GNYBA Winter League FAQ: Register While You Can

We have an amazing 20+ teams confirmed for the Winter League, with many more teams still forming. For now, we are welcoming all registrations, but we may need to limit entries in the coming days. A few frequently asked questions and answers…

How do I register a team for the GNYBA Winter League?

Go to this registration form. You may make changes to your roster all the way until the October 28th deadline, so there is no reason to delay. If you have a team ready to go, then claim a spot while you can!

What skill level are the teams that have registered?

The current teams represent a very good spread of skill levels. We will definitely have a bracket for Gold Rush and lower Mid-Flight teams. We have a bracket of teams competitive in Mini Spingold events. And we have a few teams with NABC+ level players!

Is there a partnership desk?

For now, we are taking names of individuals and pairs who do not have full teams, but we haven’t begun match-making yet. We might do so to fill out brackets near the deadline.

Are members from Long Island / Unit 242 invited?

Yes! Please register your teams. If we must limit teams eventually, teams with GNYBA members will receive priority. However, our friends in Unit 242 are very much welcome. To ensure a spot, register asap – you can still make changes to your roster later.

Who is organizing and directing the tournament?

GNYBA is sponsoring the tournament and fully subsidizing the cost. We have hired the same organizers that run world class online bridge tournaments. We will announce the vendor and partnership shortly.

Will winners receive ACBL Masterpoints?

Probably not this time. However, we plan to hold future tournaments in 2021 and we will seek an ACBL sanction for those events if possible. Teams that play in this tournament will likely get priority in our future events. Maybe even discounts to winners from this season…

What is the maximum number of teams?

Good news – the GNYBA board last night voted in favor of increasing the original budget given the high demand! We will eventually still need to limit the maximum team count to keep everything manageable for both our tournament vendor and the GNYBA organizers.

What’s the catch? Why is it free and who’s idea was It?

In our first post-pandemic GNYBA Board meeting, there was one seemingly innocent proposal and discussion (June 19th, 2020):

That was then, and this is now. First, let’s give thanks to Uday Ivatury, who had the initiative and foresight in early June to propose a friendly yet competitive online tournament. While we all hoped life would return back to normal by now, there have been very few options to play online teams – especially for casual players.

Next, Katherine Todd has shared her valuable experiences playing in the Online World Teams event. Also, our conditions of contest, vendor selection, and marketing efforts would not be possible without her hard work. Almost everyone first heard about the tournament through her e-mail flyer (if you didn’t get it, double check your ACBL privacy settings and address).

Of course, David Moss is always a treasure trove of wisdom for all things bridge, both in New York and around the world. In addition to giving advice on every aspect of the league, he ensured the idea would gracefully comply with GNYBA goals (ensuring our funding), as well as all things ACBL now and in the future.

Lastly, I am also one of the organizers, providing as much geek squad support as I can both on this page and offline. First off, we apologize ahead of time for the somewhat clunky registration form – sometimes we just need something that works with the lowest possible hassle, no need for overtricks! Team captains will be hearing quite a bit from me as we prepare brackets and matchups to our tournament vendor.

As always, reach out with your questions.

What are the conditions of contest?

We will default to general ACBL KO conditions of contest with a few exceptions.

To keep the games friendly and efficient, we will be very flexible regarding substitutes and playing time.  There are no playing requirements except that a player may only be on the official roster of one team.

We plan to allow ACBL Open+ Chart in the upper brackets and Basic+ in the lower brackets.

The regular season is 5 weeks long, each week consists of one round of a 5-round swiss. Each round is a 20-board match, IMPs scoring into a continuous 20 VP scale. Substitutes are allowed after the 10th board, but no player may switch compass directions. The first round is a random draw, future rounds follow typical swiss matchups with no playbacks.

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14 Responses to GNYBA Winter League FAQ: Register While You Can

  1. Ralph Tamlyn says:

    If we want to substitute after board 10, what time should the other players “arrive”? 8PM? 8:15PM?

