District 24 Newsletter.........................Alvin Levy, District Director.........................Volume 2011.1
Published after each NABC

The attendance at the Louisville spring NABC was 9,547.  This is consistent with attendance at the spring NABC in other similar cities over the past 10 years.  Houston in 2009, 9,728 tables; Detroit in 2008, 8,550 tables; St. Louis in 2007, 10,230 tables; Dallas in 2006, 10,230 tables; Pittsburgh in 2005, 9,596 tables, with similar numbers through 2001.  The exception was Reno, one of our more popular cities, with 12,196 tables in 2010, down 2,700 tables from 2004.

The "extras" at all NABCs include: nightly entertainment and free food; local sightseeing and restaurants; Daily Bulletins; free lectures; excellent newcomer programs; seminars of all kinds; meeting your friends from around North America and often around the world.  The locals in Louisville put on a good show, one that they should be proud of.  For me...I enjoyed the local restaurants and loved Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum.

What you don't see at each NABC is all the planning...the years of fund raising, organizing volunteer committees, planning nightly activities and day trips, planning restaurant guides and obtaining discounts. There are so many who volunteer for pairing, prizes, information, etc.  Then there is the ACBL management team working on everything from the Daily Bulletins, updating the websites nightly and planning seminars.

Membership deceased for the first time in many years, dropping 300 from a year ago to 164,500 on December 31, 2010.

Our tournaments continue to grow, 2010 Regional table count was up by 4,585 to 179,095.  There were 121 and 122 Regionals in 2009 and 2010, respectively.  Sectional table count was down up by 1,653 to 159,902.  There were 917 Sectionals in 2009 and 933 Sectionals in 2010.  STaC table count was up by 2,866 to 110,416 with 65 STaCs in 2009 and 64 STaCs in 2010.  Overall club games table count was down 7,375, to 2,252,685 and online club table count was up 128,960 to 713,135.

The Cooperative Advertising Program, which subsidizes advertising by clubs, Units and teachers for beginner/newcomer ad campaigns, continues to be utilized.  Teachers and Clubs should take advantage of this program.  For more information go to http://www.acbl.org/marketing/coopAdvertising.html

Louisville ACBL Board of Directors Actions

Bill Cook was elected treasurer for a one-year term ending April 30, 2012.

Appointments were made to: The Hall of Fame Committee; Competition & Conventions Committee; Ethical Oversight Committee; Disciplinary Committee; and Laws Commission.

The president and Chairman of the Board: must be current board members.

Sanctioned Online Games:

The following regulation for sanctioned online play is adopted;

    a player may not enter more than two online games of any kind in any 60 minute period.

All other online regulations remain in effect, including the following:

    all masterpoints won online continue to count toward a player’s total;

    online masterpoints continue to not count toward masterpoint races such as the McKenney and Mini McKenney;

    online races, as currently established, continue;

    shortened online Club Championships, with overall awards at 60% of face-to-face Club Championships and capped at 4.5 masterpoints, continue;

    online masterpoints continue to be unpigmented, with no online masterpoints needed for any Rank advancement;

    the regulation that no more than 1/3 of the total masterpoints required for Rank advancement can be attributed to online masterpoints continues.  For    example, to become a Gold LM (2,500 masterpoints required, with certain pigmentation) no more than 833.33 masterpoints can count toward the 2,500 masterpoint requirement;

    online masterpoints continue to count 100% toward strat and flight advancement;

    robot games continue to run as an Individual event.

ACBL-wide games:

ACBL-wide special games may not be conducted during any month that is designated as a special find month.  Currently the months of February (Junior), April (Charity) and September (International) are designated as special fund game months.

Seeding Points and Seeding Methods for NABC+ KO Events:

Changes in these categories have been approved.

Top District NABC+ finishers

District 24 players blew away the field with wins in NABC+ events.  Joel Wooldridge won the Kay Platinum Pairs with John Hurd and also the Silodor Open Pairs. Joe Grue and Shane Blanchard won the NAOPs.  Diana Schuld won the Rockwell Mixed pairs.  Debbie Rosenberg tied for first in the Machlin Women's Swiss.  Michael Polowan won the Jacoby Open Swiss Teams.  Martin Fleisher won the Vanderbilt KO Teams.

North American Open Pairs, Flight A: Winners - Joe Grue - Shane Blanchard; Joel Wooldridge - Kevin Bathurst, 2nd; Eric Robinson - Michael Kopera, 13th. (Three entrees from each District)

Lebhar IMP Pairs: Jess Jurkovic - Bill Begert, 11th; Michael Kopera - Eric Robinson, 16yh; Michael Moss - Bjorn Fallenius, 24th.

Kay Platinum Pairs: Winners - John Hurd - Joel Wooldridge; Martin Fleisher, 6th; Zia Mahmood, 8th.

Leventritt Silver Ribbon Pairs: Jeff hand - Gail Greenberg, 25th.

Rockwell Mixed Pairs: Jeff Hand - Gail Greenberg, 2nd; Ljudmila Kamenova, 7th; R. Jay Becker, 8th; Judi Radin - Scott Levine, 17th.

Silodor Open Pairs: Winners - Joel Wooldridge; John Rengstorff - Scott Levine, 3rd; Alan Sontag, 15th.

Bean Red Ribbon Pairs: Sumit Daftuar - Stefano Merlo, 4th.

Golder North American Pairs Flight B: Sumit Daftuar - Stefano Merlo, 13th.

President's Cup North American Pairs Flight C: Ilana Seror - James Stuart III, 13th.

Whitehead Women’s Pairs: Winners - Diana Schuld; Sylvia Moss - Judi Radin, 2nd; Valerie Westheimer, 3rd; Laurie Vogel, 5th; Susan Picus - Gail Greenberg, 15th.

Machlin Women’s Swiss: Winner - Debbie Rosenberg (tied); Valerie Westheimer, 3rd; Diana Schuld. 8th.

Jacoby Open Swiss Teams: Winner - Michael Polowan; Alan Sontag, 3rd; Joel Wooldridge - John Hurd, 4th; Roy Welland - Christal Henner-Welland, 6/7th; James Cayne, 10/11th; Kevin Bathurst, 12th; Zia Mahmood, 13th; Aaron Silverstein - Andrew Rosenthal - Chris Willenken - Michael Rosenberg, 14th; Winthrop Allegaert, 21st; Sam Lev, 22nd; Michael Moss - Bjorn Fallenius, 24th.

Vanderbilt KOs: Winner - Martin Fleisher; Joe Grue, 2nd; Zia Mahmood, 8th; James Cayne, 5/8th; Richard Schwartz. 9/16th.