Asia Pacific Bridge Federation
General Conditions of Contest
for APBF Championships and Congressand other Tournaments
held under the auspicesof the Asia Pacific Bridge Federation

Issued by the Asia Pacific Bridge Federation
July 2012Table of Contents
1. Preamble
2. Definitions For The General Conditions Of Contest
2.1 APBF
2.2 Appeals Form
2.3 Approved Recorder
2.4 Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championship and Congress
2.5 Brown Sticker Announcement Form
2.6 Chief Tournament Director and Deputy Chief Tournament
Director
2.7 Convention Card Desk
2.8 Director or Tournament Director
2.9 Executive Committee
2.10 Guide to Completion
2.11 Highly Unusual Methods (HUM)
2.12 Host NBO
2.13 HUM System
2.14 Law
2.15 Line-Up Desk
2.16 NBO
2.17 Playing Area
2.18 President
2.19 Schedule of Play
2.20 Session
2.21 Supplemental Conditions of Contest
2.22 Supplementary Sheets
2.23 System
2.24 These Conditions of Contest
2.25 Tournament Appeals Committee
2.26 WBF
2.27 WBF Alerting Policy
2.28 WBF Convention Card or Card
2.29 WBF Convention Booklet
2.30 WBF Policy on Psychic Bidding
2.31 WBF Systems Policy
2.32 World Standard Card
2.33 Zone
3. Conditions of Entry
3.1 General
3.2 Invitation to Participate
4. Eligibility
4.1 General
4.2 Credentials Committee
4.3 Eligibility Requirements
4.4 Over-Riding Eligibility Regulations
4.5 Eligibility for Youth Players
4.6 Eligibility for Senior Players
5. Official Language
6. Ethics And Deportment

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7. Anti-Doping Regulations
8. Dress Code
9. Restrictions
9.1 Smoking and Alcohol
9.2 Mobile Phones, Pagers and other electronic equipment
10. Disqualification from any APBF Championship or Congress
11. Vu-Graph
12. Media Presentation
13. Completion Of WBF Convention Card
13.1 Publication of Systems
13.2 Requirements
13.3 Supplementary Sheets
13.4 General
14. Use Of Convention Card At Table
15. Alerts And Explanations
16. WBF Convention Booklet
17. Non-Playing Captains In Team Tournaments
17.1 General
17.2 Procedure during matches
17.3 Delegation of responsibility by the NPC
18. Substitutes In Team Tournaments
19. Substitutes In Pair Tournaments
20. Forfeits In Team Tournaments
21. Substitute Boards In Team Tournaments
22. Fouled Boards
22.1 Fouled Boards in Team Tournaments
22.2 Fouled Boards in Pair Tournaments
23. Bidding Boxes
23.1 General
23.2 Changes to Bids Made
24. Play of the Cards
25. Screen Regulations
25.1 Description of the Operation
25.2 Alerts and Explanations
25.3 Modifications of Laws when Screens are in Use
26. Duplicated Boards
27. Curtain Cards (When Used)
28. Attendance In Playing Rooms
28.1 Restrictions
29. Rulings And Appeals
30. Tournament Appeals Committee (see definition in Section 2.25)
30.1 General
30.2 Authority
30.3 Team Requirements
31. Lodging Of Appeals
31.1 Deposit for Appeals or Requests for Review
32. Hearing Of Appeals
32.1 General
32.2 Failure to attend
33. Appeals To The WBF Laws Committee

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APBF General Conditions of Contest

334. Appeals Of These Conditions Of Contest
35. Eligibility For Awards
36. Play off Regulations for 3rd Place
37. Authority of the APBF Executive Committee
38. Responsibility of the APBF
39. Appendix 1 - Guidelines for Hearing Appeals and Other Proceedings of theCommittee
40. Appendix 2: WBF Systems Policy and APBF Adoption
41. Appendix 3: WBF Alerting Policy
42. Appendix 4: WBF Psychic Bidding Policy
43. Appendix 5: WBF Anti-Doping Regulations, Exemption Application Form
& Medical Certificate of Approval for Therapeutic Use
44. Appendix 6 – WBF IMP to VP Conversion Scale (For Use in All APBF
Championships and Congress)
45. Appendix 7 – Contact Addresses
45.1 The APBF President
45.2 The APBF 1st Executive Vice-President and APBF Representative
to the WBF
45.3 The APBF 2nd Executive Vice-President
45.4 The APBF Honorary Secretary
45.5 The APBF 2nd Honorary Secretary
45.6 The APBF Honorary Treasurer and Chief Tournament Director(Zone 6)45.7 The APBF Representative to the WBF
45.8 The APBF Secretariat
45.9 The APBF Webmaster45.10 Official Websites
46. Format for APBF Championships
47. Appendix 9 - Format to Determine Zone 6 Berths to WorldChampionships (if held that year)
47.1 General
47.2 First Berth47.3 Second Berth47.4 Third Berth47.5 Refusing the Rights
47.6 Host NBO of World Championship47.7 Senior Teams
48. Appendix 10 - WBF Anti Doping Regulations

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1. Preamble
These Conditions of Contest are the standard regulations, which apply to all Asia
Pacific Bridge Federation Championships and Congress.
The WBF Systems Policy, the WBF Alerting Policy and the WBF Policy on Psychic
Bidding are part of the Conditions of Contest for every Asia Pacific Bridge Federation
Championship and Congress and are annexed to these General Conditions of Contest.
The APBF may also issue Supplemental Conditions of Contest further to regulate
particular APBF Championships and Congress in accordance with theircharacteristics. In the event of any inconsistency between these Conditions of Contest
and any Supplemental Conditions of Contest, the Supplemental Conditions of Contest
shall prevail.
Expressions used in these Conditions of Contest and not defined shall have theirordinary meaning in contract bridge terminology (which may include expressions
defined in the Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007). In the event of any doubt or dispute as
to such meaning, the decision of the event‟s Organising Committee shall be final andconclusive. The singular shall include the plural and vice-versa and reference to one
gender shall include the other.
2. Definitions For The General Conditions Of Contest
Unless repugnant to the context or obvious meaning, the following expressions whereused in these Conditions of Contest shall have the following meanings:
2.1 APBF
means the Asia Pacific Bridge Federation.
2.2 Appeals Formmeans the form prescribed by the APBF for the lodging of appeals at
an Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championship or Congress.
2.3 Approved Recordermeans:a) any person subject to approval of both teams and by the Chief
Tournament Directorb) a person approved for the purpose by the Chief Tournament
Director or his designeec) either Captain of the playing teams, ord) the North or South player
2.4 Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championship and Congressmeans any event so designated by the APBF from time to time and if
the context permits, also means the totality of such events scheduled
for play at a particular site. The event should commence sometime
between May 1 and June 30. Within these limits, actual dates are left tothe convenience of the host NBO. However, the host NBO should
circulate approximate dates by November 1 of the previous year.

