Welcome to the new website for the Tasmanian Bridge Association. This post provides an introduction to some of the new content and features.
13 Mar 2026 — Notices — Julie Rhodes
Below is the President's Annual Report to the 2026 Annual General Meeting. This is also available in document form here
During the last 12 months at the TBA, we have continued to make steady improvement and build on the work of previous committees.
We have continued to focus on recruitment and retention of new members to ensure the future viability of our club. Sue Falkingham has continued to conduct Beginner’s Classes twice a year, which has resulted in many new members joining our club. Please make them feel welcome whenever you come across them at the table.
Consequently we have a larger proportion of “rookie” players at the TBA than in the overall population of ABF registered bridge players. It is important that we assist these new players to grow their expertise so they can fully enjoy the pleasure of playing bridge. Monday morning has emerged at the principal “transition” session for beginners before they can feel comfortable moving to Tuesdays or Wednesday nights.
We are conducting more “beginner focussed” events. We are trialling some “restricted” Sunday Swiss pairs events. If these are supported by members we will continue to run them. Most TBA events now include prizes in the Restricted and Novice categories as well as Open prizes.
The TBA has appointed Laura Bauermeister to act as a Membership Officer to assist new members to settle in to the club, and Pam Murphy as a Partnership Facilitator, to assist any member needing a partner. Many thanks to Laura and Pam for their work during the last year.
Thank you to all TBA members who have assisted a new member to feel welcome into our club, and keep up the good work in this regard.
We currently use the monthly “What’s On” newsletter to communicate with all members as well as the notice boards and slides at the TBA. The Suggestion Box continues to make us aware of member concerns and has resulted in the implementation of several good suggestions. We have decided to use the MyABF and our own web site to more fully describe our regular and special TBA events and publish them earlier to facilitate early entry. If you think we can do better with member communication, please let us know.
As our old web site has become creakier and creakier, the committee approved the development of a new and much more fabulous web site for the TBA.
John and Hugh have been putting in a huge effort to create the new web site. It already looks great and will only improve with time. If you have an idea about our web site, please let us know.
Sue Falkingham has established a “Laugh and Learn” improvers lessons on Wednesday afternoons at 2.00pm. These include a social aspect, as well as the opportunity to improve your bridge.
Bridge coaching by acclaimed Bridge Experts has been and will be made available to players at the TBA in 2026, including those aspiring to represent Tasmania. Andy Hung conducted two lessons at the club in February and Liam Milne will be running a session on slam bidding which is open to all comers on Friday May 29th from 2.00pm to 4.00pm as a cost of $ 25. In addition to running state team training on May 30th and 31st, Liam will lead a discussion on selected hands from the Saturday afternoon session. Anyone who nominates for State Team Selection is eligible to attend the State Team Training.
The TBA continues to run one on-line session per week on Wednesday nights at 7.15pm. This is an opportunity to earn red master points without leaving the comfort of your home, as well as play in a partnership with someone outside of Hobart. In addition, this year we will run our first On Line Championship – the Tassie Matchpoint Online Pairs on Sundays June 14th, 21st and 28th.
Last year we trialled holding the annual state meeting via Zoom. Most clubs participated and once we all became comfortable with the technology opinions were freely shared, and solutions to problems proposed. It was resolved to continue holding the annual state meeting in this format.
This year’s Tasmanian Festival of Bridge has attracted a record number of entries. We are all excited about the prospect of hosting a well run event at our fabulous venue – MyState Bank Arena. In addition, the ABF has approached us to ask if we can help host the playoffs for the National Seniors and Mixed Teams. These will commence at the TFoB and will continue at the TBA on the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Many thanks to all volunteers who have put their hands up to help at these events including drivers, furniture movers, cake, soup and sandwich makers and general volunteers.
We continue to establish and document TBA policies and procedures to bring some consistency to the administration of the club. This is being led by Fran Healey who is doing an excellent job. Once finalised, these are published on the TBA web site for the information of members as well as affiliated clubs.
We have had a good year from a financial point of view with a solid operating surplus generated. This has allowed us to restructure the Director’s fees with the result that most sessions will result in an increase of Director payments.
Also, as previously noted we are investing in the development of a new web site which will greatly enhance the smooth running of all aspects of our club.
Any additional surplus will go towards our club extensions which we will continue to pursue in 2026.
To encourage a new generation of Directors, we need to work on a Director’s Manual to assist existing and aspiring Directors who wish to run TBA duplicate sessions. This will include relevant TBA policies and procedures, Committee information, instructions around the Compscore2 system, and information on common movements and infractions.
An Operations manual for the TBA is also under way detailing TBA current policies as well as information how to run particular events such as the Melbourne Cup, Eastcoaster etc.
These are to assist future committees and avoid duplication.
