November Knockout Format, Rules and Timetable

Format:
1. There are 8 teams entered. The format will be a Double Elimination. This format is very popular in England and has been explained to me by John Sarjeant (tigerboy1). After Round 3 the field is divided into a Cup competition (the main event) and a Plate.

2. The draw for most rounds including round 1 is done at random.

3. For round two the four winning teams are drawn randomly against each other as are the four losing teams.

4. For round 3 the two teams that have won twice play against each other. There will be four teams that have had one win and one loss. These teams are drawn randomly against each other. The two teams that have lost both games to date go into the Plate competition and have byes for Round 3.

5. For round 4 the four teams that have lost twice play for the Plate. They play “semi finals” drawn at random. The remaining 4 teams have lost once or less. They play semi-finals for the Cup. The team that has won all three games to date gets to choose their opponent for the semi final and gets home advantage.

6. Round 5 is the final for the Cup and the Plate (the two winning teams from Round 4 in each section play off). If one of the teams in the Cup Final has been undefeated throughout then that team has home advantage and, in addition, after the end of the 12 boards it has the option of requesting an additional 4 boards to be played. The scores from the original 12 boards are retained but the option holder has the chance to attempt to “catch up” if it was behind after 12 boards.

Rules:
7. IMP scoring will be used. Results will be collated from BBO records and there is no need for Captains to submit results. Captains should, however, check results once published and point out any mistakes.

8. Each week the draw (including team line-ups) will be published by 7.00 pm by email to all captains and by publication on the kiwi teams blog site at http://kiwiteams.blogspot.com/.

9. The team named first on the draw (generally drawn at random) is the home team. The captain of the home team is responsible for creating the match on BBO. Instructions on creating matches are on the blog site at http://kiwiteams.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-set-up-kiwi-teams-matches-on-bbo.html.

10. The captain of the home team chooses who “sits” where and thus which of his/her pairs play which opposition pairs. Any team without a captain able to create the match in any particular round will lose home team advantage.

11. If any player is not online and available to commence the match at 8pm the captain setting up the match shall immediately arrange a replacement, by calling for all comers from the Lobby if necessary.

12. Teams must play each round. Outside substitutes are allowed. Any team defaulting forfeits the match.

13. Any tie will be resolved by playing an additional 4 boards, either immediately (if possible) or as soon as possible and at any event prior to the next round. Any remaining tie will be broken by successively removing the result of the most recently played board until the scores are no longer tied.

14. Kiwi Teams rules apply to all matches:

Undo’s are allowed but should be used for genuine mis-clicks only.
The Barometer is on.
Kibbitzers are allowed.
Kiwi (NZ Bridge) alerting and pre-alerting rules apply.
(The NZ Bridge manual which contains these rules (at pages D38 to D41) is available online at http://nzbridge.co.nz/2009%20Manual.pdf).

15. Please note that alerting on BBO is different to over the table alerting. Each player must alert their OWN bids. This is sometimes referred to as “self alerting”. Do not confuse this with NZ Bridge rules as to “self alerting” calls which are referred to in 15 below.

16. To alert your bid either click the alert button before making your bid or click on your bid after you have made it. Next, type a brief description of your bid in the box provided, then hit the “enter” key. Your alerts can only be seen by your opponents and cannot be seen by your partner. Accordingly there is no harm in over alerting because your partner is never aware of your alerts. Equally you can privately ask either opponent about a particular bid by clicking on the opponents bid. This will prompt a box to come up on the opponents screen for an explanation to be typed in. In addition you can privately provide further information about your bid to both opponents simultaneously by using the   button at the bottom of the screen. All of this asking and telling should be done privately (rather than to the whole table) so that your partner never knows what is being asked or told.

17. For non New Zealanders please note that all doubles, redoubles, cue bids, strong 2c openers, 2c stayman bids and 4 level or higher bids are “self alerting” calls. You should not alert them (although for BBO play where partner does not see the alert there is no harm in alerting them). Opponents are expected to ask about these calls if they wish to know. However, unusual agreements regarding these calls which may surprise opponents should be pre-alerted at the start of the match.

