At its meeting on Sunday, Aug. 29th, the Board of Directors of the USBF made the following statement:
The USBF Board unanimously and strongly supports the teams and players who forfeited a match they considered morally impossible to play under the unique circumstances of the EBL Qualification event.
This Fall the USBF will conduct an election to fill 3 seats on its Board of Directors. The seats are for three-year terms commencing January 1, 2022.
Nominees must be Active USBF members, having paid the 2021 annual active or resident member dues of $50.
If you are interested in being nominated, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Chair of the Nominating Committee. We have also sought nominations through Bridge Winners, and the USBF Nominating Committee will meet and interview potential Board candidates. The Nominating Committee slate will be posted no later than November 1.
In addition to those candidates nominated by the nominating committee, candidates may be nominated by petition. Twenty-five or more Active or Resident Members of USBF may nominate an Active or Resident Member for a Board position. To file a petition nominating a candidate, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the name of the candidate and the names and email addresses of the people making the nomination on or before November 12, 2021. If there are no petition candidates, the candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee will either be elected without the need for an election (if there are only three nominees), or will be the entire slate of nominees for the election.
See the election timeline below for when things happen. Download the Election Procedures and Board Member Expectiations for more complete information about the election
Any Active USBF member interested in being on the ballot who has not been nominated by the Nominating Committee should go to About USBF and read the final paragraph on the page (Election Information), which directs you to the relevant documents.
| ACTION | Relation to BMD* | Date | Week Day |
| Nominating Committee reports to Elections Committee |
31 Days before BMD | 11/1/21 | Monday |
| Nominations Close | 30 Days before BMD | 11/2/21 | Tuesday |
| Last Day for Petition Candidates | 20 days before BMD | 11/12/21 | Friday |
| Eligible Voter List Posted on Web site** | 15 days before BMD | 11//17/21 | Wednesday |
| Last day to protest voter list** | 7 days before BMD | 11/25/21 | Thursday |
| Ballot Mailing Date (BMD)** | 12/2/21 | Thursday | |
| End of voting period** | 12/11/21 | Saturday | |
| Announce Results | 12/18/21 | Saturday | |
| Last Day for protest of election |
10 days after results announced |
* BMD = Ballot Mailing Date
** Necessary only if more candidates are nominated than there are positions open.
The rules about changing rosters for the 2021 Open, Mixed, and Senior USBCs are complicated by the fact that roster changes can take place either before the online stage of each event or after a team has qualified for the KO stage, but before play in the KO stage has started. To clarify, the USBF Board has decided that:
Until 2 days before play has commenced in any USBC, which may be before the online stage or the face to face stage, depending on the number of teams entered, teams may change their rosters with no restrictions, except that they must notify the USBF Secretary, any new pair on a team must submit a System Summary Form and ACBL Convention card within 4 days of being added, and a new pair may not employ any unusual bidding methods that no other pair in the event is using.
After completion of the online stage, if there is one, in any event, teams may change their roster subject to the following:
1. At least 4 players who met the play requirements for the qualifying stage(s) must remain on the team for the face to face stages. For the Mixed USBC, there must be 2 players of each gender.
2. The added player(s) must improve the team's performance at the table.
3. No added player played in an earlier stage of the event.
3. The team must notify the USBF Secretary, and the players must submit System Summary Forms and not add unusual bidding methods as they do when a change is made before the event starts.
At its meeting on July 27th, the USBF Board made some important decisions about the 2021 USBCs, based on current concerns about the spread of CoVid19:
1. All participants in the 2021 USBCs (players, NPCs, coaches, and staff) must submit proof of vaccination against CoVid19 to the USBF Secretary before play starts. Only players who have submitted that proof will be allowed to play either online or face to face. Volunteers and other attendees in Schaumburg must submit proof of vaccination before face to face play, and will not be allowed in the playing area or hospitality suite without having previously submited such proof.
After discussion, the Board decided that there would be no exceptions to the vaccination requirement.
2. Face to face play at the 2021 USBCs will be on tablets. There will be either 2 or 4 players in each playing room, depending on the situation when face to face play starts.
3. Less important for players, but perhaps important for others, kibitzers will not be allowed in the face to face playing rooms. All tables in play will be shown online, at an appropriate time after actual play takes place.