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2.5 Brown Sticker Announcement Formmeans the form designed for the announcement of Brown Sticker
Conventions (bids, overcalls and subsequent auction) as referred to in
the WBF Systems Policy.
2.6 Chief Tournament Director and Deputy Chief Tournament Director
mean the respective Directors so designated by the APBF for an APBF
Championship or Congress.
2.7 Convention Card Desk
means the facility set up at the site of an APBF Championship or
Congress for the filing of Systems and for the provision of otherservices relating thereto.
2.8 Director or Tournament Directormeans a Director as defined in the Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007
appointed for an APBF Championship or Congress.
2.9 Executive Committee
means the Executive Committee of the APBF established under theConstitution and By-Laws of the APBF.
2.10 Guide to Completionmeans the publication of that name issued by the APBF to instruct
players in the correct completion of WBF Convention Cards for a
APBF Championship or Congress copies of which may be obtained
from the APBF Systems Administrator whose address can be found in
the Supplemental Conditions of Contest.
2.11 Highly Unusual Methods (HUM)
mean any of the systemic agreements so described in the WBF
Systems Policy.
2.12 Host NBO
means the NBO, which hosts a APBF Championship or Congress.
2.13 HUM Systemmeans a System that utilizes Highly Unusual Methods.
2.14 Lawmeans a Law contained in the Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007, thesebeing numbered from 1 to 93 inclusive.
2.15 Line-Up Desk
means the facility set up at the site of a APBF Championship or
Congress for the teams to register their Line-ups and for the provisionof other services relating thereto.
2.16 NBO
means a National Bridge Organisation that is a member of the WBF.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

62.17 Playing Area
the area defined by the APBF which may include the lobby in theimmediate vicinity of the actual playing rooms, the toilets adjoining theplaying rooms which are designated for the use of the players and anyother rooms/lobby areas to be decided on site. Such areas will beidentified to the participants through the Daily Bulletin at theChampionships.
2.18 President
means the President of the APBF.
2.19 Schedule of Playmeans the schedule for the play of a Asia Pacific Bridge Federation
Championship or Congress, either as contained in the Supplemental
Conditions of Contest or as subsequently determined by the APBF.
2.20 Session
means a segment of play (as prescribed by the Schedule of Play) after
which scores are computed.
2.21 Supplemental Conditions of Contest
means the additional Conditions of Contest issued from time to time by
the APBF for the further regulation of APBF Championships andCongress.
2.22 Supplementary Sheetsmeans such additional pages containing System details as are annexed
to and form part of WBF Convention Cards in accordance with theseand the Supplemental Conditions of Contest.
2.23 Systemmeans all agreements and understandings a pair has as to the meaningof any call or play as those respective expressions are defined in theLaws of Duplicate Bridge 2007.
2.24 These Conditions of Contest
means these General Conditions of Contest.
2.25 Tournament Appeals Committee
For the purposes of Sections 31, 32, 33 and Appendix 1 - Guidelines
for hearing appeals and other proceedings of the Committee of these
Conditions of Contest:
 “Committee” means the Tournament Appeals Committee
appointed for the APBF Championship or Congress by the
President.
 “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Tournament Appeals
Committee, and also means, where applicable, the designatedchairman referred to in Sections 31.1 and 33.1.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

72.26 WBF
means the World Bridge Federation, Inc., a corporation incorporated in
Switzerland.
2.27 WBF Alerting Policy
means the Policy, issued by the WBF from time to time and adopted by
the APBF, that regulates the alerting procedure in a APBF
Championship or Congress (see Appendix 3: WBF Alerting Policy)
2.28 WBF Convention Card or Cardmeans the Convention Card authorized by the WBF and adopted by the
APBF for the disclosure of Systems by contestants in a APBF
Championship or Congress and includes Supplementary Sheets. See
also Appendix 2.
2.29 WBF Convention Booklet
means the definition of bidding conventions published under that nameby the WBF and adopted by the APBF for use by contestants in a
APBF Championship or Congress in conjunction with the WBF
Convention Cards. For the interpretation of these General Conditions
any special partnership understanding is included in the terms“convention”, “conventional call”, “conventional play”, “conventional
agreement” or the like. The Convention Booklet is contained within the
WBF Guide to Completion of the Convention Card (see Section 2.7).
2.30 WBF Policy on Psychic Biddingmeans the policy, issued by the WBF from time to time and adopted by
the APBF, that specifies the APBF‟s Policy with regard to Psychic
Bidding (see Appendix 4: WBF Psychic Bidding Policy).
2.31 WBF Systems Policy
means the Policy, issued by the WBF from time to time and adopted by
the APBF, that regulates the use of Systems in a APBF Championshipor Congress. See Appendix 2: WBF Systems Policy and APBF
Adoption.
2.32 World Standard Cardmeans the Card devised by the WBF and adopted by the APBF for use
in specific circumstances defined in the Supplemental Conditions ofContest, copies of which will be available at a APBF Championship or
Congress.
2.33 Zone
means a geographical zone of the WBF and includes any NBO or
NBOs representing a Zone.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

83. Conditions of Entry
3.1 General
Asia Pacific Bridge Federation Championships and Congress are
conducted under the auspices of the APBF and all events designated as
APBF Championships and Congress shall be played in accordancewith the Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007. These Conditions of Contest,
and any Supplemental Conditions of Contest, supplement the Laws of
Duplicate Bridge 2007 as required.
By participating in a APBF Championship or Congress, each NBO andits contestants agree that all or part of any event may be filmed,
recorded, or otherwise documented or publicized at the discretion of
the APBF. Each NBO agrees that in the interest of promoting goodwill
in the world, and for the proper conduct of a APBF Championship or
Congress, it shall instruct its contestants that they must compete
against all other contestants. Entry in a APBF Championship or
Congress and subsequent refusal to play against any other team orcontestant as required by the Schedule of Play shall result in immediate
disqualification of any team, or of any contestant refusing to play.
Such disqualification shall extend for the balance of the APBF
Championship or Congress involved. Furthermore, the offending
contestant(s) and their NBO shall be subject to suspension fromparticipation in any future event conducted under the auspices of the
APBF for such period as the APBF in its discretion shall determine.
3.2 Invitation to Participate
Participation in a APBF Championship or Congress is by APBF
invitation only. Furthermore, no player shall be eligible to compete
unless his name has been submitted in writing by his NBO to the
APBF, for invitation by the APBF - see also Section 4.
4. Eligibility
4.1 General
To be eligible for participation in a APBF Championship or Congress acompetitor must comply with the Olympic Charter as well as with therules of the APBF, and must be entered by his NBO. He must notably
respect the spirit of fair play and ethics, and behave accordingly.
4.2 Credentials Committee
The APBF Executive Committee will be the Credentials Committee ofthe APBF Championship or Congress, whose functions shall be(subject to these Conditions)a) to determine all questions relating to the rights and eligibility ofplayers and non-playing captains whose names have been
submitted by a NBO for invitation to compete in a APBF
Championship or Congress, taking into account the reports (if any)received from NBOs regarding previous proceedings involving
suspension of or disciplinary proceedings against players under

APBF General Conditions of Contest

9their jurisdiction. The names of players and non-playing captains
submitted by the NBOs for invitation to a APBF Championship or
Congress must be transmitted to the President, or his designee, in
writing, as prescribed by the relevant Supplemental Conditions ofContest;b) in its discretion, to refuse to invite any player or non-playing
captain whose name has been submitted for invitation by a NBO,
as aforesaid, to participate in a APBF Championship or Congress.
In any such case of refusal, the Credentials Committee shall giveno reason.
4.3 Eligibility Requirements
The Credentials Committee must ensure that each nominatedcontestant satisfies the birth and residence requirements of the NBO
nominating him belongs as follows:
Except for those players being nominated for participation in any
APBF Youth Championship or Transnational Event (as defined by the
Executive Committee), to determine that any competitor in a APBF
Tournament must be a national of the country of the NBO entering him
for participation, or the player has been a resident in the NBO
concerned during three years out of the five years immediately
preceding the date of the Tournament, or the player has lived six
months immediately preceding the Tournament in the NBO concerned,
subject to the following:i)
If a competitor is a national of two or more countries at thesame time, he may represent either one of them, as he mayelect.
ii)
If a competitor has represented one country in a APBF
Championship or WBF Tournament and has changed his
nationality or acquired a new nationality, he shall notparticipate in a APBF Championship to represent his new
country until after three years of such change or acquisition.
This period may be reduced or even cancelled upon the requestof the NBO with the approval of the APBF Executive
Committee.
iii)
If a new NBO is affiliated as a member of APBF, a competitor
may continue to represent the country to which he belongs or
belonged. However, he may, if he prefers, choose to represent
his country or be entered in a APBF Championship by his new
NBO if one exists. This particular choice may be made onlyonce.
No male shall be a playing member of, or a substitute player in, a teamor pair competing in a women‟s event.
4.4 Over-Riding Eligibility Regulations
The Supplemental Conditions for a specific event may specify overriding Eligibility Regulations based on residency qualifications whichprevail for that particular championship or congress.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

