1 - General

This is a league for teams of four which may consist of up to five divisions depending on the number of entries. Up to a maximum of eight players may be nominated for a team but only four may play in any one match. For all but the lowest division team members must be a member of the EBU.

EBU rules in force at the time of each match will apply but in the case of conflict the rules set out below will take precedence.

Teams may include players from more than one club, but no player may be a member of more than one team (but see 10. Substitutions below).

Teams in Division 1 may play anywhere in the county and the result of their league matches will determine the overall Division 1 winning team Teams in lower divisions will be grouped into geographical sections within the county as far as possible. A multiple teams final will be held at the end of the season to determine the overall winner for each division (see the SCBA website for details). Qualification for the final is determined as follows:

• divisions comprising fewer than four geographical sections: the top two teams in each section will qualify for the final.
• divisions of four or more sections:
  • sections with fewer than 6 teams: the winning team will qualify for the final
  • sections with 6 or more teams: the top two teams will qualify for the final.
• In addition the next highest team in the section will also qualify for the final should any one of the following conditions be met:
  • a qualifying team from the section is unable to attend the final; or
  • the next highest team were undefeated in their section matches.

Unless explicitly agreed with the organiser no individual may play in the final if they have not previously played in at least one league match in the earlier part of the competition. (See also 10. Substitutions below)

Prizes will be awarded to the winning team in each Division.

2 - Name of Teams

A team's title will be the Captain's name, and to retain its position each season at least half of its nominated members must be re-nominated. The organiser shall determine the placement of any new team.

3 - Dates for Matches

Matches should be played from October to April (June for Division 1) and must follow the requirements below for arranging matches. Any difficulty in arranging a match should be notified to the organiser at an early stage. The organiser is empowered to award results for matches un-played at the end of April (June for Division 1) taking into account the circumstances in each case.

The home team should offer a minimum of five dates spread over at least three weeks and over at least three different days of the week (of which at least three dates should be weekday evenings) and the earliest should be at least two weeks away. The Away team then has one week to select the date of the match from the dates offered. If there is a difficulty in fixing a match, the organiser must be consulted.

If a team fails to arrange a date for a match or cancels a match without a valid reason, they will concede the match and the team to whom the match is conceded will receive the higher of 12 VP’s, its average in all other matches, or the average of all other teams against the defaulting team. The defaulting team receives 0 VPs for that match.

The organiser may impose the penalty of non-entry on members of the defaulting team in the next season. If there is a valid reason for cancelling a match, the match should be re-scheduled.

4 - Play

Matches in all but the lowest division shall consist of 24 boards, which for Division 1 may be increased by prior agreement of the captains to maximum of 28 boards. Matches in the lowest Division shall consist of 20 boards. Matches are played in two equal halves, changing opponents at half-time

A fouled board in the first half should be replaced by adding a board to the second set.

A fouled board in the second set is not replaced.

No correction of scores is allowed after the captains have agreed the result

5 - Refreshments

The home team is expected to provide light refreshments.

6 - Late Arrival

If a team is 45min late, or 90min late having notified late arrival, the match is awarded to the non-offending side. If a member of a team is present within 45min of the starting time that is an indication that the whole team intends to arrive and constitutes 'notification' within the meaning of this clause.

After 30 min of late arrival, whether notified or not, the match is reduced by 2 boards and for each further complete 15min period the match is again reduced by 2 boards. The maximum number of boards that can be removed is eight (which occurs after 75min of late arrival). The non-offending side is awarded 3 IMPs per board.

7 - Systems and Conventions

Systems and conventions permitted by Level 4 as set out in the current EBU Blue Book may be played in all Divisions except the lowest where only Level 2 conventions are permitted.

8 - Scoring

Scoring is by total IMPs converted to VPs using the scales set out in Section 3.1.1 of the EBU White Book 2013, or by using the VP Discrete Scale obtained from the EBU VP calculator at

http://www.ebu.co.uk/laws-and-ethics/vp-scales

9 - Results

It is the responsibility of the winning captain, or the home captain in case of a draw, to enter the results via the My EBU website or if unable to do so, to send the results to the organiser within two days of the match being played. The names of the team members and their EBU numbers are required.

10 - Master Points

Master points will be awarded at the end of the season. With effect from September 2015 Blue Points will be awarded for matches played in Division 1 and Local Points will be awarded for all other divisions.

