2022 JLall Online Teams #5
The fifth USBF JLall Online Teams event (JLall5) will be held from January 14-17 and 21-24 on RealBridge. It will be very similar to the 2021 JLall events.
Jlall5 is open to all Active USBF members. An Active member is one who has paid USBF dues. All players must have paid 2022 dues on or before January 10, 2022.
Event Schedule and Format
Although entries closed on December 24th, with 29 teams entered, we accepted 3 more entries to have 32 teams and a better Round Robin format.
•JLall5 will be held from January 14-17 and 21-24.
• Play each day will start at noon EST and end at about 8:30 pm EST. We are starting earlier based on player requests.
• There will be no more than 32 teams, each with 4-6 players.
• The entry fee for the event is $400 per team.
• DIC for the event is McKenzie Myers. Tournament Organizer is Jan Martel. Software guru is Al Hollander. Vugraph Organizer is Chris Wiegand, who will again organize voice commentary for the KO stages. RealBridge may also have some new kibitzing enhancements in place by January.
• The event format will be:
Round Robin Stage 1, January 14-16:
Everyone plays 3 days of a “split field” Round Robin with 10 board matches; there are two Round Robin groups, named by the winners of JLall4 in honor of Justin's sister Jessica: Mayor JLall (Jessica is running for Mayor of Los Angeles), and CEO JLall (Jessica is currently a CEO). Teams will be assigned to the two groups based on a "draft" by the top two teams (chosen by a vote of all teams).
If there are 29 teams in the event, one group will have 14 teams and the other group will have 15 teams. The teams in the 14 team group will play 13 matches, 4 on 1/14 and 1/15, 5 on 1/16. The teams in the 15 team group will each play 14 matches and will have one sit out round. Those teams will play 5 matches a day, except when they have their sit out. The top 5 teams in each group will qualify for the KO Round of 16. The five teams ranked 6-10 in each group (“bubble teams”) will play in Stage 2 of the Round Robin. The remaining teams in each group will be eliminated.
Round Robin Stage 2, January 17th:
Each bubble team plays a 10 board match against each bubble team from the other group, scored at VPs with carryover from the first 3 days. The top 6 teams qualify for the Round of 16. The bottom 4 teams are eliminated.
Knockouts, January 21-24:
• One match per day. 56 boards per match.
• There will be a short Captains' meeting on January 18th to set the KO bracket. The precise method of setting the bracket is set forth in the Special Conditions of Contest. Summary: the top 4 teams from Round Robin Stage 1 will select their opponents for the Round of 16 from the bottom 8 qualifiers. The remaining qualifiers will be shuffled in groups to fill the bracket.
• The matches will be played on RealBridge. During the bidding & play, each player will see & hear their screenmate - (N&E, S&W). Before and after each match, teammates will be seated at one table, and RealBridge is working on a way to allow the players who were sitting out to join you (players who sat out will be able to see & hear their teammates and be heard but not seen).
• There will be no real-time online kibitzing allowed for any match. Kibitzers will be able to watch after a delay. For the Round Robin, the delay will be until each match is over so kibitzing does not provide “state of the match” information. For the first half of each KO match, kibitzing will start half an hour after play starts, and each board will be shown no sooner than when all tables have finished playing it. For the second half of each KO match, kibitzing will start at the end of the segment. We will try to have voice commentary, and perhaps may limit chat at the tables late in the event to approved commentators.
• RealBridge will archive bidding, play & score information for the event. We will also post scores on this website.
• Players may consult their bidding notes, SSF, and convention card during the bidding only. Other aids to memory (for example, lists of percentages, calculators, notes about carding) are not allowed.
• Play Requirements for teams that qualify after the first 3 days of play: if there are 32 teams (15 matches) each player must have played 7 of the 15 matches.
• Play Requirements for teams that qualify after the fourth day of play: each player must have played 50% of the boards played over all 4 days, rounded down if there are an odd number of boards.
How to Enter
There were 29 teams entered when entries closed on 12/24. Entries will remain open until January 3, 2022 or when there are a total of 30 or 32 teams entered. The first team to enter before 1/3 will be accepted; the second team to enter will be accepted only if a third team enters. You must be logged in to this website to enter. After you have logged in, click on "Enter 2022 JLall5" under the User Menu and complete the entry form. Your entry will not be complete until you pay the entry fee. You can pay the entry fee by credit card by logging in to this site and clicking on "Pay Entry Fee" under the User Menu.
• Your entry is not complete until you have 4 players. You cannot "save" a place in the event by entering a team with fewer than 4 players.
• Any player who has not paid 2022 USBF dues by January 10 will not be allowed to play.
• Teams can freely change their rosters until January 7th, when the division of teams into Round Robin groups will start. After January 7th, a team may change its roster only if the change does not substantially strengthen or weaken the team. Roster changes are made by
System Regulations & Conditions of Contest
• Normal USBF System regulations apply to this event - each pair must complete a USBF System Summary Form online and file an ACBL convention card no later than Dec 31st. To complete the SSF, log in and click on CREATE OR EDIT SSF under the User Menu. Follow instructions and you should be able to create a completely new SSF for this event or copy and edit a prior one. When you have finished filling out the SSF or making changes you must click on submit at the top or bottom of the page to save the changes - otherwise all of your hard work will be lost in cyberspace. To file the ACBL convention card, copy the URL for a BridgeWinners convention card, and
• This event is governed by the 2022 USBF General Conditions of Contest and Special Conditions of Contest for the event.
• ACBL Open+ Convention Chart applies to this event.
Ethics Statement
The provisions of the USBF General Conditions of Contest regarding ethical obligations and possible penalties apply to this event. The USBF has appointed an Ethics Investigation Committee that will review any complaints about ethics violations. If the EIC concludes that a player or pair was acting unethically, they will report to the USBF COO, who may refer it to the USBF Recorder. Either the COO or Recorder may bring a Charge against the player to the Board of Directors, who may place a player on probation, suspend, or expel a player for cause.