MINUTES

Attendees

Abadaba, Abalucy, Allzap, Aramesh_, Baldfriede, Bald Jean, Bambi1, Blackbikin, Calabres, Dobromir_D,   Dr Todd, Eddy_B, Ellie26, Esperanza, Ferrerro2, Firehead_, Fo, Fred, From_Pl, Frosty, Georgul, Grafa, Gregg1012, Guvvy, Gweny, Inquiry, Hope, Kaiserzell, Lindab, Maaa, Manic_Hu, Memti, Milen39, Mirjam_3, Miss Blue2, Mleco-Es, Mozersanyi, Natanya, Paisano, Pjax, Posleda, Ohsteveyes, Omeroj, Ramaratnam, Redskin, Rmoyster, Robdagreat, Saren, Sbrown6526, Sdoty, Sfbo, Showle, Sreba, Skamandar, Skorchev, Spwdo, Teddex, Ti Bougnat, Tritri, Vbalestra, Wanchung, Willow23, Zibuyu

Moderator

Agenda

Gweny brought the meeting to order at 11:05 welcoming all in attendance.

She began by introducing Sam Howle who will be 2^nd in charge of the ACBL Tournaments (Gweny is 1^st coordinator). She then announced that ACBL Tournaments will begin on June 6 with a kick-off game at 4 pm ET. This first tournament will be a 12 Board Individual event with prizes. The top 5 finishers will get a date to play with a Star player in an ACBL Pairs event and will be able to play this match for free. Beginning Monday, June 7, ACBL sanctioned games will be held at 1 pm EDT and 8 pm EDT daily. The cost for participating in these games is $1.00. Players need to buy BBO Bucks which they can use to play in the sanctioned tournaments.. There will be Master’s Points awarded but they will be non-color points and can only account for 1/3 of total points to qualify for level awards. Games will be stratified once the software can support it and the level of participation warrants it. In the future there is a potential for Team events. Tournament Directors for ACBL tournaments will be ACBL certified.

TD’s not governed by ACBL expressed concern that BBO was aligning with ACBL. Gwen pointed out that only the ACBL tournaments will be governed by ACBL rules. Several wondered if there might eventually be a schedule of events sanctioned by other bridge organizations. Aramesh_ asked how those in India would be able to pay since they do not have internationally recognized credit cards. Several TD’s noted that ACBL Master’s Points are of no use to those not governed by the ACBL. Concern was expressed about the level of participation in non-ACBL events in same time frame. It was pointed out that this is the first step to having tournaments that are sanctioned by recognized bridge organizations, and that – like all first steps – it is a step forward. Several mentioned that the addition of ACBL events can attract more players and can raise the standards at BBO in general.

The tournament Schedule was discussed as the second agenda topic. Gwen announced that Bambi has agreed to help clean up the schedule which has become out of date due to a problem with receiving updates and because of Gwen’s overloaded schedule. Bambi felt she would have the schedule completely up-to-date in about a week.

TD’s were reminded that the best gap for same format tourneys is 30 minutes. Bambi indicated that tournament’s currently on the schedule that are not being held will be removed. She indicated that she is communicating with several of the TD’s to clear up questions. TD’s were reminded that additions and changes to the schedule can only be made via the website. The website allows for a second person to receive the scheduling information as a backup/confirmation.

In answer to questions from one of the newer TD’s, Gweny review the brief history of how the BBO TD’s Coalition was formed and sanctioned by BBO to coordinate events, provide a schedule, train new TD’s and provide cooperation between TD’s, and how far this effort has come in a relatively short time.

A discussion of recent activity on the BBO Forums began with questions from TD’s about why their posts were being censured when posts that TD’s found to be offensive were not. TD’s were reminded that the forums are a place to express opinions and ideas, but not a place to make personal or inflammatory attacks. Despite a consensus that TD’s had been getting a lot of negative press on the forums, it was pointed out that there are more supportive posts being made recently. Bambi suggested that it is a good idea to let some time pass before you make a post in response to something that has offended you. Gwen explained that posts are censured in order to prevent the exchanges from becoming too personal and/or too inflammatory.

Fred Gitelman made a visit to the meeting at this point and thanked the TD’s for the efforts they have made on behalf of BBO. He also indicated that he and Uday would continue trying to address the changes that will make it easier to do our job as tournament directors. The TD’s were thrilled that Fred took time from his busy schedule to come and visit with us in this informal setting.

The topic shifted to a feedback session on how the Player Bans are working. Many TD’s expressed enthusiasm for the bans and agreed that this change has cut down on the number of subs needed to run tournaments. Other’s felt sorry for players who are banned due to bad connections. Apparently there are a few banned players who are trying to get into tourneys by asking TD’s in private chat to use them as a sub. It was noted that some of the same players keep getting banned which indicates that there are players who do not complete tournaments as a matter of habit, and confirms the theory that many who are prone to leaving events, do so often. The question of whether to allow returning players to have their seats back was, once again, discussed, with the consensus being that once a sub has been seated, the sub should be permitted to finish the match.

Open Discussion included a variety of different questions and concerns:

TriTri asked about having a different Nick to use when not hosting. It was explained that she could create different Nick’s to be used as she wished, but that the Nick that was approved to be a TD would be the one she would have to use to run tournaments.

The desire for and option on the TD’s profile to add some text macros was expressed. The addition of the time at the Tournament Status tool and the ability to remove offline pairs prior to a tournament were heralded as great additions to the TD toolbox. Some still feel the TD’s clock would be better at the lobby screen without having to access Tournament Status. Some expressed a desire to be able to automatically post Conditions of Contest on tourneys that automatically repeat each week. Once again there was a cry for an end to Pop-up TD calls that interrupt whatever is being worked on.

Gwen called for a motion to adjourn which was made by Rmoyster and seconded by Guvvy, and the meeting was adjourned. TD’s were invited to a TD’s Indy tournament immediately following the meeting.