Book a congress

Congress application

Congresses are an important feature of our bridge community. They provide opportunities for all members of ABF-affiliated clubs to play in a range of different events, and may cater for age and experience. Congresses are also excellent social occasions. Bridge NSW invites all clubs, in both metropolitan and country regions, to host congresses.

According to the ABF Masterpoint Scheme, congresses are to be approved by the respective State Associations. In the case of the New South Wales, the State Association is Bridge NSW. Bridge holidays and cruises also require approval. Clubs may also choose to host interclub events to attract neighbouring clubs and their members to participate. All the relevant documents and application forms are present at the bottom of this webpage.

Each year, NSW clubs will be emailed an invitation to host congresses under the auspices of Bridge NSW. Congresses that run in the current year will be automatically rolled over into the following year as close to the corresponding date(s) as possible.

Since Bridge NSW endeavours to maximise the success of all NSW clubs’ congresses, it is important for club committees to check the rollover dates once made available on the Bridge NSW Event Calendar. Clubs should then contact the Bridge NSW Calendar Coordinator via calendar@bridgensw.com.au to either confirm, change, or cancel their congress. Any inaugural congresses are to complete and submit a congress application form and wait for a response from the Calendar Coordinator.

Clubs are also invited to apply to host State Championship events. Click here for more information.

Updating the Bridge NSW Event Calendar

Once your congress is approved and added to the Bridge NSW Event Calendar you can request changes to the information displayed by emailing the Calendar Coordinator at calendar@bridgensw.com.au.

Two pieces of information will be missing from your entry when it is first created – the link to Register and the link for Results. Bridge NSW prefers that clubs use MyABF for creating congresses. Regardless, the registration link should be sent directly to the Calendar Coordinator so the Bridge NSW Event Calendar can be promptly updated. Similarly, Bridge NSW encourages clubs to post their congress results to nsw.bridgeaustralia.org. Once created, the congress results link will also need to be sent to the Calendar Coordinator.

Reviewing and reporting

Bridge NSW asks organisers to submit a congress report as a formal reflection of how successful their congress was. This report can be sent to the Bridge NSW Office via office@bridgensw.com.au. Organisers are also encouraged to hand out player surveys to gauge their congress’ success from the perspective of participating players.