Australian Events Summary
Australian Youth Bridge Championships
The Australian Youth Bridge Championships are open to all players under 30 years. They are held in Canberra the week prior to the South West Pacific Teams at the Summer Festival of Bridge. Events include the Australian Youth Pairs and Teams and the Australian Junior Team Selection Butler.
Gold Masterpoints are awarded.
Summer Festival of Bridge
The Summer Festival of Bridge, the premier event in the calendar, is held late in January at the Canberra Rex Hotel. Running for 12 days the festival offers a variety of events to suit players of all levels.
Gold masterpoints. PQP’s are awarded in the South West Pacific Teams, National Open Teams and the Mixed Pairs.
Gold Coast Congress
Arguably one of the biggest and most successful congresses in the world the Gold Coast Congress attracts players from across the globe. It is held in February at the the prestigious Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC) located in Broadbeach, on Australia’s Gold Coast in Queensland. It is a unique destination which caters for both leisure and business tourism. Close to a variety of accommodation, shopping, restaurants, nightlife, entertainment and 70 km’s of pristine white sandy beaches. Events including Matchpoint and Swiss Pairs, Teams catering for players of all levels. The week concludes with a dinner dance and prize giving ceremony.
Gold Masterpoints. PQP are awarded in the Open Pairs and Teams.
Tasmanian Festival of Bridge
The Tasmanian Festival of Bridge is held in March in Hobart.
The Festival includes Mixed, Seniors and Restricted Swiss Pairs followed by the Open Swiss Pairs (all two day events). There are also one day events, namely the Novice Swiss Pairs and Rookie Swiss Pairs.
The two top pairs in the restricted event win free entry into the Restricted Pairs at the Spring Nationals in Sydney in October, sponsored by Bridge NSW.
Gold Masterpoints. PQP’s are awarded in the Open and Mixed Swiss Pairs.
Autumn Nationals
The Autumn Nationals are held in Adelaide on the last weekend of April or the first week of May. Events include the Open, Mixed and Restricted Swiss Pairs followed by the Open and Restricted Teams.
Gold Masterpoints. PQP’s are awarded in the Open and Mixed Swiss Pairs and in the Open Teams.
Western Senior Pairs
The Western Senior Pairs, a Gold point event usually held in Perth in May, but in June 2024 by exception, at the Melville Bridge Club, offers a great weekend of bridge for senior players.
Victor Champion Cup
Named in honour of the late Victor Champion, the Victor Champion Cup, originally started as an Open Teams event in 1979, is now preceded by 2 days of Swiss Pairs including Open, Restricted, Under 200MP Combined and Mixed categories followed by a 3 day Open teams with team’s category prizes including women, restricted, life, mixed and best Victorian.
The event is held in June over the King’s Birthday long weekend in Melbourne at the Moonee Valley Racecourse.
All events are awarded Gold Masterpoints and PQP’s are awarded in the Open and Mixed Swiss Pairs and in the Open Teams.
Barrier Reef Congress
The Barrier Reef Congress is a Gold Point Event held in May. It is shared between four major centres of the north – Mackay, Townsville, Cairns and Yeppoon. The events include Open Pairs and Teams and Restricted Pairs and Teams. Coming North this time of year is escaping the winter chills of the south.
River City Gold Mixed Pairs
The River City Gold Mixed Pairs is held in Brisbane in May.
Gold Masterpoints and PQP’s.
Australian National Championships and Butler Pairs
The Australian National Championships (ANC) and Butler Pairs are held each year usually in July. The location of the championships rotates between the six States and the ACT. The main events are the Open, Women’s, Senior and Youth Interstate Teams and the Open and Mixed Butler Pairs. There is also a restricted Butler supported by the ABF. There are a number of supporting events including the ANC Swiss Pairs and various congress events. .
ANC Rotation
2022 Adelaide
2023 Perth
2024 Orange, NSW
2025 Queensland
2026 Canberra
2027 Tasmania
2028 Victoria
Joan Prince Memorial Swan River Open Swiss Pairs
Beginning in 2003 this is Western Australia’s most prestigious ABF franchised event.
With 24, 16, 12 and 8 PQP’s, available, the tournament takes place over an August week-end. Including a Leaders’ Butler, ten 12-board rounds are played.
Coffs Coast Gold Congress
The Coffs Coast Gold Congress is held in August in the beautiful Opal Cove resort north of Coffs Harbour.
The congress commences on Tuesday 6.00 pm ( a Welcome cocktail party and Walk-in Pairs) and then Swiss Pairs ( 8 matches) on Wednesday/Thursday (lunch provided each day). On Friday morning there is a Directors Forum and a Workshop, and Swiss Teams ( 8 matches) commences at 2.30 pm. Swiss Teams continue on Saturday ( lunch provided) and Sunday morning finishing by 2.00 pm. There are no night games. After both the Pairs and the Teams competition there is a prize-giving with champagne and canapés. Gold masterpoints are awarded and the generous prize money is applied to different categories.
