| 1. The Season | |
| 1.1 | The League season shall run from about mid-September to mid-April. |
| 1.2 | Entries for the season, accompanied by the appropriate fee, must be made in writing to the League Secretary by June 15. The home night for each team must be specified. |
| 1.3 | As soon as possible after the End of Season Pairs competition, the League Secretary shall notify all League Clubs of the results of the previous season and the consequent provisional promotions and relegations for the following season. |
| 1.4 | New Teams applying to join the League. |
| 1.4.1 | A new team applying to join the League will normally be entered into the lowest Division for the following season. |
| 1.4.2 | At the discretion of the Committee, who shall particularly take into account the proven playing ability of the new team members, the new team may be entered into a higher Division subject only to the caveat that any teams directly affected agree to the positioning of the new team. An example of a 'directly affected' team could be where a team was not promoted in order to accommodate the new team. |
| 1.5 | At the discretion of the Committee, who shall particularly take into account the proven playing ability of the likely team members for the next season, an EXISTING team who are demonstrably better or worse than the standard of the Division they would normally be playing in next season may be fast tracked to a higher or lower Division as appropriate, subject only to the caveat that any teams directly affected agree to the re-positioning of the existing team. An example of a 'directly affected' team could be where a team was not promoted in order to accommodate the fast tracked team. |
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| 2. Players | |
| 2.1 | A player shall be eligible to play for any Club provided he/she has not played for any other Club in the League in the current season. |
| 2.2 | In exceptional circumstances the Committee may permit a player to cease playing for one Club and become eligible to play for another Club in the same season. Applications to the Committee under this rule shall be made in writing and state the circumstances in detail. The Committee shall give a ruling within 28 days of receiving the application. |
| 2.3 | During each season, a player may play in the total number of matches equal to the number of matches played by his/her team in that season, with the caveat that not more than half of the matches may be played for teams in other Divisions. |
| 2.4 | Any team that plays a player that is not eligible shall be deemed to have forfeited the match. |
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| 3. Teams | |
| For any match a team shall consist of four players. | |
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| 4. Match Programme | |
| 4.1 | The match programme shall be arranged so that: |
| (i) | in all divisions except the lowest, each team plays every other team in their division twice per season. |
| (ii) | The Committee decision under paragraph 6.4.1 of the BBL Constitution will determine the number of matches to be played in the lowest division during each season. |
| (iii) | Matches between teams from the same club in the same Division should be played in the first half of each half of the season. |
| 4.2 | The Fixtures Secretary shall compile the draft match programme by August 1. Matches shall not be scheduled on dates known to be allocated to EBU, BBL and BBCBA events. The team captains may negotiate with the opposing captain to change any dates which are not suitable. [The Committee recommend that, at this stage, no reasonable request for a change be refused]. |
| 4.2.1 | By September 1st each Club shall notify the Fixtures Secretary of any agreed match programme changes and confirm the remaining dates. The Fixtures Secretary shall assume that no response to the draft signifies confirmation of all the fixture dates. The Fixtures Secretary shall then issue a final match programme by September 15. |
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| 5. Re-arrangement of matches | |
| 5.1 | Teams should make reasonable endeavours to play matches on the originally scheduled dates. |
| 5.2 | If any match(es) need to be re-arranged, the Results Secretary MUST be informed in advance of the re-arranged date(s). |
| 5.3 | All matches must be completed by the end of the first full week of April each year (or such later date as the Committee may decree). |
| 5.4 | It is the responsibility of the Home team captain to ensure that the Match Secretary is notified of each and every fixture change after the final match programme is issued (see 4.2.1 above). |
| 5.5 | If teams agree to change around their home and away fixtures, it is the responsibility of the Home team captain according to the original match schedule to notify the Results Secretary of the change. |
| 5.6 | The Committee shall take appropriate action to prevent teams from the same club playing in the same Division, re-arranging a fixture which could affect promotion or relegation to near the end of the season. |
| 5.7 | The absence (for any reason) of one player will not be deemed sufficient reason to necessitate a re-arrangement under rule 5.2 |
| 5.8 | Unfulfilled scheduled matches |
| Any team failing to fulfil a scheduled match will be deemed to have forfeited that match. The IMPs/VPs awarded are defined in Rule 14.4 | |
| 5.9 | In the event that a forfeited match in the second half of the season affects the end of season placings, the Committee has the right to insist that the match is played. |
| 5.10 | If a match is started but a team is unable to complete it, that team may be deemed to have forfeited the match. The IMPs/VPs awarded are defined in Rule 14.4 |
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| 6. Match confirmation | |
| 6.1 | The team contact of the home Club shall get in touch with the team contact of the away Club at least three days before the date in the match programme to: |
| (i) | confirm the match venue and the starting time and |
| (ii) | advise the away team of any delays in reaching the match location, e.g. security requirements. |
