ABF Newsletter June 2024

NEWSLETTER AUSTRALIAN BRIDGE FEDERATION LTD. Editor: Brad Coles (editor@abf.com.au) No. 227 June 2024 Approved for Print Post S65001/00163 ABN 70 053 651 666 2024 Barrier Reef Congress Fred Whitaker A fine turnout gathered in Mackay for this year’s Barrier Reef Congress. They came from not only Queensland, but also raiders from Sydney and Mel- bourne, not to mention my Kiwi friends who were in attendance. A very welcome sight were a good number of youth players, who were an absolute pleasure to encounter and wonderful ambassadors for our pastime. My good mates Duncan Badley, Paula Boughey and Ashley Bach go back more than three decades, so it was a treat to catch up, have dinner and a beer or two – or in Ashley’s case a coke . Now, on to the bridge, the organisation of which ap- peared to run like a well-oiled machine. Our caddies were brilliant – unobtrusive yet observant – and the directing staff went about their jobs without fanfare. The only grizzle seemed to be about the coffee, for which one had to travel downstairs, and it was not highly spoken of. My thermos accompanied me for morning sessions. For myself it was a gruelling program, as I play noth- ing of this length except when I can get to the Barrier Reef, and the years are adding up. ... continued on page 8