104.5 Eligibility for Youth Players
As a general rule, players competing in Junior events shall be aged 25
years or younger in the calendar year in which the competition is totake place. Players competing in Youngsters events shall be aged 20
years or younger in the calendar year in which the competition is totake place. For example: throughout 2011, Juniors are players born in1986 or later, Youngsters are players born in 1991 or later.
4.6 Eligibility for Senior Players
In order to be eligible to participate in APBF Seniors events, players
must be at least 60 years of age or attain the age of 60 during thecalendar year of the Championship or Congress.
5. Official Language
English is the official language of a APBF Championship or Congress. During amatch the players may converse only in English unless both captains (in team games)or all four players at the table (in pairs events) agree to use some other common
language at their own risk. If necessary, each captain is responsible for the provisionof an interpreter for translation into English. The Laws printed in English will be usedby the Tournament Directors to adjudicate irregularities. No appeal due tomisunderstanding in a language other than English will be heard.
6. Ethics And Deportment
All contestants in APBF Championships or Congress are required to conform at all
times to the highest standards of ethics and deportment. The APBF expects all teams
and partnerships to play to win at all times and in all circumstances. All contestants(including non-playing captains) are also expected to accept the decisions of theTournament Appeals Committee in a sportsmanlike manner (See also Section 30.3)
7. Anti-Doping Regulations
It is mandatory for all participants to follow the WBF Anti-Doping regulations
detailed in Appendix 10.
8. Dress CodeNBOs are asked to take note of the recognition of Bridge as a Sport by the IOC andrequests that players should, at all times, be dressed appropriately; this is particularly
the case at the Opening Ceremony and at the Prize Giving Ceremony or Victory
Banquet, when it is expected that teams should at least be uniformly dressed even if ateam uniform is not available. During play appropriate dress would, for example, bean open-necked shirt, or a smart polo or sweatshirt worn with trousers or skirt asappropriate.
9. Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the playing areas (see definition of these areas in
Section 2.17).

APBF General Conditions of Contest

119.1 Smoking and Alcohol
Smoking and the consumption of alcoholic beverages of any nature in
the playing area are prohibited. No player may leave the playing area
in order to smoke or consume alcohol before the end of his match. Any
player or team official smoking or consuming alcohol before, during or
after the session in these areas will result in his team being fined 2 VP,or in the case of pairs events, will result in his partnership being fined
25% of the match points available on a board during the session.
Constant violation of this regulation will result in the player being
prohibited from playing and in the team official not being admitted into
the playing area.
9.2 Mobile Phones, Pagers and other electronic equipment
Mobile telephones, pagers or other electronic equipment may not be
brought into the playing area. Any player or team official bringing
such an item into these areas will result in his team being fined 2 VP orin the case of pairs events, will result in his partnership being fined
25% of the match points available on a board during the session. The
penalty is mandatory. Constant violation of this regulation will resultin the player being prohibited from playing and in the team official not
being admitted into the playing area.. The Chief Tournament Directormay, at his discretion, prohibit a player from bringing other equipment
into the playing area. Anyone entering the playing area may berequired to comply with procedures put in place by the APBF for thedetection of such electronic equipment. See also Section 28.1 forrestrictions pertaining to spectators.
10. Disqualification from any APBF Championship or Congress
Should a team, pair or individual play be disqualified as a result of a decision made bya Tournament Director, Tournament Appeals Committee or the Executive Committee,
no refund of the entry fees, either in part or in whole, will be made.
11. Vu-Graph
All contestants are required to play on Vu-Graph, on-line Vu-Graph and Television
whenever assigned to do so by the President or his designee. In the absence of any
contrary stipulation, the room from which play is broadcast to the Vu-Graph audienceshall be the Open Room.
12. Media Presentation
Players are required to participate in any public presentation of matches, interviews
etc arranged by the APBF, including video, Internet, TV, radio or any other media
presentation.
13. Completion of WBF Convention Card
13.1 Publication of Systems

APBF General Conditions of Contest

12Registration of Convention Cards with the APBF gives the APBF theright to publish such convention cards via Internet or to any parties at
the Championship or Congress in such form as it sees fit. When fullsystems are registered on site, for the purposes of providing additional
information, these will not be published by the APBF to persons otherthan those requiring them for the purpose of running the Tournament.
13.2 Requirements
Contestants are required to make full written disclosure of their System
and also to make a full disclosure of the meaning of any call or play inresponse to a proper question at the table from an opponent. The
Supplemental Conditions of Contest will set forth detailed proceduresfor that disclosure, in accordance with the WBF Systems Policy and in
addition to rules established in these Conditions of Contest.
The full written disclosure referred to in the above paragraph is madeby the completion in due form of the WBF Convention Card andSupplementary Sheets as required. Partnerships are required to filetheir Convention Cards and Supplementary Sheets in accordance with
the Supplemental Conditions of Contest. A Card will not be regarded
as having been completed in due form for the purposes of this section
unless:a) all sections of the Card have been accurately and legiblycompleted, in English, in accordance with the Guide toCompletion, these Conditions of Contest, and the Supplemental
Conditions of Contest;b) the Card and Supplementary Sheets contain a clear and sufficient
explanation of the System used, including, without limitation, allcompetitive agreements and understandings, it being accepted by
the APBF that the full particulars of some sequences (such as
relays) which occur in later rounds of the auction, may be omitted
from the Card without such omission constituting a breach of therequirement that the Card contain a clear and sufficient
explanation of the System;c) the type of System and its appropriate colour are duly indicated in
the prescribed place on the Card.
13.3 Supplementary Sheetsa) The WBF Convention Card may be supplemented by the additionof Supplementary Sheets. The function of the Supplementary
Sheets is to facilitate the full disclosure of Systems and therelationship of material on a Supplementary Sheet to material on a
Card should be clearly indicated by corresponding numbers on both
the Card and the Supplementary Sheet.
b) The number of Supplementary Sheets allowed, as well as theprocedures for amendment and variation of Convention Cards will
be set forth in the Supplemental Conditions of Contest.
13.4 Generala) If a player makes use of any conventional call not sufficiently
described on his Card (including Supplementary Sheets), that

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player‟s partnership may be subject to a procedural penalty (Law90) for the infraction and/or to disciplinary penalty as well as toscore adjustments to redress any damage.
b) The onus of disclosure is on the user. When there is a claim ofdamage through inadequate disclosure, the Tournament Director
and the Tournament Appeals Committee will give the benefit ofany doubt to the opponents.
14. Use Of Convention Card At Table
Unless otherwise set forth in the Supplemental Conditions of Contest, each member ofa pair must hand to one of his opponents at the table during each Session of an event
his duly completed Card and Supplementary Sheet(s) (incorporating any variations
made pursuant to the provisions of the Supplemental Conditions of Contest for a
specific APBF Championship or Congress) which shall contain in the designatedplace on the Card an indication of the appropriate colour. These are to be reclaimed at
the end of the Session. After withdrawing his cards from the board and until they are
restored at the conclusion of the play, a player may not consult his own Card or
Supplementary Sheets. He may consult the WBF Convention Booklet in respect of acall made by an opponent, but not in respect of a call made by his partner, or one
made or contemplated by himself, and he may consult written defences against Brown
sticker conventions and HUM-aspects in his opponents system.
15. Alerts And Explanations
An alertable call is defined in the WBF Alerting Policy (see Appendix 3: WBF
Alerting Policy). Subject to the provisions of Section 25.2 when screens are in use, thepartner of a player who has made an alertable call must immediately alert his
opponents unless they have stated, before the auction started on the first board of theset, that they do not wish to be alerted. It is the responsibility of the alerting player toalert clearly. No explanation of the meaning of the alertable call should be madeunless requested by an opponent. Request for explanation of an alertable call may bedeferred until later in the auction, or until after the auction has closed in accordancewith Law 20.
16. WBF Convention Booklet
Except in the case of initial action, whether offensive or defensive, showing two or
more specified suits (for which the suits involved must be specified on the conventioncard) a reference on the Card to the name of a convention described in the WBF
Convention Booklet which is contained on the WBF CCE or within the WBF Guide
to Completion (obtainable from www.ecatsbridge.com [Documents section]) shall bedeemed to incorporate on the Card the full text of the relevant convention as describedin the WBF Convention Booklet. Should any modification of the description
contained in the WBF Convention Booklet be used, sufficient details of suchmodification must appear on the Card in the appropriate section where the subject
convention is named. No modification should be written on the WBF Convention
Booklet itself.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

