If you’ve ever wondered how the ACBL bridge administration world is put together, here’s an attempt to satisfy your curiosity.

Members

Individual people are members of the ACBL.

Clubs

At the local level, ACBL members play in clubs. Clubs are sanctioned by the ACBL. In most cases, they are privately owned and operated. Games at clubs are also sanctioned by the ACBL (with a very few exceptions). This means that clubs can award ACBL masterpoints for placing in a club game.

Many clubs are open to the public – you don’t have to be a member of the club or of the ACBL to play. If you are in doubt, contact the club owner.

Units

Clubs are organized into Units.

The job of Unit 361 (Denver area) is to promote the game of bridge, to support local clubs, educators, and members, and to organize tournaments.

Unit 361 hosts four open sectionals, two Intermediate/Novice (I/N) sectionals, and one regional a year (co-hosted by District 17). Other events may be added, such as the Front Range Challenge. Each tournament is sanctioned by the ACBL. Unit 361 also publishes Table Talk.

Units are governed by the Unit Board of Directors (BoD), who perform their duties in accordance with the unit bylaws. Our unit bylaws are available on the unit website (click here).

The Unit 361 BoD is elected by the members of the unit at the November sectional. There are ten board members. Each board member is elected for a two-year term. Terms are staggered, so there are five openings every year.

If you want to be on the Unit 361 board, just talk to a current board member and express your interest. Click here for the current board.

Districts

Units are organized into districts. Unit 361 is a member of District 17. The job of District 17 is to organize regional tournaments in cooperation with local units, and to coordinate other regional events such as GNTs and NAPs. District 17 offers seven or eight regional tournaments a year. All regionals are sanctioned by the ACBL.

Districts are governed by the District BoD. District 17 has ten board members, elected by the unit boards for three-year terms. Terms are staggered so that only three or four members are elected every year. Click here for more information about District 17, including current incumbents and bylaws.

The District 17 board holds three meetings a year, typically at district regionals.

The District 17 publication is Bridge Buzz.

Regions

Districts are organized into regions. The only function of a region is to elect a representative to the ACBL Board of Directors. Boards of the units in the region vote, and the votes are weighted according to the unit’s membership.

District 17 is part of Region 10. At this time, there are no other districts in Region 10.

ACBL Board of Directors

The ACBL BoD elects the ACBL President and is responsible, in general, for the activities of the ACBL to promote and maintain bridge. The ACBL BoD consists of one representative from each Region. These representatives are elected by the BoDs of the member Districts of the Region, for a three-year term.

The ACBL BoD holds three meetings a year, and may hold special meetings.

If you are interested in being a national representative from Region 10, read the ACBL bylaws and submit a written declaration of intent to the ACBL Director of Elections.

Advisory Council (Board of Governors)

The purpose of the Advisory Council (AC, formerly called the Board of Governors, or BoG) is to act as a liaison between the ACBL BoD and the membership, to serve as a forum for the expression of opinions, to facilitate communication among the various organizations, and to comment upon actions of the ACBL BoD.

Each District elects three members and two alternates to the AC. In addition, all past presidents of the ACBL and all past chairs of the BoG are members of the AC, as long as they are not concurrently serving on the ACBL BoD.

If you want to be on the AC, read the ACBL bylaws and submit a written declaration of intent to the ACBL Director of Elections.