                 Monroe Magnus Grand National Teams
                  Conditions of Contest for 2006-7

January 20 – January 21, 2007

Sturbridge Host Hotel
Sturbridge, MA

REFERENCE

ACBL 2006-2007 Grand National Teams Special Conditions of Contest are part of these conditions.

In case of conflict, the ACBL Special Conditions will take precedence. They may be seen online at:

http://web2.acbl.org/documentLibrary/play/coc/GNT2005CoCFinal.pdf

DESCRIPTION

This is a team event in which District 25 will name a team district champion in each of four separate flights.

These district champions then may compete in the national final of their respective flight.

DATES AND STARTING TIMES

Saturday, January 20, 2007:

	1 pm & 7 pm Championship Flight & Flight A Round Robin
	1 pm & 7 pm Flight B Qualifying Swiss

Sunday, January 21, 2007:

	10 am & TBD* Championship Flight & Flight A KO’s
	10 am & TBD* Flight B KO’s
	10 am & TBD* : Flight C Final Swiss

* NOTE: Starting times for morning and afternoon sessions on Sunday are subject to change at the discretion of the Tournament Director-In-Charge, (tourndirector@nebridge.org), provided that all participants are notified prior to the end of the previous session and also provided that the DIC secures

the verbal approval of District 25’s GNT Coordinator, Mark Aquino (gntcoord@nebridge.org) and/or

District 25’s Representative to the ACBL Board of Directors, Rich DeMartino (director@nebridge.org).

Final match: Final matches for all flights will be scheduled at the finalist's convenience if necessary.

They must be scheduled prior to February 14, 2007 (the start of the Cromwell Regional).

The matches must be completed by Tuesday, May 29, 2007.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

1.	Each event is open to teams of four, five or six players.
2.	All players must be members in good standing of the ACBL.
3.	All players must be members of District 25. Please note that there are much stricter residency rules in effect than previously. Effective July 1, 2006 for the GNT 2006/2007 event: For the GNT, a member’s principal physical residence as of Sept 1 of the year prior to the National Finals shall establish the district in which said member is eligible to participate. It is expected that there will be virtually no exceptions to the residency requirements for participants in this event. Any player who has a question as to whether or not he is eligible to play in District 25 should contact the GNT Coordinator or the District Director, as far in advance as possible.
4.	The contest is split into four flights as defined below. The player must meet the conditions as listed below as reflected in ACBL’s September 2006 masterpoint cylcle which is established on or about 8/6/06.
		Championship Flight Flight A Flight B Flight C	Open 0 - 5000 Masterpoints 0 - 2000 Masterpoints 0 - 500 Masterpoints, Non-Life Master
5.	If a player has masterpoints won from other Bridge Organizations, such as the ABA or the WBF, these must be taken into account for placement in the flights. The Director-in-charge is authorized to make the decision on the player's classification.
6.	Each team must select a captain, playing or non-playing, who will be the team's official representative in all dealings with opponents, directors or committees. The captain is responsible for timely entry of the team.
7.	The tournament director may accept a late entry if he/she has the opinion this will enhance the play structure of the event.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

1.	ACBL requirements shall govern.
2.	Each player must play at least half of the semi-final and final matches, and at least 50% of all boards, excluding playoffs to receive overall master point awards. Team captains may apply to the tournament committee for exemption from the 50% in semi-final and final match provision in the case of personal emergency. An exempted player must still play 50% of the semi-final and finals combined.
3.	Each team member must have played at least 50% of the boards, excluding playoff boards, for as long as the team survived to qualify for overall masterpoint awards and to be eligible for the monetary subsidy. No contestant may play any match after it has become mathematically impossible for him/her to play at least 50% of the boards (excluding playoff boards played by his/her team).
4.	A player who fails to maintain participation eligibility in an event receives match awards only, and is not entitled to any honors or recognition.
5.	A player who can no longer meet participation requirements for overall awards is ineligible to continue playing on a team.

CONVENTIONS

Throughout the District 25 Finals – including the Round Robin stage - the ACBL Mid-Chart and General Convention Chart will be allowed in Flight A and Championship Flight.

The ACBL General Convention Chart only will be allowed in Flights B and C.

SCORING AND PLAYING

General:

1.	IMP penalties assessed are subtracted from the offending team's score.
2.	Each team captain must report the IMP score of all matches to the director responsible for the scoring.
3.	Breaks shall be scheduled by the director in charge.
4.	Time allowed will be 7.5 minutes per board.
5.	See attachment 1 for details on match scheduling.

Knockout Head-to-Head Matches:

1.	Each head-to-head match is a single elimination knockout with 1 IMP constituting a win.
2.	In case of a tie, a playoff will take place immediately following the session.

Swiss team Qualifier:

1.	In case of a tie, apply ACBL standard tie-breaking procedures.

SEEDING

Championship Flight: The players shall self-seed prior to the event.

Flight A: A committee appointed by the GNT Coordinator or Director-in-charge shall seed the flight prior to the event.

In Knock-Out matches, seeded team has seeding rights per ACBL Regulations.