1417. Non-Playing Captains In Team Tournaments
17.1 General
A non-playing captain (NPC) may observe his team during playsubject to the rules set forth in this Section and to any supplementary
regulation made from time to time by the APBF before a APBF
Championship or Congress begins. The NPC must enter the room
before play begins at the start of a Session, and if the NPCs of bothteams are in the room, they shall sit on the same side of the screen. In
case of dispute the “Home Team” captain shall decide on which side of
the screen they will sit. An NPC may observe play in the Closed Roomat the discretion of the Chief Tournament Director.
17.2 Procedure during matchesa) An NPC who leaves the room, except as provided in this Section,cannot return during that Session. Exceptionally, if the NPC isrequested to leave the playing room (for the purpose of
consultation or for whatever reason) by a Tournament Director, thePresident, the Chairman of the Tournament Appeals Committee, or
the Chairman of the Organising Committee, he may (but need not)be permitted to return to that playing room at the discretion of theTournament Director.
b) An NPC is bound to the same restrictions as spectators (Law 76),
except that he may intervene to restrain misbehaviour or curtail
unnecessary discussion on the part of his team members, and may
with the concurrence of the Tournament Director speak toquestions of fact or law, after the Tournament Director has beencalled to the table, but may not call the Tournament Director.
c) During the time allowed for a Session, whether play is actually
taking place at the moment or not, an NPC should not address
members of his team at the table in any but the English language orin a language understood by the opponents. If it is desired to use alanguage other than English, the permission of the opponents
should be sought, and, where reasonably possible, should be given.
If difficulty arises, an NPC wishing to speak to his team in alanguage not known to the opponents should do so through aninterpreter or team member who can translate for the benefit of the
opponents.
d) At any time when a comparison of scores is allowed a non-playing
Captain may draw his players' attention to his observation of an
infraction but he is bound as a spectator by Law 76B until that time.
17.3 Delegation of responsibility by the NPC
NPCs are responsible for the performance of various functions detailed
in these Conditions of Contest and the Supplemental Conditions ofContest. While the APBF recognizes the importance of other team
officials (such as deputy-captain, coach, etc.), it is only when they are
specifically named by the NPC, and have been invited to participate in
the relevant APBF Championship or Congress by the APBF, that they
may perform certain of the official functions assigned to the NPC.

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Such additional team officials may not enter the playing rooms unlessthey obtain the permission of the Tournament Appeals Committee andsuch Committee may impose conditions on such entrance in its
discretion.
18. Substitutes In Team Tournaments
If, for any reason, a team is unable to produce four 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 tocomplete the team. A substitute need not be a member of the NBO represented by theteam on which he or she substitutes, but must not be a player from another team andmay not be a male in the case of an event restricted to women.
The Tournament Director, having designated a substitute, shall inform the Chairmanof the Tournament Appeals Committee or his designee as soon as practicable. The
results obtained by the substitute shall stand unless the Tournament Appeals
Committee judges that the substitute‟s bridge skills were considerably greater thanthose of the player replaced, in which case an adjusted score may be determined.
Whether or not the result stands, the Tournament Appeals Committee may impose
appropriate penalties when it judges a team to be at fault.
The Tournament Appeals Committee shall have authority to determine whether, andto what extent, a substitute may become a permanent replacement.
19. Substitutes In Pair Tournaments
The Chief Tournament Director may make emergency substitutions whenever they
are necessary to the smooth operation of the game. If this will, or may, cause theresultant disqualification of any contestant, the contestant shall, where practicable, be
notified at the time the substitution is made.
20. Forfeits In Team Tournaments
If a team is unable to play or complete a match, the Tournament Appeals Committee
may find that team to be in default and declare the match forfeited. The team in forfeit
shall score zero Victory Points and zero IMPs for that match. The team winning theforfeited match shall be credited with such number of Victory Points as theTournament Appeals Committee shall consider to be equitable in all thecircumstances.
If it is, or becomes, necessary also to assign an IMP score for tie breaking or carryover purposes, the winning team shall be credited with the average number of IMPs,rounded up, which earns the assigned Victory Points score.
21. Substitute Boards In Team Tournaments
A “substitute board” is one introduced into play in a Session or a match, to replace aboard already played at one or both tables. Depending upon the decision of theTournament Appeals Committee, the results of a substitute board may, or may not, be

APBF General Conditions of Contest

16

counted as part of the Session or match. Substitute boards are put into play by the
Tournament Director either on his own volition or by direction of the Tournament
Appeals Committee.
22. Fouled Boards
A board is considered “fouled” if the Tournament Director determines that one ormore cards were misplaced in the board in such a manner that contestants who shouldhave direct comparison did not play the board in identical form. If in a team event a
pre-duplicated board is wrongly dealt and Law 13 of the Laws of Duplicate Bridge
2007 applies in such a way that the board cannot be played, the board is considered to
be a fouled board.
22.1 Fouled Boards in Team Tournaments
A board is not considered fouled if the boards played in the same
match are identical even though that board may differ from the likenumbered board played in simultaneous matches. In general, a fouledboard should be replayed through the substitution of a new board. In
addition, penalties will apply in certain circumstances (in accordancewith the Supplemental Conditions of Contest). Replays through thesubstitution of one new board shall not be permitted after the result of amatch may be known to the contestants, as to which circumstances theTournament Director‟s decision shall be binding. That match is scoredas though the board had never been played *.
The same rules apply whenever a substitute board would normally beplayed, for example, when the Tournament Appeals Committee
nullifies a board. When the Tournament Director has reason to believe
the Tournament Appeals Committee may wish to have a substituteboard played in the final Session of a match, he should have aprovisional board played during the Session with an extra timeallowance of 8 minutes. The Tournament Director, on his own volition,
may instruct that a provisional board be played pending a future
decision.
*Example: if the 7th board in a 16-board match is fouled and the error
is discovered when the contestants are computing the result of thematch, the board is disregarded and the match is scored as though it
consisted of only 15 boards, no additional IMPs will be awarded.
22.2 Fouled Boards in Pair Tournaments
When a board has been fouled, the Tournament Director shalldetermine where the foul occurred. If guilt can be determined,
penalties should be assessed in accordance with the Supplemental
Conditions of Contest. Procedures for scoring fouled boards arecontained in the Supplemental Conditions of Contest.
23. Bidding Boxes
23.1 General
Bidding boxes will be used throughout a APBF Championship or
Congress. Starting with the dealer, players place the bidding cards on