18. There are no prizes for winning or otherwise. Just Glory!!!


Time-table:

2nd November: Round 1
9th November: Round 2
16th November: Round 3
23rd November: Semi Finals (all teams play)
30th November: Cup and Plate Finals

2009 Championships - Format Rules and Timtable

Format:

1. There are 14 teams entered including a “house team” which will be made up each week to avoid a bye.
2. There will be seven rounds of qualifying. Teams have been seeded into to evenly matched pools of 7. In qualifying each team in pool A will play each team in pool B. Each round will be of 12 boards commencing 8pm each Monday night. The top 2 teams from pool A and the top two teams from pool B will qualify for the final. The 3rd and 4th teams from each pool will qualify for the plate. The remaining 6 teams will play a consolation event.
3. After qualifying there will be a final for the top two teams from each pool, a plate competition for the 3rd and 4th teams from each pool and a consolation event for the remaining 6 teams.
4. The Final and the Plate will each be separate three round, round robin events of 12 board matches commencing 8pm each Monday night. The formula for these Round Robins will be:
   
   Round 1: 1v4 2v3
   Round 2: 3v1 2v4
   Round 3: 1v2 4v3
5. The consolation will be a swiss draw of 3 x 12 board matches commencing 8pm each Monday night.
   

Rules:

1. IMP scoring will be used with the results being converted to Victory Points. Results will be collated from BBO records and there is no need for Captains to submit results. Captains should, however, check results once published and point out any mistakes.
2. Each week the draw (including team line-ups) will be published by 7.00 pm by email to all captains and by publication on the kiwi teams blog site at http://kiwiteams.blogspot.com/.
3. The team named first on the draw is the home team. The captain of the home team is responsible for creating the match on BBO. Instructions on creating matches are on the blog site at http://kiwiteams.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-set-up-kiwi-teams-matches-on-bbo.html.
4. The captain of the home team chooses who “sits” where and thus which of his/her pairs play which opposition pairs. Any team without a captain able to create the match in any particular round will lose home team advantage.
5. If any player is not online and available to commence the match at 8pm the captain setting up the match shall immediately arrange a replacement, by calling for all comers from the Lobby if necessary.
6. Positions after qualifying and final positions will be determined by Victory Points. For the final, plate and consolation there will be a carryover from qualifying of 40%.
7. Teams must play each round. Outside substitutes are allowed. Any team defaulting will score no victory points for the round. The opponents of any team defaulting shall receive 18 VPs or the average number of VPs won by the team in all its other matches in the stage (including later matches), or the average number of VPs won by the opponents of the forfeiting team in matches played against that team in the stage (including later matches), whichever is the greater.
8. Ties will be broken by net imps. If net imps are equal the result of any head to head match between the tied teams will be used. Any remaining tie will be broken, if possible, by a 4 board head to head match arranged before the next round or within one week after the final round. If this is not possible the remaining tie will be broken by the toss of a coin.
9. Kiwi Teams rules apply to all matches:
   
   Undo’s are allowed but should be used for genuine mis-clicks only.
   The Barometer is on.
   Kibbitzers are allowed.
   Kiwi (NZ Bridge) alerting and pre-alerting rules apply.
   (The NZ Bridge manual which contains these rules (at pages D38 to D41) is available online at http://nzbridge.co.nz/2009%20Manual.pdf).
10. Please note that alerting on BBO is different to over the table alerting. Each player must alert their OWN bids. This is sometimes referred to as “self alerting”. Do not confuse this with NZ Bridge rules as to “self alerting” calls which are referred to in 15 below.
11. To alert your bid either click the alert button before making your bid or click on your bid after you have made it. Next, type a brief description of your bid in the box provided, then hit the “enter” key. Your alerts can only be seen by your opponents and cannot be seen by your partner. Accordingly there is no harm in over alerting because your partner is never aware of your alerts. Equally you can privately ask either opponent about a particular bid by clicking on the opponents bid. This will prompt a box to come up on the opponents screen for an explanation to be typed in. In addition you can privately provide further information about your bid to both opponents simultaneously by using the ç è button at the bottom of the screen. All of this asking and telling should be done privately (rather than to the whole table) so that your partner never knows what is being asked or told.
12. For non New Zealanders please note that all doubles, redoubles, cue bids, strong 2c openers, 2c stayman bids and 4 level or higher bids are “self alerting” calls. You should not alert them (although for BBO play where partner does not see the alert there is no harm in alerting them). Opponents are expected to ask about these calls if they wish to know. However, unusual agreements regarding these calls which may surprise opponents should be pre-alerted at the start of the match.
13. There are no prizes for winning or otherwise L. Just Glory!!!
    
