Unit 430 Subsidy Policy

Following is the current text of the Unit Subsidy Policy, last updated in 2004.

UNIT 430 SUBSIDY POLICY (FINAL 2004)

The Unit passed a revised subsidy policy in December 1994, further revised in April 2001 and passed by the Board.  This document contains a few changes from the April 2001 version, which were approved by the Board and passed at the August 5, 2004 Board meeting, with retroactive effect to July 15, 2004.

1. Unit 430 will establish a general subsidy fund and event subsidy funds for each of the North American Open Pairs Championship (NAOP), the Grand National Teams Championship (GNT), the Canadian Open Pairs Championship (COPC), the Canadian National Team Championship (CNTC) and the Canadian Women’s Team Championship (CWTC).
2. After July 15 of each year, after the Unit finances from the previous year are finalized, the general subsidy fund will be credited with:
1. the net proceeds of the prior year's IMP League,
2. the net proceeds from the prior fiscal year's sale of Entertainment Books, and
3. any amounts donated to or raised specifically for the general subsidy fund, including 50-50 draws at Sectional tournaments and donations which the Unit Board may elect to make, usually following fiscal years in which the Unit makes a profit.
3. Each event’s subsidy funds will be credited with:
1. the net surplus from the Unit stage of the relevant event when this amount is finalized,
2. any funds received from the Canadian Bridge Federation, the American Contract Bridge League or others specifically to be used as subsidies for the relevant event immediately upon receipt,
3. any funds raised specifically for the relevant event once transferred to Unit 430.
4. On August 1 of each year, the Unit Treasurer will redistribute the money in the subsidy funds as follows:
1. for each of the five event subsidy funds (the GNT, COPC, CNTC, CWTC, and NAP), the Unit Treasurer shall check to see if a subsidy was paid to at least one Unit 430 member during the previous fiscal year,
2. in all events where no subsidy was paid out during the previous fiscal year, 75% of the balance in that event’s subsidy fund shall be returned to the general subsidy fund, and
3. the total amount in the general subsidy fund shall be allocated to the five events as follows: GNT 15%; COPC 15%; CNTC 30%; CWTC 30%; NAP 10%.
5. Funds in the NAP Subsidy Fund shall be distributed as follows:
1. in payment of net losses from the Unit Final stage of the NAP should such losses occur, immediately once the net losses incurred by running the event are known,
2. to subsidize Unit 430 players invited without full ACBL subsidy to the National Final.
6. Subsidies paid to players from the event funds shall be paid in accordance with the following guidelines:
1. In no case will subsidies paid out exceed the balance of the event fund for the event for which they are paid.  In no case will a subsidy for an event of the previous fiscal year be paid if applied for after July 15.
2. Transportation will be reimbursed at the lower of the actual amount paid and an amount which would permit direct travel to the tournament site by the least expensive reasonable air flights.
3. Hotel accommodation will be reimbursed at the lower of the actual amount paid and one more night than the scheduled length of the event at one half the double room rate at the least expensive host hotel.
4. Subsidy funds shall not be used to pay entry fees, which are the responsibility of the players concerned.
5. The treasurer may advance up to 80 percent of the estimated subsidy prior to the event.  The balance, including any GST recovery resulting from the receipts submitted, will be paid on submission of receipts to the treasurer not later than thirty days after the end of an event or July 15, whichever comes first. At the discretion of the treasurer, individual player subsidies of less than $200 may be paid in full in advance, but the submission of receipts to the treasurer must still be made in accordance with the preceding sentence.
6. To be eligible for a subsidy, a player must be a member of Unit 430 at the commencement of the last qualification stage of the event prior to the final.  No player whose ACBL membership is not paid up (including Life Master Service Fees), or, for CBF events, whose CBF dues are not fully paid up, at the commencement of the last qualification stage of the event prior to the final, shall be eligible for any subsidy.  The responsibility for establishing membership in Unit 430, or establishing that dues are paid, rests with the players involved.
7. Players added to qualified teams shall be eligible to receive subsidies even if they did not play for the team at the time of qualification.  Substitutes in events are not eligible for subsidies.
7. Those eligible to receive subsidies shall be determined by the following rules:
1. NAP subsidies are limited to paragraph 4 b) above.
2. If the District representative team in the finals of any flight of the GNT consists of one or more players from Unit 430, funds shall be allocated as follows:
1. if possible the costs of travel and hotel for all qualified players will be paid,
2. if there are insufficient funds to cover all costs and only one team representing District 19 contains players from Unit 430, available funds shall be split equally among such players,
3. if there are insufficient funds to cover all costs, and there are players on multiple teams from Unit 430, the funds shall first be split between the teams proportionately according to the number of players from Unit 430 on each team (such figure not to exceed four for any team) and then split equally among the eligible members of each team.
3. Players from Unit 430 eligible to play in the National Final of the COPC shall be ranked according to their placing in the highest level of the event below the National Final.
1. The first priority shall be to pay the travel and hotel costs for eligible members of the highest ranking pair to contain one or both players from Unit 430.
2. The second and third priority, to the extent that funds permit, will be to pay travel and hotel costs for eligible members of the second and third highest ranking pairs, respectively, that contain one or both players from Unit 430.
4. Players from CBF Zone 6 eligible to play in the National Final of Flight A of the CNTC shall be ranked according to their placing in the highest level of the event below the National Final.
1. The first priority shall be to pay the travel and hotel costs for eligible members of the highest ranking team which participates in the highest level of the event below the National Final, should this team contain one or more players from Unit 430.
2. Remaining funds shall be used to pay the travel and hotel costs for:
1. eligible members of the second highest ranking team which participates in the highest level of the event below the National Final, should this team contain one or more players from Unit 430, and
2. eligible members of the top team in the CNTC Flight B Zone Final winners, as long as the Flight B Zone Final has at least six teams competing and the winning team contains members of Unit 430.  All players eligible for subsidy under this paragraph will split the remaining funds equally.
5. Players from Zone 6 eligible to play in the National Final of the CWTC shall be ranked according to their placing in the highest level of the event below the National Final.
1. The first priority shall be to pay the travel and hotel costs for eligible members of the highest ranking team from Zone 6 which participates in the CWTC finals, should this team contain one or more players from Unit 430.
2. The second priority shall be to pay the travel and hotel costs for eligible members of the second highest ranking team from Zone 6 which participates in the CWTC finals, should this team contain one or more players from Unit 430.
8. In the event of a dispute about the interpretation of these rules, the Unit Board’s decision is final.