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The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission "to promote, grow and sustain the game of bridge and serve the bridge-related interests of our Members." Its major activities are:

  • sanctioning games at local bridge clubs and regional events
  • certifying bridge teachers and club directors
  • conducting the North American Bridge Championships (NABC)
  • providing education materials and services
  • administering the ACBL masterpoints system for tracking player performance
  • providing oversight for ethical behavior and play
  • representing the interests of its members with the World Bridge Federation.

, it had more than 130,000 members.

History

In 1927, the American Auction Bridge League was founded in 1927 in Hanover, New Hampshire. In 1929, when the "Contract" format of the game had supplanted the “Auction” version in popularity, it became the American Bridge League (ABL). Tournament bridge had three competing organizing bodies — the ABL, the American Whist League and the U.S. Bridge Association.

The ACBL was created in 1937 by the merger of the American Bridge League and the United States Bridge Association in 1937. At that time, its bridge tournaments were open only to white people, with the American Bridge Association running tournaments in which black people were allowed to play. In 1967, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) removed the final obstacle to ACBL membership for African-Americans when it included in its by-laws a rule that no person could be denied membership because of race, color, or creed.

Headquarters

A not-for-profit organization, the ACBL was founded on December 23, 1937, in New York City and later moved its company headquarters to Greenwich, Connecticut, then to Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 and to Horn Lake, Mississippi in 2010. It has a full-time staff of about 60 employees in Horn Lake, plus about 160 tournament directors throughout the country. The headquarters also houses the League's Museum, Library and League's Hall of Fame.