11 - Substitutions

Substitution of team members will only be allowed with the explicit agreement of the organiser and a maximum of one substitution will be allowed per team per season. Possible reasons for requiring a substitute include: non-availability of a team member to play in the final; an unavoidable emergency immediately prior to an arranged match where re-arrangement is not possible. No substitute that is a significantly better player than the team member they are substituting will be allowed. At the discretion of the organiser a member of a team from the same or a lower division may be allowed as a substitute.

12 - Rulings & Appeals

Any rulings or appeals will be dealt with using the procedure shown on the SCBA website for matches played privately

1 - General

A local teams of four league intended to be used by teachers as a means of giving their pupils experience in team competitions and is suitable for players whose ability is equivalent to someone having had 1 or 2 year's of tuition. The entry form must be entered or endorsed by a teacher. The team may have up to two reserves who are also new to bridge. Teachers are encouraged to manage a team and organise matches but cannot play or offer advice during the play. Membership of the EBU is not required

EBU rules in force at the time of each match will apply but in the case of conflict the rules set out below will take precedence.

Teams will be grouped into geographical sections within the county as far as possible. A multiple teams final will be held at the end of the season to determine the overall League winner (see the SCBA website for venue and date). For sections of less than 6 teams the winning team will qualify for the final for sections of 6 or more teams the top two teams in the section will qualify for the final. In addition the next highest team in the section will also qualify for the final should any one of the following conditions be met:

• a qualifying team from the section is unable to attend the final; or
• - the next highest team were undefeated in their section matches

Unless explicitly agreed with the organiser no individual may play in the final if they have not previously played in at least one league match in the earlier part of the competition. (See also 6. Substitutions below)

2 - Matches

Matches are to be held at intervals from November to the end of April. Each team will play 16-board matches following the supplied instructions on running a team event. A programme of fixtures will be issued at the beginning of the competition. Matches should be played within the scheduled periods, following the process set out below. Any difficulty in arranging a match should be notified to the organiser at an early stage and all matches must be completed before the end of April unless explicitly agreed by the organiser. The organiser is empowered to award results for matches un-played at the end of April taking into account the circumstances in each case

The home team should offer a minimum of five dates spread over at least three weeks and over at least three different days of the week (of which at least three dates should be weekday evenings) and the earliest should be at least two weeks away. The Away team then has one week to select the date of the match from the dates offered. If there is a difficulty in fixing a match, the organiser must be consulted

If a team fails to arrange a date for a match or cancels a match without a valid reason, they will concede the match and the team to whom the match is conceded will receive the higher of 12 VP’s, its average in all other matches, or the average of all other teams against the defaulting team. The defaulting team receives 0 VPs for that match.

The organiser may impose the penalty of non-entry on all members of the defaulting team in the next season. If there is a valid reason for cancelling a match, the match should be re-scheduled.

3 - Systems

Conventions within the Standard English Acol-Foundation Level are permitted with the following optional addition:

• Transfers over 1 and 2 No Trumps
• Weak Twos

http://www.ebu.co.uk/laws-and-ethics/convention-cards

4 - Scoring

Scoring is by IMPs converted to Victory Points using the scale below.

Victory Points Scale 16 board matches http://www.ebu.co.uk/laws-and-ethics/vp-scales

5 - Results

It is the responsibility of the winning captain, or the home captain in case of a draw, to enter the results via the My EBU website or if unable to do so, to send the results to the organiser within two days of the match being played. The names of the team members and their EBU numbers are required.

6 - Substitutions

Substitution of team members will only be allowed with the explicit agreement of the organiser and a maximum of one substitution will be allowed per team per season. Possible reasons for requiring a substitute include: non-availability of a team member to play in the final; an unavoidable emergency immediately prior to an arranged match where re-arrangement is not possible. No substitute that is a significantly better player than the team member they are substituting will be allowed.

7 - Rulings & Appeals

Any rulings or appeals will be in accordance with the procedure shown on the SCBA website for matches played privately.

1 - General

A Green Pointed knockout competition for teams of four. Up to six players may be nominated and play in any one match including the final. Any teams knocked out in the first two round of the Lady Rose Cup will automatically be entered to the consolation Lady Rose Plate knockout competition.

