CHAPTER X
Tournament Director 
SECTION ONE
RESPONSIBILITIES
LAW 81
- DUTIES AND POWERS 
- A. Official Status
- The Director is the official representative of the sponsoring organisation.
- B. Restrictions and Responsibilities
- 1. Technical Management
- The Director is responsible for the technical management of the tournament.
- 2. Observance of Laws and Regulations
- The Director is bound by these Laws and by supplementary regulations
announced by the sponsoring organisation.
- C. Director's Duties and Powers
- The Director's duties and powers normally include the following:
- 1. Assistants
- to appoint assistants, as required to perform his duties.
- 2. Entries
- to accept and list entries.
- 3. Conditions of Play
- to establish suitable conditions of play, and to announce them to the
contestants.
- 4. Discipline
- to maintain discipline, and to insure the orderly progress of the game.
- 5. Law
- to administer and interpret these Laws, and to advise the players of
their rights and responsibilities thereunder.
- 6. Errors
- to rectify an error or irregularity of which he becomes aware in any
manner, within the correction period established in accordance with Law 79C.
- 7. Penalties
- to assess penalties when applicable.
- 8. Waiver of Penalties
- to waive penalties for cause, at his discretion, upon the request of
the non-offending side.
- 9. Disputes
- to adjust disputes; to refer a matter to the appropriate committee.
- 10. Scores
- to collect scores and tabulate results.
- 11. Reports
- to report results to the sponsoring organisation for official record.
- D. Delegation of Duties
- The Director may delegate any of the duties listed in `C' to assistants,
but he is not thereby relieved of responsibility for their correct performance.
LAW 82
- RECTIFICATION OF ERRORS OF PROCEDURE 
- A. Director's Duty
- It is the duty of the Director to rectify errors of procedure and to
maintain the progress of the game in a manner that is not contrary to these
Laws.
- B. Rectification of Error
- To rectify an error in procedure the Director may:
- 1. Award of Adjusted Score
- award an adjusted score as permitted by these Laws.
- 2. Specify Time of Play
- require or postpone the play of a board.
- C. Director's Error
- If the Director has given a ruling that he or the Chief Director subsequently
determines to be incorrect, and if no rectification will allow the board
to be scored normally, he shall award an adjusted score, considering both
sides as non-offending for that purpose.
LAW 83
- NOTIFICATION OF THE RIGHT TO APPEAL 
If the Director believes that a review of his decision on a point of
fact or exercise of his discretionary power might be in order (as when
he awards an adjusted score under Law 12),
he shall advise a contestant of his right to appeal or may refer the matter
to an appropriate committee.
SECTION TWO
RULINGS
LAW 84
- RULINGS ON AGREED FACTS 
When the Director is called to rule on a point of Law or regulation
in which the facts are agreed upon, he shall rule as follows:
- A. No Penalty
- If no penalty is prescribed by law, and there is no occasion for him
to exercise his discretionary powers, he directs the players to proceed
with the auction or play.
- B. Penalty under Law
- If a case is clearly covered by a Law that specifies a penalty for
the irregularity, he assesses that penalty and sees that it is paid.
- C. Player's Option
- If a Law gives a player a choice among penalties, the Director explains
the options and sees that a penalty is selected and paid.
- D. Director's Option
- If the Law gives the Director a choice between a specified penalty
and the award of an adjusted score, he attempts to restore equity, resolving
any doubtful point in favour of the non-offending side.
- E. Discretionary Penalty
- If an irregularity has occurred for which no penalty is provided by
law, the Director awards an adjusted score if there is even a reasonable
possibility that the non-offending side was damaged, notifying the offending
side of its right to appeal (see Law 81C9).
LAW 85
- RULINGS ON DISPUTED FACTS 
When the Director is called upon to rule on a point of Law or regulation
in which the facts are not agreed upon, he shall proceed as follows:
- A. Director's Assessment
- If the Director is satisfied that he has ascertained the facts, he
rules as in Law 84.
