[blml] By the pricking of my thumbs [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[richard.hills at immi.gov.au]

Peter Eidt:

>BTW: don't you use written bidding down under ?

Richard Hills:

By The Way bidding boxes were introduced this year
for the Aussie Summer Festival of Bridge.  Bidding
boxes have also been introduced into major bridge
clubs such as the New South Wales Bridge Association
and the Canberra Bridge Club.

I suspect that the increasing popularity of bidding
boxes in Australia may be linked to the success of
Al Gore's ecological documentary "An Inconvenient
Truth" in Aussie cinemas, since written bidding
creates huge amounts of waste paper, so has a bigger
"environmental footprint" than bidding boxes.

Yesterday I attended the annual teams congress of
the smallish Illawarra Bridge Association in
Wollongong.  I was impressed that they too have
adopted bidding boxes.  (By The Way my team fell
over the line, winning first place by just 1 VP).

There was one ruling at the IBA Teams which might be
of interest to blml.

Halfway through the play of a hand I (correctly)
conceded two tricks to the opponents and claimed the
rest as sure winners.  Not being used to such an
early claim the opponents requested that I play on.

Was my early claim an "annoyance" infraction of Law
74A2?  Or is an action specifically allowed by Law,
such as a claim which is compliant with Law 70C,
never deemed to "interfere with the enjoyment of the
game"?

The TD happened to be nearby collecting boards when
the opponents suggested that play continue after the
claim, and he immediately informed the table that
play after a claim was not permitted.  He then
adjudicated my claim.  Law 81C6 permits the TD to
"rectify" an irregularity, but is he permitted to
_prevent_ the irregularity of playing on after a
claim?  Or was the TD's intervention permitted by
the broader and more general Law 82A power "maintain
the progress of the game"?


Best wishes

Richard James Hills, amicus curiae
National Training Branch, DIAC
02 6225 6285

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