Happy Holidays to All!

The ACBL Board of Directors meeting was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 24-26, 2024.  Many board members wanted to go home to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families this year so the meetings started on Sunday instead of Monday.  Sunday was my 40^th wedding anniversary so I attended the meeting and then had my anniversary celebration in Las Vegas. We had a great time marking our milestone anniversary there.

Before I report on the board meetings, I would like to let you know that District 20 will hold a one-day online regional on Sunday, February 23, 2025, which is the final day of the Oregon Trail Regional, at noon and 5:00 p.m. Only players from District 20 may participate in the event.  I hope that you will be able to join me in attending the OTR in person, but if you must leave early or are unable to attend the regional, this will give you another chance to earn red and gold points in District 20.  Mark your calendars now and good luck to all!

At the start of the board meeting, Margot Hennings, Region 4 Director, was elected President for a second one-year term in 2025.  Cindy Shoemaker, Region 10 Director, will serve a second year as Vice President.  David Lodge, Region 11 Director, was re-elected Treasurer and also will serve a four-year term from January 1, 2025-December 31, 2028, as an ACBL 401K Trustee.  Mark Aquino, Region 2 Director, and Rick Beye, a former ACBL National Tournament Director, were elected to the North American Bridge Federation Board for a three-year term from January 1, 2025-December 31, 2027.

The 2025 Nadine Wood Volunteer of the Year is Sue Manning from District 4.  Sue has a background in technology and has contributed to critical upgrades on EDGAR, Shark Bridge and The Common Game.

Joan Murdoch is the 2025 Goodwill Member of the Year.  Joan is a member of the Santa Barbara Bridge Club in District 22.  Among her many kind and generous acts, she mentors newer players, helped players learn how to get online during Covid and has checked in on players post-Covid to see if they need a ride to the club or help finding a partner.

The 2025 Honorary Member of the Year is Amber Lin from District 21.  Amber co-coordinates the USBF’s Online Junior training program while working full time.  Her favorite bridge memory is winning the U31 European Championship Pairs in 2023.  She was also selected as the ACBL Queen of Bridge in 2015.

Lamya Agelidis, District 22, was nominated by the President and approved by the Board to serve as the Aileen Osofsky ACBL Goodwill Committee Chair for a three year term from January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2027.

The first reading of Bylaws changes for Article 5 – ACBL Board of Directors, Article 6 – Officers of the ACBL, Article VIII – Election Procedures, Article IX – Advisory Council and Article X – Amendment of the Bylaws.  The changes include removing references to District Directors and First and Second Alternates to the Advisory Council which no longer exist.

The Board approved a motion to amend Section VI – Club Sanction Games in the Codification to codify VACB games and ACBL Clubhouse games and update the section for current practices.  References to the Monthly Report Form for Club Games and the ACBL Handbook of Rules and Regulations were removed.  Club games are now reported through the ACBL Live portal.  The newcomer game was increased from 20 to 50 masterpoints.  These changes will be effective January 1, 2025.

A motion was approved to eliminate all references to Life Member Service Fees in the Codification effective January 1, 2025.  The board previously voted to end Life Members membership at the end of December, 2024.

The Board also approved two motions pertaining to ACBL members under discipline.  The first motion for changes to the Codification adds that players who have been expelled, resigned or are not in good standing shall not be entitled to participate in NBO, Zonal and/or World competitions.  A non-agenda item was approved to allow a motion to be approved which amends Chapter IV – Board Procedures, A. Administration, Section 1 – ACBL Board of Directors as follows:

1.2.5  Conduct an annual review of all funds allocated to all ACBL affiliated organizations, including but not limited to NABF and NBOs, prior to disbursement.  An affiliated ACBL organization is any organization that receives funds, funding or grants from the ACBL.  The Board has the right to reduce or withhold funding from any affiliated organization that does not adhere to ACBL rules and regulations, with particular emphasis on compliance with disciplinary standards. Noncompliance may impact both current and future funding allocations.

A motion that originated in the Masterpoint Committee that would have allowed participants in 2-session Swiss or Round Robin team events to get full credit for the overall award if they play in half of the matches failed.  The vote was 5-8-0.  I voted no. This motion resulted in an approved Committee Communication Policy which will require four (4) board members, within the specified 30-day period, to challenge a Competition and Conventions Committee and/or Masterpoint Committee motion(s). Challenged motion(s) will then be addressed at a future meeting of the ACBL Board.

Online cheating continues to be addressed.  It is hoped that all online players will have been examined by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Membership recruitment will continue to be a major focus in 2025.  There has been a decline in membership of  6.7% since 2023, but guest membership is up by14%.  Membership retention is 6.7% higher.  This is partially due to the efforts of units to ask lapsed members to rejoin the ACBL.  Thank you to our units for all of their efforts.

The best news that I heard during the board meetings is that the ACBL should no longer be dependent on the AS400 computer by the end of 2025.  Many critical components of ACBL operations have already been moved from the AS400 to Back Office. 

The ACBL is on track to make $2,000,000 over its budget in 2024.  As we continue with online bridge by ACBL Clubhouse in 2025, the additional revenue stream will continue to be significant.  There is a group working on deciding online providers for mid- 2025 and beyond.  I will have more information for you in 2025.

If you have any questions or comments for me, please contact me at region12director@acbl.org or jackiezayac@gmail.com.

Warmest wishes to you and yours this holiday season.

Jackie Z