| 6.2 | Failure to arrange contact between the teams prior to a match may lead to the forfeiture of a match at the discretion of the Committee. The away team contact has a responsibility to the home team contact under rule 6.1. |
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| 7. Match starting time | |
| 7.1 | The four players of a team shall be in position at the tables by the agreed starting time. The default starting time is 19.30 hours but the captains can agree an alternative starting time. |
| 7.2 | Should a team not be in position at the default time or other agreed starting time, the delay, in minutes, shall be recorded on the Result Card (see 11.2 below) with an indication of the offending team. |
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| 8. Penalties for late arrival | |
| 8.1 | The penalties for teams regularly arriving late are to be determined by the Committee. |
| 8.2 | If a team is not ready to start a match by thirty minutes after the starting time previously agreed by the two captains, the non-offending captain may opt to claim the match by forfeit. The score will be calculated as in Rule 14.4. |
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| 9. Matches | |
| 9.1 | Except at the mutual agreement of the two captains concerned, matches shall be played on weekday evenings, that is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings. |
| 9.2 | Each match shall normally consist of twenty four boards. In the event of a late start or slow play the captains may agree to play fewer boards (minimum twenty). Both captains shall be responsible for ensuring that the players are seated at the correct polarity at both tables. |
| 9.3 | Except at the mutual agreement of the two captains concerned, the match location shall be within a six mile radius of the site of Bracknell Railway Station. This area includes the following places: |
| Ascot, Bagshot, Blackwater, Bracknell, Camberley, Crowthorne, Finchampstead, Holyport, Jealotts Hill, Sandhurst, Sunningdale, Sunninghill, Winnersh, Wokingham and Yateley. | |
| 9.4 | In the event of a disagreement over the legality of a proposed match venue, the dispute shall be settled by the Committee. |
| 9.5 | In matches played in a private house, the standard arrangement is that smoking is prohibited at the playing tables throughout the match. However, the match host shall provide an area away from the playing tables, which may be outside the house, where smoking is permitted during scoring breaks. Team captains may wish to discuss smoking arrangements when arranging a match and the standard arrangement may be varied by mutual agreement. (Vide the EBU Competitions Handbook) |
| 9.6 | From 1998, the English Bridge Union (EBU) has defined five categories of permitted conventions. Only those systems and conventions listed as falling within the category defined as level 3 may be used in league matches and competitions. |
| 9.7 | In all matches the away team has seating rights - viz the home team pairs take their places and the away team chooses where they will sit. In the second half, the home team pairs must play the other opposition pair. |
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| 10. Conversion to Victory Points | |
| The overall points score for each board shall be converted to International Match Points (IMP) in the usual way, and the overall (24 board) IMP margin converted to Victory Points (VP) according to the EBU scale currently in force. Please refer to the EBU White Book - note that VP scales vary according to the number of boards played. | |
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| 11. Result Cards | |
| 11.1 | Before the season commences the League shall provide Result Cards to the Clubs. |
| 11.2 | After each match a Result Card shall be completed with: |
| (i) | the names of the two teams, |
| (ii) | the number of the division, |
| (iii) | the full names of the players (in capital letters), ie forename & surname, |
| (iv) | the International Match Point scores, |
| (v) | the signatures of the two captains and |
| (vi) | any delay in the agreed starting time. |
| 11.3 | Unless the Match Secretary has announced alternative arrangements under rule 11.4, the Result Card shall be sent to the Match Secretary by the home Club. |
| 11.4 | Alternative methods for reporting match results - for example electronic mail or Internet (web) pages – will be promulgated where possible before the season commences, but may be announced by the Match Secretary during the season. Any such alternatives are provided for the convenience of those clubs who wish to use them. The home club always has the option of sending the Result Card by conventional mail. Alternative reporting methods may not be used if there is any dispute over the match. In the event of a dispute, the Result Card must be sent to the Match Secretary and rule 12 applies. |
| 11.5 | If the home club uses an alternative reporting method and elects not to send a Result Card to the Match Secretary then the home club must retain the Result Card until the end of April. Until this date, the Match Secretary may request the Result Card from the home club and will do so if there is any query over the match result. If the home club fails to produce a retained Result Card within one week of receiving a written request from the Match Secretary, then the home team may be penalised. The penalty is at the discretion of the Committee. In extreme cases where the match result can no longer be determined, the home team may be deemed to have forfeited the match as under rule 14.4. |
| 11.6 | If notification of a match result does not reach the Results Secretary by the end of the week following the match date in the match programme, or by the end of the week following an agreed re-arranged date notified to the Results Secretary, then the home team may, at the discretion of the Committee, have two Victory Points deducted from their League Victory Point total. This penalty will normally only be applied for repeated late notifications. |
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| 12. Disputes | |
