1st WBF Youth Teams Online Championships (March – July, 2018)

Lausanne, 12 th February 2018 We are very pleased to invite you to participate in this new exciting, fun and challenging WBF competition for Youth which will be held on BBO site (Bridge Base Online).

1st WBF YOUTH TEAMS ONLINE CHAMPIONSHIPS (March – July, 2018)

Entries to the Championships must be submitted by email no later than 7th March 2018, to Gilad Ofir – WBF Youth bridge development coordinator Gilad.ofir@worldbridgefed.com it is very important that this deadline is respected. A. Format of the Championship 1. The Championship consists of two Series: Juniors (U26) and Kids (U16). 2. Both series will be played as a swiss tournament each with a 7-round qualification stage. 3. At the end of the qualification stage, the leading 8 teams in each series will qualify for the knock-out stages. B. Timetable • End of registration – Wednesday 7th March. • Start of the first round of the qualification stage – Sunday,18th March. • Detailed match schedule – Appendix A. • End of tournament – 31th July. C. Right to enter 1. Every NBO in good standing can register one team for each Series. 2. Each team must include between four and eight players and a Non-playing captain. 3. Registered Coach is optional. 4. New players cannot be added after the tournament has started. Each participating member NBO must play against all other participating member NBOs. Entry and subsequent refusal to play will result in disqualification. Each player in the Junior Series must have been born on or after 1st January 1993 and those in the Kids Series must have been born on or after 1st January 2003. D. Entry Fees There are NO Entry fees for either Series. E. Registration of Teams Entries to the Championships must be submitted by email no later than 7th March 2018, to Gilad Ofir – WBF Youth bridge development coordinator Gilad.ofir@worldbridgefed.com it is very important that this deadline is respected F. Players Details Registration of players, non-playing captains and coaches must be done in the entryemail. Changes to those details may be made no later than 18 th March 2018 (via Email). Details required: Each NBO must supply the following details for each team member Including captainand coach: ▪ Given (first) Name and Family Name (surname) ▪ Nationality ▪ Date of Birth ▪ Email address ▪ BBO Nickname ▪ Link to Facebook Profile (if available) ▪ Passport Photo G. Format 1. The specific Format of the contest will be determined after the registration ends depending on the number of entered teams. 2. There will be either one or more groups which will play in Swiss format. 3. There will be knockout stages of Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final. 4. No kibitzers are allowed (Except the captains/coaches) in the qualification stage. H. Match Arrangements 1. Arranging the individual Matches: When the draw is published, the captains of the teams drawn against each other will set the match date and time, and will email the organiser –Gilad.ofir@worldbridgefed.com to give him the exact details (Date and Time). In each match there will be Registered Captain / Coach in each table. The captain will kibitz the table with his team pair sitting N-S. All matches should be played using computers, not mobile (cell) Phones The results during the playing time will be hidden, using the relevant BBO feature. Every round must be played during the specified period detailed in Appendix A. Both captains will report the final result together with the BBO link to gilad.ofir@worldbridgefed.com after the end of the match and no later than 10 a.m. on the last Thursday of the relevant period for that round. Knock-out stages segments should be played in a row. The pairs playing could be changes between each segment. 2. Number of boards. o Qualification Stage: One segment of 14 Boards. o Quarterfinal: 2 segments of 14 boards. o Semifinal: 3 segments of 14 boards. o Final: 4 Segments of 14 boards. 3. Playing Zone: BBO. 4. Skype. Cameras (Laptop or external) will be used to increase the “secure environment” in the Semi-finals and Final stage. N-E and S-W will share skype video screen through the match. 5. Results will be published at http://youth.worldbridge.org/ I. Rules & Regulations – Systems Policy The Rules & Regulations, including the Disciplinary Code, will be published, together with the Systems Policy, on the WBF youth website at http://youth.worldbridge.org/ J. Fair Play Policy 1. Every team must finish the tournament even if they have no chance of winning. 2. Zero Tolerance – Using the BBO “checking results probability” system. 3. Every contravention of the rules will be handled under the WBF Regulations. K. Medals Medals will be awarded for the winning and second-placed team. L. Further Information Further detailed information will be sent with a successive Information Letter to the Federations of the qualified teams as soon as their entries have been sent in accordance with the details above. Being sure of your support and cooperation and thanking you in advance, Yours sincerely. Gilad Ofir Youth bridge development coordinator Championship Schedule – Appendix A First round Schedule will be published on: 11/3/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: up to 16/3/18 Round 1: 18/3/18 – 27/3/18 Second round Schedule will be published on: 28/3/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: up to 31/3/18 Round 2: 1/4/18 – 10/4/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 11/4/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 14/4/18 Round 3: 15/4/18 – 24/4/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 25/4/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 28/4/18 Round 4: 29/4/18 – 8/5/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 9/5/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 12/5/18 Round 5: 13/5/18 – 22/5/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 23/5/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 26/5/18 Round 6: 27/5/18 – 5/6/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 6/6/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 9/6/18 Round 7: 10/6/18 – 19/6/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 20/6/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 23/6/18 Quarter-final: 24/6/18 – 3/7/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 4/7/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 7/7/18 Semi-final: 8/7/18 – 17/7/18 Next round Schedule will be published on: 18/7/18 Captains to inform organiser of their match date and time: 21/7/18 Final: 22/7/18 – 31/7/18