[blackshoe]

From the USBF's Bylaws:

Quote

Regular Membership. A Regular Member of the USBF shall receive all publications and
notices of the organization, shall be entitled to represent the United States of America ("USA") in
events not requiring qualification through a trials, shall be on the organization membership rolls,
but shall not pay dues, shall not be entitled to vote for members of the Board of Directors or hold
office in the USBF and shall not be entitled to compete in USBF trials to qualify to represent the
United States in international competition. A Regular Member may be qualified as follows:
1. A person who is a citizen of the USA and who is a member in good
standing of the American Contract Bridge League ("ACBL") or the
American Bridge Association ("ABA") and not under probation for ninety
(90) days or more or under expulsion or suspension by either is
automatically a member in the United States Bridge Federation;
2. A person who is a citizen of the USA and who is a member in good
standing of an amateur bridge organization which is certified by the USBF
Board of Directors as an organization described in Article IV, Section
4©(a) of the constitution of the USOC; and not under probation for
ninety (90) days or more or under expulsion or suspension of such
organization or the ACBL or ABA; or
3. A person who is a citizen of the USA who is interested in the game of
bridge and in its international competition and who has not been expelled
from the ACBL or ABA or any organization under paragraph II.A.2.
above.

Note that all ACBL members in good standing who are US citizens and not under probation, expulsion or suspension are automatically regular members of the USBF and entitled to receive all publications of the USBF. Hm. Must be there aren't any publications or notices, since I haven't received any.

An active member is basically a regular member who pays dues. Active members can be on the BoD, play in trials to select teams to represent the US, and a couple other things.

Hm. Apparently the people who win the trials are representatives of the US, at least according to the USBF Bylaws.

[kenrexford]

It is also the case that a non-citizen may be a member of the USBF and represent the United States in WBF competitions.

This would be interesting. Suppose that a Russian citizen were to become a resident of the United States, join the USBF, compete in international competition, and then state a position on behalf of the citizens of the United States that opposes the policy of the United States, all while in a country that is also opposed to U.S. policy but that is aligned with Russia? That would not be so good, eh?

Or, what if a citizen of a country like Pakistan were to join the USBF to represent the United States in international competition in, say, Turkey and then used the platform to speak out, on behalf of all U.S. citizens, opposing one side or the other in the current problems in Pakistan, regardless of U.S. foreign policy or the opinion of the American people?

Now, these are simply hypotheticals. However, because the USBF selects teams to represent the U.S.A. but can draw from members who are not citizens of the U.S.A., it seems that these rules of theirs (ours) make sense and that they are rather more important than suggested. I'd hate to see, for instance, street riots cause because of the hypothetical Pakistani-Turkey incident.

Now, some folks support people like Congressmen and Senators going to other countries to tell them how much the U.S.A. sucks. They may have little problem hiring foreign nationals to do that for them.

[uday]

http://forums.bridge...showtopic=22345

[Elianna]

Maybe the important phrase is "A Regular Member may be qualified as follows:", meaning that they're qualified to be a regular member, not automatically made one? (In case it's not clear, I DO mean it as a question, not as a sarcastic remark.)

[blackshoe]

I did not start this thread to provide another place for folks to start flame wars. I started it because it seemed to me there were misunderstandings about who the members of the USBF are, and what the USBF is intended to do.

I think the "may be qualified" phrase simply means that what follows is a list of the ways in which someone might qualify. Given "automatically" in the first such way, I don't think there's anyone in that category who could be considered not to be a member of the USBF, whether or not he (or she) asked to be.

I did not post the section regarding how Active Members are qualified (it is there, I believe, that Hrothgar's reference to non-citizens leads). If we're going to discuss that, perhaps someone should post that section of the Bylaws. There are, btw, also "Athlete Members".

[mrdct]

Blackshoe didn't point out that amongst the "couple other things" that active members can do that regular members can't do is to vote. Accordingly, regular membership is pretty much irrellevant.

I believe that the USBF only has about 250 active members, generally limited to the people who contest the trials.

If regular members (the rank and file USA-domiciled ACBL members) really want to have greater influence on the USBF, cough up some cash and you're in.

As I've said in another thread, I find the way bridge is organised in North America quite bizaare.

[blackshoe]

mrdct, on Nov 17 2007, 06:43 PM, said:

As I've said in another thread, I find the way bridge is organised in North America quite bizaare.

I don't disagree with that.