Happy February to All!

When I started playing bridge, the first thing that became clear to me is that this is a partnership game that always takes two players understanding each other to play well together. Since we have Valentine’s Day this month, I would like to encourage you to shower your partners with appreciation (or a piece of chocolate…yum) as a thank you for playing with you.

For 2024, I have been assigned to serve on the Governance Committee, Appeals & Charges Committee and the Membership Recruitment and Retention Task Force. All three of my committees have held meetings this year.

The Board of Directors held a special online meeting on January 12, 2024 in which we voted to approve revisions to the ACBL Code of Disciplinary Regulations (CDR) effective February 1, 2024. It is hoped that these revisions will accelerate the decision-making processes related to disciplinary matters. One of the big changes is that all disciplinary matters will now be handled by the National Recorders Office. The twenty-five districts will no longer need a District Disciplinary Chair or a District Appellate Chair.

Much of the discipline that applied to allegations of inappropriate F2F ethical behavior remains unchanged. However, a second big change to the CDR is that it allows the implementation of a Computer Based Cheating Detection process for online play. The ACBL Board voted to use a software cheating detection tool call EDGAR (an acronymfor Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach) which is a designed to quickly evaluate a large number of deals to determine if a player or pair is cheating. Players entering the disciplinary process will want to read the new CDR to identify their disciplinary path.

If there is anything you would like to discuss with me, please contact me at jackiezayac@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

If you are attending the OTR or the Louisville NABC, I hope to see you there!

Jackie Z