Bracknell Bridge League
Release 2.19q
Participating Clubs and Teams (2023-24 Season)

Aerospace
Ascot

Bracknell Forest
Bradshaws
Camberley

Crowthorne

Finchampstead

Loddon Vale
Woodley
Yateley and Hawley

 

Pivot Rules
 
 
  Entries
 1.1  Clubs which are members of the League may enter any number of teams.
 1.2  A captain must be nominated for each team and his/her email address and home and daytime phone numbers must be sent to the League Secretary with the entry.
 1.3  Entries must normally be made to the League Secretary by end-July (the actual closing date will be announced during the League AGM each year). Ideally entries should be via email.
 1.4  An entry fee (to be determined by the Committee) will be charged for each team and is payable direct to the Treasurer, at the same time as the entry is made.
  Teams
2.1  A team may consist of any number of players but only four players may take part in any one match.
 2.2  No player may play for more than one team.
  The Draw
3.1 

The draw will be made by mid- August. Pairings for the subsequent rounds will be determined by the position in this draw. The team drawn first in any pairing is the home team. A nominal completion date for each round will be published with the draw

 3.2  No team will have the same opponents in their first match as they had in their first match of the preceding season.
 3.3  Where possible, teams from the same club will be kept apart for their first match..
 3.4  There will be no seeding.
  The Handicap
4.1  The League Committee will publish a list of players and their handicaps at the start of each season. Each player will be allocated a handicap in IMPs, normally depending on their NGS standing on the first day of the month in which the season starts. Players who are not EBU members or do not have a NGS grade will be allocated a handicap based on the Committee’s knowledge of the ability of that player. Allocated handicaps will be in the range zero IMPS to a probable maximum of twenty five IMPS and will remain in place throughout the competition irrespective of any changes in an individual NGS. Players who choose to keep their NGS standing private will be allocated a handicap of zero IMPs unless they provide the Committee with evidence of their NGS standing.
 4.2  At any time after the start of the season, a player not on this list may apply to the Committee for a handicap. The Committee will allocate a handicap along the lines detailed in section 4.1, using the NGS standing at the time of the application if appropriate. If a player plays in a Cup match without applying for a handicap he/she will have a handicap of zero IMPs.
 4.3  In addition to those applicable for 24 board matches, the published list will include individual handicaps for ‘shorter matches’ and ‘tie breakers’, as defined in sections 5.6 and 6.2 respectively.
 4.4  The handicap of the team will be the sum of the handicaps of the four players selected for that match. The team with the higher handicap subtracts the handicap of the other team from their own handicap to determine the number of IMPs which they add to their actual IMP score at the end of the match.
   [Thus if a team with individual handicaps of 8, 10, 12 and 16 plays a team with individual handicaps of 0, 2, 4 and 6, they will receive a handicap of (46 – 12) = 34 IMPs for the match.] 
  Matches

5.1

 

5.2

Matches may be played either face-to-face or on-line, as agreed between the two captains. League rules in place for the season concerning the choice of platforms and associated defaults for on-line matches will also apply to the Pivot Cup.

Matches will normally consist of 24 boards. The team captain plays three 8-board rounds in partnership with each member of his/her team. The two tables share the eight boards. The two captains oppose one another at the same table throughout the match.

 5.3  The two captains should agree on the handicap to be applied for the match prior to the start of play. If required, the home captain must announce his/her pairings and their seating for the first round before the away captain decides his/her pairings and their seating. The away captain must announce first for the second round.
 5.4  For each pairing a fully completed convention card must be available.
 5.5  Only those systems and conventions currently defined by the EBU as Level 4 or below may be used.
 5.6 

Team captains may agree to play three 7-board rounds. In extremis, a minimum match of three 6-board rounds is legal. If the captains cannot agree a reduction in the number of boards, a 24 board match must be played. If a reduction in the number of boards is agreed, then a modified handicap is used for the match, calculated by using the appropriate ‘shorter match’ list.

 

  Scoring
6.1  Scoring will be by IMPs. Any difference constitutes a winning margin.
 6.2  If the scores are equal after the original number of boards then six additional boards will be played (as three two board rounds). The seating arrangements are as defined in section 5. The handicap for these additional boards will calculated using the 'tie-breaker' list. If the result is still a draw, a replay must be arranged as soon as possible. In the replay, the original away team becomes the home team. If necessary, more replays make be arranged as necessary. However, any replays are subject to the requirements of 7.1.
 6.3  Scores can be compared after each set of boards has been completed.
  Arranging Matches
7.1  The fixtures will be managed by the Pivot Cup Secretary. Each fixture needs to be completed before the date published at the time the draw is made. The final is to be played by the end of April. If for any reason this proves impossible to achieve, the BBL committee will determine the outcome.
  Results
 8.1  Within 48 hours of the match, the winning captain must submit the result using the BBL website and the Pivot Cup Secretary will update the draw accordingly.
 8.2  As the rules of the EBU master point system forbid the award of master points for handicap events, no master points will be gained by the players of the team winning any match.

Issue 5 dated May 2023