2005-2006 GRAND NATIONAL TEAMS
CONDITIONS OF CONTEST
INFORMATION FOR PLAYERS, CLUB OWNERS AND UNITS

Lack of knowledge does not constitute cause for exception to these Conditions of Contest.
The General Conditions of Contest for Swiss Team and Knockout
Team events will apply to this event subject of the following Conditions of Contest.

 Championship Flight: Open (no masterpoint limitation)
 Flight A: 0 to 5000 masterpoints 
 Flight B: 0 to 2000 masterpoints
 Flight C: Non-Life Masters (NLM) with fewer than 500 masterpoints.

The masterpoint limitations stated above are as of the September 2005 masterpoint reporting cycle.

Eligibility. Each person participating in the GNT must be a member of District 22. An exception to this requirement is that a participant who is either a full-time student, a member of the armed services, has dual residency, or a person whose full-time employment requires temporary relocation may play in the District 22 GNT if that person temporarily resides within the geographic boundaries of District 22. Such person(s) must notify the District 22 GNT Coordinator of their intent to play prior to entering the competition. The District 22 GNT Coordinator in conjunction with the ACBL GNT Coordinator shall determine whether or not eligibility requirements have been satisfied, however, the ACBL GNT Coordinator is the final authority. In no case may a player compete in more than one district in the 2005/2006 GNT. Out-of-district and non-ACBL members  may compete in club session qualifying games.

Masterpoints won by players from other Bridge organizations, such as the ABA and foreign organizations, must be taken into account in determining a player’s placement in a flight. A player’s bridge experience will be taken into account to determine a suitable flight. The Director-in-Charge of the District 22 GNT Finals is authorized to make the decision on the player’s classification.

Each participant in the GNT, beyond the club qualifying level, must be an ACBL member in good standing. (The membership requirement is deemed to have been met if dues accompany the unit or district final game report.)

Ineligible Players and Disqualifications. An ineligible player is disqualified. The ineligible player’s team will be disqualified unless the Director-in-Charge determines that teammates were unknowledgeable about the deficiency of the disqualified member. Any team reduced to fewer than three original members due to disqualification of ineligible players is disqualified. When a player’s team is disqualified after the correction period, the disqualified team’s position remains vacant. In ongoing events, teams move up one position as appropriate. 

Levels of Play. There are two levels of play within District 22: (1) club qualifying level OR unit qualifying level and (2) district final.

Club Qualifying Level. Clubs and units may conduct games at the club qualifying level beginning on September 1, 2005.  Games at the club qualifying level are Swiss Team events scored on the 20-point Victory Point scale. Such games may be open, stratified or flighted. At the club qualifying level, players qualify as individuals for further play in the GNT. An individual whose team (1) wins 50% or more of the possible Victory Point awards in a game or (2) finishes in the top 50% of the GNT category (Championship: Unlimited, A: 0-5,000 MPs, B: 0-2,000 MPs, C: NLMs with less than 500 MPs) in which entered qualifies for further play in each level in which the player is qualified to play. For example, a NLM with less than 500 MPs playing on a qualifying Flight A team in a club qualifying game qualifies to play on Flight A, B or C teams in a unit qualifying game or in the District Finals. Individuals may be members of several different teams and qualify more than once at the club qualifying level of play.

The club qualifying level of play ends on Friday, April 14, 2006. 

Unit Qualifying Level. Each District 22 Unit is eligible to host one unit qualifying game provided a club qualifying game has taken place within their unit area. In order to meet this requirement, a unit may host a club qualifying game. Unit qualifying games are Swiss Team events scored on the 20-point Victory Point scale. Unit qualifying games may be one or more sessions in length. Unit qualifying games may be open, flighted or stratified. The qualifying rules specified for club qualifying games are used to determine the players in unit qualifying games who qualify to play in the District 22 Finals. The unit qualifying level of play begins Jajuary 1, 2006 and ends Friday, April 14, 2006. Units must submit a sanction application to the ACBL as soon as possible if the unit plans to host a unit qualifying game. 

District 22 Finals. Players in all Flights who have qualified to play in District 22 GNT Finals at the unit level or the club level form teams to play in the District 22 GNT Finals. Each team has a captain and a total of four to six team members. The District 22 GNT Finals are knockout team events scored by IMPs. The ACBL Knockout Team Conditions of Contest apply to the conduct of this event. 

The District 22 GNT Finals for all Flights will be held at the San Diego Regional April 15-16, 2006. The number of sessions scheduled for these three flights will be dependent on the number of teams entered in each flight. If more than 16 teams are registered in a flight, three sessions will be played on Saturday and two on Sunday. Otherwise, no more than two sessions of play will be scheduled for Saturday, except in the Championship flight.

