About Lone Star Bridge Club

 2021-2022 Lone Star Bridge Club Board of Directors 

• President              Kay Rice                
• Vice President     Deb Alexander
• Secretary              Vicky Martinez
• Treasurer              Carol Jenkinson
• Club Manager       Linda Sutton
• Church Liaison    Jeane Crumpler
• Members at Large: Bill Gemas, Sandra Maalouf, Doug Boswell 

                             Lone Star Bridge Club Policies 

THE FOLLOWING POLICIES HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE LONE  STAR BRIDGE CLUB BOARD:

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY 

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB has a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY. The Lone Star Bridge Club endorses and enforces the ACBL Zero Tolerance Policy. The full Zero Tolerance Policy is available on the ACBL website.

The following behaviors are not allowed at our player-friendly club:

· Rudeness, intimidation, badgering, gloating

· Profanity, abusive language 

· Violence

· Negative comments regarding opponent’s bidding or play

· Negative comments regarding partner’s bidding or play

· Aggressive or confrontational behavior with any director, opponent or partner. 

Violations of Lone Star Bridge Club’s Zero Tolerance Policy are: 

1.  Upon the first violation the Director has the right and discretion to do any of the below in the following sequence: 

      · Issue a warning

      · Access a ¼ board or 3 IMP penalty to the offender’s pair. 

      · Take the issue to the Conduct and Ethics Committee for review and further     action

      · Ask the offender and his/her partner to leave the game

***PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE EVICTION FROM THE PREMISES***

2. Violations will be documented in the Club Manager’s Notebook with accompanying date and description of the nature of the violation. Further violations or patterns of infractions by the same offender will be referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee for further review and action.

We want to develop an atmosphere of camaraderie and healthy competition at our Club.  

Thank you for your compliance with this Zero Tolerance Policy.

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB APPEAL POLICY*  

Any member who legitimately believes that a Director has made an incorrect call of an ACBL Rule shall have the right to request an appeal of such a call. The great majority of Director’s Call shall stand.

· An appeal request must be made at the table at the time of the Director Call in question. 

· Both the player and his/her partner must agree that an appeal should be made.

· No other Director shall be called to the table to discuss at the time of the Call. The Director making the call may walk away to confer with another Director if he/she requires confirmation of a Rule.

· During the Director Call Process, the players at the table may always ask to see the ACBL Laws of Duplicate Bridge Book to reference the rule in question.

APPEAL PROCESS:

· Immediately after the game, as many of the Board of Directors as are available, shall meet to review the Director’s Call in question. 

· The Board may request other Certified Directors, or if unavailable, advanced knowledgeable players to participate in the review. 

· A total of at least three or five BOD/Directors/knowledgeable players shall be required so that a majority vote may occur. 

· Once the Appeal Committee has reached a decision, no further appeal is available.

· Both the Director that made the call and the offending pair must be present to give the facts of the call.

If the offending pair is not satisfied, they will be advised that they can always send an email with the facts and final ruling to the ACBL for confirmation of accuracy.

The Club Manager will maintain a Notebook which contains Appeal Committee decisions with dates and notations regarding the facts of the appeal and decision, as well as previous examples from ACBL to LSBC, its members and sister clubs giving guidance on specific calls and results.

Any club member who requests appeals on a repeated basis, in such a manner to be deemed frivolous, shall be referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee.

*Appeals relating to issues other than Director Calls shall be referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee. 

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB SLOW PLAY POLICY 

· Directors shall make all efforts to encourage players to play within the time limits of each round.

· All four players at the table are responsible for eliminating slow play when it occurs.

· If a table has not picked up its last board before the end of the round has been announced, the Director, at his/her discretion, may give the two pairs at that table the option to take a “Late Play” of that board. This is not a penalty…it is only to ensure that the tempo of the entire game is maintained.  The ACBL stresses that the objective should always be to strive for an actual score in preference to no score. Directors shall make every effort NOT to assess a “No Play” as this affects non-offending pairs as well as offending players, but a No Play will be assessed if both pairs do not agree to a Late Play. 

· A Director may, at his/her discretion, apply additional penalties in line with ACBL guidelines for those players/pairs that have established a continued pattern of slow play which impacts repeatedly on the flow of the LSBC games. 

Enforcing the Slow Play Policy will result in a better functioning Club. Slow players have a negative effect on the over-all tempo of the game, which often results in player frustration at the other effected tables.

Please read these policies carefully as they are in effect immediately. They will also be posted at the club. If you have any questions, please ask a Board member.