SUBSTITUTES & REPLACEMENTS

Player substitution for the District semi-finals and finals as well as for participation at

the national qualifier level may be allowed with the approval of the GNT Coordinator

and the District Director. Substitution is only intended for teams who need to replace players who cannot attend a portion of the event due to unanticipated emergencies. A team may use a substitute at the discretion of the GNT Coordinator, Director in Charge or the District Director. Any proposed substitute should not significantly strengthen a team. A substitute is not allowed if a fifth or sixth member of a team is available.

AUGMENTATION

After a team has won their flight, they may augment their team per the following conditions:

1.	The augmentee must have participated in any flight of the current year’s event. If a team wishes to augment a player who could not attend due to family or other such emergencies, the District Director or GNT Coordinator may be willing to waive this provision.
2.	The augmentee must meet the masterpoint eligibility requirements listed above.
3.	The District Director and GNT Coordinator must approve the augmentation.
4.	Final team roster must be submitted to the ACBL by 6/15/2007 by the GNT Coordinator.

DISQUALIFICATIONS

Reference the ACBL GNT Conditions of Contest for disqualification regulations.

When a player's team is disqualified after the correction period, teams move up one position as appropriate.

CORRECTIONS AND APPEALS PERIOD

In matches requiring a playoff, no appeal of a director's ruling or score correction is possible after the auction begins at either table of the playoff.

The period for an appeal expires 30 minutes after each session.

The period for score corrections expires 30 minutes after a match has been completed. For an on-going match, it expires when the auction begins at either table for the next segment.

KIBITZING

A player who kibitzes must be at least two tables distance from where teammates are

playing.

PENALTIES

1.	A team may not waive any penalties assessed their opponents for tardiness or slow play.
2.	The penalty for failure to seat a complete team at announced game time is:
		0-10 minutes no penalty
		10-15 minutes 1 IMP
		15-20 minutes 3 IMPs
		20-25 minutes 6 IMPs
		25-30 minutes 9 IMPs
		30-35 minutes 12 IMPs
		35-40 minutes 15 IMPs
	In addition, the match will be curtailed one board, up to a maximum of four boards, for each 7.5 minute or fraction thereof of tardiness after the first ten minutes. Three IMPs will be awarded to the non-offending side for each curtailed board.
3.	If play has not commenced within forty minutes of announced game time, the match is forfeited.
4.	When a table exceeds the time allowed for play, the pair(s) involved will receive a warning. When a pair exceeds the time limit a second time in an event, they will appear before the Conduct & Ethics committee for review. Cases of excessive slow play will be referred to the Conduct & Ethics committee without previous warning.
5.	At the discretion of the director, similar penalties may be assessed for slow play. Slow play penalties do not carry to the next match unless a team is unable to start on time and is judged at fault.

DISTRICT SUBSIDY

ACBL provides no subsidy to teams participating in the National Finals, and

does not require the Districts to do so. As in previous years, District 25 will

continue in 2006 to provide a subsidy per team in each of the four flights to

assist with expenses. The exact amount of the subsidy is still TBD. The

amount and timing of the payment will be determined by the District Treasurer and communicated to the respective team captains by the GNT Coordinator as soon as possible but not earlier than June 1,2007.

. To receive this subsidy, each player must attend and play in the Grand National Team Finals for as long as his/her team is still eligible to participate.

RESULT REPORTING AND SANCTION FEES

Results shall be reported to the ACBL.

Sanction fees shall be sent to the ACBL

MASTER POINT AWARDS

Winning Teams will be awarded masterpoints according to the following schedule.

For more details see ACBL Special Conditions of Contest.

Championship Flight: 36.00 masterpoints. Overall awards are gold.

Flight A: 30.00 masterpoints. Overall awards are gold.

Flight B: 26.00 masterpoints. Overall awards are gold.

Flight C: 10.00 masterpoints. Overall awards are 25% gold, 75% red.

As in previous years, the District 25 GNT will be run concurrent with CMBA’s winter

sectional. CMBA Chair is Irene Myers. (508) 754-2922.

District 25’s Tournament Managers are Dr. William Lenville (413-782-0572), and

Helen Pawlowski (hpawlowski@comcast.net)

Attachment 1. Play Format

Note that the Director-in-Charge may modify the movement described below to improve the event.

This change is at his or her discretion.

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT

Full carryover to be applied whenever possible.
Approximately 64 boards to be played per day.
Championship flight final generally to be 64 boards, except as noted below.

