What is Contract Bridge Forum?

The Forum is the information vehicle of the Western Conference, Now in its 79th year and stable, the paper is published as a monthly 12-page tabloid (occasionally 16 pages) in three different editions with approximately half of each edition devoted to Western Conference news, ads and tournaments, the other half devoted to news and views of each individual district.

You can view all three editions of the Forum as well as links to each district on our web site at ContractBridgeForum.com

Is the Forum an ACBL publication?

No. It is solely supported by the three,  member districts of the Western Conference. We purchase our mailing list from ACBL consisting of their paid up members of our three districts.

The paper has three editions with one publisher, Ken Monzingo of San Diego, and three separate district editors - one for each district. Currently the three district editors are Jared Johnson, Littleton, Colo., District 17; Rich Luttrell, Rio Linda, Calif., District 21; and Joel Hoersch, San Diego, Calif., District 22.

What is the difference between ACBL and the Western Conference?

American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is the 166,000 member association we all belong to, made up of 25 geographical districts in the US. The Western Conference is an association of three western districts of these 25 ACBL districts - Districts 17, 21, and 22. District 17 includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Nevada, southern Wyoming,  and El Paso, Tex. District 21 is the bay area of central California including Sacramento south to Modesto. District 22 is the southern half of California and surrounds Los Angeles County (which is District 23, not in the conference).

The conference has a total membership of about 24,000 (19,500 households) across the three member districts.

What’s is the purpose of the Western Conference?

Primarily concerns are supporting WC regionals and to publish the Contract Bridge Forum which reports activities of all Western Conference regional tournaments and activities.

The three district papers also report unit news, elections, rank advancements, sectional ads, NAOP/GNT activities, etc.

The Conference, through the newspaper, sponsors three major tournaments a year - the Great Western Spring STAC, the summer WC Swiss STAC, and the December Great Western Holiday STAC. All are very successful, with the winter STAC (7500 tables) being easily the largest sectional tournament in the country.

Exchange of ideas and knowledge, and cooperation to avoid conflict of scheduling WC tournaments are other conference board functions.

Who governs the Western Conference?

Who pays for the paper?

All three different Forums are published simultaneously from one office. The postage (second class), printing, and production are combined into one operation sharing the overhead costs and making producing the paper financially possible.

Operating expenses for the paper comes from four major sources: Western Conference regional STAC table sanctions, regional ads (at half price rates), outside advertisers, and, in addition, each WC district is charged a fee for each page of editorial  copy submitted.

How much does it cost?

We publish, print, label and mail about 225,000 newspapers a year at a gross cost of about $165,000. That breaks down to about 70 cents each, a great bargain (postage alone costs that much just to mail a tthree-ounce letter). The net cost is considerably less since we collect a fair amount of income from regional and outside ads, plus revenue from the three STACs mentioned above.

Sectional ad revenue does not go to the conference, but is sent directly to the district’s treasurers.

How are we doing?

At last count (2005), Western Conference regionals are 34% larger than the national average of 1380 tables. The future looks  brighter with almost all of our regionals showing great growth while the league does not - a recent Ruidoso, New Mex. (pop. 5000) regional was 1500+ tables (larger than New York, Chicago or Los Angeles tournaments). Palm Springs, San Diego, Colorado Springs and Sacramento were all up more than 300 tables each this year!

Our three Western Conference STACs produce good revenue and are growing fast with new associate districts adding to the huge table count, however league table sanctions take a huge share of it. But the main financial windfall is the increased attendance at our tournaments and clubs due to constant advertising, promotional articles and results-posting, along with regional winner and Life Master photos.

Who benefits most from the Forum?

Wow! . . . many . . . all of us. Foremost are the Western Conference regionals. The Forum provides total coverage (before and after) of each WC regional tournament with two, half-page ads each in the paper at a rate we can afford (test out the staggering ad rates in the ACBL Bulletin!)

Tournament publicity stories are generally put on page one. Regional results are listed inside along with winner photos; something the ACBL Bulletin does not do.

How about Clubs & Units?

The Forum offers a very affordable venue for the 100 units in the WC, small and large, to promote their clubs, players, and special events. Through unit reports, local clubs can list their unit/club officers, club championships, membership games, new Life Masters and rank advancements, memoriams, annual Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney winners, and new member welcomes. A truly valuable tool in keeping a constant flow of communication between club and patron.

Clubs also reap a nice harvest from increased attendance during the WC STACs.

For about $100 a unit can advertise their sectional tournaments to thousands of bridge players reading their district paper.

What Communication?

The front page has articles from your district president on the state of your district, or the national board member on the state of the league, or your GNT and NAOP coordinator lists dates/times and your Forum editor submits general district information.

Without the Forum all this goes away.

With the newspaper, columnists can report to their entire membership the states of their districts, the elections of district officers, announce when their boards meet, and even list the board agenda and motions passed or defeated. Editorials help. The national board representatives can keep us right up to date on the state of the ACBL and the league effect on our districts.

Are the North American Championships a Conference function?

Where would we be without the Western Conference?

At the mercy of the league, its national publications and scheduling policies.

Where would we be without the Forum?

  Dark. Very dark.