| In the event of a dispute, the agreed statement of facts signed by both captains (or two statements if necessary) must be submitted with the result card in accordance with Rule 11.2. The Committee shall contact an EBU director, or County equivalent, for a ruling and send a copy of such ruling to the Club Secretaries within seven days of receiving it. Any appeal against this ruling must be received within fourteen days of the dispatch of the ruling by the League Secretary to the team captains (even if this has to be done via their Club Secretary). The appeal must be accompanied by the fee required at that time by the Berks and Bucks Contract Bridge Association Appeals Committee. | |
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| 13. League Tables | |
| 13.1 | The Results Secretary shall maintain a League Table for each division. |
| 13.2 | The League Tables shall be passed to the local press at the end of each half season. The Tables shall also be available on request by Club Secretaries provided a sae is supplied with the request. |
| 13.3 | Results and League tables will be published and updated weekly on the Internet where possible. |
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| 14. Withdrawals | |
| 14.1 | Standard (all play all twice) Divisions |
| a) | If there are two or more other teams in the Division which the withdrawing team has failed to play at all, then all the withdrawing team’s results are cancelled. |
| b) | If a team withdraws having played all but one of the other teams twice then all its results stand. Results will ] be awarded for any unfulfilled matches (see 14.4 below). |
| c) | Where neither a) nor b) applies, the withdrawing team’s first result against each of the other teams will stand. A single awarded result will be given against any team it failed to play at all. The second result against any team they managed to play twice will be cancelled. |
| 14.2 Conference Divisions | |
| a) | In a Conference Division teams play members of the same Conference twice and members of other Conference(s) once only. |
| b) | If there are two or more other teams in the same Conference, or two or more teams in other Conferences, which the withdrawing team has failed to play at all, then all the withdrawing team’s results are cancelled. |
| c) | Where b) does not apply but the team has failed to play both its matches against two or more other teams in the same Conference then its first result against each of the other teams will stand. A single awarded result will be given against any teams it has failed to play at all. The second result against any team they have managed to play twice will be cancelled. |
| d) | Where neither b) or c) applies, all the withdrawing team’s results will stand. Results will be awarded for any unfulfilled matches (see 14.4 below). |
| 14.3 | Multiple withdrawals |
| If more than one team withdraws from the same Division, including a Conference Division, the above Rules are applied to the first team to withdraw. This team is then excluded for the purpose of applying the Rules to the second and any subsequent teams to withdraw. | |
| 14.4 | Results of Unfulfilled matches |
| (a) | calculate the difference in average net IMPs between the teams |
| (b) | if, according to this calculation, the non-offending team won the match, add the net IMP difference to their aggregate. Otherwise deduct the net IMP difference from their aggregate. |
| (c) | award VPs to the non-offending team using the normal conversion table from IMPs to VPs |
| (d) | the offending side scores zero VPs and IMPs |
| (e) | In exceptional circumstances the Executive Committee shall be empowered to award an adjusted match result. |
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| 15. Final League positions | |
| 15.1 | The final League positions shall be determined by the Victory Points totals of the teams. However, should there be a tie in Victory Points, the League positions shall be decided by consideration of the match results between the teams concerned, taking account firstly of the Victory Points gained and then, if these are equal, by consideration of the International Match Points gained. |
| 15.2 | Promotion from the Conference Sections (NB - this rule only applies when the lowest Division is divided into two Sections). |
| 15.2.1 | The final league positions in each Section shall be determined by the Victory Points (VP's) totals of the teams, and both Section winners will normally be promoted. |
| 15.2.2 | The Division winners will be the Section winners with the higher average VP total. In the event of a tie on VP's, the Division winners will be the Section winners that scored more IMP's in their head to head match. |
| 15.2.3 | In the event that it is necessary to promote a third team from this Division, the procedure detailed in 15.2.2 above will be applied to the runners-up in each Section to determine the third placed team. |
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| 16. Trophies | |
| 16.1 | Trophies shall be provided for the winners of each division. These shall be presented at the end of the season and held for one year. |
| 16.2 | Trophies shall be returned to the Secretary before the presentation ceremony for the following season. |
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| 17. Promotion and relegation | |
| 17.1 | Save in exceptional circumstances (to be determined by the Committee) at the end of each season the bottom two teams in each division (except the lowest) shall be relegated to the next lower division and the top two teams in each division (except Division 1) shall be promoted to the next higher division. |
| 17.2 | In order to maintain the structure of the league the Committee may, in the event of a team withdrawing from the league, promote more than two teams although two teams will always be relegated, one of whom shall be the team that withdrew. 17.3 In the event of the lowest division being temporarily divided into two Conferences, the Committee shall decide, at the start of the season, the rules for that season governing promotion and relegation between these Conferences and the next higher division. |
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