Team Registration. Each team participating in the District 22 GNT Finals must register at the finals' site.  . Pre-registration is accomplished by the team captain providing the District 22 GNT Coordinator with the following information: 

 1. Flight in which the team is entered. 
 2. Name of each team member (indicate which team member is the captain).
 3. ACBL Player Number for each team member.
 4. Contact address (mail or e-mail) and telephone number of the team captain.
 5. Championship Flight teams only - the masterpoint holding of each team member as of the September 1, 2005 reporting cycle.

Richard Meffley
1151 S Chestnut Apt 162
Fresno, CA 93702-3989
(559) 453-0620 or 559-978-1196
e-mail: sorter52@ix.netcom.com

Champioship Flight, District 22 Finals.The Championship Flight is open with no masterpoint restrictions. The District 22 GNT Championship Flight Final is a seeded event. Teams in the Championship Flight are seeded, from highest to lowest, by the average masterpoint holding of all team members as of the September 2005 masterpoint reporting cycle. In the event a team member was a member of a team which placed in the top four positions in the 2002 - 2005 District 22 GNT Finals, the team member is awarded additional seeding points as follows:

2004 - 2005 District 22 GNT Flight A Winner

Seeded #1

2002 - 2004 District 22 GNT Flight A Winner

5,000

2002 - 2004 GNT Flight A Second Place Finishers

2,500

2002 - 2004 GNT Flight A Third/Fourth Place Finishers

1,250

The top eight teams determined in the seeding process are systematically distributed across the  various groups of teams so that the first and second seeds (if both teams won all their matches) would play each other in the final match. Other teams entered in the Championship Flight are randomly distributed to Championship Flight groups after the top eight seeds are assigned to groups. A team which defeats a higher ranking team takes the higher ranking team’s seeding position for subsequent matches in the finals.

Play on Saturday, April 15, 2005, will be 32-board quarter-final and semi-final matches to reduce the number of teams in the Championship Flight to four and two, respectively. The final match will be held on Sunday, April 16, 2005 and will be a 64-board match.    Attached is a match schedule for teams from three to 17.

ACBL Midchart conventions apply in the Championship Flight final.

The Director-in-charge of the District 22 Final will be provided, prior to the start of play, a chart which indicates the teams playing each team, by seeding position, and any byes provided in round one. Round-robin matches may be used to reduce the Championship Flight to eight teams in the event more than eight teams are registered in the Championship Flight.

2005-2006 GRAND NATIONAL TEAMS
INFORMATION FOR CLUB OWNERS AND UNITS

CLUB QUALIFYING AND GNT FUND RAISER GAMES

Promotion of Club Qualifying Games. GNT club qualifying games are an excellent way for your players to earn red points without attending a regional. We urge you to persuade your players to play in these games. One technique to introduce Flight C players to team play is to schedule a separate Flight C GNT club qualifying game. This should reduce the anxiety some Flight C players have relative to playing teams composed of Flight Championship/A and B players. If the game is stratified, Flight C players should be reminded that they, as well as Flight Championship/A and B players, will win masterpoints.

You may schedule several club qualifying games during the period between now and Friday, April 14, 2006, when the club level of competition ends. One or more club qualifying games should be scheduled before the time your unit schedules its unit qualifying game. Several clubs have used their weekly Swiss Team games as GNT club qualifying games, allowing players to win more points than the players could in a club Swiss Teams game.

GNT Fund-Raiser Game. The GNT Fund Raiser Game may be individual, pair or team. Fund raiser games do not count as club qualifying games. ACBLscore press sheets may be used for reporting game results to the District 22 Coordinator, with the District 22 sanction fee.

Sanctions. Sanction applications are not required to be submitted for either GNT club qualifying or fund raiser games. 

Game Reports. Game reports may be prepared using ACBL Score or submitted using the enclosed ACBL GNT report forms, which may be reproduced locally. Clearly indicate on all game reports the flight (strat) at the next higher level in which the team members have qualified to play.  Reports to ACBL are included in the club's monthly report.   A copy of all game reports with appropriate sanction fees must be submitted to the District 22 GNT Coordinator.

The coordinator’s address is:

Game Director. The game director for club level qualifying games must be club-rated or higher. A non-playing director is recommended by ACBL, but club qualifying games with 10 or fewer tables may have a playing director.

Scoring and Matching Teams. The current ACBL Score version takes the IMP margin of a match between competing teams, converts it to a Victory Point Score and matches the teams for the subsequent round. Consequently, a large portion of the work involved in directing a Swiss Teams game is now done by the computer. Also, the game computer printout will indicate if the team is qualified to proceed to a higher level of the GNT and the flight(s) in which qualified. 

If a team is composed of players from several flights, remember to tell individual players belonging to flights lower than the flight in which the team played that they are qualified to play in a lower level game. For example, a Flight C player playing on a Flight B team qualifying at the club level is eligible to play in a unit qualifying game at either the Flight B or C level. 

