Managing Slow Play
At our various congresses we have a pair who are notoriously slow, often being a board behind everyone else at the end of a 7 or 8 board round.
I can (and do) take a board off them, but that can be unfair to whoever they're playing.
I can of course award 60/40, but I need evidence that one side is at fault, and "it's always you" doesn't really count. If I instead award 50/50, their opponents will often (quite rightly) complain.
So I wondered if this would work as a condition of contest:
"Any pair consistently in the last 5% to finish a round will be deemed to be at fault if a board is taken away in any round through slow play, unless the Director determines otherwise."
Thoughts?
Comments
Even without a regulation/condition of contest, you can use the evidence from one round to decide that they are wholly at fault for running out of time in subsequent rounds.
Really?
That makes things easier!
If a table finishes late, I note down the two pair numbers - and if I have to take a board away at the next round then I award 60-40 against the slow pair from the previous round. If the same pair is late for a third time then I issue a pp for slow play.
I have a similar situation at Durham Bridge club with a very slow pair. My solution is to put back the "Don't start any more boards" to five minutes (the default is three). Preventing the round from dragging on speeds things up a lot - and players now understand a little bit more about time pressure.
_> @JeremyChild said:
Is this 60/40 rule aimed at penalising a pair for slow play on one board or for slow play on every board in the event . . . . when this penalty is awarded is it on that one particular baord or for every borad they played in that competitiom?
In my expereince slow players are slow on every board some more than others - I have a pair who are very slow on EVERY board, my objective is to make them play quicker - do the rules suggest that the correct way forward in thses circumstances is to impose a 60/40 penalty on their overall score for the event / every baord in palyed in the event?
60/40 is not a penalty - it's a score for an unplayed board based on responsibility for it not having been played. You can give a penalty in addition if you think a pair is regularly slow, but this is rarely done and I don't think should be without warning(s).
Thanks Gordon . . . . I have no intentions to do anything other than 'persuade' them to play quicker (nothwithstanding that so far my pursuasion has failed). I often stop them playing tha last board and I 'average' that board for no good reason other than I don't know what is the fairest way of scoring it as every option has an argumemnt against it.
All that said - - you speak of warnings, which implies that after warnings there are some sanctions / penatlies - are there / what are they?