CENTRAL AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN BRIDGE FEDERATION

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTEST

1. PURPOSE
	These General Conditions of Contest ("COC") apply to all CACBF sanctioned events, including those events sanctioned by NBO's of the CACBF.
2. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
	2.1	CACBF Events are conducted under the auspices of, or sanctioned by, the CACBF. These General COC, and applicable Specific COC, supplement the International Code as required.
	2.2	By participating in a CACBF event, each NBO (and therefore its contestants) agrees that all or any event may be filmed, recorded, or otherwise documented and publicized at the discretion of the CACBF.
	2.3	Each NBO agrees that in the interest of promoting the WBF's "Bridge for Peace", and for the proper conduct of a CACBF event, it shall instruct its contestants that they must compete against all contestants required by the Specific COC of an Event. Entry in a CACBF event and subsequent refusal to play against any team or contestant shall result in immediate disqualification of the team or contestant refusing to play. Such disqualification extends for the balance of the CACBF event involved. Furthermore, the offending contestant(s) and/or NBO is subject to suspension from participation in any event conducted under the auspices of the CACBF for such period as the CACBF in its discretion shall decide.
	2.4	Participation in a CACBF event is by CACBF invitation only. Pursuant to the By-Laws of the CACBF, the Credentials Committee reserves the right to deny participation to any player(s).
	2.5	CACBF Championship events are conducted in years ending in an odd number at the Zonal Championship Tournament. In addition, the CACBF sanctions Festival events in years ending in even numbers, and by specific requests of NBOs and Regional Organizations. To represent an NBO of the CACBF on a national team, a player must EITHER be a national of that country and not have represented another country in a CACBF or WBF event within the last year, OR have ordinarily resided for nine months in that country. Indicia of "ordinary residence" shall include, but are not limited to,
			(a) official immigration status, or
			(b) contracts of employment or working arrangements, or
			(c) presence of family members, or
			(d) ownership of real property, or
			(e) prior representation of that country.
		Where an NBO certifies that a player is ordinarily resident, bona fide, such certification creates a rebuttable presumption that the player is qualified and is not playing as an alien professional. In National Events players of a pair or team must be members of the same NBO. This restriction does not apply to Transnational Events. In Festival events, entry is open to anyone who receives an invitation as in 2.4.
	2.6	Entry fees shall be paid at the tournament site before the commencement of an event.
	2.7	Entries may be refused to players from any NBO that is in arrears in the payment of monies due to the CACBF.
	2.8	No male shall be a playing member or a substitute player of a team or pair competing in a woman's event.
3. ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARDS
	The CACBF will issue CACBF Master Points according to the CACBF Master Point Plan. A player in good standing in his/her NBO will have master points recorded with the CACBF Master Point Registrar.
4. LANGUAGE
	English is the official language of CACBF events. Players may converse only in English unless all four players at the table agree to use another common language at their own risk. Tournament Directors will adjudicate irregularities by reference to the International Code printed in English. No appeal due to misunderstanding in a language other than English will be heard.
5. COMPLETION OF THE CACBF CONVENTION CARD
	5.1	Contestants are required to make full written disclosure of their System and to fully reveal the meaning of any call or play in response to a proper question from an opponent. The written disclosure is made by completion, in due form, of the CACBF Convention Card ("CC") and Supplementary Sheets ("SS") as required. The CC must include the following:
			(a) All sections of the CC and SS must be accurately and legibly completed, in English, according to the WBF Guide to Completion.
			(b) The CC and SS must contain a clear and sufficient explanation of the System, including all competitive agreements and understandings. The CACBF accepts that the full particulars of some sequences (such as relays that occur in later rounds of the auction) may be omitted from the CC without such omission being a breach of the requirement that the Card contain a clear and sufficient explanation of the System.
			(c) The type of system and its appropriate color must be indicated on the CC.
		5.1.1	In National Team events (either Open or Ladies), the only acceptable CC is the CACBF CC or the WBF CC. In all other events, the CACBF Alternate CC is acceptable.
	5.2	The onus of disclosure is on the user. When there is claim of damage through inadequate disclosure, the Chief Tournament Director and the Appeals Committee will give the benefit of any doubt to the opponents.