Sanction Fees.

a. Club Qualifying Games. Sanction fees are $5.00 per table, $1.25 goes to ACBL and $3.75 to District 22.
b. GNT Fund Raiser Game. Sanction fees are $4.00 per table, $1.00 goes to ACBL and $3.00  to District 22.

2005-2006 GRAND NATIONAL TEAMS
INFORMATION FOR UNITS

Game Director. The game director for club and unit qualifying games must be club-rated or higher. A non-playing director is recommended by ACBL, but club qualifying games with 10 or fewer tables may have a playing director. The game director for a unit qualifying game must be non-playing and not be a member of a team playing in the event.

Scoring and Matching Teams. The current ACBL Score version takes the IMP margin of a match between competing teams, converts it to a Victory Point Score and matches the team for the subsequent round. Consequently, a large portion of the work involved in directing a Swiss Teams game is now done by the computer. Also, the game computer printout will indicate if the team is qualified to proceed to a higher level of the GNT and the flight(s) in which qualified. 

If a team is composed of players from several flights, remember to tell individual players belonging to flights lower than the flight in which the team played that they are qualified to play in a lower level game. For example, a Flight C player playing on a Flight B team qualifying at the club level is eligible to play in a unit qualifying game at either the Flight B or C level. 

Game Reports. Game reports may be prepared using ACBL Score or submitted using the enclosed ACBL GNT report forms, which may be reproduced locally. Clearly indicate on all game reports the flight (strat) at the next higher level in which the team members have qualified to play. In addition to reporting the number of victory points won be each team, club qualifying game reports should indicate the number of match wins for each team. This latter information is  required by ACBL to verify match masterpoint awards. A copy of all game reports must be submitted to the District 22 GNT Coordinator. 

Sanction Fees. 
   a. GNT Club Qualifying Games. $5.00 per table, $1.25 to ACBL and $3.75 to District 22.
   b. GNT Unit Qualifying Games.  $7.00 per table, $1.25 to ACBL and  $5.75 to District 22.
   c. GNT Fund Raiser Game. $4.00 per table, $1.00 to ACBL, $3.00 to District 22. 

Make checks for District 22 sanction fees payable to "District 22 ACBL" and mail with a copy of the game report to the District 22 Treasurer. 

Dear Club Manager: 

The District 22 competition for the 2005-2006 Grand National Teams (GNT) begins on September 1, 2005.  The District 22 GNT competition is at three levels: (1) club qualifying games, (2) unit qualifying games and (3) the District 22 Final which will be conducted from April 15 to 16, 2006 at the San Diego Regional.  The winners of the District 22 Final play in the National Final beginning  July,  2005 in Chicago, Illinois.

The GNT competition is an event in which your players can win red and gold points without leaving their unit area. Encourage your players to participate in these events. Schedule several club qualifying games so that a maximum number of your players can play in your unit’s unit qualifying game. If you do not plan to schedule any club qualifying games, please notify your unit president immediately of your decision in order that the unit may schedule club qualifying games in your stead.

The sponsorship of a GNT Fund Raiser Game by your club also is recommended. This game may be either a individual, pair or team event. The game awards black points at sectional rating. The revenues received by District 22 from the GNT Fund Raiser Game will be used solely to defer travel expenses of the winners of the District 22 GNT Finals to the National Finals in Atlanta, Georgia.

If you have questions, I may be contacted by telephone at (559) 453-0620 or (559) 978-1196 or by e-mail, sorter52@ix.netcom.com

Good luck to your players in the 2005-2006 GNT competition.

Sincerely,
Richard Meffley
 

The District 22 competition for the 2005-2006 Grand National Teams (GNT) begins on September 1, 2005. The District 22 GNT competition is at three levels: (1) club qualifying games, (2) unit qualifying games and (3) the District 22 Final which will be conducted April  15 and 16 at the San Diego Regional. The winners of the District 22 Final play in the National Final beginning July, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois.

The GNT competition is an event in which your players can win red and gold points without leaving their unit area. Encourage your players to participate in these events. Check with the clubs in your unit area to determine whether or not they have scheduled club qualifying games. Several club qualifying games need to be scheduled so that a maximum number of your players can play in your unit qualifying game. If the clubs in your unit area do not plan to schedule any club qualifying games, your unit may schedule one or more club qualifying games. A club qualifying game must be scheduled in your unit area in order for the unit to host a unit qualifier.

We encourage your unit to consider hosting a multi-session unit qualifying game is only games of two or more sessions award part-gold, part-red masterpoints.

Your unit’s participation in the GNT competition will contribute greatly to the success of this year’s GNT competition.

or by e-mail sorter52@ix.netcom.com

Good luck to your players in the 2005-2006 GNT competition.

Sincerely,
Richard Meffley