Assigning missing pairs
Apologies if this should be under a different forum but it is an issue which has arisen for the TDs in our club.
Since recently adopting Ebuscore we have noticed we have a tendency to always assign the missing pair as being one that sits stationary North-South.
Looking back at our pre-Ebuscore records, I find we previously had the missing pair more often as a N-S pair rather than E-S but not as much as we do currently.
This has felt convenient as it often helps members to know the table where the sit-out will occur if the missing N-S is stationary.
(Of course, with some movements an initially N-S missing pair will move.)
However, given we have a number of tables where for mobility reasons we have some pairs who always sit North-South are we in some way disadvantaging these players?
They seem to have more sit-outs than E-W pairs, but does this impact adversely on their ability to potentially earn masterpoints or improve their NGS.
Would it be better practise to alternate the missing pair (if there is one) as N-S one week and E-W the next?
We seem to have a half table on about 40% of sessions.
Comments
You say "we have a tendency to always assign the missing pair as being one that sits stationary North-South" and also "They seem to have more sit-outs than E-W pairs". This is a contradiction.
A club I used to run had the policy of making the missing pair EW whenever possible, so that the people who missed out a round where those who had chosen the convenience of sitting NS and not moving.
Yes, you are exactly right, I have contradicted myself, I shouldn't post so late at night.
In fact, what we have been doing is as you describe above, "making the missing pair EW whenever possible"; our motivation is that we have a regular requirement for a large proportion of stationary N-S pairs and making the missing pair E-W often increases our flexibility.
I think the grievance felt by one of our "regular stationary" N-S pairs arises because they feel they MUST sit N-S due to mobility issues rather than strictly "choosing" N-S. This is partly true. Naturally we do not compel them to sit N-S, but quite reasonably they would prefer not to move and we always attempt to accommodate them. We have at least three/four regular pairs for whom we try to reduce the need for moving , however there is only one pair who care about whether they sit out more often or not. It is in relation to this pair where we wish to be sure we are treating them fairly.
(I play at a different club with no mobility issues where we often have the luxury of assigning a missing pair as a stationary N-S and members enjoy the forewarning of their tea break. I have confused this club with my club experiencing the issue above.)
Hmm. I suppose they might have a point that they're sitting out more than the other pairs and might not like that. Some pairs might be content to get a break in the session. If it's creating ill feeling maybe it would be best to alternate.
In terms of competitive advantage / otherwise, I don't think there's an issue, I suppose with some numbers it might mean there's less masterpoint awards in one direction. But also less pairs to compete with, certainly not a big problem.
I always make the missing pair North South as it means one fewer table to manage. I also find that if the missing pair is E/W, there is a temptation for N/S to look at the boards and potentially put the cards back in the wrong slots. They also talk about the hands so the next table is able to hear what they are saying.
.... does this impact adversely on their ability to potentially earn master points or improve their NGS.
It's not relevant to NGS, and the effect on Master Points is trivial.
My club (Sheffield) mostly uses Mitchell type movements and Three Quarter Howells. For some of these it is more convenient for a stationary pair to be the missing pair to avoid sharing of bards between tables, especially with 10.5 and 11.5 table Bowmans. For some balance, I therefore encourage my TDs to have a moving pair as the missing pair if the inconvenience is not significant, in order to give a reasonable share of who sits out.
Barrie Partridge - CTD for Bridge Club Live
When there is a half table for an odd number of tables, N/S at any table will sitout.
With smaller Howell type movements, if there is board sharing say with Tbls 1&2, then we avoid board sharing by having a missing pair at one of these tables.
The members don’t appear to object to this and the instructions are by the TDs table. It works well for us and appears quite balanced.
I usually aim for a missing pair to be N/S, again for similar reasons as above: players know when they will sit out and sometimes there is a share/ relay. Although for 12 tables I have played a skip Mitchell as the interwoven is a bit complicated for a club session (of below average ability) and I don't like sharing just two boards. I do, however, arrowswitch the boards for one or two rounds so that all players have the same matchpoints at stake. (It's funny but when I look at the hand records it always appears that the boards I missed are ones where our bidding system would have done well!)
With 10/11 I will play the (double) hesitation Mitchell in the software as this is an easy movement to describe. fewer than that I will play 3/4 Howells. We do have players with mobility issues (the number of walking sticks on the table is increasing - and a couple of weeks ago someone left without theirs), so ensure that the tables near the entrance are for stationary (N/S) pairs.
We have two other sessions - one is usually four or 5 tables, where we play a 3/4 Howell (6 rounds of 4 or 8 rounds of 3) fortunately there are always 2 stationary NS pairs in these movements (sharing) so we can ensure pairs with movement problems are OK. The other session has crept up to 8 tables: this is more for social players/ supervision - although we do have a monthly standard session. We play 18 boards so again a hesitation/ double hesitation Mitchell is perfect.
A couple of our players are pretty slow (they are in their 80s, although that is probably an average age these days, but to be honest I think they are actually speeding up rather than the opposite). I try and ensure that they don't move and that the next slowest pair is sitting in the same direction.