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This is a reminder that the TBA Annual General Meeting will be held at 12:00 noon on Saturday 23 March 2024 at the clubrooms. The AGM will be followed by lunch, and a Red Masterpoint session which will be free for AGM attendees. Please bring a plate to share for lunch.

Part of the AGM is the election of office holders and Committee members. Where there are multiple nominees for an office or when there are more nominees than Committee positions ballots are held. This year there are seven nominees for the five Committee positions so a ballot will be held at the AGM. The nominees are (in alphabetical order):

  • Leonie Atkins
  • Laura Bauermeister
  • Sue Falkingham
  • Paul Fredheim
  • Chris Girvan
  • Hugh Grosvenor
  • Fran Healy

There are single nominations for the remaining offices so the nominees shall be declared elected at the AGM. They are President: Pam Murphy, Vice President: Julie Rhodes, Secretary: Katherine Marsden and Treasurer: Leigh Blizzard.

Notice has been given of a motion to increase the annual subscriptions from $60 per annum to $75, commencing 1 Jan 2025.

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The 2024 Tasmanian Festival of Bridge was held from Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th of March 2024. This was the second time that the event has been held at the MyState Bank Arena in Hobart on the banks of the Derwent river.

320 entrants, including some of Australia's top players competed across five events. Approximately Half of the entrants were from interstate or overseas. About 50 Australian clubs were represented, with a small contingent of New Zealand players also joining us.

Thursday and Friday saw the TFoB Restricted Swiss Pairs, the Roger Penny Senior Swiss Pairs and the Australian Mixed Swiss Pairs. The TBIB Australian Swiss Pairs was run on Saturday and Sunday. The TFoB Rookie Swiss Pairs was held on Sunday.

The TBIB Australian Swiss Pairs had a field of 90 pairs. The winners were Pele Rankin and George Kozakos. Warren Lazer and Pauline Gumby came second (no photo available). Avinash Kanetkar and Ron Klinger came third. The Warren Walker Memorial trophy for the highest placed Tasmanian pair was won by Andrew and Sandra Richman. Full results are here.

The Australian Mixed Swiss Pairs was won by Pele Rankin and George Kozakos in a field of 24 pairs. Jeanette Reitzer and Matt Smith came second. Ella Jacob and Joshua Tomlin came third. Full results are here.

38 pairs played in the Roger Penny Senior Swiss Pairs which was won by Vicky and Ian Lisle. Meg Sharp and Helen Clayton came second. George Bilski and Martin Bloom came third. Full results are here.

The TFoB Restricted Swiss Pairs saw 60 pairs with fewer than 300 masterpoints competing. It was won by Jeremy Reid & Seb Wright. Anka and Peter Saundry came second. Geraldine Carey and Engelina Poulton came third. Full results are here.

This was the second running of the TFoB Rookie Swiss Pairs with 24 pairs with fewer than 25 masterpoints competing. It was won by Starlette Beaumont and Margaret Cusack. Laura Best and Catherine Catt came second. Nola and Rex Calvert came third. Full results are here.

Thanks to TBIB for their continuing sponsorship. Thanks to all the officials, organisers and volunteers who were involved in making this a successful event, including the convenor (Katherine Marsden), the directors (Simon Edler, Hugh Grosvenor and Ronnie Ng), the scorer (Chris Carolan), the caddies, and all of the TBA volunteers. Thanks also to all of the players of all levels who made this an exciting event.



The Tasmanian Festival of Bridge is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania

The 2025 Tasmanian Festival of Bridge will be from Thursday 20th to Sunday 23rd March 2025. It will be held at the MyState Bank Arena again, and there is plenty of room for more tables. It is a lovely time of year to visit Tasmania. Save the date, and we hope to see you in 2025!



TFoB 2019 | TGSP 2021 | TFoB 2022 | TFoB 2023 | Top

TFOB

The Annual Tasmanian Festival of Bridge is now only a week away and everything is in the final stages of preparation. Talking of final stages, we were a bit concerned that the third game between the Jackjumpers and Perth would be held at myState Arena on the Wednesday night before TFoB. However that issue has been resolved.

