Major Items & Decisions

Tournament Committee Recommendations

Playoffs: to give more time for comments from players, MC will consider the TC recommendations re future playoff timing from 2016/17 at the next MC meeting, at the end of February.

ANC byes: MC accepts TC recommendation to discontinue the practice of recent years which avoided byes at the ANC Interstate Teams Championship by inviting a second team from the host State/Territory, effective from the 2016 ANC in Brisbane. The regulations of the event will provide that teams cannot have two byes on a single day.

Second Senior Team for APBF May 2015

The Asia Pacific Bridge Federation has offered Australia the opportunity to send a second Seniors’ team to the APBF Championships in Bangkok in May 2015. Applications for the second place will be invited just before or after the Seniors’ Playoffs in March, and will be ranked on participation and position in the Seniors’ playoffs and PQPs. There will be no travel subsidy provided to the second team.

ANC Prizes

Prizes at the 2015 and subsequent ANCs will not take the form of free entry to the corresponding events in the next year. The ANC Handbook will be updated.

Youth Committee

The MC has authorised the Chairman of the ABF Youth Committee to expand membership of the committee and seek to include representatives from all States and Territories.

Women in Bridge Committee

The MC has appointed Dallas Cooper as the new Chair of the Women in Bridge Committee.

Circulation of Minutes from MC Meetings

The MC aims to issue communiques such as this one immediately after each MC meeting. To save administration and reduce of risks of making public sensitive information, the MC proposes that detailed minutes of MC meetings no longer be published on the ABF web site. These communiques will be published instead. Minutes will continue to be available on a restricted basis to people who have a need to know their content.

Farewell Ernesto d’Orsi

The ABF is saddened by the news that Ernesto d’Orsi, a member of the WBF executive committee and past President, has passed away.

Future Meetings

The MC welcomes feedback and suggestions on the above matters or other subjects. Next meeting is February 28-March 1, 2015.

ABF Management Committee:

Bruce Neill (President), Allison Stralow (Secretary), Roy Nixon (Treasurer),
Dallas Cooper, Simon Hinge (MC Members)
Russel Harms (General Counsel), Keith McDonald (President Emeritus)
Jane Rasmussen (Executive Secretary)
13 January 2015.