. Delegation of Duties The Director may delegate
any of the duties listed in "C' to assistants, but he is not
thereby relieved of responsibility for their correct performance.
LAW 82
- RECTIFICATION OF ERRORS OF PROCEDURE
A. Director's Duty
It is the duty of the Director to rectify errors of procedure
and to maintain the progress of the game in a manner that
is not contrary to these Laws.
B. Rectification of Error To rectify an error
in procedure the Director may:
1. Award of Adjusted Score award an adjusted score
as permitted by these Laws.
2. Specify Time of Play require or postpone the play
of a board.
C. Director's Error If the Director has given a ruling
that he or the Chief Director subsequently determines to be
incorrect, and if no rectification will allow the board to
be scored normally, he shall award an adjusted score, considering
both sides as non-offending for that purpose
LAW 83
- NOTIFICATION OF THE RIGHT TO APPEAL
If the Director believes that
a review of his decision on a point of fact or exercise of
his discretionary power might be in order (as when he awards
an adjusted score under Law
12), he shall advise a contestant of his right to
appeal or may refer the matter to an appropriate committee.
SECTION
TWO
RULINGS
LAW 84
- RULINGS ON AGREED FACTS
When the Director is called
to rule on a point of law or regulation in which the facts
are agreed upon, he shall rule as follows:
A. No Penalty If no penalty is prescribed by
law, and there is no occasion for him to exercise his discretionary
powers, he directs the players to proceed with the auction
or play.
B. Penalty under Law If a case is clearly covered
by a Law that specifies a penalty for the irregularity, he
assesses that penalty and sees that it is paid.
C. Player's Option If a Law gives a player a
choice among penalties, the Director explains the options
and sees that a penalty is selected and paid.
D. Director's Option If the Law gives the Director
a choice between a specified penalty and the award of an adjusted
score, he attempts to restore equity, resolving any doubtful
point in favour of the non-offending side.
E. Discretionary Penalty If an irregularity
has occurred for which no penalty is provided by law, the
Director awards an adjusted score if there is even a reasonable
possibility that the non-offending side was damaged, notifying
the offending side of its right to appeal (see Law
81C9).
LAW 85
- RULINGS ON DISPUTED FACTS
When the Director is called
upon to rule on a point of law or regulation in which the
facts are not agreed upon, he shall proceed as follows:
A. Director's Assessment If the Director is
satisfied that he has ascertained the facts, he rules as in
Law 84.
B. Facts Not Determined If the Director is unable
to determine the facts to his satisfaction, he shall make
a ruling that will permit play to continue, and notify the
players of their right to appeal.
SECTION
THREE
CORRECTION OF IRREGULARITIES
LAW 86
- IN TEAM PLAY
A.
Average Score at IMP Play When the Director chooses to
award an artificial adjusted score of average plus or average
minus in IMP play, that score is plus 3 IMPs or minus 3 IMPs
respectively.
B. Non-balancing Adjustments, Knockout Play When
the Director assigns non-balancing adjusted scores (see Law
12C) in knockout play, each contestant's score on
the board is calculated separately. The average of the two
scores is then assigned to both contestants.
C. Substitute Board The Director shall not exercise
his Law 6 authority
to order one board redealt when the final result of a match
without that board could be known to a contestant. Instead,
he awards an adjusted score.
LAW 87
- FOULED BOARD
A. Definition
A board is considered to be "fouled" if the Director determines
that one or more cards were misplaced in the board, in such
manner that contestants who should have had a direct score
comparison did not play the board in identical form.
B. Scoring the Fouled Board In scoring a fouled
board the Director determines as closely as possible which
scores were made on the board in its correct form, and which
in the changed form. He divides the score on that basis into
two groups, and rates each group separately as provided in
the regulations of the sponsoring organisation. In some forms
of team contests, the sponsoring organisation may prescribe
a redeal (see Law 6).
SECTION
FOUR
PENALTIES
LAW 88
- AWARD OF INDEMNITY POINTS
In a pair or individual event,
when a non-offending contestant is required to take an artificial
adjusted score through no fault or choice of his own, such
contestant shall be awarded a minimum of 60% of the matchpoints
available to him on that board, or the percentage of matchpoints
he earned on boards actually played during the session if
that percentage was greater than 60%.
LAW 89
- PENALTIES IN INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
In individual events, the
Director shall enforce the penalty provisions of these Laws,
and the provisions requiring the award of adjusted scores,
equally against both members of the offending side, even though
only one of them may be responsible for the irregularity.
But the Director, in awarding adjusted scores, shall not assess
procedural penalty points against the offender's partner,
if, in the Director's opinion, he is in no way responsible
for the violation.
LAW 90
- PROCEDURAL PENALTIES
A. Director's Authority
The Director, in addition to enforcing the penalty provisions
of these Laws, may also assess penalties for any offence that
unduly delays or obstructs the game, inconveniences other
contestants, violates correct procedure, or requires the award
of an adjusted score at another table.
B. Offences Subject to Penalty Offences subject
to penalty include but are not limited to:
1. Tardiness arrival of a contestant after the specified
starting time.
2. Slow Play unduly slow play by a contestant.
3. Loud Discussion discussion of the bidding, play
or result of a board, which may be overheard at another table.
4. Comparing Scores unauthorised comparison of scores
with another contestant.
5. Touching Another's Cards touching or handling of
cards belonging to another player (Law
7).
6. Misplacing Cards in Board placing one or more cards
in an incorrect pocket of the board.
7. Errors in Procedure errors in procedure (such as
failure to count cards in one's hand, playing the wrong board,
etc.) that require an adjusted score for any contestant.
8. Failure to Comply failure to comply promptly with
tournament regulations or with any instruction of the Director.
LAW 91
- PENALISE OR SUSPEND
A. Director's Power
In performing his duty to maintain order and discipline, the
Director is specifically empowered to assess disciplinary
penalties in points or to suspend a contestant for the current
session or any part thereof (the Director's decision under
this clause is final).
B. Right to Disqualify The Director is specifically
empowered to disqualify a contestant for cause, subject to
approval by the Tournament Committee or sponsoring organisation.
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