Annual General Meeting

I also remind you again of the Annual General Meeting being held on Saturday March 23. We couldn’t persuade the premier to move the State Election so vote early then come to the club (with your lunch) and enjoy an afternoon of free bridge after the AGM.

TBA Club Congress

Also a reminder of the TBA Annual Congress being held on Saturday April 6 and Sunday April 7. This is the major club event of the year and we look forward to a large attendance at the Swiss Pairs event on the Saturday, with prizes being awarded in OPEN, RESTRICTED (Under 150MP), and NOVICE (Under 25MP) sections. Then on SUNDAY there is an opportunity to participate in a Swiss Teams event open to all levels of team. If any pair would like to participate in the teams event but do not have another pair lined up then please talk to any of the Committee or directors and they will endeavour to arrange a team for you.

New Members

The following new members have joined the club during February and we welcome their participation in club events.

Keyran PittRos Pitt

Masterpoint Promotions

The following TBA members earned Masterpoint promotions in February:

Katherine MarsdenBronze State
Helen MorlingState
Gillian ArmitageRegional
Caryl MurfetRegional
Rosemary GilesBronze Local
Anne O'RourkeBronze Local
Jane DickieBronze Local
Brian GilesBronze Local
Sharlene CampbellBronze Local
Rita MawsonLocal
Toby MeredithClub
Barbara MeyerClub
Lyn SinclairClub
David Askey-DoranGraduate

Congratulations to all.

Multi Session Results for February

Each month the TBA runs multi-session rankings for most regular sessions. The rankings are based on the best three results across the month. Green masterpoints are awarded to the top half of the pairs who play enoughs sessions to be included in the multi. Winners also receive TBA etched glasses.

The February multi winners were (click the links for full results) :

Monday morningRod Macfarlan - Joy Stoddart
Tuesday daytimeCoral Goward - Jo Castillo
Wednesday morningHugh Grosvenor - Annie Bartlett
Thursday morningMardi Grosvenor - John Grosvenor
Thursday afternoonLeigh Blizzard - Julie Rhodes
Friday morningMaria Gibbs - Bob Patterson
Saturday afternoonPhil Timmins - Bal Krishan

Education Sub-Committee

Sue Falkingham has reported that the initial meeting to consider establishing a group of members to recommend training and player development plans was very successful. As a result a sub-committee has been established under the leadership of Sue and they will be meeting shortly.

Thank you to all

After serving as Treasurer of the TBA for many years, and having had the honour of being President for the last two years, I have decided that it is time to pass the baton to the incoming president who will be appointed at the AGM. I sincerely thank all the committee members, officers and directors for the tremendous support given to me over the years. And not forgetting the numbers of volunteers who have willingly given their time to assisting in making this club the outstanding success that it is. If I were to name all these volunteers this report would go on for ages. Suffice it to say that you all know who you are and I say “thank You” for your efforts.

I would also like to give special thanks to three other people who are retiring from special positions in the club.

Firstly to Margaret Gibbs. Margaret was the Masterpoints Secretary for the club and state for as long as most of us can remember and was rewarded with a life membership of the TBA. Margaret also was the state GNOT Coordinator for many years. Her contributions to the committee and the club will be greatly missed.

Then Ian Bailey. Ian has served the club in the essential role as Treasure for the last four years, accurately steering the financial management of club and state. His ability to pinpoint the key issues will be missed. Thanks Ian.

Finally John Grosvenor. John, as Administration Manager of the club, has been the mastermind behind most of the tremendous advancements in bringing the club into touch with 21st century technologies and providing the electronic interface between the club and its members. Because of these achievements John had been contracted by the Australian Bridge Federation to assist in their journey into the 21st century!

Once again “Thanks to you all”

Regards

Graeme

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The first state-wide event of the year was held on the weekend of 2nd - 3rd March. The 2024 Tassie Butler Pairs saw 16 pairs playing 15 matches across the two days. 'Butler' refers to the scoring system which is IMPs calculated against a datum. This was a round-robin event with each pair playing a match against every other pair in the field. This event included both open and women's championships.

The open winners were Tania Lloyd and Hugh Grosvenor. Andrew and Sandra Richman came second. Third were David Robinson and Phil Beck. The winners in the women's were Alaine Macmorran and Fiona Hickey.

