Rules of the County Teams Championship Knock Out Rounds

Arrangements for the Draw

 1.1 The initial pairing for matches will be announced at the end of the qualifying round. It is the responsibility of each captain to ascertain the arrangements for his/her team’s next round at this stage.

 1.2 The full draw with closing dates for each round will be sent to all captains, together with contact details for other captains and results sheets.

 1.3 If it is the first match for one or both teams, then the home team is the first named team in the draw distributed by the Event Secretary. In subsequent rounds, the home team is determined as follows:

·       teams are allocated a ranking based upon their qualifying positions. The higher ranked team will normally be at home but will have the option of waiving this right in favour of any other agreed venue

·       if a lower ranked team beat a higher ranked team, they take over that higher ranking.

•  In the final only, it is possible for both teams to have the same rank. In this case the captains may agree a venue; otherwise the home team is determined by lot.

 Arranging Matches

 2.1  The home team will offer the away team a minimum of four dates, of which no more than two shall be in the same week.

 2.2 Each round must be completed by the closing date specified in the draw, unless the Event Secretary has allowed an extension.

 Notes

 1 Captains who already know their next round opponent are encouraged to arrange matches before the full round is complete.

2 The Event Secretary will provide advice on home and away teams for the second round at the time the first round draw is published.

3 Away captains must ensure that they have the telephone number of the venue for each match.

Composition of Teams

Teams may consist of four, five or six players. Teams originally entered in the County Teams Championship as teams of four may add further such players up to and including the semi-final provided such players:

·         have not entered in another County Teams Championship team

·         have Berks and Bucks as their county of first allegiance

There is no charge for extra players.

 Venues

 4.1 Unless otherwise agreed between the captains, smoking will not be allowed.

 4.2 If the visiting team gives the home team reasonable notice that it will, or is likely to, include a disabled player with special requirements, the home team shall be required to provide a venue which is able to accommodate those special requirements. If the home team is unable to do so, the venue of the match shall be switched to one provided by the visiting team at its own expense.

 4.3 Unless both captains agree to waive the requirement, matches must be played at a venue within ten miles of a club affiliated to B&BCBA.

4.4 The home captain must advise the visiting captain if there are any time restraints on the venue if, for instance, the venue closes at a certain time.

 Licensed systems

Systems and conventions at licence level 4 may be used.

 Format of the Match

 6.1 Scoring is by IMPs. Thirty two boards will be played, unless both captains agree to play twenty four in advance.

 6.2 Matches must be played in four equal stanzas. Partnerships may be changed at the end of each set. At the start of each match the captains should toss a coin to determine who shall have the right to choose in which stanzas he or she will exercise seating rights. This will be either the first and fourth or second and third stanzas.

 6.3 There are no seating rights during a tie break. If necessary, captains should exchange written declarations of the placing of their teams.

 6.4 Either captain may opt before the start of a match to have a 'closed' room, which will be specified by the captain who organised the venue. Team members may only watch in the open room. Spectators may only watch in the open room with the agreement of both captains.

 6.4 Should a team arrive more than thirty minutes late, its opponents have the right to curtail the match four boards for every half hour of lateness, which right they may legitimately exercise or renounce after half the scheduled boards of play. Where the opponents have failed to notify of lateness the match may be claimed after one hour; where the opponents have notified, after two hours.

 6.5 In the case of a tie, four additional boards will be played. If the tie remains then aggregate scoring over all boards shall determine the result. If there is still a tie, a replay may be arranged, provided this takes place within the time limit for the round. Otherwise the tie shall be determined by lot.

 Submission of Results

 7.1 After agreeing the score, both captains should sign the completed result sheet, which should be retained by the winning captain.  The result should be emailed by the winning captain to the event secretary within two days with details of all players and the number of boards played by each member of the winning team.  If the winning captain does not have email then the result sheet should be posted to the event secretary to be received within 5 days.

7.2 Where a mistake of fact (such as a mis-scoring) is discovered within five days after a match, the Event Secretary shall be informed by email. If the facts are not agreed, the captains shall ensure that all relevant information is sent to the Event Secretary for determination.

Rulings of First Instance and Appeals

 8.1 Where a dispute arises in the course of a match and the captains are unable to resolve it, the captains are strongly encouraged to obtain a ruling, by phone (not after 11 pm), from an agreed member of the county referees panel. These are:

 This should take place after the dispute arises, so that the next set of boards is started with a ruling of first instance in place.

 8.2 If a ruling of first instance cannot be achieved as suggested in rule 8.1, a result must be agreed subject to ruling and the results sheet must be signed accordingly. Details of the hand or hands in question and the arguments of the parties thereto must be sent to the Event Secretary within 72 hours of the match date. The Event Secretary will send the papers to the Appeals Secretary who will obtain a ruling of first instance from a County Teams Referee. The ruling will be sent to team captains within 7 days of the receipt of the request for a ruling by the Event Secretary.

 8.3 If either captain wishes to appeal against a ruling of first instance delivered according to rule 8.1 above, the result should be agreed subject to appeal and the result sheet signed accordingly. Details of the hand or hands in question and the arguments of the parties thereto must be sent to the Event Secretary within 72 hours of the match date.

 Where the ruling of first instance was delivered according to paragraph 8.2 above, any appeal against this ruling must be submitted in writing to the Appeals Secretary within 7 days of the ruling of first instance being communicated. The team captains will normally be notified of the judgement of the appeals committee within 28 days.

 Any appeal must be accompanied by a deposit of £20. The appeal may be accompanied by a submission containing the arguments for appeal. The opposing captain will be given the opportunity to make a submission.

 8.4 The decision of the appeals committee shall be notified to the captains by the Appeals Secretary. The appeal deposit is returnable unless the appeal is dismissed by the appeals committee considering the appeal to be frivolous.

 The Pachabo

All players who have played at any stage in the competition will have their names on the trophy as holders and will be eligible to play in the Pachabo. Where one or more members of the winning team cannot compete in the Pachabo, replacements will be selected by the winning captain from the losing finalists, up to a limit of six players in the revised team.

Entry to the Pachabo will be paid for by BBCBA but players must pay all other expenses.

Victor Ludorum

 Victor Ludorum points shall be awarded as follows:

•  players are entitles to VL points providing that they have played at least 1/3 of the boards.

• the VL award for winning a quarter-final will be 1 VL point; the VL award for winning a semi-final or the final will be 2 VL points. 

• players will gain VL points in knockout matches only if they play one third of the boards or if the match is conceded before completion

•  when a match is conceded before it takes place, all members of the other team will be awarded VL points as if the match had been played and won

Master Points

Green Points will be awarded to the winning team.

Players are entitled to master points providing they have played at least 1/3 of the boards.

A total of master points won in all stages of the County Teams Championship will be sent to the EBU at the end of June.

Players who win 6 or more green points will also receive gold points.