Major Items and Decisions

Retiring ABF Legal Counsel

Due to work requirements preventing him from continuing in this role as ABF Legal Counsel, Geoffrey Chettle will retire from the position on 31st August 2021. The Board thank him for his service to the ABF for the past three and a half years and wish him well as he returns to work as a County Court Judge in Victoria.

Deputy Legal Council, Michael Bryan will be given authority to advise on legal matters until the appointment of a suitably qualified practitioner at the May Annual General Meeting next year.

Mandatory vaccinations for 2022 Gold Point events

In order to provide a safe environment for players and officials at ABF Gold Point events, 2022 Covid-19 Event Plans will include the requirement that all players and officials to be fully vaccinated. For those ineligible to be vaccinated for medical reasons, a medical certificate confirming such ineligibility along with confirmation of a negative Covid test conducted within 3 days of commencement of the event will be required. My ABF will work on a tick box for players entering an event to confirm they have a vaccination certificates, or a medical certificate and a Negative test confirmation.

Plans for ABF and ABF Licensed Events to November 2021 – February 2022

It was sad to see the cancellation of the VCC, Canberra in Bloom and the Territory Gold in Alice Springs. The current Covid-19 numbers in Victoria, the A.C.T and N.S.W. now puts other events in jeopardy. A decision on the whether the ANC, 2021 in Perth and the GNOT Final in Brisbane will run in November will be made on Monday 11th October. The QBA will make a final decision on the 2022 Gold Coast Congress on 1st December.

If the ANC is cancelled, the Swan River Swiss Pairs 2021 will still run, but the venue will need to be changed.

ABF Mid-Term Meeting

The Mid-Term meeting planned for 23rd and 24th October in Sydney will now be a Zoom meeting on Sunday 24th October. At this meeting we will discuss the possibility of holding a 1-day Council meeting in December or at SFOB or Gold Coast to enable us to hold the Strategic Planning session.

ABF Tournament Committee, Terms of Reference

The Board agreed to approve the Tournament Committee Terms of Reference, which can be viewed on the website. www.abf.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ABF-Tournament-Committee-Terms-of-Reference-August-2021.pdf is posted on www.abf.com.au/about-abf/committees/.

The new Terms of reference mean that Tournament Committee minutes will no longer be uploaded to the website, instead a summary of key decisions will be included in the Board minutes and communicated to players via the Communique, and/or separately announced on the website.

Feedback & Future Meetings

The Board welcomes feedback and suggestions on the above matters or other subjects.

The next Board meeting will be in October followed by the Mid-Term meeting on 24th October.

2020- 2022 ABF Board

Allison Stralow (President), Kim Frazer (Secretary), Ian Thomson, (Treasurer), Adel Abdelhamid, Rob Ward

Jane Rasmussen (Executive Secretary), Geoff Chettle (Legal Counsel), Michael Bryan (Deputy Legal Counsel)