Jackie Zayac ACBL Board Summary

The ACBL Board of Directors Spring meetings were held in St. Louis, Missouri in February.  I understand that the weather was cold and rainy on some days, but the St. Louis arch was worth a visit and eating on “The Hill” was a must.  I attended the St. Louis Board meetings remotely, but I missed engaging in the many enlightening conversations that naturally occur with Board members outside of the Board meetings.

I have attached a copy of the St. Louis Board Report to this email.  Some of the highlights contained in the report are the following:

• The ACBL finished 2025 with a gain in net assets of $1,367,000.

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• The February 2026 membership total was 117,800 which continued the downward trend in membership when compared to the 124,000 members the ACBL had in February, 2025.  The ACBL continues to focus on identifying new programs which will increase either our membership or membership retention.  New membership and membership retention programs are critical to the future of our organization.  If you have any ideas to create membership growth or greater membership retention, please share them with me.

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• Since December, 2025, over 20,000 online players have been run through EDGAR and another 10,000 online players are being run now.  It is currently projected that all online players who played between 2020–2024 will have been screened by May, 2026.

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• The Tournament Task Force completed a Regional Tournament Planning Guide which is now being distributed to Districts and the Units that host regional tournaments for Districts.  If you are involved with regional tournament planning or are interested in becoming involved, please download a copy of the guide from the ACBL website at:  https://web2.acbl.org/documentLibrary/units/RegionalTournamentGuide.pdf.

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• The Governance Committee is continuing its efforts to streamline the Codification.  Work is currently being done on the Membership Chapter as well as updating the international content in the Codification.  The Bylaws amendment to allow the Advisory Council greater flexibility in establishing its committees will be published in the April Bridge Bulletin and presented to the Board for a second reading in Minneapolis.  It will then be given to the Advisory Council for final approval.

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• The financial contributions to the international bridge organizations and World Bridge Federation (WBF) dues have been restructured.  The ACBL will continue to pay the North American Bridge Federation (NABF) $50,100 from its operating funds.  Additionally, specific entry charges from North American Bridge Championship+ (NABC+) events will be remitted to the NABF to pay WBF dues.  The effective date is March 31, 2026.

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• The Board approved holding NABCs in Washington, DC in 2031 and 2035.

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• Several appointments to various committees are contained in the attached St. Louis Board Report.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact me at jackiezayac@gmail.com.  I am looking forward to attending the Summer Board Meeting and NABC in Minneapolis this summer.  I hope to see many of you there!

Happy Spring!

Jackie Z