Club etiquette

Sunday, 13 October 2019 by Paul Gipson

With so many new club members, I thought it would be timely to remind everyone of etiquette at the bridge table, laws and regulations, and time limits for correcting errors.

The club website provides a guide to etiquette at https://berwickbridgeclub.co.uk/etiquette-guide

I feel the most important point is that no-one should make rulings at their own table: just call the director.

Never let a more experienced player say, "You cannot do that, you must ...". Firstly very few players actually know the 2017 Laws well: a common myth is that you can change a played card if you do it "without pause for thought"; this is a phrase that is not in the Laws and the ability to change a played card is very limited. The laws for changing an unintended call or bid also changed in 2017, so it is always important to call the director. Another myth is that you have to make a bid "good" when you make an insufficient bid: this may or may not be true and it is an area of the Laws that has changed considerably in the last few years: just call the director.

Bridge at the club is governed by the 2017 Laws of Bridge and SBU regulations (https://www.sbu.org.uk/images/admin/laws-ethics/policies/SBUCompHandbookAug2018.pdf).

If you think you have been damaged by an opponent's infraction, then it must be raised with the director on the evening itself. The director will not always give a ruling immediately, especially for a judgement ruling since consultation may be necessary, but you always have the right to appeal after you have received it. Never be afraid to call the director and please do not take offence if the director is called.

A club regulation extends the time that a score can be adjusted to seven days, but only when it has been recorded incorrectly (or the director has made a scoring error). The Laws actually extend this time limit indefinitely, but then you need to convince both the director and the club's Committee that the recorded score is incorrect. The reason you sometimes receive multiple emails with an evening's result is due to a score correction being made.

Nothing has happened at the Berwick club or to a club member to prompt this email, aside that I occasionally overhear things happening at the club and I'm surprised that there is no director call. Everyone wants a friendly game but it's best to let the directors rule it.

Paul