18-Jan-26 LBC Summer Pairs
21-Jan-26 Tasmanian Online Real Bridge Red MP Pairs
25-Jan-26 Vera Houdek Summer Swiss Pairs
28-Jan-26 Tasmanian Online Real Bridge Red MP Pairs
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Each year the ABF Masterpoint Centre ranks players based on the total number of Masterpoints they have earned in the calendar year. Separate rankings are maintained for each Master level (determined by the player's Master rank at the start of the year) and overall (all players). The top 20 in each category are available each month in the Masterpoint Centre website National Reports McCutcheon section. Each player's overall McCutcheon rank can be found in their details using the Masterpoints Lookup page. State-based and club-based McCutcheon rankings can also be view on the Masterpoint Centre website.
At the start of February the McCutcheons will reset for the new year. Until then the final ranks for 2025 are available on the Masterpoint Centre website. Ten Tasmanian players made it into the top 20 lists, with two in the overall top 20 and one topping their category:
HAPPY NEW YEAR !
The TBA Committee met on January 13th from 3.00pm. Present were Julie Rhodes (P), Leigh Blizzard (T), Leonie Atkins (minutes), Chris Girvan, Sue Falkingham, Fran Healey, Pam Murphy and Laura Bauermeister. The following matters were discussed:
A big thank you to members for embracing this complicated process and renewing their membership in a timely fashion. John and Leigh have worked very hard to make sure people do not pay twice due to the automatic deduction process through MyABF. However, if you have been billed twice by accident, please notify us and of course we will refund the duplicate payment.
Our apologies for anyone who had a “surprise” deduction from their MyABF account – if you need help to adjust your permissions, please ask a Director who will be happy to help you.
Please think about entering our kick-off event for 2026 which runs on January 25th from 9.30 am. This event is a Matchpointed Swiss event which has been named in honour of a previous long serving TBA President and Committee member. Prizes will be awarded in the Open, Restricted and Novice sections subject to the numbers of entries – the more entries we have, the bigger the prize pool to share.
Laugh & Learn will make it's keenly anticipated return on Wednesday January 28th at 2pm. This is a non competitive and non scoring session. Players use coded cards to sort hands. These then have their bidding discussed. After playing the hand there is discussion on the play as well as what defenders can do. A glass of wine with cheese and biscuits is enjoyed after play then finishes around 4:45. All welcome, all standards of player, no need for a partner.
Andy Hung has represented Australia on several occasions and is a well known bridge teacher. In conjunction with the TBA he will be running sessions on Wednesday Feb 4th at 2.00pm and Saturday Feb 7th at 10.00am at a cost of $ 20 for TBA member or $ 25 for non-members.
Topics covered will be :
You can enrol via MyABF (links above) or just turn up and pay on the day.
Hobart City Bridge Club has an enthusiastic new management committee and plans to relaunch in February. It is keen to hear from current, past and potential members to find out what’s working, what could be better, and how it can make the club stronger and an even more enjoyable place to play bridge. You can help them as well as the TBA by completing this short survey. We will both use this information to improve the bridge experience for all members.
Welcome to the HOBART CITY BRIDGE CLUB (HCBC) SURVEY – Fill in form
If you are a member of multiple clubs you may receive the link twice!). The survey closes 30 January.
Time to get your entries in to this event to qualify for the generous early bird discount. This is our premier annual event and there are opportunities to enter in many categories and events. If you do not plan to enter but would still like to be a part of it, Katherine Marsden who is co-ordinating the event will need a team of volunteers. This can range from offering lifts to mainlanders, to assisting on the hospitality desk. Please let Katherine know if you are available to help. There will be no bridge at the TBA during the event so please either enter or join in as a volunteer. There are special prizes for the highest finishing Tasmanian pairs in the TBIB Australian Swiss Pairs and the TFoB Restricted Swiss Pairs.
The 2026 ANC will be held in Canberra commencing on July 6th. Nominations for the Tasmanian Open, Seniors and Women’s team are now open. Check the poster at the TBA or contact Simon for more details on how to nominate.
The next beginner courses will be starting in February on the 23rd and 25th. Monday afternoons 1-3pm. and Wednesday evenings 7-9pm. Cost is $120, please email the TBA, Sue or phone. All members are asked to promote these to your family or any friends who might be thinking about taking up our wonderful game.
The AGM is coming up on March 14th at 12.00 noon. If you would like to nominate to join the committee, keep an eye out for nomination forms which will be available soon. All positions are declared vacant each year, so aim high if you want to! There will be free bridge that afternoon for all who attend the AGM. Please bring a plate to share for lunch.
