Consulting Director

This procedure, for running events at Bath Bridge Club, was approved by the Management Committee at its September 2006 meeting. Initially this will only be applied on Tuesday & Thursday, but could later be adopted on Wednesday, if considered appropriate. The Chief Tournament Director, experienced directors and Tournament Secretary will sort out the detailed mechanism and implement it.

The overall objective is to increase number of issues that are resolved on the night, rather than having to be dealt with later by the Chairman, Chief Tournament Director or Tournament Secretary. It will also formalise the support available to less experienced Tournament Directors; this is particularly important with a welcome number of new ex-trainee directors going on the full rota in November.

The detailed mechanism will be sorted out by the CTD and other experienced directors.

1. Law 80 states that the sponsoring organisation (Bath Bridge Club) is responsible for appointing the Tournament Director.
   
2. Law 81C1 gives the Tournament Director the authority to appoint assistants, which includes other Tournament Directors. This gives authority to the Consulting Director to act as an assistant to the Tournament Director for the evening.
   
3. The Tournament Director should continue to be the person named on the rota, who will set up and run the movement and respond to calls as at present.
   
4. The Consulting Director will be drawn from experienced directors playing at the club on the night.
   
5. In the first instance the Tournament Director will deal with all calls made and any other disciplinary or procedural issues that may arise. As at present to ensure play is not unduly disrupted, any available director can still provide assistance with rulings when required.
   
6. The Tournament Director may at any time call on the Consulting Director for advice or guidance.
   •  Consultation should always take place where matters of discipline or etiquette are involved.
   •  In the event that there is no Consulting Director, or the Consulting Director is involved in a particular incident, the Tournament Director should consult with the Tournament Secretary if available, or an officer of the club, or the most experienced available committee member.
   
7. Any player wishing to appeal against a ruling by the Tournament Director will still advise the Tournament Director of this.
   •  The Consulting Director will then be involved in confirming the facts required for a speedy resolution of the appeal and will mange the appeal itself (Law 93), if it can be handled immediately after play ceases.
   •  As per the Appeals procedure (revised Sep 2006), the Tournament Secretary will normally convene and chair the appeals committee, unless this is inappropriate (i.e. they have already been involved in the matter).

The benefits of this approach are:

• It formalises the informal consultations that often take place now.
  
• It reduces the risk of exposure of the Tournament Director in dealing with potential disciplinary issues.
  
• It provides a second opinion at an early stage.
  
• Allows someone else to be involved in the gathering of evidence, while the Tournament Director continues to manger the evening's bridge.
  
• The laws only permit appeals against a Tournament Director's judgement rulings, not against a straightforward book ruling, e.g. the penalty for an established revoke. This approach means that, if a player wishes to question a book ruling, the procedure is in place for the Consulting Director to confirm that the Tournament Director is correct or to advise that the ruling should be changed.

Phil Green, Trevor Purches
17 th September 2006