	5.3	The computer programs authorized for production and submission of the CACBF CC and SS are:
			(a) the WBF Convention Card Editor (DOS) - available from WBF or through ECATS BRIDGE
			(b) the WBF Convention Card Editor (WINDOWS) - available from WBF or through ECATS BRIDGE
			(c) the Convention Card Program (WINDOWS) - written by LEE EDWARDS and customized for the CACBF (download the NON ACBL version)
			(d) the WBF Guide to Completion (.doc or .pdf) - available at ECATS BRIDGE, also blank cards are available here.
6. CACBF CONVENTION BOOKLET
	The CACBF uses the WBF Convention Booklet as the CACBF Convention Booklet. A reference by name of a convention described in the CACBF Convention Booklet incorporates the full text of the relevant convention as described in the CACBF Convention Booklet. When any modification of the description is used, sufficient detail must appear on the Card where the convention is named. Annotating modifications on the CACBF Convention Booklet itself is not acceptable.
7. USE OF CONVENTION CARD AT TABLE
	7.1	Each member of a pair must provide, to one of their opponents at the table, their completed CC and SS. These are to be reclaimed at the end of the Session or Round.
	7.2	After withdrawing their cards from the board and until they are restored at the conclusion of play, a player may not consult their own CC or SS. They may consult the CACBF Convention Booklet in respect to a call made by an opponent, but not in respect to a call made by their partner, or one they made or are contemplating.
	7.3	A pair's special defence to opponent's Multi or Brown Sticker convention is considered to be part of the opponent's CC and SS.
8. ALERTS AND EXPLANATIONS
	The CACBF promulgates the WBF Alerting Policy.
	In general, an alertable call is an artificial call other than a simple take-out double, Blackwood or Stayman, OR any call whose partnership meaning is so unexpected that it may not be understood by the opponents.
9. SUBSTITUTES IN TEAMS
	9.1	If a team cannot seat four of its players, either at the start of a session or because of an emergency that develops during the Session, the Tournament Director, in consultation with the captain of the team, may designate a substitute for that Session. The substitute need not be a member of the NBO represented by the team, but cannot be from another team in the event.
	9.2	The results obtained while the substitute plays stand unless the Tournament Appeals Committee judges that the substitute's bridge skills are considerably greater than those of the player replaced, in which case an adjusted score may be awarded. Whether or not the results stand, the Appeals committee may impose penalties when it judges a team to be at fault.
	9.3	The Appeals Committee may decide whether, and to what extent, a substitute may become a permanent replacement.
10. SUBSTITUTES IN PAIRS TOURNAMENTS
	The Chief Tournament Director may make emergency substitutions whenever they are necessary for the smooth operation of the game. If this will, or may, cause disqualification of any contestant, that contestant shall be notified at the time of substitution.
11. FORFEITS IN TEAM TOURNAMENTS
	If a team is unable to play or complete a match, the Chief Tournament Director or Appeals Committee may declare the match forfeited. The forfeiting team scores zero Victory Points and zero IMPs for that match. The team winning the forfeited match will be credited with such number of Victory Points as the Chief Tournament Director considers equitable in the circumstances. If assigning an IMP score, the winning team is credited with the average number of IMPs, rounded up, for the assigned Victory Points score.
12. TIE BREAKING PROCEDURES
	12.1	ROUND-ROBIN TIE BREAKING
		(a)	If two teams are tied in Victory Points at the end of a round-robin, the tie is broken as follows:
			(i) IMPs in the match between the teams. If a tie remains, then:
			(ii) The higher IMP quotient (total IMPS won divided by total IMPS lost) in all matches played by the tied teams. If a tie remains, then:
			(iii) The higher total of Victory Points earned against the qualified teams they played against. If a tie remains, then:
			(iv) One board "sudden death" matches until a winner emerges. There are no seating rights in these playoffs.
		(b)	If three teams are tied in Victory Points at the end of the round-robin, the tie is broken in the following order:
			(i) A team that won both matches in Victory Points against the other tied teams is the winner. If it is necessary to break the tie between the two remaining teams, this is done according to section 12 (a). If not applicable then:
			(ii) A team beaten by the other two teams in matches it played against them is ranked third in the tied position, and the tie between the other teams is broken according to Section 12 (a). If not applicable, then:
			(iii) A team that won more Victory Points than another against the same team and is tied with the other, it is declared the winner; and the tie between the two remaining teams shall be broken according to Section 12 (a). If not applicable, then:
			(iv) The highest IMP quotient in all matches played by the tied teams is the winner. If a tie remains between the teams, it shall be broken according to Section 12 (a). If the three teams remain tied, then:
			(v) The highest total of Victory Points earned against the qualified teams they played against. If a tie remains between two teams, it shall be broken according to Section 12 (a).