Full results are available here. Thanks to Simon Edler for organising and directing the event.

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The Jackpot finals (Pink and Blue sections) will be held at 7.15pm on Monday 9th December 2024.

The final will NOT require pre-entry, just walk-in. Non qualifiers are welcome to play but will not be eligible to win prizemoney. If your partner is unable to play, you may play with anyone else on the list of qualifiers.

TThe prize pool, to be split between the top three places in each section, will be announced after the final qualifying session on Monday 2nd December.

2024 Jackpot Qualifiers to date:

Pink Section:

Jenny AdeyJudy Bills
Dallas CooperFiona Hickey
Jan LonerganAlaine MacMorran
Ann PatonSue Wilkinson

Blue Section:

Vicki DouglasPamela Halton
Warren PapworthGill Robinson

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The first TBA event of the year was held on Sunday 28th Juanuary. The 2024 Vera Houdek Summer Pairs had 22 pairs playing in a matchpointed Swiss Pairs competition over 6 matches.

The overall winners were Leigh Blizzard and Julie Rhodes. Duncan Abercromby and Phil Timmins came second (with Phil doing his normal quick escape before the photos). Third were Phil Beck and David Robinson. The top placed pair in the restricted category were Engelina Poulton and Geraldine Carey.

Full results are available here. Thanks to Simon Edler for organising and directing the day. Thanks also to all members who brought a plate.

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The McCutcheon's are rankings maintained by the ABF based on the number of masterpoints players earn in the calendar year. The McCutcheon rankings are updated at the end of each month, and have now been finalsied for the end of 2023.

There is an overall ranking that covers all players. There are also rankings by level which track the players who start the year at each rank. For example, if you are a Club master at the end of 2022, you will be part of the Club master McCutcheons for the year, even if you are promoted during the year.

Rankings are available for the entire country and filtered for each state and club. All this information and more is available on the ABF Masterpoint Centre website.

The overall 2023 McCutcheon winner was Liam Milne with 438.37 Masterpoints. Many TBA members will remember Liam from when he ran the State Coaching Weekend at the TBA in June 2023.

The following table lists the Tasmanian players who made it into the top 20 lists for the 2024 National McCutcheons:

All Ranks11thMardi Grosvenor (TBA)
Bronze Life1stMardi Grosvenor (TBA)
Life14thFelicity Wivell (Tamar)
Silver National1stJohn Grosvenor (TBA)
7thBarbara Giizel (TBA)
Silver Local4thJeremy Reid (TBA)
Bronze Local5thGek Low (TBA)
11thPaul Fredheim (TBA)
Club16thErica McCoull (TBA)

Six Tasmanians came in the top 200 All Ranks nationally - Mardi Grosvenor (11th), Sandra Richman (63rd), Andrew Richman (71st), Hugh Grosvenor (91st), Tania Lloyd (120th) and John Grosvenor (136th). The McCutcheon Rank for any player can be found on their Masterpoint Awards page, just look-up the player by name or ABF Number.

The following table lists the top three players in each of the Tasmanian McCutcheon rankings:

All RanksMardi Grosvenor, Sandra Richman, Andrew Richman
Silver Grand & AboveSandra Richman, Andrew Richman, Hugh Grosvenor
GrandTania Lloyd, Margaret Gibbs, David Robinson
Gold LifePam Lidl, Maria Gibbs, Richard Cooke
Silver LifePhil Timmins, Roger Swain, Jane Routley
Bronze LifeMardi Grosvenor, Pam Murphy, Shirley McCulloch
LifeFelicity Wivell, Frank Milford, Sue Falkingham
Silver NationalJohn Grosvenor, Barbara Giizel, Sarah Howard
Bronze NationalBob Ranson, Mardi Hogarth, David Marshall
NationalAnnie Bartlett, Jane Edler, Louise Cowan
Bronze StateGeoff Green, Marg Enright, Susan Bezette
StateGraeme Denmead, Janette Targett, Engelina Poulton
Bronze RegionalKitty Ranson, Suzanne Clark, Herman Rockefeller
RegionalJegs Nuttall, Ian Fraser, Sandra Miedecke
Silver LocalJeremy Reid, Ian Bailey, Robin Barnes
Bronze LocalGek Low, Paul Fredheim, Judy Hooley
LocalTrish Colles, Jane Hall, Gwen Lawrence
ClubErica McCoull, Anne O'Rourke, Laura Best
GraduateRita Mawson, Billie Watson, Hellen Smart
NilDebbie Maree Martyn, Jed Dolwin, Barbara Meyer

The TBA Club McCutcheons are available on the ABF Masterpoint Centre website. There is also a wealth of other information, such as promotions, most improved players and top masterpoint winners of all time.