APBF General Conditions of Contest

17

the table in front of them, from the left and neatly overlapping so that
all calls are visible and faced towards partner; players should refrainfrom touching any bidding cards until they have determined their call.
A call is considered to have been made when the bidding card(s) isremoved from the bidding box with apparent intent (but Law 25 may
apply).
Alerts should be made by the use of the alert card; it is the
responsibility of the alerting player to ensure that his opponents areaware of the Alert. Playing without screens a player “announces” askip bid by placing the Stop card in front of him, then placing his bid
card as usual, and eventually removing the Stop card. His LHO should
not call until the Stop card has been removed. (If the Stop card has
been removed hastily or has not been used, an opponent may pause as
though the Stop card has been used correctly.)
Until they are removed from the table, a player obtains a review of theauction by inspecting the bidding cards. When such inspection is not
feasible a player may obtain a written review of the auction at his firstturn to play to trick one.
If screens are in use, the bidding cards are removed from the box andplaced in the tray from the left and neatly overlapping so that all calls
are visible and faced towards partner; the players should make every
effort to see that these actions are performed as quietly as possible.
23.2 Changes to Bids Made
A call placed and released may be changed :a) If it is illegal or inadmissible (in which case the change is
obligatory), if screens are in use, as soon as either screenmate isaware of this; orb) If it is determined by the Director to be a call inadvertently selectedorc) Under the provisions of Law 25 (the penalty provision of Law 25B
does not apply if the first call is not transmitted through the screen)
see Section 25.3 for procedures when screens are in use, subject towhich a call placed and transferred to the other side of the screen
becomes subject to the normal provisions of the Laws.
24. Play of the Cards
During the course of play, each card should be played towards partner in a consistentmanner and placed on the table in the same position each time so that it can be seenby all players at the table.
Quitted tricks should be placed consistently in a neat row in front of the player, evenly
overlapping with tricks won pointing towards partner and tricks lost pointing towards
the opponents.
25. Screen Regulations
Screens will be used whenever possible in a APBF Championship or Congress.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

18

25.1 Description of the Operation
The North and East players sit on the same side of the screen
throughout. It is North‟s responsibility to place the board on, and to
remove the board from, the bidding tray. It is West‟s responsibility toadjust the screen aperture. The sequence is this: North places the board
on the bidding tray. The aperture is closed (and remains so during thewhole of the auction period) so that the bidding tray can just pass under
it. The players remove the cards from the board. Calls are made withthe cards from the bidding box. The player places the selected call inthe bidding tray, which will be visible only on the player‟s side of thescreen. A player‟s first call should touch the extreme left of his own
segment of the bidding tray, with subsequent calls overlapping neatly
and evenly to the right. Players should make every effort to performthese actions as quietly as possible. With screens in use a call is
considered „made‟ when placed on the tray and released.
After two players on the same side of the screen have made their calls,
North or South (as the case may be) slides the bidding tray under thecentre of the screen so as to be visible only to the players on the otherside. They then make their calls in like manner and the bidding tray isslid back again. This procedure is continued until the auction iscompleted. It is considered desirable that players should vary the
tempo randomly when returning the tray under the screen.
After all four players have had the opportunity to review the auction(equivalent to the right of having the auction restated) the players
replace their bidding cards in their respective bidding boxes.
After a legal opening lead is faced, the screen aperture is opened theminimum necessary to permit all players to see the dummy cards andthe cards played to each trick. If a defender exposes a card and,because of the screen, declarer does not see it, dummy may draw
attention to the irregularity.
25.2 Alerts and Explanationsa) A player who makes an alertable call as defined in Appendix 3
must alert his screen-mate, and partner must alert on the other sideof the screen when the bidding tray arrives there. The alert must be
made by placing the Alert Card over the last call of the screenmate, in his segment of the bidding tray; the alerted player mustacknowledge by returning the Alert Card to his opponent. A player
may, by written question, ask for an explanation of an opponent‟scall; the screen-mate then provides a written answer.
b) At any time during the Auction a player may request of his screen
mate, in writing, a full explanation of an opponent's call. The replyis also in writing.
c) At all times from the commencement of the Auction to thecompletion of play each player receives information only from his
screenmate about the meanings of calls and explanations given.
Questions during the play period should be in writing with theaperture closed. The screen is raised after the response has been
made.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

1925.3 Modifications of Laws when Screens are in Use
A. An irregularity passed through the screen is subject to the normallaws, with the following provisions:
1. an inadmissible call - see Law 35 - must be corrected.
2. if a player infringes the law and, inadvertently (otherwise
Law 23 may apply), the irregularity is passed through thescreen by his screenmate the latter has accepted the action
on behalf of his side in situations where the laws permit
LHO to accept it.
B. Before an irregularity is passed through the screen the offender or
his screenmate shall draw the Director‟s attention to it. Infringing
calls shall not be accepted and shall be put right without otherrectification (but see A2 above); any other irregularity shall berectified and the Director ensures that only the legal auction ispassed through the screen. A Law 25B substituted call may be
accepted by the screenmate. No player on the other side of thescreen shall be informed of the occurrence unless the application ofa law requires it.
C. The screenmate should attempt to prevent an opening lead out ofturn. Any opening lead out of turn shall be withdrawn without
other rectification if the screen has not been opened. Otherwise:
1. when the screen has been opened through no fault of thedeclaring side (and the other defender has not led face up)
Law 54 applies.
2. when the declaring side has opened the screen the lead is
accepted. The presumed declarer becomes the actual
declarer, Law 23 may apply.
3. when two opening leads are faced by the defending side theincorrect lead is a major penalty card.
4. for a card faced by the declaring side see Law 48.
D. When an alertable call is made see 25.2 above.
E. When a player takes more than a normal time to make his call, it is
not an infraction if he draws attention to the break in tempo. His
screenmate, however, shall not do so.
F. If a player on the side of the screen receiving the tray considers
there has been a break in tempo and consequently there may beunauthorized information he should, under Law 16B2, call the
director. He may do so at any time before the opening lead is madeand the screen opened.
G. Failure to do so as F provides may persuade the Director it was thepartner who drew attention to the break in tempo. If so he may wellrule there was no perceived delay and thus no unauthorized
information. A delay in passing the tray of up to 20 seconds is notregarded as significant.
26. Duplicated Boards
Whenever possible duplicated boards will be used throughout all APBF
Championships and Congress.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

2027. Curtain Cards (When used)
At the start of each match, or session of a match, which is played with similar sets ofboards across the field, each player is required to fill out the hand on a prescribed
Curtain Card when a board is first played. At the conclusion of play of the board, eachplayer should place the Curtain Card on top of the bridge hand so that it may be read
after playing cards have been returned to the duplicate board. After the boards are
moved to another table, each player shall examine the Curtain Card in the pocket ofthe designated position. If the direction of the Curtain Card in the board agrees withthe designated direction and the hand on the Curtain Card agrees with the hand theplay proceeds. Otherwise the Tournament Director must be summoned forthwith.
Failure to follow this procedure will result in penalties at the discretion of the Chief
Tournament Director.
28. Attendance In Playing Rooms
Subject to any supplementary regulations made by the Executive Committee or
special permission of the President, only the following are permitted to enter theplaying rooms:a) participants assigned to play in that room;b) Tournament Directors;c) personnel needed to operate these tournaments, including assigned
recorders, scorers, timers, caddies and Vu-Graph personnel;d) the President;e) Chairman of the Tournament Appeals Committee and Organising
Committee;f) members of the Tournament Appeals Committee who are on duty;g) staff personnel for provision of refreshment and room cleaning, if
necessary;h) “Officials on duty” appointed for a specific session or sessions by the
President;i) a maximum of two members of the Daily Bulletin staff to be named by
its Editor;j) a maximum of eight approved journalists who have been accredited by
the President (or his designee).
The assignments of places in the playing rooms to those in categories (i) and (j) shallbe made by the Editor of the Daily Bulletin subject to the following rules: (There are a
maximum of 10 individuals who represent categories (i) and (j). For purposes of thefollowing, those 10 are considered a single group and members of it are referred to as“representatives”) .
 Except by permission of the President, not more than one“representative” shall be at any table at the same time; preference will
be given to category (i).
 The “representative” must enter the room before the session begins,must remain on the same side of the screen throughout the session and,should he leave before the end of the session, may not re-enter any
playing rooms.
 “Representatives” in categories (i) and (j) may be assigned to Open andClosed Rooms.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

