The Cambs & Hunts Bridge League: Regulations
1. Introduction
The League is run by Cambs & Hunts Contract Bridge Association [C&H]. Enquiries should be sent to the Organiser, David Parish teamsleague@cambsbridge.org and telephone 01480 831878.
These regulations describe arrangements for the League. They are supplementary to the general regulations contained in various EBU publications (such as the Blue Book), and in some cases replace them. All the general EBU regulations continue to apply unless over-ridden by more specific regulations, or stated otherwise. The EBU White Book (www.ebu.co.uk/white-book) contains a number of regulations for EBU events which also apply to this league. These cover (among other matters) smoking, mobile phones, accommodating disabled players, spectators and split tie procedures. They also have more detail for complex areas such as the treatment of fouled boards and the procedure for rulings and appeals.
In the event of any circumstance arising not covered by these regulations nor by any EBU regulation the Organiser may add to or amend these regulations as required.
2. Entry
Entry is open to all members of C&H or members of a club affiliated to C&H in good standing. Teams may have up to six registered players. Additional players up to the maximum may be added at any time by notifying the Organiser. No player may represent more than one team during the season.
Games made be played Face-to-Face or on any online platform, both captains must agree. In the event that no agreement can be reached then the game must be played on RealBridge.
The draw can be found on the Cambs and Hunts Website: Entry is free. Entries should be sent to the Organiser by 31 August.
At the end of the season the top team in each division (except division one) will be promoted, and the last team will be relegated. The Organiser may vary this procedure as necessary to accommodate the number of teams entering the league each year.
A new team will play in the lowest division. In order to retain their place in the following season, a team must either:- (i) retain at least three players who each played at least half of the matches, or (ii) retain at least four players.
3. Scoring
Matches are 24 boards played in two sets of 12, for on line play matches will be a minimum of 18 boards. Scoring is IMPs converted to VPs on the discrete 20-0 scale which can be found in the EBU diary or from www.ebu.co.uk/laws-and-ethics/vp-scales.
4. Permissible Systems
Partnership understandings permitted at ‘Level 4’ as set out in the current EBU Blue Book are permitted.
5. Arranging Matches
The first named team in the draw are the home team.
Matches should be played from September to March. Captains are expected to agree a suitable date and starting time. Any match that cannot be played during this period may be played at another date amenable to both teams with the permission of the Organiser.
In the event of difficulty arranging a match the Organiser will, if necessary, adjudicate based on the number of suitable dates each captain has offered and their timeliness in replying to messages. A ‘suitable’ date is a weekday evening during the specified period for playing the match given with at least 10 days’ notice. (Note there is no requirement to play on a weekday evening if both captains agree otherwise.) Preferably, the home team will offer the away team a choice of dates. The Organiser will typically deem one team to have defaulted and award a VP result as specified in section 11.
If the match is played at a club, the home team will pay any table money due. The home team is expected to provide refreshments for both teams and to provide playing conditions similar to or better than those found in a duplicate club (such as suitable lighting, boards, bidding boxes, paper and a copy of the IMP scale). Exceptions, such as not using bidding boxes, should be agreed by the captains beforehand.
5.1 Substitutions
A substitute is only allowed with the explicit agreement of the Organiser. 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.
5.2 Exceptional Circumstances
The Organiser may allow other arrangements for matches or ask for a match to be rearranged in exceptional circumstances such as illness or extreme weather conditions but teams are encouraged to find substitute or additional players if at all possible.
6. Dealing
Boards are dealt at the table in the presence of at least one player from each team. Pre-duplicated boards may be used instead so long as both captains agree. Online games the boards are dealt by the online platform.
7. Seating Rights
The home team may choose which opponents it plays in the first half. There is a compulsory change of opponents at half time. Online the system normally moves players. Teams may field only four players for each match.
8. Reporting Results
It is the responsibility of the winning captain, or the home captain in case of a draw, to enter the results via the 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 all participating players must be included. No correction of scores is allowed after the captains have agreed the result.
9. Irregularities
9.1 Late Arrival and Non-Arrival
If a team is more than 30 minutes late without notification, or more than 90 minutes late having notified late arrival, the match is awarded to the non-offending side. If any member of a team is present within 30 minutes of the starting time that constitutes ‘notification’.
After 30 minutes of delay, 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 number of boards that can be removed is eight (which occurs after 75 minutes of late arrival). If both teams are late, the 30 minutes starts from the time all the members of the first team are present.
It is preferable for an equal number of boards to be removed from each stanza of the match, but if one table can start play the non-offending side may choose to remove boards only from the first half. The non-offending side is awarded 3 IMPs per board removed but the match is still scored using the 24-board VP scale.
