Bridge takes quite an amount of concentration. For that reason players are asked to respect other members and keep the noise level down.

With a view to consideration for all players I would draw your attention to a couple of etiquet rules and general rules for play.

These can be found under information (index box left hand of home page) then click on constitution. Relevent information is at the bottom of that page.

Remember treat others as you would have others treat you.

PENALTIES

The rules of Bridge specify specific penalties for specific infringements that may occur during the course of play. Things such as a lead out of turn, a revoke, insufficient bid etc. In all cases the Director must be called to determine the options available to the players and any penalties that may result as a flow on from their decision.

Two things that annoy players and Directors alike are slow play and excess noise. Both these are distracting, annoying and frustrating and we have even seen players opt to stop playing as they can only take so much.

So where does that leave us from day to day.

1. The Director can ask players to speed up or talk quietly. They can stare; they can berate and even get cranky.
2. The Director can enforce penalties in an endeavour to “get through” to the people concerned.
3. The Director can ignore the noise and slow play and hope that peer pressure overcomes the problem.
4. They can clamp down on the time allowed to play a set of boards in the hope this will convince players they are sick and tired of the problem and non cooperation of players.

Have a look at the etiquette rules which are laid out on our web site under information » Constitution page. These set out the expectations of one and all of us in the hope that others will work within these guidelines.

However the Director does have other powers to penalise the following:

1. Tardiness – arrival of a contestant after a specific starting time
2. Slow play – any unduly slow play by a contestant
3. Loud discussions – any discussion of the bidding, play, or results of a board, which may be overheard at another table
4. Comparing scores -   any comparison of scores with another contestant during a session
5. Touching another’s cards – any touching or handling of cards belonging to another player
6. Misplacing cards in board – placing one or more cards in an incorrect pocket of the board.
7. Errors in procedures – any error in procedures (such as failure to count cards in one’s hand, playing the wrong board etc) that requires an adjusted score for any contestant.
8. Failure to comply – any failure to comply with tournament regulations or with any instruction of the Director.

As a final measure the Director has the power to suspend a player for that session for failure to comply. No one wants to take this extreme action but there are times when temptation is there.

PLEASE COOPERATE AND THINK OF OTHERS.

The following items are available from the Club Secretary

• Travelling score sheets               $5.00  (Pads 100)
• Silent bidding pads                      $10.00  (pads 100)
• Instant duplicate score 
  Computers                                   $1.00

The Club now has a quite extensive and comprehensive library of books on Bridge. They are on view at the clubhouse and arrangements can be made through the Secretary to borrow them if required.