- B. Facts Not Determined
- If the Director is unable to determine the facts to his satisfaction,
he shall make a ruling that will permit play to continue, and notify the
players of their right to appeal.
SECTION THREE
CORRECTION OF IRREGULARITIES
LAW 86
- IN TEAM PLAY 
- A. Average Score at IMP Play
- When the Director chooses to award an artificial adjusted score of
average plus or average minus in IMP play, that score is +3 IMPs or -3
IMPs respectively.
- B. Non-balancing Adjustments, Knockout Play
- When the Director assigns non-balancing adjusted scores (see Law 12C)
in knockout play, each contestant's score on the board is calculated separately.
The average of the two scores is then assigned to both contestants.
- C. Substitute Board
- The Director shall not exercise his Law 6
authority to order one board redealt when the final result of a match without
that board could be known to a contestant. Instead, he awards an adjusted
score.
LAW 87
- FOULED BOARD 
- A. Definition
- A board is considered to be "fouled" if the Director determines that
one or more cards were misplaced in the board, in such manner that contestants
who should have had a direct score comparison did not play the board in
identical form.
- B. Scoring the Fouled Board
- In scoring a fouled board the Director determines as closely as possible
which scores were made on the board in its correct form, and which in the
changed form. He divides the score on that basis into two groups, and rates
each group separately as provided in the regulations of the sponsoring
organisation.
In some forms of team contests, the sponsoring organisation may prescribe
a redeal (see Law 6)
SECTION FOUR
PENALTIES
LAW 88
- AWARD OF INDEMNITY POINTS 
In a pair or individual event, when a non-offending contestant is required
to take an artificial adjusted score through no fault or choice of his
own, such contestant shall be awarded a minimum of 60% of the matchpoints
available to him on that board, or the percentage of matchpoints he earned
on boards actually played during the session if that percentage was greater
than 60%.
LAW 89
- PENALTIES IN INDIVIDUAL EVENTS 
In individual events, the Director shall enforce the penalty provisions
of these Laws, and the provisions requiring the award of adjusted scores,
equally against both members of the offending side, even though only one
of them may be responsible for the irregularity. But the Director, in awarding
adjusted scores, shall not assess procedural penalty points against the
offender's partner, if, in the Director's opinion, he is in no way responsible
for the violation.
LAW 90
- PROCEDURAL PENALTIES 
- A. Director's Authority
- The Director, in addition to enforcing the penalty provisions of these
Laws, may also assess penalties for any offence that unduly delays or obstructs
the game, inconveniences other contestants, violates correct procedure,
or requires the award of an adjusted score at another table.
- B. Offences Subject to Penalty
- Offences subject to penalty include but are not limited to:
- 1. Tardiness
- arrival of a contestant after the specified starting time.
- 2. Slow Play
- unduly slow play by a contestant.
- 3. Loud Discussion
- discussion of the bidding, play, or result of a board, which may be
overheard at another table.
- 4. Comparing Scores
- unauthorised comparison of scores with another contestant.
- 5. Touching Another's Cards
- touching or handling of cards belonging to another player (Law 7).
- 6. Misplacing Cards in Board
- placing one or more cards in an incorrect pocket of the board.
- 7. Errors in Procedure
- errors in procedure (such as failure to count cards in one's hand,
playing the wrong board, etc.) that require an adjusted score for any contestant.
- 8. Failure to Comply
- failure to comply promptly with tournament regulations, or with any
instruction of the Director.
LAW 91
- PENALISE OR SUSPEND 
- A. Director's Power
- In performing his duty to maintain order and discipline, the Director
is specifically empowered to assess disciplinary penalties in points, or
to suspend a contestant for the current session or any part thereof (the
Director's decision under this clause is final).
- B. Right to Disqualify
- The Director is specifically empowered to disqualify a contestant for
cause, subject to approval by the Tournament Committee or sponsoring organisation.
Next: CHAPTER XI - Appeals Top of this Chapter Previous: CHAPTER IX - Tournament Sponsorship
Last modified: Fri Sep 26 21:27:37
1997