    
    

Time-table:

20th July - Round 1 Qualifying
27th July - Round 2 Qualifying
3rd August - Round 3 Qualifying
10th August - Round 4 Qualifying
17th August - Round 5 Qualifying
24th August - Round 6 Qualifying
31st August - Round 7 Qualifying
7th September - Round 1 Final/Plate/Consolation
14th September - Round 2 Final/Plate/Consolation
21st September - Round 3 Final/Plate/Consolation

2009 Winter Swiss – Format, Rules and Timetable

Format:

1. There are 12 teams entered including a “house team” which will be made up each week to avoid a bye.
2. There will be five rounds of qualifying with a random draw for the first round and a swiss draw thereafter. Each round will be of 12 boards commencing 8pm each Monday night.
3. After qualifying there will be a final for the top four teams, a plate competition for teams 5 to 8 and a consolation event for the remaining teams. These will each be separate three round, round robin events of 12 board matches commencing 8pm each Monday night. The formula for the Round Robins will be:
   
   Round 1: 1v4 2v3
   Round 2: 3v1 2v4
   Round 3: 1v2 4v3

Rules:

1. IMP scoring will be used with the results being converted to Victory Points. Results will be collated from BBO records and there is no need for Captains to submit results. Captains should, however, check results once published and point out any mistakes.
2. Each week the draw (including team line-ups) will be published by 7.00 pm by email to all captains and by publication on this blog site.
3. The team named first on the draw is the home team. The captain of the home team is responsible for creating the match on BBO. Instructions on creating matches are on the blog site here.
4. The captain of the home team chooses who “sits” where and thus which of his/her pairs play which opposition pairs. Any team without a captain able to create the match in any particular round will lose home team advantage.
5. If any player is not online and available to commence the match at 8pm the captain setting up the match shall immediately arrange a replacement, by calling for all comers from the Lobby if necessary.
6. Positions after qualifying and final positions will be determined by Victory Points. For the final and the plate there will be a carryover from qualifying of 40%. For the consolation there will be no carryover.
7. Teams must play each round. Outside substitutes are allowed. Any team defaulting will score no victory points for the round. The opponents of any team defaulting shall receive 18 VPs or the average number of VPs won by the team in all its other matches in the stage (including later matches), or the average number of VPs won by the opponents of the forfeiting team in matches played against that team in the stage (including later matches), whichever is the greater.
8. Ties will be broken by Swiss Points, then by net imps. Any remaining tie will be broken, if possible, by a 4 board head to head match arranged before the next round or within one week after the final round. If this is not possible the remaining tie will be broken by the toss of a coin.
9. Kiwi Teams rules apply to all matches:
   - Undo’s are allowed but should be used for genuine mis-clicks only.
   -The Barometer is on.
   - Kibbitzers are allowed.
   - Kiwi (NZ Bridge) alerting and pre-alerting rules apply.
   (The NZ Bridge manual which contains these rules (at pages D38 to D41) is available online here).
10. Please note that alerting on BBO is different to over the table alerting. Each player must alert their OWN bids. This is sometimes referred to as “self alerting”. Do not confuse this with NZ Bridge rules as to “self alerting” calls which are referred to in 12 below.
11. To alert your bid either click the alert button before making your bid or click on your bid after you have made it. Next, type a brief description of your bid in the box provided, then hit the “enter” key. Your alerts can only be seen by your opponents and cannot be seen by your partner. Accordingly there is no harm in over alerting because your partner is never aware of your alerts. Equally you can privately ask either opponent about a particular bid by clicking on the opponents bid. This will prompt a box to come up on the opponents screen for an explanation to be typed in. In addition you can privately provide further information about your bid to both opponents simultaneously by using the <==> button at the bottom of the screen. All of this asking and telling should be done privately (rather than to the whole table) so that your partner never knows what is being asked or told.
12. For non New Zealanders please note that all doubles, redoubles, cue bids, strong 2c openers, 2c stayman bids and 4 level or higher bids are “self alerting” calls. You should not alert them (although for BBO play where partner does not see the alert there is no harm in alerting them). Opponents are expected to ask about these calls if they wish to know. However, unusual agreements regarding these calls which may surprise opponents should be pre-alerted at the start of the match.
13. There are no prizes for winning or otherwise :-( Just Glory!!! :-)