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Congratulations to the TBA Open team for winning the finals!

The ABF's Australia-Wide Club Knockout Teams competition has just finished for the year. This is the second year that the event has been held. Teams representing clubs from around the country competed in four divisions with sessions held on RealBridge once a month. The first three sessions were a round robin qualification stage with the top eight teams in each category going into the knockout stage (consisting of quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals).

The TBA had 25 members representing the club across four teams. This is the second year that the TBA has been represented in all categories. All teams acquitted themselves well, with every TBA player earning Gold masterpoints and the TBA receiving prize money for the win in the Open division. The under 750 MP team had a strong result in the Consolation Swiss Teams event, coming fouth.

The TBA teams were:

  • Open - Tania Lloyd, Hugh Grosvenor, Mardi Grosvenor, John Grosvenor, Jane Edler and Simon Edler. Placed 5th in qualifying, won against the Victorian Bridge Association team in the quarter-finals, against Newcastle in the semi-finals and against Wagga Wagga in the finals.
  • Under 750 MP - David Brooks, Darryl Smith, Maruta Boyd, Barbara Holland, Sue Wilkinson, Chris Girvan and David Marshall. Placed 12 in qualifying. This was a very competitive category with the largest field. The team played in the Consolation Swiss Teams finishing 4th.
  • Under 100 MP - Gek Low, Paul Fredheim, Ian Bailey, Katherine Marsden, Judy Hooley and Roger Hooley. Placed 6th in qualifying, lost to the Queensland Contract Bridge Club team in the quarter-finals.
  • Under 50 MP - Barbara Meyer, Jane Hall, Anne McEntee, Christina Buell, Erica McCoull, Laura Bauermeister. Placed 5th in qualifying, won against the Gold Coast team in the quarter-finals, and lost to Waverley in the semi-finals.

Full results and details are available here. Congratulations to everybody who played. Thanks to Sue Falkinhgam for coordinating the TBA teams. Sue also had a role in organising this event nationally.

This event is a great opportunity to represent the club and play against players of your level from around Australia. The RealBridge platform is easy to use and makes exciting events like this possible. Please consider putting your name forward for a team in next year's competition.

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The 2023 Jackpot finals were held on Monday 11th December 2023. Contratulations to the winners: David Marshall and Darryl Smith in the Pink Section, and Bronwyn Fuller and Ann Halliday in the Blue Section. In the Pink section David Brooks and Gulum Kocak-Sunamak came second, with Julia Corr and Merryl Darby third. In the Blue section Vicki Douglas and Gill Robinson came second, with Betty Pilgram and Panchita Salmon third. The prize pool, to be split between the top three places is $210 for Pink Section and $172 for Blue section.

Full results are available here. Note that non-contending pairs were welcome to play, and are denoted by the N category in the results. A full list of players who qualified through the year for the Jackpot finals is available on the members page.

The 2024 Jackpot Pairs starts in January, with the first qualifying session on Monday 8 January.

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The 2023 Tasmanian Swiss Pairs was held at Tamar Bridge Club on the weekend of 19th-20th November. This was the last of the island-wide events for the year. An impressive field of 30 pairs played eight matches over the two days.

The winners, undefeated in all eight matches, were Julie Rhodes and Leigh Blizzard. Second were Christine and Bob Harkness. Anne Fyfe and Jill Archer came third. The full results are here.

Thanks to Simon Edler for directing. Thanks also to the Tamar Bridge Club for hosting the event, and organising players to fill a half table and act as subs.

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Every year Australian Bridge magazine runs three 'Australia-Wide' pairs events (novice, restricted and open). In each event clubs around Australia run a club session playing the same boards. The results are scored locally as normal, then all of the results are combined and re-scored at the national level. Comprehensive results, including hand analysis and a customised booklet are then available.