# teams entered in flight	Format
3-4 teams	All day round robin, qualifying two teams for all day final
5 teams 6 teams	Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 3 teams Sunday: One team is eliminated in the morning session and the other team is eliminated in the afternoon session. Team Captains will be polled to determine before the start of play which format will apply: either Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 4 teams Sunday: All day semi-final. Top team to pick semi-final opponent TBD: Final to be scheduled at a later date. or Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 3 teams Sunday: One team is eliminated in the morning session and the other team is eliminated in the afternoon session
	Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 4 teams Sunday: All day semi-final. Top team to pick semi-final opponent
7-9 teams
	TBD: Final to be scheduled at a later date.
10-15 teams	Saturday: The flight shall be split into two groups as follows:
		Group 1: Seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 etc.
		Group 2: Seeds 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11 etc.
	They shall play a round robin. Three teams survive per group.
	Sunday morning: The top three teams of each group will play each other with two survivors.
	Sunday afternoon: The top two team of each group will play each other with one survivor.
	TBD: Final to be scheduled at a later date
16 + teams	Saturday: 4 groups of round robins qualifying two from each group.
	Sunday morning: KO match between two qualifiers from each group.
	Sunday afternoon: Semi-final KO.
	TBD: Final to be scheduled at later date

FLIGHT A

Full carryover to be applied whenever possible.
Approximately 64 boards to be played per day.
Flight A final generally to be 32 boards.

# teams entered in flight	Format
3-4 teams	All day round robin, qualifying two teams for all day final
5 teams	Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 3 teams Sunday: One team is eliminated in the morning session and the other team is eliminated in the afternoon session.
6 teams	Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 3 teams Sunday: One team is eliminated in the morning session and the other team is eliminated in the afternoon session Saturday: All day round robin, qualifying 4 teams Sunday: All day semi-final. Top team to pick semi-final opponent
7-9 teams
	TBD: Final to be scheduled at a later date.
10-15 teams	Saturday: The flight shall be split into two groups as follows:
		Group 1: Seeds 1, 4, 5, 8, 9 etc.
		Group 2: Seeds 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11 etc.
	They shall play a round robin. Three teams survive per group.
	Sunday morning: The top three teams of each group will play each other with two survivors.
	Sunday afternoon: The top two team of each group will play each other with one survivor.
	TBD: Final to be scheduled at a later date
16 + teams	Saturday: 4 groups of round robins qualifying two from each group.
	Sunday morning: KO match between two qualifiers from each group.
	Sunday afternoon: Semi-final KO.
	TBD: Final to be scheduled at later date

FLIGHT B

Approximately 56 boards to be played per day.
Generally 28 boards to be played in the final match.
Seeding determined by rank

# teams entered in flight	Format
3-4 teams	Half day round robin, qualifying two teams for half day final.
5-10 teams	All day round robin, qualifying 4 teams for half day semi-final and half day final
11-12 teams	Saturday: Qualifying Swiss with top six teams surviving.
	Sunday morning:
		1, 3 & 6 will play with two survivors
		2, 4 & 5 will play with two survivors
	Sunday afternoon:
		1 & 4 will play with one survivor
		2 & 3 will play with one survivor
	TBD: Remaining two teams to play at date to be scheduled.
13 plus teams	Saturday: Qualifying Swiss with top eight teams surviving.
	Sunday morning:
		1 & 8; 2 & 7; 3 & 6; 4 & 5 will play with one survivor - 4 survivors total
	Sunday afternoon:
		1 & 4; 2 & 3 will play with one survivor – 2 survivors total
	TBD: Remaining two teams to play at date to be scheduled

FLIGHT C

All day Swiss Team on Sunday to determine winner.

Approximately 48 boards to be played on Sunday.

Attachment 2. National GNT Finals

NATIONAL GNT FINALS

1. The first place finisher at the District Final in each of the four flights will be eligible to participate in the National GNT Finals, which will begin on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 prior to the Summer NABC in Nashville, TN, July 19-29, 2007. The Championship flight and Flight A will commence with the afternoon session, and Flights B and C will start in the evening. Should the first place team in any flight elect not to advance to the National Finals, the second place team in that flight will be extended the invitation to participate. If neither the first nor second place team in a particular flight elect to advance to the National Finals, District 25 will not be represented in that flight.

2. Replacement and Augmentation rules detailed above apply to teams advancing to the National Finals. Teams advancing to the National Finals must consist of at least three of the team members who participated in the District 25 Finals.

3. The first place finishers in the Championship Flight, Flight A, Flight B, and the second place finishers in the Championship Flight at the National Finals will earn Blue Ribbon qualification. These teams will earn qualifying points, if applicable, for international competition on the same scale as in the Blue Ribbon Pairs and the Life Master Pairs. The first and second place finishers in the Non-Life Master Flight C at the Nationals will earn Red Ribbon qualification.

4. The winners of the Championship Flight at the National Finals will receive 100 masterpoints; the winners of Flight A will receive 75 masterpoints; the Flight B winners 60 and the Flight C winners 40 masterpoints. For the Championship flight, Flight A and Flight B events, overalls will be gold and will extend to the top eight teams if the entry is 16 or more teams and to the top four teams with an entry of 8 to 15 teams. Match awards will be red at national rating. Flight C awards will be 1/3 gold and 2/3 red for National Finals overall and section top finishes.

5. The Nationals for the Open Championship and Flight A will be seeded based upon the average masterpoint holding of all team members.

6. The ACBL SuperChart will govern conventions in the Championship Flight and Flight A with segments of 12 or more boards. The General Convention Chart will apply to Flights B and C.