Major Items and Decisions

Retiring ABF National Teaching Coordinator

Joan Butts will retire from the position of National Teaching Coordinator on 30th September 2022. The Board thanks Joan for her service to the ABF for the past 10 years and wishes her well in her future endeavours. The ABF Board is currently considering options for how best to continue supporting teachers and is seeking input on State and Territory requirements for teaching. An in-depth look at this topic is planned for the November mid-term Council meeting and we welcome any feedback beforehand to help shape this discussion.

Joan will continue to oversee teaching until the end of 2022 to enable a smooth transition to the next chapter.

World Bridge Federation Elections

Jan Kamras, (Sweden) is the new President of the Word Bridge Federation. His term will begin in January 2023. The Australian Bridge community will have the opportunity to meet him in February at the Gold Coast Congress.

The outgoing President, Gianarrigo Rona, has been a member of the WBF Executive Council and Management Committee since 1999 and served as President from 2010-2022. He will take on the role of President Emeritus in 2023. We thank him for his service and dedication to Bridge.

Franck Riehm, (France) Helen Kruger (South Africa) and Fernando Alfredo Lema (Argentina) were elected as members of the WBF Executive Council. Ben Thomson (Australia) was unanimously elected by the WBF Executive Council as the First Vice President.

Online and face-to-face bridge

The Tournament Committee recommended the ABF form a committee to consider all the wider implications of online bridge and develop policies for affiliation, control of the number of online Red Point events, and how online clubs interact with the ABF. Jenny Thompson has agreed to Chair a committee to embark on a major consultation with stakeholders to consider and make recommendations in relation to online bridge. Mark Guthrie, Bill Jacobs, and Matt Mullamphy have agreed to join the committee.

New Zealand Bridge have completed an extensive consultation on very much the same topic and have agreed to share the finding with the ABF.

Historian – Australians and Bridge

Keith Ogborn has produced a paper that traces the market for bridge from the beginnings to the present day. This paper will be placed on the ABF Website and sent to all States. The ABF thanks Keith for highlighting the social and economic factors that have affected the growth, or otherwise, of Bridge. This gives us an insight into the longer-term perspective of the issues that we face as we come out of the pandemic.

MyABF Steering Committee

Dagmar Neumann (NSW) has agreed to become a member of the MyABF Steering Committee. Dagmar is a successful business technology leader with 25+ years’ experience, delivering digital transformation and operational excellence to organisations. We welcome her to the team.

Asia Cup, 2022

The Seniors’ Team, Stephen Weisz – Bob Gallus, Geoff Johnson – Alan Race, Dee Harley – Phil Fent and the Ladies Team, Viv Wood – Marnie Leybourne, Pele Rankin – Paula McLeish, Felicity Smyth – Sheila Bird, were ratified for attendance at the Asia Cup. No expressions of interest were received for the Mixed Teams.

Tournament Committee Matters

Stephen Fischer has resigned from the Tournament Committee as he has taken on the role as Secretary of the ABF.
The Board agreed with the recommendation that Pele Rankin and Justin Mill be invited to join the Committee.
The Board accepted the recommended that only 2 scoring programs be accredited for use in ABF events from August 2022. The programs are Compscore and programs run by Matthew McManus.

Director Development

The Board has agreed to pay for one trainee director (negotiable, depending on event size) at licensed events in each State and Territory. The States and Territories need to apply directly to the ABF prior to the event.

Feedback & Future Meetings

The Board welcomes feedback and suggestions on the above matters or other subjects.
The next Board meeting will be November 20th following the Mid-Term meeting on 19th November.

2022- 2024 ABF Board

Allison Stralow (President), Stephen Fischer (Secretary), Ian Thomson, (Treasurer), Richard Ward, Rob Ward
Jane Rasmussen (Executive Secretary), Phil Markey (Legal Counsel), Michael Bryan (Deputy Legal Counsel)