		(c)	If four or more teams are tied with the same number of Victory Points at the end of any round robin, the tie shall be broken as follows:
			(i) If one team earned the most Victory Points in its matches against the other tied teams, or if it has tied one and defeated the other tied teams, it is the winner; and the tie among the three remaining teams is broken according to section 12 (b). If four teams remain tied,then:
			(ii) The highest IMP quotient in all matches played by the tied teams; and the tie among the three remaining teams shall be broken according to Section 12 (b).
	12.2	KNOCKOUT TIE BREAKING
		If teams are tied at the end of a knockout match, the tie shall be broken by playing four additional boards (boards numbered 1 to 4). If the tie remains, another four boards (5-8) will be played. If the tie remains, one board matches (starting with board #9) will decide the winner.
	12.3	PAIRS TIE BREAKING
		Scores are tied only if they are identical. If a tie needs to be broken, the winner is the pair with the highest score in its best Session played at that stage. If still tied, the next highest Session score decides. This applies in both qualifying and final stages. If a tie (or ties) still exists, the remaining tie (or ties) shall be broken in favor of the pair who scored the most matchpoints against the highest ranking pair or pairs that all tied pairs played against. Should a tie still exist, these procedures shall be used with the next highest ranking pair or pairs and so on until the tie is broken. When a tiebreaker is necessary in a one session phase, the pairs are scored against each other as win(1), loss(0), or tie(1/2) in matchpoints on each board. Boards not played in common shall be scored against average for win, loss, or tie determination. Should a tie persist, total boards above average will decide the winner, followed by boards above average+1, average+2 etc., until the tie is broken.
13. ADDING PLAYERS TO A TEAM
	A team is entitled to have six playing members and a non-playing captain. If only four or five players are registered at the time of the original entry, additional players may be registered before the commencement of play, subject to the approval of the CACBF Credentials Committee. After play has begun, additions may only be made by the permission of the Chief Tournament Director.
14. LENGTH OF MATCHES AND/OR SESSIONS
	The following are the allowable times to complete a match or a session:
	8 boards		1 hour when played without screens;
			1 hour and 10 minutes when played with screens.
	16 boards		2 hours without screens
			2 hours and 20 minutes with screens.
	In excess of those times, teams adjudged guilty of slow play are be subject to penalties (See Appendix 4.)
15. DISQUALIFICATION
	If the Board of Governors disqualifies a team, all matches played before disqualification may be declared void and scores earned by its opponents in those matches may be canceled or varied. Any decision taken by the Board of Governors in this respect is final and will be made at the time of disqualification.
16. CURTAIN CARDS
	In sessions or matches where the boards are passed between the Open and Closed Rooms, Curtain Cards will be used. North and East will write the name of their team and NBO on a Curtain Card. The Curtain card is placed on top their own bridge hand in the first board played so that it can be read after the cards are returned to the board. When the boards are moved to the other table in the match, North and East will examine the Curtain Cards in their positions. If the curtain card names the team of the opponents, the match proceeds. If not, the Director is summoned before the playing cards are removed from the board. Teams not following these procedures will be penalized at the discretion of the Chief Tournament Director and/or Appeals Committee.
17. VERIFICATION OF SCORES
	17.1	At the end of each match, each team shall compute its scores and agree the result with the captain of the opposing team. Both captains shall inform the Tournament Director of the official result. The Tournament Director shall post this result on the scoreboard. The correction period expires thirty minutes after the posting of the score. The results will be final with the following exceptions:
		(a)	Matches awaiting the decision of the Appeals Committee on a filed appeal.
		(b)	The completion of play of replay boards directed by the Appeals Committee.
	17.2	For conversion of IMPs to Victory Points, see Appendix 2.
	17.3	In Pairs Events the North or South player fills out the scoring form, entering the correct score for each board immediately after the completion of play. The East or West player verifies the score by initialling the scoring form. Pairs failing to enter or verify a score correctly may be penalized 10% of the available matchpoints on one board.
18. BIDDING BOXES
	18.1	Bidding boxes are used in all CACBF Events. A call selected and taken from the bidding box may be changed provided it has not been placed in position and released from the hand (but Law 73F2 may apply). A call placed in position and released may be changed if:
		(a)	it is illegal or inadmissible OR
		(b)	it is decided by the Tournament Director to be a call inadvertently selected.
