UNIT 166 VIRTUAL BRIDGE CLUBS

Due to face-to-face bridge play shutting down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACBL moved quickly to allow bridge clubs to start playing online on the BBO platform.
This project is known as: VIRTUAL CLUB GAMES
1) It allows bridge clubs to continue to operate and generate income so that they could survive the period during which their club was shut down.
2) It allows our players an opportunity to play with friends from their local club. The social aspects of bridge cannot be understated.
Everyone could have played in Speedball games or Support Your Club (SYC) games, but a large majority of our players want to play with people they know.
3) It replaces some of the table fee income that ACBL lost.

Each Virtual Club is now an Invitational Club.
Players who played at that club from January 2019 thru February 2020 are considered 'Virtual Members' of that club, and are eligible to play at any of that club's games.
Clubs were allowed to 'Pool' memberships, combining the membership lists of multiple clubs.

Visiting Player Policy
An online club, as an invitational club, is not required to allow anyone into their Virtual Club Game who is not a member.
For Virtual Club Games, a member is someone who appeared on the particular club's list of previous players, as described above.

Virtual Clubs may allow non-member players into their games with the following stipulations:
1) They may allow anyone who has played in their club over the last 18 months, who was left off their initial list of members.
2) They may allow their members to play with a Visiting partner, but the number of visiting partners must be kept to less than 15% of the field, on average
3) They are not to solicit outside players to find a partner and come play at their club.
They may communicate with members to tell them they are welcome to bring a guest partner but "selling" this too much may jeopardize their ability to stay under the allowed threshold.
4) Guest pairs are allowed but will count as two visitors.
This should be used for circumstances such as a couple that moved away from your area a couple of years ago or for Novice pairs looking for a game because their options are limited.

Please remember that the ability to run club games online is a privilege, not a right.
None of the ACBL's 2020 club sanctions included anything regarding running games online – any sanction was solely for face-to-face games.
Unfair business practices (including allowing too many visitors) will not be tolerated.
Depending on the flagrancy and level of these violations in the ACBL's sole opinion; Warnings, suspension and revocation of a club's VACB rights will be considered.

Tue	1:00 PM		299ers
Wed	10:00 AM	OPEN
Fri 	10:00 AM	OPEN

Mon 	7:30 PM		OPEN

Fri 	7:30 PM		OPEN

Tue	12:45 PM	OPEN
Wed	11:15 AM	OPEN
Thu	6:45 PM		OPEN
Sat	6:45 PM		OPEN

Tue	10:00 AM	OPEN
Fri 	1:30 PM		OPEN

Mon	1:00 PM		OPEN
Tue	1:00 PM		OPEN
Wed	1:00 PM		OPEN
Thu	1:00 PM		OPEN
Fri	1:00 PM		OPEN
Sat	1:00 PM		OPEN

Tue 	12:00 PM	OPEN
Wed 	12:00 PM	OPEN	
Thu	12:00 PM 	OPEN 

Mon 	1:15 PM		0-1000 MP
Tue	9:30 AM 	0-1000 MP 
Tue 	7:15 PM		OPEN 
Tue 	7:45 PM		0-20 MP ( Supervised Play )
Wed 	1:15 PM		499ers
Thu 	12:30 PM	299ers
Thu 	1:15 PM		0-1000 MP
Thu 	7:15 PM		0-1000 MP
Fri	10:00 AM	0-20 MP ( Supervised Play )
Fri	1:15 PM		499ers	
Sat 	12:30 PM	299ers
Sat	1:15 PM 	OPEN
Sun 	1:15 PM		0-1000 MP

Mon 	12:30 PM	OPEN	
Thu	10:00 AM 	OPEN 
Sat	7:00 PM 	OPEN 

Mon 	1:00 PM		299ers
Tue 	12:30 PM	0-20 MP	
Tue 	1:00 PM		299ers	
Wed 	1:00 PM		299ers
Thu 	12:30 PM	0-20 MP	
Thu 	1:00 PM		299ers	
Thu 	7:00 PM		0-750 MP

Mon 	12:30 PM	OPEN	
Thu	9:30 AM 	499ers
Fri 	12:30 PM	OPEN
Sun 	12:30 PM	OPEN

Tue 	7:00 PM		0-750 MP