Tradition 9 · September 12

Cleveland Invents Rotation

Daily Traditions · September 12

Before the Tradition

October 1939. Dorothy S. sent word to the New York office that Cleveland had put together a committee — seven people, five men and two women, to handle the area's affairs. Nothing remarkable so far. What was remarkable is how they arranged it (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers): "one man and one woman dropped off each month to be replaced by the next in line according to seniority." A.A.'s first central committee and A.A.'s first rotation arrived in the same breath. Nobody had told them to. There was no Tradition yet, no service manual, no theory of leadership. They just built the mechanism into the thing at the moment they built the thing. Here is what the alternative had looked like until then, in Bill's words: "Up to that time, all of our affairs had been in charge of the ultra-oldtimers, and we naturally supposed it would always be that way," Naturally, they supposed. That's how permanent leadership arrives — not by decision, but by nobody thinking to ask.

Sit with

Cleveland built rotation into its first committee before anyone told them to — until that moment, everyone simply assumed the oldtimers would run things forever. What am I doing a certain way only because I never thought to ask whether it had to be?

Grounded in: Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers (Dorothy S.; the first rotation).

Tradition 9

"A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 9 → Get the app →

← September 11Ten Men and a Committee Tradition 9All of September September 13 →Equipped to Set Up a Center

Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).