NCBC uses self seating for all normal games. Strat­ified games are required by the ACBL to be "bal­anced." This means ap­prox­imately the same num­ber of pairs in each strat­ifi­ca­tion must sit N-S as E-W, and, when mul­tiple sec­tions are used, ap­prox­imately the same num­ber of pairs in each strat­ifi­ca­tion must sit in each sec­tion.

All players are asked to arrive at least 10 minutes early to allow time to make the final seating arrangements.  

Games with a Howell movement are automatically balanced. Howell movements are used for games smaller than 7 tables, which means usually Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday games.

Just take a pair of seats at a table that will be used. The Director will collect the game fees from North at the start of the game. Priority for stationary positions (which vary in a Howell movement) will be given to our players who cannot move from table to table without difficulty.  In some cases, then, you might be asked to make way for a non-mobile pair.

But games with a Mitchel movement require manual balancing.  Almost all Monday and Friday games use Mitchel movements.  Sometimes, mid-week games also use Mitchel movements.

When the Director anticipates using a Mitchel movement, he will put out the following seating guides, according to the most masterpoints of either partner:

There is a set of these seating guides for each section, and the Director will have placed them on the tables before the game.

To play in a Mitchel movement game, you must know your masterpoint category.  If you do not know your masterpoints, notify the Director.  To take a pair of seats, you must also know your partner's masterpoint category. If you do not know your partner's masterpoint category, wait for your partner to arrive before taking a pair of seats.

Take any available pair of seats at a table with your partnership's range of masterpoints. If there is no table available in the category you need, notify the Director, who will tell you where to sit. Priority for stationary positions (N/S in a Mitchel movement) will be given to our players who cannot move from table to table without difficulty. We will try to accomodate players who can move but have some difficulty, but we can't promise this. It's best if you need a N/S position to arrive at the game early.

If the tables are not full when the game is about to start, players from the higher numbered tables will be asked to move to fill in the lower numbers.

When the table setup is finalized, the game can begin, and the Director will collect the game fees from North shortly thereafter.