    • Lee Lin says:

      We will send all of the protocols for setting up your team lineup to the captains in the next 24 hours.

      • Ralph Tamlyn says:

        Thanks for helping with the league. The last minute details don’t answer all my questions about second half substitutes.

        Arrival time: does 8PM work? should they simply be logged in?

        Departure of first half players: do they simply leave the table? Can they kibitz thereafter?

        • Lee Lin says:

          There are no restrictions on kibitzing for the first match – we understand people have some concerns and we will considering changes.

          As for time, it really depends on how quickly your table finishes 10 boards with a 7pm ET start time. Yes, they simply need to be logged in and will receive the substitute invite. The previously playing players should also be automatically removed from the table, but can go back and find the match (easiest via their people and friends tab).

  2. Ralph Tamlyn says:

    Suggestion for the Winter League: set the starting times for the different brackets 15 minutes apart; might make it easier for the directors and players.

    • Lee Lin says:

      Hi Ralph,

      Staggered start times makes sense, with a few caveats. It probably helps the directors to know which tables to “focus on” when sending the invites. But it’s a bit more parallel than it looks. We will ask them if the staggering would be helpful.

      But another problem – given that the league is “for fun,” we decided on common boards with kibitzing (but not kibitzing chat). If we have a staggered start, does each bracket use a different set of common boards? As a “Mid-flight” player, I enjoy seeing how the top tier players bid and played certain hands.

      Disabling kibitzing sounds like a reasonable solution, except each week dozens upon dozens of players who finish early or are substituting out enjoy kibitzing their friends (and foes).

      Thanks for the feedback.

      • Ralph Tamlyn says:

        Lee Lin, thank you for the complete answer. I withdraw my suggestion because (A) I like the fact all tables play the same hands, (B) it is great to allow kibitzing, and (C) if it is not a burden for the directors to start the tables, that is good.

        I submitted the request because our opponents had a lot of trouble getting seated at our table. Despite joining the table before 7PM, it felt like our table did not start until 7:15 or 7:20 because they had trouble joining the table. They were again thrown by the “substitute” message.

        I do encourage frequent reminders about the nature of the invitations (“do you want to substitute”, “say YES”).

        THanks again for the prompt, complete answer.

  3. Ralph Tamlyn says:

    Can the league suspend for two weeks to avoid conflicts with the NAOBC events?

    Perhaps this is senseless optimism, since the GNYBA has probably / may have made commitments to BBO, the scheduling / scoring website, and to pay the directors, so who knows if suspension is possible.

    The ACBL events simply continue every day so long as teams are in the event, they will therefore have trouble committing to another day, unless both teams can play at, say, 9AM.

    • Ralph Tamlyn says:

      By the way, my team anticipated the conflict and is prepared to play in the league as scheduled. I don’t know if that is the case for other teams.

  4. Lee Lin says:

    Hello, anyone who wants to play in the NAOBC events should certainly do so. If there is a conflict, notify the league organizers at the usual email for instructions. It is an unfortunate conflict.

  5. Ralph Tamlyn says:

    I and my team greatly enjoyed the Fall League. If possible, can the League starting in January have an earlier start time; e.g. even mornings, e.g. 10AM like so many in-person tournaments in the past? Even 3PM would be better for my team in January. We will almost certainly join anyway, but those earlier times would be much better for us.

    • Lee Lin says:

      An interesting idea. I don’t remember why we originally picked 7pm. It was some combination of seemingly having no conflicts with most club games and being convenient for all the organizers. The old Honors swiss games in 2019 were generally on Sunday night, including the Pro-Am-Am-Am and their one-session swiss games.

      I think we’re inclined not to change what seems to have worked, but you bring up an idea of having multiple start and stop times. In a world where we get enough teams to support a morning bracket and evening bracket, that would be very interesting.

  6. Sandy Friedman says:

    Hiya….
    Friend asked if kibitzers are allowed for this 4th round? Thx

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