The competition is open to all EBU members and the highest placed team of all SCBA primary members in the Lady Rose Cup will represent Surrey in the Pachabo Cup.

Each player must play at least one third of the boards in the match to qualify for master points

Before playing in any match, up to and including the semi-final, a maximum of two extra players (not more than 8 players in a team), must be nominated to the Knock-out Secretary. In the Lady Rose Cup the 4 teams that reached the previous year’s semi-final will be seeded, one in each quarter and if entry numbers permit the first round will be made of any new teams plus all the teams that played in the consolation Lady Rose Plate competition in the previous season.

2 - Dates for Matches

Matches should be played in Surrey or any SCBA Affiliated Club outside Surrey or at a private residence within a three-mile radius of an SCBA Affiliated Club.

Matches should be played within the scheduled periods. The home team should offer at least three dates, not all in the same week, and include a weekend date if requested. Any difficulty in arranging a match should be notified to the Knock-out Secretary at an early stage. The Knock-Out Secretary may grant an extension of a few days.

The Knock-out Secretary is empowered to award results for matches that have not been played taking into account the circumstances in each case. If a team fails to arrange a date for a match, or cancels without a valid reason, the team concedes the match. The organisers may impose the penalty of nonentry on members of the defaulting team in the next season

If there is valid reason for cancelling a match, the match should be re-scheduled.

3 - Late Arrival

If a team is 45 minutes late, or 90 minutes late having notified late arrival, the match is awarded to the non-offending team. If a member of a team is present within 45 minutes of the starting time, that is an indication that the whole team intends to arrive and constitutes ‘notification’ within the meaning of the clause.

After 30 minutes of late arrival, whether notified or not, the match is reduced by 2 boards and for each further complete 15 minute period the match is again reduced by 2 boards. The maximum numbers of boards that can be removed is eight (which occurs after 75 minutes of late arrival). The non-offending team is awarded 3 IMP’s per board.

4 - Play

In the first two rounds each match shall consist of 32 boards or 28 boards by agreement and be played in two stanzas of 16 boards (or 14 boards) or with the agreement of the captains in 4 stanzas of 8 boards (or 4 stanzas of 7 boards). Pairs change opponents after each stanza and scoring is by IMP’s. If the scores are equal after 32 boards (or 28 boards) have been played, a further 4 boards should be played to break the tie. For subsequent rounds the match shall consist of 32 boards. No correction of scores is permitted after both captains have agreed the result. The winning captain must inform the Knock-Out Secretary of the result within the next three days.

The Lady Rose Final only will consist of 48 boards played in 6 stanzas of 8 boards. The winner of the toss chooses “odds” or “evens” (sets 1, 3 & 5 or 2, 4 & 6 stanzas) to have seating rights) If the scores are equal after 48 boards have been played, a further 6 boards should be played to break the tie.

5 - Fouled boards

• any number of fouled boards should be replayed if the result of the match without them could not be known to any contestant: and any number of fouled boards in excess of one should be replayed even if the result of the match without them could be known to a contestant.
• Only if more than one board is fouled in the last stanza, can substituted boards be played.

6 - Systems and Conventions

Systems and conventions permitted by Level 4 as set out in the current EBU Blue Book may be played in the Lady Rose Cup and Plate.

7 - Refreshments

The home team is expected to provide light refreshments

8 - Lady Rose Plate

Any team, which loses in the first or second round is automatically entered for the Lady Rose Plate, which runs on the same line as the Lady Rose Cup, except the final, which will be of 32 boards. Teams not wishing to play should inform the Knock-Out Secretary.

9 - Master Points

Green Points will be awarded for each match in the Lady Rose Cup according to EBU rules for Major County teams events. With effect from September 2015 master points awarded for the Lady Rose Plate will be Local Points not Green Points in accordance with the EBU Licencing and Master Points Handbook September 2015.

10 - Smoking Regulations

In all Surrey competitions held in clubs smoking is NOT permitted. In matches played in private homes any player may request that there shall be no smoking at the table which he/she is playing. It is the duty of both captains to indicate the likely wishes of their team in this matter when arranging the match.

11 - Results

It is the responsibility of the winning captain, or the home captain in case of a draw, to enter the results via the My EBU website or if unable to do so, to send the results to the organiser within two days of the match being played. The names of the team members and their EBU numbers are required.