21 A “representative” from category (j) may not be assigned to either
room of a match that is presented on Vu-Graph. A “representative”
from category (i) may be assigned only to the Closed Room of a VuGraph match. However, if both rooms of a match are being
simultaneously presented on Vu-Graph, “representatives” from all
categories shall be excluded from both playing rooms of that match.
 A “representative” from category (j) who is from the same NBO as aplayer in that room, is deemed to be, for purpose of Law 11, a spectator
for whose presence at the table that player is responsible. Accordingly,
the player's consent is required for the “representative's” presence atthe table.
The Executive Committee may increase the number of the approved journalists
specified in (j) above if the space available and the security conditions permit. Subject
to conditions of play, the President may permit spectators to watch matches in theOpen Room. In this event, a spectator should be seated at one side of the screen andno more than six spectators may watch at any one table. Spectators can only watch
one match. Non-playing players from a team are not permitted to watch either own
team‟s match.
An individual who observes an irregularity when a spectator is subject to theinhibition in Law 76B until a ruling on the board may no longer be sought.
“Representatives” are spectators, as also are other non-participants observing the play.
28.1 Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to the playing areas (see definition ofthese areas in Section 2.16).
Spectators are not permitted to smoke or consume any alcoholic drinksin these areas, nor may they bring mobile telephones, pagers or otherelectronic equipment into these areas. Spectators contravening any ofthese regulations will be required to leave the playing area immediately
and will not be permitted to return for the remainder of theChampionship without specific permission from the Chief Tournament
Director.
The Chief Tournament Director may, at his discretion, prohibit aspectator from bringing other equipment into the playing area. Anyone
entering the playing area may be required to comply with procedures
put in place by the APBF for the detection of such electronicequipment.
29. Rulings And Appeals
The Tournament Director shall be summoned to a table as soon as attention is drawn
to an irregularity. After the Director has given the ruling, any appeal against suchruling must be lodged in accordance with Section 31.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

2230. Tournament Appeals Committee (see definition in Section 2.25)
30.1 General
All appeals of rulings of the Tournament Director shall, subject toSections 34 and 35 and where applicable subject also to Section 30.2,
be heard and decided by the Committee. The Chairman or his designee
shall convene the Committee at the conclusion of Sessions or at anyother time he deems appropriate, and shall divide the Committee into
smaller committees each having neither fewer than three nor more than
five members. Each such committee shall have all the powers of theCommittee for the purpose of deciding the matter in question. The
Chairman or his designee will nominate a member of each such smaller
committee to be its chairman.
The Code of Practice for Appeals Committees will apply. Players
should note the procedures which the Code calls upon them to adopt(as, for example, that they should randomize and make unpredictable
the tempo of passing the tray).
The WBF Code of Practice is utilized by the APBF Tournament
Directors before any rulings are made, and such rulings are made in
consultation with other Directors, senior players and other personnel as
appropriate. The Code of Practice can be found on the WBF andECatsBridge Websites.
30.2 Authority
During the course of any APBF Championship or Congress theCommittee may in its discretion investigate any matter touching uponor arising out of the Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007, or these
Conditions of Contest, or the Supplemental Conditions of Contest,
however that matter may have come to the attention of the Committee;
and the decision of the Committee in respect of any such matter shallbe arrived at in the manner referred to in Section 32.1, and shall,subject only to Section 32.1 of these Conditions, be final in all cases.
30.3 Team Requirements
The APBF expects all teams and partnerships to play to win at all times
and in all circumstances. While a team may rest its players and makeother decisions for strategic reasons, it is not permissible for apartnership to play by design to obtain a session score inferior to thatof its opponents, and the Committee shall have the authority todetermine on such evidence as it considers sufficient whether apartnership has done so. Any such finding will constitute grounds forsuch penalties as may be imposed by the Committee, which shall also
be empowered to recommend that the Executive Council disqualify orsuspend the offending contestant.
31. Lodging Of Appeals
A request for, or appeal of, a Tournament Director's ruling must be lodged within 30
minutes of the first posting of the official score for the Session in which the board wasplayed that is the subject of the ruling. All appeals must be lodged by the team‟s

APBF General Conditions of Contest

23Captain or his designee, or by one member of the pair in the Pairs events. An appeal
may take one of two forms:a) it may be an appeal of the Director's ruling as to an infraction orotherwise, and any consequent decisions. This would be heard inaccordance with Section 32 following, orb) it may alternatively be a Request for Review of the score adjustment
where the appellant does not wish to challenge the finding of an
infraction. The Tournament Appeals Committee would normally give adecision on this on the basis of the documentation alone.
31.1 Deposit for Appeals or Requests for Review
When lodging an appeal or a Request for Review the appellant must
deposit US$100 (or its equivalent) with the Tournament Director. Thisdeposit will be refunded unless the Committee determines that theappeal was without merit, in which case the deposit will be forfeitedand paid to a charity nominated by the President.
32. Hearing Of Appeals
32.1 General
On receipt of the duly completed Appeals Form the Tournament
Director shall, as soon as possible, inform the Chairman or his
designee. The Chairman shall schedule the time and place for the
hearing of the appeal and shall so advise the Tournament Director, whoin turn shall advise all parties involved of such time and place.
Guidelines for the hearing of appeals and other proceedings of theCommittee are set out in Appendix 1. Failure to observe suchguidelines shall not of itself vitiate any decision of the Committee.
However, if in the opinion of the President or the Chairman there may
have been non-observance of the guidelines capable of seriously
prejudicing the rights of any party appearing before the Committee,
then the President or the Chairman may, in his discretion, direct thatthe proceedings in question be reheard, in which case the decision of
the Committee on the rehearing shall replace the decision on the firsthearing.
On an investigation made otherwise than on appeal, the Committee
may impose such penalty on any party, or direct that an adjusted score
be entered for any boards, as it shall deem proper. In any case in whichit considers the circumstances to justify or require it, the Committeemay (in addition to any other penalty imposed) recommend to the
Executive Committee the suspension of any player for one or more
Sessions of the event, the forfeiture of a match, or the disqualificationof a pair or team.
The Appeals Committee will observe the WBF Code of Practice.
32.2 Failure to attend
If any party to an appeal or other proceeding of the Committee, or any
other person whose attendance is required by the Chairman, having
been given notice of the time and place of the hearing, fails to appear,
the Chairman may:

APBF General Conditions of Contest

24a) re-schedule the hearing;b) proceed to a decision of the Committee in the absence of the party
who failed to appear;c) if the party who failed to appear is the appellant, dismiss the appeal
without a hearing, and confirm the ruling of the Tournament
Director. A party to an appeal or other proceeding of theCommittee or any other person whose attendance is required by the
Chairman, who fails to appear, having been given notice of thetime and place of the hearing, may be penalized by the Committee.
All four players at the table shall consider themselves called to thehearing unless prior consent to the absence of a player or players is
obtained through the Tournament Director.
In addition to the powers conferred by these Conditions of Contest
and the Supplemental Conditions of Contest, the Committee has
those powers assigned to it in the Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2007.
33. Appeals To The WBF Laws Committee
An appeal of the Tournament Director‟s ruling on a point of Law may be taken to the
WBF Laws Committee. Such appeal shall be made in writing by the Team Captain,(or designee) or players in a pairs event, and turned over to the Tournament Director,
who will then file the appeal with the Chairman of the WBF Laws Committee, or the
President. At least two members of the WBF Laws Committee shall constitute a
quorum, and there is no further appeal on matters of Law.
34. Appeals Of These Conditions Of Contest
An appeal of the Tournament Director‟s ruling on, or an interpretation of, these
Conditions of Contest or any Supplemental Conditions of Contest or any technicaloperation of a APBF Championship or Congress, shall be made in writing by Team
Captain, (or designee) or players in a pairs event. Such appeal shall be turned over tothe Tournament Director who will then file the appeal with the Chairman of theOrganising Committee or the President. Unless the Chairman and the President are ofjoint opinion (which shall be final) that the appeal has no merit, the appeal shall beheard by the members of the Executive Committee and the members of theOrganising Committee present at the site of the APBF Championship or Congress,
sitting as a single body. The President shall preside over this meeting and decisions
reached shall be final.
35. Eligibility For Awards
The APBF will establish, for each APBF Championship or Congress, a scale of APBF
Master Points Awards in accordance with the APBF Master Point Plan. Gold, Silver
and Bronze Medals will normally be awarded for APBF Championships andCongress. In APBF Championships in all events, the highest-ranking team after theround robins will be awarded the Gold Medal and/or Trophy, the 2nd ranking teamwill be awarded the Silver Medal and/or Trophy, and the 3rd ranking team will beawarded the Bronze Medal and/or Trophy. In APBF Congress in all teams events, thewinning team in the final will be awarded the Gold Medal and/or Trophy. The losing
finalists will be awarded the Silver Medal. For the play off regulations to determine

APBF General Conditions of Contest

25

the Bronze Medallists, see Section 37. In all pairs events, the winning pair shall beawarded the Gold Medal and/or Trophy or prize, the second placed pair shall beawarded the Silver Medal and the third placed pair the Bronze Medal.
36. Play off Regulations for 3rd Place
The detailed play off Regulations for bronze medals or 3rd place as appropriate will becontained within the Supplemental Regulations for each APBF Congress.
37. Authority of the APBF Executive Committee
The APBF Executive Committee reserves the authority to modify or supplement these
Conditions of Contest and the Supplemental Conditions of Contest, at any time.
38. Responsibility of the APBFThe APBF schedules a APBF Championship or Congress to occur at a particular timeand place. However, the APBF makes no warranty to any participating NBO, team,pair or person, that any particular APBF Championship or Congress will take place asscheduled and accepts no responsibility for any loss or expense should it not do so.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

26

39. Appendix 1 - Guidelines for Hearing Appeals and Other Proceedings of theCommittee(See Section 31 of these General Conditions of Contest)
1.

2.

3.
4.

An appeal shall consist of the hearing of the evidence and argument; thedeliberations of the Committee; and the announcement of the Committee's
decision.
The Chairman may in his discretion require the attendance of specified parties at
the hearing of an appeal. The parties who will normally be present during thehearing of evidence and argument shall be:a)
the appellant pair;b) the respondent pair;c)the respective Captains (if a team tournament);d) an interpreter, if in the judgement of the Chairman this is necessary toensure adequate understanding of the proceedings by any party thereto;e)the Tournament Director who gave the ruling appealed against, and the
Senior Tournament Director on duty;f)
any other person who in the judgement of the Chairman is able to assist
the Committee in determining the facts;g)the members of the Committee hearing the appeal;h) the Scribe recording the proceedings.
Once the hearing of the evidence and argument has begun, no additional
member of the Committee shall join the Committee hearing the appeal.
The Chairman shall preside over the appeal, and the order of proceedings shallbe:a)distribution of copies of the relevant Appeals Form (the Tournament
Director shall, prior to the hearing, have whenever practicable given the
respondent a copy of the Appeals Form);b) identification of the appellant and the respondent; and the introduction of
all present by the Chairman;c)statement of the facts by the Tournament Director who gave the rulingappealed against;d) questions to the Tournament Director from the Committee;e)opportunity for the appellant and the respondent to register agreement or
disagreement with the Tournament Director's statement of facts;f)the testimony of any special witness invited by the Chairman to assist theCommittee; then as in (d) and (e) above;g)
the case for the appellant;h) questions from the Committee;i)the case for the respondent;j)questions from the Committee;k) any further questions or comment elicited by the Chairman;l)after hearing the evidence and arguments, all persons other than themembers of the Committee shall leave the appeal room, unless the
Chairman requests the Tournament Director to remain during all or part of
the Committee's deliberations;m) the Committee, having reached its decision in accordance with Section
30.1, shall communicate this to the parties (if still present) and theTournament Director, together with a brief statement of the reasons by the

APBF General Conditions of Contest

27

5.
6.

7.

Chairman. It shall be the responsibility of the Tournament Director tocommunicate the decision to any absent party.
These guidelines are intended to assist the Committee to conduct appeals fairly
and courteously.
If the Committee is conducting a proceeding which is not an appeal of a rulingof the Tournament Director, the above guidelines may be modified by the
Chairman as appropriate to achieve fairness.
References in these guidelines to the Chairman include the Chairman of theTournament Appeals Committee and any designated Chairman referred to in
Section 30.1 of these General Conditions of Contest.
Players are encouraged to refer to the Code of Practice for Appeals Committees.
This can be obtained from Internet at www.worldbridge.org or from the contact
listed after Section 45.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

28

40. Appendix 2: WBF Systems Policy and APBF Adoption
Players should ensure that they obtain the latest version of any WBF Policies, which
will be available on the WBF Website (www.worldbridge.org) or from the contact
listed in Section 45.
APBF adopts the WBF Systems Policy with the following exceptions:a)Brown Sticker Conventions are allowed during the round robin in the Open,
Women and Senior series.
b)
Psyches protected by system and classified as Brown Sticker by the WBF are
not allowed for APBF Championships and Congress.
c)
Psyches of conventional and artificial openings are not allowed for APBF
Championships and Congress.
41. Appendix 3: WBF Alerting Policy
Players should ensure that they obtain the latest version of any WBF Policies, which
will be available on the WBF Website (www.worldbridge.org) or from the contact
listed in Section 45.
42. Appendix 4: WBF Psychic Bidding Policy
Players should ensure that they obtain the latest version of any WBF Policies, which
will be available on the WBF Website (www.worldbridge.org) or from the contact
listed in Section 45.
43. Appendix 5: WBF Code of PracticePlayers should ensure that they obtain the latest version of the WBF Code of Practice,which will be available on the WBF Website (www.worldbridge.org) or fromwww.ecatsbridge.com or from the contact listed in Section 45.

Ecats contact: www.ecatsbridge.com or by contacting Anna Gudge, The Old Railway
Station, Long Melford, Sudbury, Suffolk C010 9HN, England. Tel: +44 1787 881920;
Fax: +44 1787 881339; email wbf@ecats.co.uk.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