If a player has to leave early due to an emergency, the unplayed boards are treated in the same way as with late arrival. If there are more than eight boards still to play, section 11 below applies.
9.2 Fouled or Cancelled Boards
In the event that both pairs in a team sit in the same polarity in one stanza, the score for that set will be zero. The stanza that has been completed will determine the score according to the 24-board VP scale. Both pairs at the table are equally responsible for making sure that they sit in the correct positions.
If a board is fouled or cancelled for whatever reason in the first stanza of the match, a substitute board is added to the second half with the same dealer and vulnerability. If a board is fouled or cancelled in the second stanza of the match a substitute board may only be played if no player is aware of any of the results from the other table.
The captains should be aware that Law 86D may apply.
10. Unplayed or Incomplete Matches and Withdrawal
If a match has to be abandoned due to unforeseen circumstances with neither team at fault, then:
(i) if at least half of the boards have been played at both tables, the match is considered complete and the VP scale for the number of completed boards is used;
(ii) if fewer than half of the boards have been completed, the captains should endeavour to replay the match completely. If this is not possible, the Organiser will adjudicate a result.
A team is considered not to be at fault if its home venue becomes unavailable during the match (e.g. due to a power cut) unless a member of the team was the direct cause of the problem.
If a team is awarded a match, for example under rules 6 or 10, it will receive the highest of 12 VPs, its average across all the other matches it plays during the season, or the final average of all other teams in matches played against the defaulting team. Artificial VP scores from other defaulted matches are not included in this calculation.
If a team ‘concedes’ a match having played at least half the boards, the non-offending side get the higher of their score under the preceding paragraph or their VP score for the match assuming they score +3 IMPs on each of the unplayed boards.
The defaulting team always receives 0 VPs.
If a team withdraws from the league having played fewer than half its scheduled matches, all results against the team are removed. If the team has played at least half its scheduled matches, results in the remaining matches are calculated using the preceding rule for defaulted matches.
The organiser may impose the penalty of non-entry in the following season on some or all the members of a team that defaults on a match or withdraws during the season.
11. Rulings
For matches played at a club a non-playing TD will usually be available at the venue. If no TD is available, a suitably qualified player present but not playing in the match will give a ruling of first instance.
For matches played privately the section on ‘Rulings In Matches Played Privately’ in the EBU Regulations for Knock Out Competitions applies and covers all circumstances not described here.
The equivalent of summoning the Director is to inform one’s opponents at the table that one wishes to have a ruling. If a ruling is required, then in the first instance the Captains may agree on an outcome. If they cannot agree, they should contact the Organiser or an EBU Tournament Director or EBU Referee (contact details are available on the EBU website).
If it is impossible to obtain a ruling at the time, the captains should submit details of the hand to the Organiser who will arrange a ruling in the days following the match.
12. Appeals
A ruling may be appealed by either captain as long as this is within 12 hours of receiving the original ruling. Note: if the Captains agree on a ruling this may not be appealed. Details of the hand, the original ruling, comments from both sides and contact details for the players should be sent in writing to the Organiser including a request for an appeal to be held. The Organiser will ask at least three players of good standing within the County to act as an appeals committee. A deposit of £50 is required for an appeal. If it is not possible to form a disinterested committee of suitable standard, the Organiser may ask any member of the EBU panel of Referees, as listed on the EBU website, to hear the appeal.
13. Final placings within Divisions.
Final placings within Divisions will be a simple average of total MPs won divided by the number of matches scheduled to be played. It is important therefore that teams seek to play all matches . Where there is a tie the placing will be determined by the result of the match between to two tied teams.
14. On line play.
Matches played online the following regulations will apply.
14.1 It will be the duty of the Home Captain (specified in the Draw) to set up the home match.
On RealBridge it’s the duty of the Home Captain to submit details of the game to the Organiser so the session with the necessary links can be created. (Alert/announce partners bids as if playing Face-to-Face)
On BBO it’s the duty of the away captain to ensure that the home captain has the BBO Usernames of the away team. It is advisable for all players to try to log in at least 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. A guide to online play and using the Create Teams Match function may be found at https://www.ebu.co.uk/node/3767 .
14.2 Should a team be unable to make the agreed time, they are entitled to attempt to rearrange the match with the opposing Captain. A match that cannot be played will be scored 14-6 in the non-offending teams favour. If both teams are unable to play the match will be scored 10-10.
14.3 UNDOs are allowed only for mechanical errors (misclicks) during the auction. An undo may not be granted during the play of the hand. It is recommended that ‘confirm card’ and ‘confirm bid’ are switched on in account settings.
14.4 Matches will be 24 boards , except that should both Captains agree a lesser number, but not less than 18, may be played. The match will be scored by IMPs and using random boards and converted to VPs.
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