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

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

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. It is the largest such organization in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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 contract bridge, bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November fo ...

(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 duplicate bridge, bridge tournaments run under their auspices. Generally, recipients must be members in good standing of the issuing ...

system for tracking player performance * providing oversight for ethical behavior and play * representing the interests of its members with the World Bridge Federation. , it had more than 130,000 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 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 not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

, the ACBL was founded on December 23, 1937 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and later moved its company headquarters to

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

, then to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

in 1971DeSoto Times Tribune: Horn Lake gets $3 million project
/ref> and to Horn Lake, Mississippi in 2010.ACBL Bridge Bulletin, August 2010, page 9. 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, ev ...

method of

scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

, 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 and is attended by thousands of players.

Masterpoints

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

. Players who finish at or near the top in ACBL-sanctioned events are awarded specified numbers of masterpoints, which are recorded by the League. Many players value the increase in their masterpoint totals 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 or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American chess master and physics professor. The Elo system wa ...

developed for

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, the masterpoint system is strictly one of accumulation; players' masterpoint totals never decline (except as a penalty imposed for an ethics violation).

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 Dup ...

'' (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 Audrey Lindop Grant is a Canadian professional educator and a contract bridge teacher and writer known for her simple and humorous approach to the game. Grant is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Grant and the world champion player Eric Rodwell co- ...

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 (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

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