2944. Appendix 6 – WBF IMP to VP Conversion Scale (For Use in All APBF Championships and Congress)

Number of Boards
VPs

8

10

12

14

16

20

24

28

32

36

40

48

15- 15

0- 1

0- 1

0- 1

0- 2

0- 2

0- 2

0- 3

0- 3

0- 3

0- 3

0- 3

0- 4

16- 14

2- 5

2- 6

2- 6

3- 7

3- 7

3- 8

4- 9

4- 10

4- 10

4- 11

4- 11

5- 12

17- 13

6- 8

7- 9

7- 9

8- 10

8- 11

9- 12

10- 1411- 1511- 1612- 1712- 1813- 2018- 12

9- 11

10- 12

10- 12

11- 1412- 1513- 1615- 1916- 2017- 2218- 2319- 2521- 2819- 11

12- 1413- 1513- 1615- 1816- 1917- 21

20- 2421- 2523- 2824- 2926- 3229- 3620- 10

15- 1716- 1817- 2019- 2220- 2322- 2625- 2926- 31

29- 3430- 3633- 3937- 4421- 9

18- 2019- 21

21- 2423- 2624- 2727- 3130- 3432- 3735- 4037- 4340- 4645- 52

22- 8

21- 2322- 2525- 2827- 3028- 31

32- 3635- 3938- 4341- 4644- 5047- 5353- 60

23- 7

24- 2626- 2929- 3231- 3432- 3637- 4140- 4544- 4947- 5251- 57

54- 6061- 6824- 6

27- 2930- 3333- 3635- 3837- 4142- 4746- 5150- 5553- 5858- 6461- 68

69- 7625- 5

30- 3334- 3737- 4039- 4342- 4648- 5352- 5756- 6159- 6565- 71

69- 76

77- 8425- 4

34- 3738- 41

41- 4544- 4847- 5254- 5958- 6465- 6866- 7372- 7977- 8485- 9325- 3

38- 4142- 4546- 5049- 5453- 5860- 6565- 71

69- 7674- 8280- 8885- 93

94- 10225- 2

42- 4546- 5051- 5555- 6059- 6466- 7272- 7977- 8583- 91

89- 97

94- 102103- 11225- 1

46- 5051- 5556- 61

61- 6665- 71

73- 7980- 87

86- 9492- 100

98- 106

103- 112113- 123

25- 0

51+

56+

62+

67+

72+

80+

88+

95+

101+

107+

113+

124+

APBF General Conditions of Contest

30

45. Appendix 7 – Contact Addresses
45.1 The APBF President
Ms Esther C. Sophonpanich
16th Floor, United Center Building
323 Silom Road, Bangkok 10500
ThailandFax +66 2 236 8984
Email: chodchoy@inet.co.th
45.2 The APBF 1st Executive Vice-President and APBF Representative to the WBF
Ms Chen Zelan
Chinese Contract Bridge Association
80 Tiantandong Road, Chongwen District
Beijing 100061,
China
Fax + 86 10 6710 1522
Email: sunchengmo82@yahoo.com.cn
45.3 The APBF 2nd Executive Vice-President
Mr Ghassan Ghanem
President BFAME and JBF, Secretary General ABL
P.O. Box 142637
Amman-11184, Jordan
Fax + 962 (06) 585-9901
Email: gasghanem@yahoo.com
45.4 The APBF Honorary Secretary
Mr. Tadayoshi Nakatani
Japan Contract Bridge League
TJK Yotsuya Bldg., 1-13 Yotsuya,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004
Japan
Fax + 81 3 3466 0860
Email: nakatani@jcbl.or.jp
45.5 The APBF 2nd Honarary Secreatry
Mr. M. Azwerul Haque
Bridge Federation of Asia & Middle East
# 14, 18th Street, D.H.A.
Phase V. Karachi-75500 Pakistan
Fax : + 92 21 3537 1247
Email: azwer@khi.comsats.net.pk
45.6 The APBF Honorary Treasurer and Chief Tournament Director (Zone 6)
Mr. Anthony Ching
Flat A, 2/F., Block 3, Academic Terrace
101 Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam
Hong Kong
Email: awching@netvigator.com

APBF General Conditions of Contest

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45.7 The APBF Representative to the WBF
Mr. Patrick Choy
37 Mount Sinai Rise, #06-01 Leighwoods
Singapore 276956
Fax + 65 64639184
Email: patrick.choy@gstrategy.com

45.8 The APBF Secretariat
Japan Contract Bridge League
TJK Yotsuya Bldg., 1-13 Yotsuya,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004
Japan
Fax 81 3 3357 7444
Email: APBFsecretariat@jcbl.or.jp
45.9 The APBF Webmaster
Mr. Philip Tam
Room F, 22/F, On Hong Building
47 Tai Pa Street, Tsuen Wan
Hong Kong
Email: philip.tam@easytechprof.com
45.10 Official Websites
APBF Website: www.PABF.org
Australia Website: www.abf.com.au
China Website: www.ccba.org.cn
China Hong Kong Website: www.hkcba.org
Chinese Taipei Website: www.ctcba.org.tw
Indonesia Website: www.gabsi.or.id
Japan Website: www.jcbl.or.jp Korea
Website: www.kcbl.org Malaysia
Website: www.mcba.org.my
New Zealand Website: www.nzbridge.co.nz
Philippines Website: www.ptba.net
Singapore Website: www.scba.org.sg

APBF General Conditions of Contest

3246. Appendix 8 - Format for APBF Championships
1.

2.
3.

4.

5.

6.
7.

The APBF Team of Four Championships will be held once in every calendar
year except for Team Olympiad years, and for these years, APBF Congress will
be held. The Championship will be divided into the Open, Ladies, Senior,
Junior and Youngster series.
A NBO may send only one (1) team for each of the Open, Ladies, Junior andYoungster series.
A NBO may send up to a maximum of four (4) teams for the Senior series,
subject to the guidelines as detailed in the Supplementary Conditions ofContest. The 2nd to the 4th team may be transnational teams.
The Championship will take the format of single, double, or triple round robins
in each of the series depending on the number of teams participating and as
stipulated in the Supplementary Conditions of Contest. The team who ranked
highest after the round robins in each of the series will be the Champion.
The number of boards played in each match should be between 14 and 24,
depending on the number of teams participating and as stipulated in the
Supplementary Conditions of Contest.
The number of boards played each day is stipulated in the Supplementary
Conditions of Contest, and should generally be between 48 to 64.
The Tournament schedule is to be arranged so that the Championships take nolonger than 11 consecutive days.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

3347. Appendix 9 - Format to Determine Zone 6 Berths to World Championships(if held that year)
47.1 General
Zone 6 current has 3 berths each in the Open, Ladies, Senior, Junior and Youngster
series. Subject to stipulation in the Supplementary Conditions of Contest otherwise,
the berths are determined as follows.
47.2 First BerthThe highest-ranking Zone 6 team at the end of the round robins in each of the series
will automatically earn the berth to the World Championship.
47.3 Second BerthThe 2nd berth is determined by a 64-board play-off between the 2nd and 3rd ranking
Zone 6 teams at the end of the round robins in each of the series. The winner of thisplay-off will earn the second berth.
47.4 Third BerthThe 3rd berth is determined by a 48-board play-off between the loser of 2nd/3rd playoff and the winner of the 4th/5th 64-board play-off. The winner of this play-off will
earn the third berth.
47.5 Refusing the Rights
If any NBO decides not to participate in the play-off, hence refusing the rights torepresent Zone 6 in the World Championship, its place will be taken up by the next
highest ranking Zone 6 team in the series.
If any NBO who has earned the rights to represent Zone 6 in the World Championshipsubsequently decides to withdraw, its place will be taken up by the next highestranking Zone 6 team in the round robin who has not yet earned the berth.
47.6 Host NBO of World ChampionshipIf the hosting NBO of a World Championship is automatically awarded a berth by the
WBF, the hosting NBO will not be included in determining the berths.
47.7 Senior Teams
Unless allowed by the WBF that year, a Senior team participating in the play-off forZone 6 berths may not be a transnational team.

APBF General Conditions of Contest

3449. Appendix 10 - WBF Anti Doping Regulations
Players should ensure that they obtain the latest version of the WBF Anti‐Doping
Regulations, which will be available on the WBF Website (www.worldbridge.org) orfrom www.ecatsbridge.com or by contacting Anna Gudge, The Old Railway Station,Long Melford, Sudbury, Suffolk C010 9HN, England. Tel: +44 1787 881920; Fax:
+44 870 123 1955; email anna@ecats.co.uk
Applications for Therapeutic Exemption should be made, using the specified form,and sent to
Anna Gudge
Secretary, WBF Anti Doping Commission
The Old Railway Station
Long Melford
Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 9HN
Email: anna@ecats.co.uk
To arrive no later than 21 days before the Championship event in which theCompetitor is playing commences

APBF General Conditions of Contest

35