The TBA is pleased to welcome the following new members to our club : Sarah Campbell, Corinna Dwan and Cam Jones.
We wish you all a happy bridge journey and look forward to meeting you across the table.
Congratulations to the following members who have received rank promotions last month:
Remember to place your lead card face down on the table until acknowledged by your partner. This prevents complication and penalties if you are not on lead and have accidentally lead out of turn. It also gives your partner the opportunity to ask the opponents questions about the auction.
Julie Rhodes
President
The regular Roger’s Teams session on Friday night in July was transformed into a celebration of Christmas in July. The event attracted a good field but got off to a rocky start when the original date saw many entrants felled by sickness. Fortunately nearly everyone was able to manage a postponement of one week so the event went ahead on 25 July with 8 tables participating.
Players got into the spirit of things by dressing up and the Christmas themed decorations set the tone – see the photos below.
A sumptuous feast was brought to share including roast duck, hot baked ham, salmon, roast potato, salads and some delicious desserts.
Dinner was followed by a form of Secret Santa where everyone had contributed a small gift which were then selected at random by others. The twist was that you were able to ‘steal’ a gift that someone else had already selected! This led to some hilarity including Graeme Cooper having his gift stolen 6 times!
Teams were drawn by lot. The winners were Barbara Giizel, Maria Gibbs, Panchita Salmon and Janette Targett. Full results can be found here.
Much fun was had by all. Many thanks to Erica McCoull and Jeremy Reid for their considerable organisational efforts and of course to Dallas the regular director who went above and beyond in elf mode!
The August Roger's Teams is on 8 August. Enter on My ABF. There are also plans for another special Roger's Teams later in the year to celebrate Halloween.
The 2025 Tassie Board-a-Match Teams was held at the TBA on the weekend of 14-15 June. Board-a-Match scoring is simple. It is essentially matchpoint scoring with each board being played twice within a match. If you score better than your opponents at the other table you get 2 points for the board (they get none). If the scores are equal you each get 1 point. If the opponents get a better score you get no points (they get 2). No mucking around with IMPs or VP tables! Some people believe Board-a-Match teams is the purest form of the game.
Six teams (including a couple of fly-in celebrities) competed in a round robin of 24 board matches. The winners were the Lloyd team (Tania Lloyd, Hugh Grosvenor, Sandra & Andrew Richman). Second place went to the Gibbs team (Maria Gibbs, Pam Murphy, Phil Timmins, Duncan Abercromby). Full results are here.
Thanks to Simon for organising and directing the event.
If you are interested in giving Board-a-Match teams a go, the TBA Club Board-a-Match teams is coming up on Sunday 27 July. Entries are open on My ABF.
The final of the Tassie Matchpoint Pairs was held at Tamar Bridge Club on Sunday 1st June. Seven tables of pairs that had qualified through heats at various clubs around the state competed over two sessions. The winners were Pam Murphy and Bal Krishan from the TBA averaging about 59.5% over the two sessions. Second were Sally Clarke and Catherine Elliott from the Tamar Club averaging just under 58%. They also won the title of best womens pair. Third just a few matchpoints back were Roger Swain and Felicity Wivell also from Tamar. Full results are here.
Many thanks to the Tamar Club for their hospitality.
The 2025 TBA Club Open and Handicap Teams was held over two Monday evenings in May. Nine teams competed. The open winners were the Murphy Team (Pam Murphy, Barbara Giizel, Jo and Phil Beck). The handicap winners were the Giles team (Rosemary and Brian Giles, Betty Pilgrim and Paul Fredheim). Full results are available here.
The TBA Congress is the most significant club event held by the TBA each year. This year the congress was held on the weekend of 3rd and 4th May.
Saturday was Matchpoint Pairs over two sessions. The competion was divided into three categories - Open, Restricted and Novice. The overall winners of the Open were Guray Sunamak & Darryl Smith, with Annie Bartlett & Julie Rhodes coming second, and Barbara Giizel & Pam Murphy third. Full results for the Open are at: Overall, Session 1, Session 2.
The Restricted and Novice categories played in a combined section for the Matchpoint Pairs. Overall winners in the Restricted category were Mary George & Mary Hawthorne. Overall winners in the Novice category were Keong Chen & Leonie Atkins. Full results for the combined section are at: Overall, Session 1, Session 2.
