Australian Bridge Federation
History
In 1933 the first interstate match in Australia was arranged between teams from NSW and Victoria. The following year the first official Australian National Championship occured as states formed associations to manage the organisation of bridge. To co-ordinate the sport nationally, the states then formed The Australian Bridge Council. It changed its name to the Australian Bridge Federation (ABF) in the 1960’s.
The Structure and Purpose of the ABF
The ABF is the peak body for the administration of bridge in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation and its headquarters are located in Canberra. Under the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, the ABF is the National Bridge Organisation that is the Regulating Authority for bridge in Australia. The ABF can, and has, assigned its powers to state and territory associations for tournaments played under their auspices (i.e. all state and club events and sessions).
The governance model of the ABF starts with a Council composed of two representatives from each of the eight constituent (State and Territory) associations. One NSW representative is accorded an extra vote. The Council elects a Board consisting of a President, a Secretary and two other members.
As at 31 October 2024 there were 334* clubs (Excluding clubs with no registered member) affiliated with the eight state & territory associations. The total number of bridge players registered with the ABF Masterpoint Centre was 31,723 (not including the ABF Youth Club members).
| Association | Players | Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| ACT | 993 | 6 |
| NSW | 11,407 | 138 |
| Victoria | 5,281 | 68 |
| Queensland | 6,579 | 53 |
| South Australia | 2,536 | 20 |
| Western Australia | 3,967 | 38 |
| Tasmania | 825 | 8 |
| Northern Territory | 135 | 3 |
| Total | 31,723 | 334 |
Source: ABF Club List, 31 October 2024
The ABF Objectives and Benefits
The first objective of the ABF is, like Bridge NSW, to “foster interest in and promote the game of bridge.” The full list of the ABF Objectives is available on their website.
The major benefit for club players is the ABF Masterpoints Scheme. This simply provides a way of “keeping score”. By earning masterpoints for achievement in club, state and national events, players can compare their performance against other players or between years. Masterpoints also enable the grading of players for congresses to create events for players with comparable experience and ability.
At the elite level the ABF continues the conduct of interstate team championships and it selects and supports Australian teams for zone and world championships.
A very significant beneft is that the ABF provides automatic volunteer, committee and public liability insurance cover for affiliated clubs. The insurance provider, TBIB, also provides very competitive travel insurance for members.
If you have any questions or comments about these strategies please contact the ABF through the phone (02) 6239 2265, fax (02) 6239 1816 or email on secretariat@abf.com.au and visit the ABF site at www.abf.com.au.
Affiliation
Clubs can only become affiliated with the ABF through their State Association. The ABF levies capitation fees to all clubs affiliated with their State body. Billing is based on the concept of a home club.
Players may belong to as many clubs as they wish. If they belong to one affiliated club, that club will be recognised as their home club for masterpoint and ABF purposes. If they belong to more than one affiliated club then they must choose one of them as their home club. The fee is payable for all players in the club who elect that club to be their home club for masterpoint purposes. It is billed to clubs in April each year.
All members of a club must be affiliated through at least one club; it is not open to clubs to elect whether or not a player wishes to receive masterpoints and therefore be affiliated.
The ABF Masterpoint Levies and Capitation Fees are available on the Masterpoint Centre website.