Three lunches, prize giving cocktail parties, the Directors Forum and the Workshop are covered by the registration fee.
Territory Gold Bridge Festival
The Territory is a great place to visit and the Gold Bridge Festival is held in late August or early September and alternates between Alice Springs and Darwin. It is a five day event beginning on Wednesday and finishing on Sunday including Swiss Pairs (with PQP’s), Swiss Teams and Matchpoint Pairs events. Hospitality consists of a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner and presentations. This a great opportunity to combine bridge with a visit to the attractions of the Red Centre including Uluru, or the Top End of the Northern Territory including Kakadu. Remember if “you never never go – you will never never know!”
HGR Memorial Congress
Held in September at the Melville Bridge Club, the HGR Memorial Congress commemorates the contribution of the late Hans G. Rosendorff, “a leading figure in Western Australian bridge and a major influence in the development of Australian bridge administration, journalism and national and overseas competition” (ABF website).
The HGR Memorial Congress comprises two Gold point events – the Mixed Swiss Pairs with PQP (1st 20, 2nd 14, 3rd 10, 4th 6, 5th 4 and 6th 2) and the Restricted Swiss Pairs for players with fewer than 300 masterpoints.
Canberra in Bloom Bridge Festival
Held in conjunction with Australia’s largest floral festival, Floriade, Canberra in Bloom is a national, gold points congress for players of all abilities. Pairs and teams events are held in novice, restricted and open categories, with a new pairs event catering for players with less than 5 masterpoints.
The mixed teams event has PQPs with qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday morning, and semi-finals and finals held over Sunday afternoon and Monday.
Sydney Spring Nationals
The Sydney Spring Nationals are usually held in late October. The venue, Canterbury Park Racecourse, offers panoramic vistas of the racecourse, while providing a spacious and airy playing area.
The major events are the Open Teams, the Swiss Matchpointed Open Pairs followed by the concurrent Mixed Teams and Seniors’ Teams. All these events attract Gold Masterpoints. PQPs are awarded in the Open and Mixed Teams and the Open Pairs. Alongside the main Teams and Pairs, Restricted Teams and Pairs events accommodate the ever increasing popularity of the Restricted bridge circuit. These Restricted events are also awarded Gold Masterpoints.
The festival offers free parking, free tea, coffee and biscuits throughout play and a cash bar for about an hour after play each day. Lunches may be purchased then consumed while seated in the open air, covered Grandstand.
Golden West Swiss Pairs
The Golden West is held in mid November, in Mandurah. An hours drive or train trip from Perth, Mandurah is a coastal town with delightful restaurants and cafes, crystal clear blue water, and a range of accommodation at affordable prices. The venue is the newly built Mandurah Bridge Club, where country hospitality is a highlight of the weekend.
Players can begin the weekend on Friday afternoon with the “Welcome pairs”, a Red Point event hosted by the Mandurah Bridge Club.
The main event is a two day A3 Gold point, Swiss Pairs event, which begins at 10.00am both Saturday and Sunday and concludes with food, drinks and prize giving at 5.30pm on Sunday. There is no play on Saturday night so players can enjoy the local restaurants and eaters. A generous prize pool of approximately $4000 is divided into category winners, with the winning pair receiving $1000!
The Golden West offers free parking, free tea, coffee and home baked delights throughout play and a cash bar after play on Saturday. Lunches may be ordered at the table each day.
Entry fee of $90 per player.
Australian Team Selection Playoffs
The Australian Team Selection Playoffs select the Open and Mixed teams to represent Australia in WBF and Zonal championships. Players must earn Playoff Qualifying Points (PQP’s) in major ABF events to be eligible to enter the Playoffs. The Open and Mixed Playoffs are held separately in Canberra in November and December.
Grand National Open Teams (GNOT)
The Grand National Open Teams is an Australia wide event to select the 60 teams which attend the National Final, a 4-day event at the end of November.
The GNOT Final is conducted in Brisbane by the ABF. It comprises a 2 day qualifying in a knockout plus Swiss repechage format, a 2-stanza repechage final, 4-stanza semi-finals, and a 4 stanza final.
In addition, as a supplement to the GNOT, there is a 1-day event, the GNOT Pairs Championship with medallions for winners in the Rural, Provincial and Metropolitan classifications, that comprises 2 sessions of Swiss Pairs for all GNOT participants.
The entry fee for each team is paid by the Region and airfares are paid by the ABF to ensure participation is not too onerous. Gold points are awarded for Club, Regional and National Finals. PQP’s are awarded in the National Final.
