64th International Baltic Congress - Conditions of Contest

I  General Provisions
  1. The organizer of the 64th International Baltic Congress (hereinafter referred to as IBC) is the Pomeranian Regional Bridge Association. The IBC will be held at the Hala Stulecia in Sopot, st. Goyki 7, August 1st to 7th, 2025.
    Smoking is strictly prohibited at the venue. Violations will be subject to a fine of 500 PLN.
  2. The competition is open, with the following exceptions: 
    1. Players from Russia and Belarus who are not members of the Polish Bridge Union (PBU) are not allowed to participate.
    2. Only players who are members of a bridge federation (with a valid PBU membership fee) or foreign players who are members of their national bridge federation affiliated with the WBF are allowed to participate in GPPP and MPT tournaments.
    3. In the Amateur Tournament, players who are not PBU members or PBU players with a rank up to 1.5 WK may participate. In exceptional cases, the Chief Tournament Director may allow a higher-ranked player to participate or refuse entry to a non-member.
  3. The tournaments are governed by the applicable Polish Bridge Union’s (PBU) regulations including Alerting Policy
  4. Based on § 39(2) of the PBU’s Tournament Regulations, the organizer introduces the following penalty scale:
    1. Minimum Penalty:
      1. For matchpoint tournaments – 10% of the match points available on a board.
      2. For IMP and knockout team tournaments – 1 IMP.
      3. For matches converted to VPs – 0.5 VP.
    2. Standard Penalty – 25% / 2 IMP / 1 VP.
    3. Maximum Penalty – 50% / 5 IMP / 2 VP.
    In special cases, the Chief Tournament Director may apply a different penalty.
II  Congress Classification
  1. The following overall individual rankings will be calculated during the IBC:
    1. Congress Classification – based on the best 9 results. To be eligible for prizes, a player must participate in at least 50% of the possible tournaments.
    2. Amateur Classification – based on all results from Amateur tournaments.
  2. Winners of tournaments receives congress points (CP) as follows:
    1. GPPP Tournament – 450 CP
    2. Pair tournaments (excluding the 11th) – 300 CP
    3. 11th Pair Tournament – 400 CP
    4. MPT Qualifications – 400 CP
    5. Amateur tournaments - 100 CP
  3. Players participating in the MPT playoff phase earn separate CP:
    1. Quarterfinals: winners – 264, losers – 198
    2. Final classification: 1st – 600, 2nd – 520, 3rd – 440, 4th – 360
  4. In the team tournament, a player earns CP only if they play at least 25% of the boards scheduled for that stage. For the final classification, this requirement must be met in both the semifinal and the final/third-place match.
  5. In all tournaments, 100% of players receive CP. Last place receives 1 CP. For the next places participants receive CP depending on the number of participants. The decrease from first place is calculated as an integer. If (CP for 1st place)/(number of pairs – 1) is not an integer, rounding is applied: for top positions it is rounded up (bigger decrease value), the rest is rounded down. Example: with 180 pairs and 400 CP for 1st place, first 41 decreases has value 3, and the rest has value 2.
  6. Additional bonus CP are awarded to top finishers:
    1. a) In 3x10 pair tournaments: 30, 21, 15, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1
    2. b) In 4x10 pair tournaments: 35, 25, 17, 13, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1
    3. c) In the GPPP Tournament: 40, 28, 20, 14, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1
    4. d) In Amateur Tournaments: 5, 3, 1
  7. In the event of tied CP scores, the higher result in the following tournaments determines the ranking: MPT, GPPP, 4x10 pair tournament. If players achieved identical results in all the above, they are ranked ex aequo, and prizes are divided.
III  Financial Prize Collection
  1. Prizes are paid via bank transfer to the account provided by the player. If the eligible player does not claim the prize by August 31, 2025, the prize is forfeited.
  2. Prizes in the team tournament are paid to the captain of a team.
IV  Final Provisions
  1. Disputes are resolved by:
    1. The IBC Organizer – in organizational matters
    2. The Chief Tournament Director – in sports matters
  2. By participating in the competition, players consent to the free use of their image by the organizer for the promotion of contract bridge in a broad sense.
  3. Participants also consent to the processing of their personal data for the organization of IBC, including the maintenance and publication of sports rankings. The data may be shared with the Polish Bridge Union (PBU) to properly deliver the services outlined in these regulations.
    Consent to data processing can be withdrawn by sending an email to: [email protected]
  4. The organizer reserves the right to amend these regulations.