The 2023 Australia-Wide Restricted Pairs has just finished and the TBA had some stand-out results. Erica McCoull and Jeremy Reid came 1st locally and 6th overall (out of 890 pairs in the national field). They were also the top placed Victorian or Tasmanian pair, and the top placed pair in the under 100 masterpoint category.

Elizableth Legge and Leonie Atkins came 2nd locally and 36th nationally. Bronywn Fuller and Ann Halliday came 3rd locally and 226th nationally.

Full results are available on the 2023 Australia-Wide Restricted Pairs results page. Select 'Tasmania' in the club list to see how our players did both locally and nationally. Click on a player's name in the club summary to see the personalised booklet for that player.

Noted that the relative ordering of players can change between the local and national results. Some results that score well at the local level may not be so successul when compared with the national results, and vice versa. For example, a sacrifice may score very poorly at the local level if few people bid the game in the local field, but may be a good result in the national scoring.

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The TBA Spring Pairs was held on Sunday 1st October 2023. This was a Swiss Pairs event with 22 pairs playing 9 board matches over 6 rounds. The winners were Leigh Blizzard and Julie Rhodes. Margaret Robertson and Margaret Gibbs were place second. Hilton Frances and John Bailey came third.

Thanks to Sue Falkingham for directing.

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On Sunday 24th September the regional final of the Grand National Open Teams was held. The winner of this event represents Southern Tasmania in the Australian Final in Brisbane.

This year we will be represented by Pam Murphy, Julia Corr, Phil Timmins, and Bal Krishan.

Runners up in the event were John Grosvenor, Mardi Grosvenor, Richard Cooke and Margaret Gibbs. Full results are here.

The Northern Regional Final was won by Andrew Richman, Sandra Richman, Roger Swain and Felicity Wivell. Full results are on the Devonport Bridge Club website.

We wish them well.

Margaret Gibbs

Tasmanian GNOT co-ordinator

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The 2023 Tasmanian Board-A-Match Teams Championship was played on the weekend of 16th-17th September at the Tamar Bridge Club. In Board-A-Match scoring each board is worth 0, 1 or 2 points depending on whether a team's score is beaten by, equals or beats the opposition's score. This is equivalent to Matchpoint scoring where a board is played only twice.

Nine teams played in a round robin over two days. This was the equivalent playing 14 board matches against each of the eight opposing teams. The clear winners with 144 points were the team of Ann Paton, Lakshmi Sunderasan, Sandra Richman and Andrew Richman. Second placed with 122 points were the team of Mardi Grosvenor, John Grosvenor, Julie Rhodes and Leigh Blizzard. Two teams had 121 points - the team of Simon Edler, Jane Edler, Phil Timmins and Duncan Abercomby (the winners of TBA Board-A-Match Teams in July), and the team of Roger Swain, Felicity Wivell, Anne Fyfe and Floyd Suban. One point separating 3 teams after 112 boards is quite a result. Full results are available here.

Thanks to Hugh Grosvenor for directing, and for the hospitality of the Tamar Bridge Club.

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The 2023 Eastcoaster Swiss Pairs was held at the Eastcoaster Resort in Orford on the weekend of 19-20 August. This event was started last year, and it was great to see it grow by 8 tables this year with 48 pairs competing. The field included a strong contingent from the north of the state. Many people stayed overnight at the Eastcoaster and there was an event dinner on the Saturday night at the Eastcoaster's restaurant.

The field covered the full range of experience, with some people playing in their first Swiss Pairs competition. The field played nine matches of nine boards across three sessions, two on Saturday and one on Sunday morning. Prizes were awarded for the overall field and for novice and restricted categories (less than 25 and 150 masterpoints respectively). Pleasingly all players earned some red masterpoints for their weekend's efforts.

The winners overall were Tania Lloyd and Hugh Grosvenor. Jeremy Reid and Chris Girvan came second. Third were Mardi and John Grosvenor.

Winners of the restricted category (and 9th overall) were Julia Johnson and Sharn Davies. Second in the restricted category were Engelina and Graeme Poulton. Winners in the novice category were Penny Padgett and Sue Millar. Second in the novice category were David Blackburn and Ian Ritchard (no photo available).

