In common with all varieties of sport, mind sports, and other competitive games there is a great appeal and enjoyment to be had in being a part of a community. Backgammon at its heart is a social game, and our community is vibrant and full of character, bringing together people from all walks of life.
However, whilst our community is without doubt one to be proud of, there have been several instances of improper behaviour brought to the attention of the UKBGF Board in the relatively recent past, ranging from behaviour at tournaments, and unjustified accusations towards other players and/or tournament officials, to an abusive anonymous post on a non-backgammon related website.
I believe we stand together in condemning all such instances of improper behaviour.
We cannot state strongly enough that our community must be free from verbal, emotional, or physical abuse toward anyone – any player, tournament official or spectator – whether at or away from the backgammon board. Furthermore, any conduct likely to injure the reputation of the UKBGF, its events, officials, organisers, participants or sponsors will also be viewed unfavourably.
Whilst the UKBGF Constitution includes a section on Disciplinary Procedure, we have not previously published a Code of Conduct (CoC) regarding the game of backgammon and its players. Such a document has been planned for some considerable time, but early drafts were not completed. Now, in an effort to formalise our position on acceptable conduct, our new CoC has been drafted and is close to being finalised. The CoC will cover expected standards of conduct applicable to all players and organisers, and especially to UKBGF members, under headings which include Offences, Reporting, Standards of Proof and Evidence, Disciplinary Process and Appeals.
We will publish the CoC on the UKBGF website in due course and give it another blog post of its own to raise awareness and promote uptake of its principles. Let’s keep our community strong, keep it growing, and make sure it’s a place we can all feel welcome, and respected.
John McNeill (on behalf of the UKBGF Board)
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