Time-table:

20th April Round 1 Qualifying
27th April Round 2 Qualifying
4th May Round 3 Qualifying
11th May Round 4 Qualifying
18th May Round 5 Qualifying
25th May Round 1 Final/Plate/Consolation
1st June Queens Birthday Weekend NO PLAY
8th June Round 2 Final/Plate/Consolation
15th June Round 3 Final/Plate/Consolation
END

Rules for Wednesday Ladder Competition

1. Teams can enter as teams of 4, 5 or 6. Entrants must nominate a captain capable of setting up matches on BBO. The real names, email addresses and BBO nicknames of all team members must be given. Please also provide a team name (otherwise team names will be invented!).
2. Entries close on Tuesday the 22nd July 2008. Teams entering after this date can join in but they will start at the bottom of the ladder.
3. The competition goes for 9 weeks commencing 23rd July 2008.
4. Teams may play as many or as few rounds as they like however there are demotions under rule 12c for inactivity.
5. Each week the captain of teams wishing to play must enter by emailing the team line up to xxx prior to Wednesday 5.00 pm.
6. Teams may play with one outside substitute. The substitute may be a member of another team but should be of similar or weaker playing strength than the average strength of the team the substitute is playing for.
7. Each week a draw will be done according to the following ranked priorities where possible:
   a. Teams to play an equal number of matches against teams above them as against teams below them,
   b. Matches to be between teams within 3 places of each other, and
   c. Matches will not be between teams who have played within the previous three weeks.
8. The draw will be sent to all team members by 7.50 pm each Wednesday.
9. Teams will be designated home and away. The captain of the home team is responsible for setting up the match at 8.00 pm. The home team captain chooses which pairs play NS and which EW. The captain of the home team must obtain a substitute from the lobby for any player(s) not online by 8.00 pm. Matches are of 12 boards, undo’s and kibitzers allowed, barometer on.
10. During matches NZ Bridge alerting and pre-alerting rules apply.
11. The starting position of teams on the ladder will be determined by the average rating points of team members who have NZ Bridge ratings. If teams have less than two such members then an average rating for the team will be assigned (guessed at!). The team with the lowest average will start at the top of the ladder. Then the next lowest and so on down to the team with the highest average rating who will start at the bottom!
12. After each round the ladder positions will change as follows:
    a. When the lower ranked team wins it swaps places with its opponent,
    b. When the higher ranked team wins or the match is drawn there is no change, and
    c. Any team that has not entered for a second or subsequent consecutive week or any team that doesn’t enter for the final week will swap with the team immediately below it, except if it is already at the bottom or if all the teams below it are also subject to this sub-rule. This sub-rule shall be applied first to the lowest team that is subject to it then to the next lowest team and so on.
13. The new ladder position will be emailed to all participants after each week.
14. The team at the top of the ladder after the final round is the winner!