Subsidy Policy

The MBL is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop and promote the game of bridge in support of the ACBL within its jurisdiction. As best it can, the MBL wishes to support and encourage its players to compete in sanctioned competitions outside its territory. The conditions are listed within this “Subsidy Policy.”

The MBL will consider granting a subsidy for the following competitions:

• World Championships (Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup). Amount to be determined.
• World Olympiads (Open, Teams, Senior), every 4 years. Amount to be determined.
• NAP (North American Pairs): every second year, the West part of the District 1 (LBM-Québec-Eastern Ontario) gets 1st position and a 700$ US subsidy from the ACBL. The other year,  the West part gets 2nd position and a 300$ US subsidy from the ACBL. The MBL will grant a subsidy to the pair in this second situation, and no grant will be awarded for other positions.

In June 2016, the League has decided to discontinue subsidies to participants in the Canadian Bridge Championships and the GNT (Grand National Teams).

Subsidies may be allocated to players who represent our unit (ACBL No. 151), our district (ACBL No. 1), or our country in national or international competitions for which they have qualified.

The MBL will consider only requests from members who have regularly taken part in Unit 151 events: tournaments, regular presence at affiliated clubs, volunteer work, or any other involvement within the MBL. The MBL is under no obligation to grant subsidies.

• Players must present a written request to the MBL if they believe they are eligible for a subsidy. A form is available on the MBL website, at the end of the description of this policy.
• Only ACBL paid-up Unit 151 members are eligible to get a subsidy.
• A 151 Unit member who qualified in another unit for a national or international competition will be eligible for 50% of the available subsidy.
• An unqualified member added to complete a pair or a team will not be eligible for any subsidy.
• A ‘Subsidy Committee’ is appointed annually to evaluate the applications, to accept or reject them, and to distribute the subsidies. Committee members are identified at the end of this policy.
• Any MBL Board Member who may have a conflict of interest with an application will abstain from voting when decisions are taken regarding the award a grant for this application.
• Any request for a subsidy from a member who has been suspended or under probation, or who has been suspended in the last year may be refused without justification from the committee.
• A player who becomes eligible by default is entitled to the same subsidy as that granted to a player who qualified for the same event.
• Should a team or a pair hire a captain, the latter will not be eligible for a subsidy.
• Requests for subsidies must be received by the League at least 10 working days before the event in which the player intends to participate. Should the request not meet that delay, a 10% penalty per working day will be applied on the approved subsidy amount. Payment of the subsidy will be made within a reasonable delay (+/- 10 days) after the event has ended.

*** IMPORTANT: Players receiving a subsidy from the MBL may be requested to do some volunteer work during the 24 months following payment of said subsidy. Any refusal may entail a consequence to be determined by the Subsidy Committee Members.