Heighington Bridge Club Appeals Procedure

All directors of the club do their best to apply the laws of bridge in a fair and honest way. However there may be occasions where players might disagree with the decision of a director. If this is the case the player can raise an appeal against the director’s decision. The process for dealing with appeals is as follows;

1.     Call the director to the table if you believe there may have been an infringement.

2.     Call them in a courteous manner ''Director Please''.

3.     All parties at the table MUST be given the opportunity to give their version of the issue and allow the director to establish the facts. 

4,     Players must accept the director's decision at the table.

5.      If a player does not agree with the decision they must speak to the director asap and invite them to review the decision, if necessary consulting another director.

6.      If the player still wishes to appeal against the director's ruling the appellant must inform the director of their intentions before the end of the competition.

7.      Following completion of the competition the appellant, the opposition and the director will complete their sections of the EBU appeals form which the club have adopted to ensure the appeals committee have all relevant facts. This must be completed with 24 hours of the end of the competition. It is essential that all relevant information is recorded accurately and checked by the parties. Hopefully during this process further discussion between the parties will add clarification and will result in agreement which leads to the cessation of the appeal.

8.      If no agreement is reached the appeals for will be sent to the club chair by the director. This must be with in 24 hours of the end of the competition. The chair will then convene an appeals subcommittee comprising a minimum of one and ideally three qualified directors who were not officiating at the competition.

9.      The appeals subcommittee will review the appeals form, may contact the parties involved for further clarification then decide whether the appeal is accepted or not, and what if any rectification action should be taken.

10.     The club chair will then communicate the decision to the appellant.

11.      There are no further appeals available at club level and any further appeals must be made under EBU guidelines to higher authorities and may incur costs. The appellant will be responsible for his own costs.