[Vampyr]

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-09, 09:17, said:

I did. Example: I once took up Romex with a local partner. Everything in the system was GCC legal, but the 1NT opening in Romex is artificial and forcing. Three months after we started playing it, the director walked up to us in the next to last round and said "I understand you're playing an artificial 1NT opening". We confirmed, he said "that bid is banned in this club" and turned around and walked away. Shortly after that my partner passed away. I haven't played in that club since.

Here clubs are (virtually) the only places you can experiment with things like forcing pass.

[mycroft]

The ACBL Handbook, chapter 4 in this case, is where everything can be found, for relevant values of "everything". There's a lot of regulation there, but a whole lot of freedom.

The one thing that is *not* mentioned is any suggestion of what conventions should be allowed (save the "if you're going to be excessively liberal, start it out on one game of the week, and expand it only if the club likes it" suggestion). It has requirements for special games (in particular, games played at multiple sites or qualifiers for GNT/NAP), and "of course", you can't allow any conventions that aren't Superchart legal (like that happens outside a university). Explicitly, clubs can allow more or less than the GCC without a qualm.

[blackshoe]

What is the definition of "tournament"?

Delegation of responsibility for permitted conventions does not imply delegation of all RA responsibilities. Robin is right.

[barmar]

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-09, 15:31, said:

What is the definition of "tournament"?

Contests organized by ACBL subdivisions (units, districts, or the national organization), AKA Sectionals, Regionals, and NABCs. In other words, everything except most club games.

BTW, although we call the ACBL games on BBO "tournaments", they're actually more like club games (BBO is the club). But ACBL has special rules that online clubs have to follow, as a concession to being allowed to hold the games in the first place.

[blackshoe]

 barmar, on 2015-November-09, 15:59, said:

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-09, 15:31, said:

What is the definition of "tournament"?

Contests organized by ACBL subdivisions (units, districts, or the national organization), AKA Sectionals, Regionals, and NABCs. In other words, everything except most club games.

Where does one find this definition in the body of law or ACBL regulations?

[pran]

 barmar, on 2015-November-09, 15:59, said:

Contests organized by ACBL subdivisions (units, districts, or the national organization), AKA Sectionals, Regionals, and NABCs. In other words, everything except most club games.

BTW, although we call the ACBL games on BBO "tournaments", they're actually more like club games (BBO is the club). But ACBL has special rules that online clubs have to follow, as a concession to being allowed to hold the games in the first place.

To me the word "tournament" is a term describing any kind of competition arrangement unrelated to the sport, organizer, jurisdiction or whatever.

[blackshoe]

 pran, on 2015-November-10, 02:04, said:

To me the word "tournament" is a term describing any kind of competition arrangement unrelated to the sport, organizer, jurisdiction or whatever.

I'm with Sven here. The word "tournament" is not defined in the laws, so we should look to the dictionary definition, which is as Sven has described it.

There is also this example from the law book:

Quote

Law 6D2: Unless the purpose of the tournament is the replay of past deals, no result may stand if the cards are dealt without shuffle from a sorted deck* or if the deal has been imported from a different session. These provisions shall not prevent arrangements, where desired, for exchange of boards between tables.

If a club game is not a tournament, then this law does not apply in such games. That makes no sense.

[barmar]

From the introduction to Chapter 6 of the ACBL Handbook (link above), titled "Tournaments":

Quote

ACBL sanctions three levels of tournaments – North American Bridge Championships, regionals, and sectionals. This Chapter describes each level of tournament and the corresponding rules and regulations which apply.

Chapter 4 is about "The Club Sanctioned Bridge Game" and Chapter 5 is about "Special Unit Games".

[blackshoe]

 barmar, on 2015-November-10, 10:23, said:

From the introduction to Chapter 6 of the ACBL Handbook (link above), titled "Tournaments":

Chapter 4 is about "The Club Sanctioned Bridge Game" and Chapter 5 is about "Special Unit Games".

None of that defines "tournament".

"Tournament" is used throughout the laws to refer to a contest under the laws of bridge. That, to me, includes club games. If it doesn't include club games, much of the laws will make no sense.

In practice, the ACBL doesn't give a damn what clubs do, so long as Horn Lake gets its money. This is not a delegation or assignment of RA powers, it's an abdication of responsibility for them.

[pran]

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-10, 18:50, said:

None of that defines "tournament".

"Tournament" is used throughout the laws to refer to a contest under the laws of bridge. That, to me, includes club games. If it doesn't include club games, much of the laws will make no sense.

In practice, the ACBL doesn't give a damn what clubs do, so long as Horn Lake gets its money. This is not a delegation or assignment of RA powers, it's an abdication of responsibility for them.

For what it is worth
The Norwegian Bridge Federation's tournament regulation includes the following (my unofficial translation and my enhancement):
1.1.2: This regulation shall apply in all NBF tournaments [...]. It also applies in tournaments organized by Regionals and clubs associated with NBF not having their local regulations. It is recommended that such [local] regulations mainly refer to this regulation and that parts 1 - 3 in this regulation is adopted unchanged as much as possible. [...]

[barmar]

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-10, 18:50, said:

None of that defines "tournament".

"Tournament" is used throughout the laws to refer to a contest under the laws of bridge. That, to me, includes club games. If it doesn't include club games, much of the laws will make no sense.

So what? The question isn't what "tournament" means in general, the question is which types of contests various ACBL regulations apply to, versus ACBL delegating resposibility. And ACBL has clearly delegated most regulation of club games to the clubs. And to describe these two classes of contests, in their regulations they refer to them as "tournaments" and "club games". That's how the players also refer to them informally -- no one calls a club game a tournament unless it's something like a STAC.

[blackshoe]

"No one calls a club game a tournament…"

I guess I have to change my name to "No One".

There's a difference between delegation and abdication or abandonment.

[pran]

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-11, 11:21, said:

"No one calls a club game a tournament…"
[...]

Oh yes, we have plenty of club games in Norway, they are competitions where two (or more) clubs compete in their own arrangement. And the games are still tournaments as are the weekly meetings between the members in a single club. (But those are not designated "club games"!)

[barmar]

 blackshoe, on 2015-November-11, 11:21, said:

"No one calls a club game a tournament…"

I guess I have to change my name to "No One".

You can change it to "Dick, from the Internet".

[blackshoe]

I don't think so.