	18.2	When not using screens, the STOP card must be used for any call that skips one or more levels of bidding. The STOP card is removed from the box and placed in front of your left hand opponent before making your bid. After an appropriate interval of time has elapsed, the STOP card is removed and your opponent may make their call. Repeated violations may result in procedural penalties.
19. SCREENS
	Screens will be used in all CACBF National Team Events. The Chief Tournament Director shall decide which Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge - 1997 are inoperative when screens are in use.
20. RULINGS AND APPEALS
	The Tournament Director shall be summoned to a table when attention is drawn to an irregularity. After the Tournament Director has ruled, any appeal of their ruling must be lodged in accordance with Section 21.
21. LODGING OF APPEALS
	21.1	An appeal of a ruling of the Tournament Director must be lodged within thirty minutes of the posting of the score for the Session in which the ruling was made. All appeals are made in writing on an Appeals Form and submitted to the Tournament Director.
	21.2	The team captain makes appeals in team events.
	21.3	When lodging an appeal, the appellant must deposit an amount of money (determined in the Specific COC) with the Tournament Director. This deposit will be refunded unless the Committee decides that the appeal was without merit, in which case the deposit is forfeited and donated to the CACBF Junior Fund.
22. ETHICS AND DEPORTMENT
	All contestants in CACBF Events are required to conform at all times to the highest standards of ethics and deportment. All contestants (including non-playing captains) are expected to accept decisions of the Tournament Director and Appeals Committee in a sportsmanlike manner.
23. VU-GRAPH
	All contestants are required to play on Vu-Graph whenever assigned to do so.
24. NON-PLAYING CAPTAINS (NPC) IN TEAM TOURNAMENTS
	An NPC may observe their team, during play, subject to the following:
	24.1	The NPC must enter the room before play begins at the start of a Session. If the NPC's of both teams are in the room, they shall sit on the same side of the screen, if a screen is used.
	24.2	An NPC who leaves the room, except as requested and accompanied by the Tournament Director, cannot return during that Session.
	24.3	Once any player at the table has withdrawn a hand from the board, and until all four (4) players have returned their hands to the board, an NPC is bound by the restrictions applying to spectators (Law 76 of the International Code).
	24.4	When the language of the table is English, all discussion by the NPC at the table must be in English, unless they obtain prior permission of the opponents.
25. SEEDING
	The Chief Tournament Director seeds the events. Individuals assigned by the Sponsoring Organization may assist them in this task. Responsibility for proper seeding, and final authority to effect the seeding, is the Chief Tournament Director's, subject to review by the Appeals Committee. See Appendix 5, Specific COC.
26. CARRY-OVER
	26.1	Pairs events are played with carry-overs from the qualifying to the final sessions. Details for each event are contained in the Specific COC. The carry-over will be to a maximum of the following:
			1 Session Qualifying + 1 Session Final = 2 (final) board maximum
			2 Session Qualifying + 1 Session Final = 3 (final) board maximum
			2 Session Qualifying + 2 Session Final = 4 (final) board maximum
		The formula for computing carryover is contained in the CACBF computer-scoring program ACBLScore.
	26.2	Team events played with a Round-Robin stage to qualify for a Knockout stage will carry over IMPs from the head-on match of the Round-Robin with the following conditions:
		(a)	If the team winning the Round-Robin match placed higher in the Round-Robin final standings, they will carry over fifty percent (50%) of the IMP difference.
		(b)	If the team winning the Round-Robin match placed lower in the Round-Robin final standings, they will carry over thirty- three and one-third percent (33 1/3%) of the IMP difference.
27. SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
	See Appendix 5, Specific COC.
28. LENGTH OF SESSIONS
	See Appendix 5, Specific COC.
29. LATE PENALTIES
	See Appendix 3, Late Penalties.
30. COMPASS POSITIONS
	According to Law 5, players retain their original starting direction throughout the Session. If the movement dictates that pairs change direction during a Session, the exchange shall be North with East and South with West. The Tournament Director may designate other changes as they see fit.
31. COMPARISON OF SCORES
	Comparison of scores or discussion of hands of the current session with other contestants during a session is illegal. Offenders are subject to a penalty at the discretion of the Tournament Director or Appeals Committee.
APPENDIX 1 - DEFINITIONS
APPENDIX 2 - VICTORY POINT SCALES
APPENDIX 3 - LATE PENALTIES
APPENDIX 4 - SYSTEMS POLICY
APPENDIX 5 - Specific COC produced prior to event
END OF CONDITIONS