The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

in the

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Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and

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. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission ''"to promote, grow and sustain the game of bridge and serve the bridge-related interests of our Members."'' Its major activities are: * sanctioning games at local bridge clubs and regional events * certifying bridge teachers and club directors * conducting the

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

(NABC) * providing education materials and services * administering the ACBL

masterpoints Masterpoints or master points are points awarded by bridge organizations to individuals for success in competitive bridge tournaments run under their auspices. Generally, recipients must be members in good standing of the issuing organization. At t ...

system for tracking player performance * providing oversight for ethical behavior and play *Besides representing the interests of its members with the World Bridge Federation, , it had more than 165,000 members.

History

The ACBL was created in 1937 by the merger of the American Bridge League and the United States Bridge Association in 1937. At that time, its bridge tournaments were open only to white people, with the

American Bridge Association The American Bridge Association (ABA) is a tournament bridge organization in the United States of America. Origins The ABA was formed in 1932 by black tennis players at Buckroe Beach, Virginia; at the time, blacks were excluded from most brid ...

running tournaments in which black people were allowed to play. In 1967, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) removed the final obstacle to ACBL membership for African-Americans when it included in its by-laws a rule that no person could be denied membership because of race, color, or creed

Headquarters

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, the ACBL was founded on December 23, 1937 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and later moved its company headquarters to

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

, then to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

in 1971DeSoto Times Tribune: Horn Lake gets $3 million project
/ref> and to Horn Lake, Mississippi in 2010. It has a full-time staff of about 60 employees in Horn Lake, plus about 160 tournament directors throughout the country. The headquarters also houses the League's Museum, Library and League's Hall of Fame.

North American Bridge Championships (NABC)

Three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall, the ACBL holds the

(NABC) using the

duplicate bridge Duplicate bridge is a variation of contract bridge where the same set of bridge deals (i.e. the distribution of the 52 cards among the four hands) are played by different competitors, and scoring is based on relative performance. In this way, eve ...

method of

scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

, which greatly reduces the element of luck in competition. The NABC typically extends over eleven days and includes many different events. The location of the NABC is rotated among major cities, attended by thousands of players. The 2009 Summer Nationals in

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had 14,115 total tables played over the 11 days.

Masterpoints

For many, the most significant role of the ACBL is its sanctioning of club games and tournaments to award

. If an event has the ACBL sanction, then the highest-finishing players are awarded specified numbers of masterpoints, which can be recorded with the ACBL. Most players value the increase in their masterpoint total as a measure of their success at the game. Unlike the

Elo rating system The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved c ...

developed for

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

, the masterpoint system is strictly one of accumulation. A player's masterpoint total can never decline except as part of a penalty imposed for ethics violations.

Education and support

Members receive the monthly ''Bridge Bulletin'' magazine. In addition to the ''

Laws of Duplicate Bridge The ''Laws of Duplicate Bridge'' (also known as the ''Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge'' and the ''Laws of Contract Bridge'') is the official rule book of duplicate bridge promulgated by the World Bridge Federation (WBF). The first ''Laws of Du ...

'' (named ''Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge'' until 2008), the ACBL offers many other training and information resources at its official website including software supporting education and play of the game, The ACBL has also published the ''ACBL Bridge Series'', a series of books written by Audrey Grant and designed to teach the game to beginners, as well as to help more experienced players review and expand upon their knowledge of the game.

Total Club Table Count

Districts

The ACBL consists of 25 Districts. Each District elects a District Director (DD) who serves a three-year term on the ACBL Board of Directors. Clicking on the district number brings up the web site for that District. Clicking on the Report brings up the District Director report.

References

External links

* * ''75th Anniversary DVD'
part 1part 2part 3
published May 22–23, 2012 at YouTube {{Sports governing bodies of the United States Contract bridge governing bodies

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Contract bridge in the United States Museums in DeSoto County, Mississippi Amusement museums in the United States