Page 7 - ABF Newsletter October 2024

Hello everyone! It’s hard to believe that I am only a month away from celebrating my first anniversary in the role of Executive Director for the ABF!
It’s been a whirlwind year for me and I have learned a lot about not only the workings of the ABF but also bridge operations around the country. I am exceed- ingly grateful for the support I have had from ev- eryone ranging from our President Allison Stralow, my fellow Board members through to bridge players throughout the country.
In my article in the previous edition of this news- letter I encouraged you all to put together a team from your club and participate in this year’s Club Teams Knockout. I was pleased to see that we have a total of 55 teams entered this year in this Gold point event. This is eight more than last year and 23 more than in 2022. The event is graded based on the mas- terpoints held by the participants and is run online (on Realbridge) enabling you to play against teams from other clubs all around the country. If you didn’t get a team together this year then I hope you will consider doing so next year.
I also wrote a separate article in the previous news- letter about the fee increases we will be introducing next year. As I expected, I received correspondence from several individuals and clubs on this topic. I have endeavoured to answer everyone’s questions as I recognise how important it is to help every- one to understand the reasons for these increases. I remain available to respond to your questions via the email address at the top of this page.
Over the past twelve months we have continued to receive extraordinary support from several spon- sors including of course our long time sponsor Tony Bemrose Insurance Brokers (TBIB). Their support of many of our major tournaments as well as providing insurance advice to bridge clubs around the country is greatly appreciated. In addition to TBIB we have
been generously supported by Fixed Income Solu- tions (FIS) this year. They have provided prize money to several of our major events and if you would like more information about their offers please see their advertisement in this newsletter. Of course, TBIB and FIS are not the only supporters of the ABF and bridge here in Australia. You will see the names of many other sponsors when you enter events (on myABF) and at the playing venues. I urge you all to consider supporting our sponsors, without them the cost to play bridge competitively in Australia would be higher.
The myABF team are making good progress with the development of more functionality. The cur- rent focus is on delivering a mechanism for clubs to manage their annual membership renewals. We are on track to release this upgrade in time for those clubs who have a membership year aligned to the calendar year. You may have noticed that we have advertised for an experienced IT Project Manager to join our team. The role is available on a part-time basis and would suit someone who is in semi-retire- ment mode. More details are included in an adver- tisement in this newsletter and on the ABF’s website.
I would like to formally wish our representative teams the best of luck at the World Championships that will be held in Buenos Aires starting later this month. If you would like to follow their progress, we will be posting a link on our website to the results page and by following Australian Bridge Federation on Facebook you will see progress updates and pho- tographs.
I hope to see many of you at the Spring Nationals in Sydney in October and please do feel free to chat to me about ABF related matters that may be on your mind! And if I don’t see you there then hopefully I will see you at another bridge event in my second year in the job!
PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT
For all your professional and personal insurance needs, including travel insurance.
Check out their web site at www.tbib.com.au
TONY BEMROSE INSURANCE BROKERS
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: October 2024
Page: 7