Sunday was Swiss Pairs with 40 pairs competing. The overall winners were Fiona Hickey & Alaine Macmorran. Wynne Webber & Hilton Francis came second, and David Robinson & Phil Beck came third. The highest placed restricted pair were Jeremy Reid & Erica McCoull. The highest placed novice pair were Pam Halton & Toby Meredith. Full results are availabe here.
Thanks to the many volunteers who helped make the weekend a success, and to all who brought food to share. Thanks to Chris Carolan for Directing.
Thanks to everyone - players, organisers, directors, caddies, volunteers and sponsors - who made the 2025 Tasmanian Festival of Bridge a successful and exciting event. The Festival was held from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 of March 2025. This was the third time that the event has been held at the MyState Bank Arena in Hobart on the banks of the Derwent river.
400 entrants, including some of Australia's top players competed across 6 events. This is an impressive 25% increase over last year. Half of the entrants were from interstate or overseas. About 75 Australian clubs were represented, with a growing contingent of New Zealand players joining us.
Thursday and Friday saw the TFoB Restricted Swiss Pairs, the Roger Penny Senior Swiss Pairs and the Fixed Income Solutions 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 inaugural Jenny Penny Novice Swiss Pairs was also added to the schedule, running on Saturday.
Click to enlarge images
The TBIB Australian Swiss Pairs had a field of 114 pairs, an increase of 25% over last year. Start of play was preceeded by a few words from Ron Klinger and a minutes silence in memory of Avinash Kanetkar. The winners of the event were Warren Lazer and Pauline Gumby. Ashley Bach and Arlene Dalley came second. Maurits Van Der Vlugt and David Beauchamp came third. The Warren Walker Memorial trophy for the highest placed Tasmanian pair was won by Guray Sunamak and Darryl Smith. Full results are here.
The Fixed Income Solutions Australian Mixed Swiss Pairs also saw a signifcant increase over last year's field with 42 pairs playing. The event was won by Ashley Back and Arlene Dalley. Hugh McGann and Candice Smith came second. Andrew Peake and Giselle Mundell came third. Full results are here.
50 pairs played in the Roger Penny Senior Swiss Pairs which was won by Nigel Rosendorff and Peter Reynolds. Ian Robinson and Neil Ewart came second. Phillip Fent and Dee Harley came third. Full results are here.
Click to enlarge images
The TFoB Restricted Swiss Pairs saw 66 pairs with fewer than 300 masterpoints competing. It was won by Louise Cowan and Susan Bezette from the Tamar Bridge Club. They also won the inaugural Ron Spencer Memorial Prize for the highest placed Tasmanian pair. This prize is in memory of Ron Spencer, a member and generous beneficator of the TBA. Margaret Cusack and Rhonda Khong came second. Joann Theriault and Eamonn McCabe came third. Full results are here.
The inaugural Jenny Penny Novice Swiss Pairs was played on Saturday with 22 pairs with fewer than 100 masterpoints competing. The event is named in memory of Jenny Penny, a much loved bridge teacher and director who introduced many Tasmanians to the game over a very long career. The winners were Jan Van Riel and Margaret Grant. Second placed were Nat Wright and Jo Wright. Robyn Russell and Anne Donnelly came third. Full results are here.
This was the third running of the TFoB Rookie Swiss Pairs with 22 pairs with fewer than 25 masterpoints competing. It was won by Nat Wright and Jo Wright. Ann Burnett and Anne McEntee came second. Helen Hebblethwaite and Chris Arnott came third. Full results are here.
Thanks to TBIB for their continuing sponsorship.
Thanks to Fixed Income Solutions for becoming a major sponsorship.
Thanks to Fella Hamilton for their sponsorship. Two $100 Fella Hamilton gift vouchers were awarded to the top place women's pair in the Restricted, Senior and Open events.
The Tasmanian Festival of Bridge is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania
The 2026 Tasmanian Festival of Bridge will be from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 March 2026 at the MyState Bank Arena. There is plenty of room for more tables and it is a lovely time of year to visit Tasmania. Save the date, and we hope to see you in 2026!
TFoB 2019 | TGSP 2021 | TFoB 2022 | TFoB 2023 | TFoB 2024 | Top
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.
| North-West | North | South |
|---|---|---|
| Burnie Bridge Club | Launceston Bridge Club | Hobart City Bridge Club |
| Devonport Bridge Club | Tamar Bridge Club | Eastern Shore Bridge Club |
| Kingborough Bridge Club |
Contact us:
Phone: 0400 492 327
Email: tba@tasbridge.com.au
Post: 5 Marine Esplanade, New Town, 7008
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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