Page 19 - ABF Newsletter August 2024

Investing in the Future
David Fryda
How the ABF is revolutionising bridge club management and player experience
Our Mission
The Australian Bridge Federation’s (ABF) mission for 2022-2025 is to guide and promote bridge across Australia, ensuring our community not only survives but thrives, even in the face of global challenges like COVID-19. To achieve this, we have focused on three key areas: growing the game of bridge in Australia, supporting our community and its diverse needs, and future-proofing our infrastructure to stay ahead of technological advancements while mitigating risks associated with obsolete technologies and sin- gle-person dependencies.
Central to this mission is the MYABF development project, which aims to revolutionise bridge club management and enhance the overall player expe- rience through comprehensive, integrated technol- ogy solutions. As we move forward, it is essential to address the financial requirements needed to support this ambitious initiative while also covering the group’s increasing operating costs and adjusting for inflation. This is why, at the ABF’s annual general meeting (AGM) in May, the council voted in favour of some small but necessary rolling increases in our fees over the next three years to ensure the sustain- ability and continued growth of our beloved game.
ABF Financial History
Over many years, the ABF built a very healthy bal- ance sheet and had sufficient cash reserves to cover the small operating deficits that became the norm for several years. The COVID years resulted in a couple of small surpluses for the ABF, but we have since returned to operating at a deficit again.
There is a broad range of reasons for these deficits, including the rising cost of operations in an infla- tionary environment. Staff and infrastructure costs have continued to increase, as have the costs of in- surance, running the Masterpoint Centre, maintain- ing our websites and sending representative teams to world championships.
MYABF Investment Proposal
In addition, the ABF has been investing heavily in technology for the past five years. In 2018, the ABF
Board resolved to invest over half a million dollars in MYABF, a technology platform designed to:
• Support all Australian clubs and players by sim- plifying the administration of clubs and bridge events
• Make systems more user-friendly, easy to use, and accessible for players, improving their expe- rience
• Reduce the many hours of effort needed by em- ployees and volunteers to manage clubs, mem- bers, masterpoints, and scoring
• Address critical issues in the bridge community’s technology infrastructure, such as single-person dependencies, obsolete technologies, and a lack of strategic direction
• Ensure systems function without interruption, meeting the high expectations of bridge players for reliable technology
• Streamline membership management, pay- ment processing, and event entries, significantly reducing administrative burdens and providing more accurate reporting
• Provide an easy-to-use, all-in-one leading bridge technology solution for clubs and asso- ciations across Australia, enhancing the experi- ence of bridge players at all levels
• Deliver a single integrated platform running on reliable IT infrastructure (in the cloud), avail- able to all affiliated bridge clubs and players throughout Australia
At the time MYABF was proposed it was thought it could be delivered within three years and that the ABF had sufficient cash reserves to fund the devel- opment without charging clubs or players.
However, like many technology projects, the time and cost were underestimated due to unexpected challenges such as COVID-19, significant increases in inflation, additional club needs, and changes in personnel.
Since its inception in 2019, though managed by a single project manager and just one or two develop- ers supported by a group of volunteers on a steering committee, the project has successfully transformed bridge event management across Australia and become the envy of many clubs worldwide. Nearly all bridge events nationwide now use MYABF as the portal, providing players with the information they require and the ability to enter and pay their fees seamlessly. More recently, several bridge clubs have transitioned to using MYABF for their club manage-
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: August 2024
Page: 19