Full results for the event are available here.

Many thanks to the Eastcoaster for their generous support of the event, and for all of their efforts in making the weekend a success. The Eastcoaster donated a free accommodation package as a lucky door prize, which was won by Engelina Poulton. Thanks also to the Tasmanian Wine Centre for providing prizes.

Thank you to Erica McCoull for a massive effort as event convenor. A special thanks to Jenny Adey and Jegs Nuttall for stepping in at the last minute to replace a pair who had to withdraw. Thanks also to Simon Edler for directing. And, of course, thank you to everybody who played ...




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The 2023 TBA Board-A-Match Teams Championship was played on Sunday 30th July. In Board-A-Match scoring each board is worth 0, 1 or 2 points depending on whether a team's score is beaten by, equals or beats the opposition's score. This is equivalent to Matchpoint scoring where a board is played only twice.

Eight teams, with a broad range of experience, played in a round robin. The winners were the Edler team (Jane and Simon Edler, Phil Timmins and Duncan Abercromby). Second place went to the Sunderasan team (Jeremy Reid, Ann Paton, Wynne Webber and Maggie Crawford), sadly missing their team namesake (thanks to Maggie for filling in). Full results are available here.

Thanks to Hugh Grosvenor for directing.

The next Board-A-Match event is the Tasmanian Board-A-Match teams at the Tamar Bridge Club on the weekend of 16-17th September. Entries are on MyABF.

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The TBA's largest club event of the year, the TBA Congress, was held on the weekend of 1st-2nd July 2023. Matchpoint Pairs were played on Saturday with separate events for Open, Restricted and Novice. The Open and Restricted were held across two sessions. The Novice Matchpoint Pairs was a single session in the afternoon. Sunday was a combined 20 table Swiss Pairs event, with Open, Restricted and Novice categories.

The Open Matchpoint Pairs was won by Tania Lloyd and Hugh Grosvenor. Second place was taken out by Bob Patterson and Maria Gibbs. David Robinson and Phil Beck came third. Full results are available here (session 1 and session 2).

The Restricted Matchpoint Pairs was won by Katherine Marsden and Pam Halton. Wayne Seabrook and Paul Fredheim came second, and Leonie Atkins and Janet Bradley came third. Full results are available here (session 1 and session 2). The single session Novice Matchpoint Pairs was won by Jane Malecky and Christina Buell. Laura Best and Lynn Barlow came second. Full results are available here.

The Swiss Pairs on Sunday was played across 6 rounds of 9 board matches. All entrants played in a single field, but prizes were awarded for Open, Restricted and Novice categories. Full results are available here. The Open competition was won by David Robinson and Phil Beck. Kevin Wheelahan and David Shaw came second. Mardi and John Grosvenor came third, and Tania Lloyd and Hugh Grosvenor came fourth.

The Restricted category of the Swiss Pairs was won by Regina Share and Elizabeth Taylor. The Novice category was won by Sharlene Campbell and Catherine Catt.

Thanks to everybody who played. A particular thanks to those who filled vacancies at short notice. Thanks to Sue Falkingham and Simon Edler for directing, and to Pam Murphy for organising the catering.

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The Role of the TBA

The TBA is is the largest bridge club in the state with over 400 members and is the administrative body for the game of bridge in Tasmania. The TBA is responsible for running national and state events including the Australian Swiss Pairs championships and the Roger Penny Senior Swiss Pairs competition. The TBA also administers the Masterpoints system for the ABF and endeavours to promote the growth and teaching of bridge throughout Tasmania via its affiliated clubs.

The TBA's purpose-designed Centre at 5 Marine Esplanade, New Town Bay serves as both our local Clubrooms and the headquarters for bridge in the state. The TBA premises are available for hire by community groups for suitable activities by arrangement with the TBA Committee. Please complete a booking request form (available here) and email it to the TBA at tba@tasbridge.com.au.


Contact us:
Phone: 0400 492 327
Email: tba@tasbridge.com.au
Post: PO Box 171, North Hobart 7002

Bank Account Details for direct debit: BSB: 067-102 A/C #: 2801 2004 A/C Name: Tasmanian Bridge Association
ABN: 66 028 130 967

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