Re: Stop Card (was WBF CoC comments solicited)

From: "Sven Pran"
> From: "Marvin L. French"
> .....
> Do you mean to say that a player may not dispute a ruling? As to not
> obeying an instruction of the TD, when an instruction is clearly
illegal
> I feel no obligation to obey it.
>
> To dispute a ruling by TD at the table is a violation of Law90B8 and
> will, I trust, by most Directors and Appeals Commitees be considered
> a grave violation and contempt of the director, even if it should turn
> out that the ruling was wrong.

The word "dispute" is not in L90B8. I do lots of disputing with TDs in
these parts, with the usual result that they change their initial
ruling. When they don't I am now trained by BLML to obey any legal
instruction, no matter how much I disagree with it. However, when a TD
says to back up the bidding a couple of rounds because of MI, I refuse
to obey. We don't have Svens and Davids and other such in my part of
ACBL-land, we have TDs who don't know the Laws and don't know ACBL
regulations (e.g., the Alert Procedure),

> I do as Director accept that a player asks for a clarification or
> explanation of my ruling, but I shall never accept a verbal objection
or
> a failure to comply forthwith (possibly after hearing my explanation).

This may be a cultural thing, as standing up to authority is routine
over here. The able TDs at our NABCs are usually quite receptive to an
objection, willing to consult with peers or the DIC on a legal or
regulatory point. They know that an incorrect ruling cannot be fixed by
an AC in many cases, and anyway they don't like to do appeal writeups.
They do a good job without being officiously overbearing, and are
usually ready to apologize when they have made a mistake.
>
> The correct procedure if the player feels that my ruling is wrong  is
to
> appeal that ruling in the prescribed way.

And I feel the correct procedure is to say, "Get help, please, I think
you have that wrong."

Marv
Marvin L. French
San Diego, California

_______________________________________________
blml mailing list
blml <at> rtflb.org
http://www.amsterdamned.org/mailman/listinfo/blml