The TBA is hosting the 2027 Australian National (Bridge) Championships which will be held in the Ricky Ponting room at Bellerive Oval from July 3rd 2027. We will continue to work towards this event throughout the year to ensure we put our best foot forward next year.
The TBA oversees the running of bridge at the State level, as well as the day-to-day running of club matters. The other six Tasmanian clubs depend on us to ensure state-wide information is disseminated, and accurate, with regard to bridge events held in Tasmania.
I would personally like to thank the hard working TBA committee and other volunteers for their assistance and support during the past twelve months. I would particularly like to thank John Grosvenor for his ongoing technical support and general advice.
The TBA would not be able to operate without the help of its Management committee or volunteers so a big thank you from all club members for your work in 2025 I am looking forward to the TBA consolidating and building on the previous year as we move through 2026.
Julie Rhodes
President
March 2026
12 Mar 2026 — Newsletter — Julie Rhodes
The TBA Committee met on March 10th from 2.45pm. Present were Julie Rhodes (P), John Grosvenor (VP), Trish Colles (S), Leigh Blizzard (T), Leonie Atkins, Sue Falkingham, Pam Murphy, Paul Fredheim, Hugh Grosvenor, Simon Edler and Laura Bauermeister. The following matters were discussed:
Don’t forget our AGM on Saturday!
We try to make it a fun day. For those new to the club, on the day of the AGM, we all bring a plate of food to share for lunch after the meeting. The meeting starts at 12.00 noon and is usually completed by 12.30. After that, we have a shared feast, and then there is free bridge for all those who attend the AGM (red masterpoints).
A reminder that the TBA will be closed from Thursday March 19th until Wednesday March 25th (inclusive). This is due to the staging of the Tasmanian Festival of Bridge, and to the continuation of Australian Playoffs for the Mixed and Seniors Teams.
Thank you to those who have offered to prepare and serve food and clean up during the playoffs to ensure that we put our best foot forward for our interstate guests.
Following a suggestion from a TBA member, and subsequent representations to HCC, I am pleased to advise that a one way traffic management system will become operational in the external carpark in the next week or so. Please look out for new signage and follow the directional arrows when entering or leaving the carpark.
Following right behind the Tasmanian Festival of Bridge, we have our annual TBA Congress on April 11th and 12th. Saturday will be a Matchpointed Pairs event and Sunday will be a Swiss Pairs event. Prize money will be awarded according to the number and Masterpoint level of entries. You can enter via MyABF with a discounted entry fee for those people who enter on both days.
As a thank you for the hard work of all our TFoB volunteers, and to all our members who entered this event to ensure its financial success, the TBA will be providing a complimentary light lunch on both days.
The TBA has organised for Liam Milne (a former and current Australian player) to conduct the State team training this year in May. In addition, he will be running a session which will be open to everyone. It will run from 2.00pm to 4.00pm on Friday afternoon May 29th at a cost of $25 for TBA members and $30 for non members. The topic is :
“Slam Bidding Workshop - Bid better slams and stay out of poor ones!”
A very useful topic for all of us – who doesn’t need help improving their slam bidding? - I will certainly be attending! You will be able to enter shortly for this workshop on MyABF or just turn up on the afternoon with your $25.
Simon and Paul are working toward a solution for this problem – we have someone who is coming out to take a look so hopefully they will be able to fix the problem.
As previously advised, First Energy is paying the TBA a $150 sign up bonus for anyone who changes to them as their preferred retailer. At the moment they are advising that eight of us have done that – if you have changed over as part of this campaign, could you let a Director know, so we can invoice them for the correct amount?
The TBA is pleased to welcome the following new members to our club : Elizabeth Dobson, Susan Clennett, Rosemary Donald, Christine Hurburgh, Clive Claver, Roslyn Lamprill, Elisabeth Foster, Keitha Banks-Smith, Zelma Wright, Penelope Archer and Tamara McMichael.
Congratulations to the following members who have received rank promotions last month:
Remember to leave your bidding cards on the table until the opening lead has been faced. This allows the defence the opportunity to review the bidding before they make their killing lead!
Julie Rhodes
President
The ABF has made a change to the Masterpoint Scheme to award extra points to some sessions that are judged to have a strong field.
Read more →Results of the 2 week Thursday Morning Red Point Event, 26 Feb & 5 March 2026
Read more →The new TBA website is a significant upgrade over our old site. This post discusses some of the new features and where we may go next.
Read more →Congratulations to the February 2026 Multi winners.
Read more →An update from TBA President Julie Rhodes on the outcomes from the February 2026 Committee meeting, new members, promotions and other news from around the TBA.
Read more →The Annual General Meeting of the Tasmanian Bridge Association Inc. All members welcome.
The meeting will be followed by lunch and a session of bridge, free for those who attended the meeting.
Please bring a plate to share for lunch.