MEMBERSHIP: Teams may consist of four, five or six players. No fifth or sixth member may be added without the specific approval of the Coordinator after the entries have been closed. A player may be a member of only one team and may not play in Flight A and B simultaneously.

LENGTH OF MATCHES: During preliminary matches there will be 26 boards played divided into two 13-board halves. When four teams or less are left (semifinals and finals), the matches will be 32 boards divided into 16-board halves. The exception to this is when 3-way matches are required--please see below. The form of scoring will be the standard IMP scale.

LENGTH OF EVENT: All teams are to be placed into a bracket sheet by the Coordinator. If the number of entries is not an even power of two, the schedule may include byes and/or it may include 3-way matches at the Coordinator’s discretion. This will be decided after the entry period is closed and the number of teams entered is known.

If 3-way matches are needed, teams will play two 14-board matches divided into two 7-board halves against each of the other teams with two teams advancing. If matches result in all three teams having one win and one loss, IMP quotient will be used to determine which two teams advance.

If teams enter from counties other than New Castle, as expected, the Coordinator has the freedom to set match schedules that accommodate travel issues. Each team must play at the rate of one match per month. In all schedule matters, the decision of the Coordinator is final.

DATES OF EVENT: The event will start June 1, 2002. The event will normally proceed one match per month and the ending date will depend on the number of entries in each flight, but in any case will end no later than September 30, 2002. The Coordinator has the right to assign more than one match per month if it is deemed necessary.

FLIGHTS AND ORIGINAL SEEDING: Entries will be divided into Flight A and Flight B by the Coordinator after all entries are received. Seeding will be done if necessary to arrange byes. This is done by the Coordinator based on master points which are to be IMP-ed and then added together. The decision of the Coordinator is final.

CAPTAIN'S RESPONSIBILITIES: These include (a) payment of the entry fee (b) arranging as early as practical with the Captain of the opposing team the date, location, and starting time of all matches; (c) ensuring that at least 13 boards with cards are on hand, (d) ensuring a copy of the 1997 International Laws of Duplicate is available, and (e) all official team communication with the Unit Coordinator, including reporting of scores, appeals, claims of forfeit, requests for modification of team membership or captaincy, and proper advance notice of all matches-dates, locations and official starting time.

The E-mail with match results and names of participants from both teams must be mailed to the Coordinator upon completion of each match.

SCHEDULING: All Captains are encouraged to schedule and play all their matches as soon each month as possible. If agreement between two opposing Captains cannot be reached, the matches in New Castle County will be held the fourth Monday of the month at the Talleyville Fire Hall. Matches outside of New Castle will also be held on the fourth Monday of a given month at a location to be determined by the Coordinator, when there is a scheduling conflict. Any scheduling difficulties must be discussed with the Coordinator.

LINEUP PROCEDURES: The Captain of the seeded team will have the choices: (1) setting of opposing pairs for the first half or (2) waiving that right to the second half. If waiving, the seeded Captain must specifically designate this. If the higher seeded captain fails to do this, he/she has lost that right (the lower seeded team Captain will have the choice of opposing pairs for the second half of the match). Except for emergencies or illness no change of players will be permitted during the 13-board (or 16-board) half. NOTE: In home-played matches, the host-person shall be given the privilege of choosing the location (room) where he is to play; this shall not affect those rights outlined above.

TARDINESS: Arriving late to a match is a discourtesy to your teammates and opponents. A section below describes the penalties for lateness. These penalties may be appealed to the coordinator but are not subject to discussion by the participants. Such discussion can only further delay the match and cause increased penalties. The only appropriate discussion of tardiness is that the team captains should agree on the time that each team was prepared to begin play.

DEFINITION OF STARTING TIME: The starting time of a match is defined as either the scheduled starting time or the time at which four members of one team are ready to begin play, whichever is later.

LATENESS PENALTIES: A penalty of three IMPs per each five minutes or fraction thereof after the first ten minutes of lateness with a max of 18 IMPs will be assessed against the late arriving team. A team may appeal to the coordinator that the penalty be reduced because of extenuating conditions.

FORFEITURE: If a team is over 40 minutes late, the opposing Captain may call the Coordinator (or the Unit President or the Director if at the Talleyville Fire Hall site in his absence) and request a win by forfeit. An attempt shall be made to reschedule both matches in which case the offending team will be assessed an 18 IMP late penalty for the first match.

SLOW PLAY: A match is expected to be played at the rate of 7-1/2 minutes per board, or one hour and 38 minutes per 13 boards. Complaints of slow play may be made to the director during the match or to the Coordinator in writing when reporting the scores.

SUBSTITUTES: A team must field at least three registered members unless

special approval is granted by the Coordinator. If a substitute is needed, the Coordinator's approval is required, and the opposing Captain must be notified in advance. The premise is that the substitute should not substantially improve the team by partnership or ability. A substitute may not be a member of another team entered in this event at any point this year.

SMOKING: This event is non-smoking unless both teams agree otherwise.

Captains with team-members who want to smoke should discuss this with

the other Captain in advance. Smoking breaks will be permitted.

FORFEITS: The intent of the Committee is to hold matches, and every effort will be made to have a match played rather than declared a forfeit. The Committee expects full cooperation from all teams in accomplishment of this aim. In the event of unavoidable forfeiture, as declared by the Coordinator, the team deemed to be at fault will be declared the loser. If both teams are at fault, both will be declared losers. Any forfeit may result in loss of all masterpoints won in this event.

QUALIFICATION: By ACBL rule, in order for a player to receive any overall masterpoint award, a player must have played at least 50% of the total hands played by the team. Furthermore, in order to compete in the semifinal portion of these events, each person must have played at least 40% of the qualifying matches.

During the semifinals or finals, a player must play at least half of the total boards played by his or her team to receive overall award masterpoints. Any disputes regarding qualification will be resolved by the Coordinator whose decision is final.

TIES: Ties will be resolved, if necessary, by a 4-board playoff. If this results in still yet a tie, further 4-board playoffs will be held until the winner is determined.

CONVENTIONS: Conventions allowed in Unit sectional tournaments will be allowed. Conventions not on the regional chart must be pre-alerted and defenses provided in writing. Special carding agreements and treatments must be pre-alerted. All disputes will be decided by the Coordinator.

RULINGS: If the International Laws do not easily resolve any irregularity, a director or committee member should be called. Appeals of any director's ruling or any decision of the Coordinator must be filed in writing, postmarked or hand-delivered within seven days of the match and signed by the Captain or his designee. Such appeals will be promptly forwarded to the appropriate committee for reviews.

The membership of any Appeals Committee will be determined by the Coordinator. Since many of the players who would serve on the Appeals Committee may be playing on another team, the Coordinator has the right to ask for opinions on the ruling from players outside of the unit via phone or e-mail. In either event, the Committee’s or Coordinator’s decision will be final.