Surrey County Bridge Association

Rules and Regulations for the Affiliated Clubs League

1. General
   A league for teams of four played in three areas of Surrey, West, Central and East. Each area is run by an Organiser and may have several divisions. Each team normally plays all the other teams in its division once during the season (September to April).
   
2. Promotion and Relegation
   The top team in each division (except Division 1) is guaranteed promotion. Normally two teams are promoted to the next division and two teams relegated, subject to the number of teams entering in the next season. New teams usually start in the lowest division but exceptionally, at the discretion of the Organiser, it may be possible for a team to start in a higher division.
   
3. Entry
   Entry is by clubs, not team members, and any bona fide club member may play in a team. All team members must be members of the English Bridge Union except those in the bottom divisions. Clubs will be expected to play their better players in the upper teams but it is acceptable to waive this to keep together a team who has won promotion.
   
   The League is also open, at the discretion of the SCBA, to clubs within a ten mile radius of the Surrey border.
   
   Players will be recorded as members of a team when they play in their first match. Subsequently in that season they may not represent any other club or the same club in another team in the same or lower division but they may play for a team in a higher division once only. If a player plays for a team in a higher division more than once that player becomes a member of the higher team and may not 'play down'.
   
   It is the responsibility of each team captain to check the eligibility of all members of the team before the start of a match . A team playing a non-eligible member may be disqualified.
   
4. Dates for Matches.
   A programme of fixtures, allowing at least three weeks for each match, is issued at the beginning of the season. Matches should be played within the scheduled periods, following Surrey guidelines for fixing matches. The home team should offer a minimum of three dates not all on the same day of the week. If there is difficulty in fixing a match, the area Organiser must be consulted.
   
   If a team fails to arrange a date for a match or cancels a match without valid reason - and thus concedes the match - the team to whom the match is conceded will get 13VPs or, if greater, its average in all other matches or, if greater, the average of all teams against the defaulting team. The defaulting team receives no Victory Points for that match.
   
   The organisers may impose the penalty of non-entry on all members of the defaulting team in the next season.
   
5. Play
   Matches shall be of 24 boards, scored by IMPs and converted to VPs using the scale below.
   
   

   IMPs	0-1	2-4	5-8	9-12	13-16	17-21	22-26	27-32	33-39	40-50	51+
   VPs	10-10	11-9	12-8	13-7	14-6	15-5	16-4	17-3	18-2	19-1	20-0

   
   
   Only systems permitted by Level 4 Licence may be played. A fouled board in the first half should be replaced by adding a board to the second half. A fouled board in the second half is not replaced.
   
   No correction of scores is permitted after the result has been agreed by the captains. The winning team, or the home team in the case of a draw, is responsible for notifying the Organiser of the result of their match. The Organiser needs to have the names of the players in both teams and their EBU numbers.
   
   A fouled board in the first half should be replaced by adding a board to the second half. A fouled board in the second half is not replaced.
   
   No correction of scores is permitted after the result has been agreed by the captains. The winning team, or the home team in the case of a draw, is responsible for notifying the Organiser of the result of their match. The Organiser needs to have the names of the players in both teams and their EBU numbers.
   
   
6. Refreshments
   The home team is expected to provide light refreshments.
   
7. 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. See also item 4.
   
8. Final
   Divisional winners from each area will be invited to play in a Final. See Competitions Brochure for date. The first division winners will play the other first division winners for the DOLPHIN TROPHY. The winners of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th divisions will play a multiple teams event to decide their winner.
   
   Teams may not play someone who has played for another team in the League during the season. If the winning team in the Division is unable to play, the second team may take their place and represent the Division in the final.
   
9. Results
   The Area Organisers shall at all times have available the latest league positions. Final league tables will be issued on completion of all fixtures.
   
10. Rules
    The League Organiser shall implement the rules. Clubs have the right of Appeal.
    
11. Smoking Regulations (as per Surrey AGM 1993)
    In all Surrey competitions held in clubs or private homes, in addition to the published rules at the venue, any player may require that there shall be no smoking at the table at which he/she is playing.
    
    In matches played in private homes, it is the duty of both captains to indicate the likely wishes of their team in this matter when arranging the match.