Competitive bridge

Clubs play the game in a similar way. Typically, you will play in pairs or the occasional team event.

But if you are a new player, there might not be many other new players at your club. A great way to challenge yourself against competition of a similar level is at a congress.

What is a congress?

You are likley to hear about congressess from your fellow club members.

Congresses are events where competitive play takes place at a larger scale than a club. New players are more than welcome, with some congresses offering events for players who have not accumulated many masterpoints (under 20, 100 and 300 masterpoints, for example). Congresses also offer the opportunity to travel with friends and enjoy socialising at the congress and at social events held on the side.

The most common congress is a two day event with “Swiss Pairs” on one day and a Teams event on the second, with both typically using masterpoints scoring (called IMP or International Match Points).

A Swiss pair format means that the pair or team you will play against in the next round will have performed similar to you in the rounds before. The risk of getting “beaten up by the strong players all the time” is very low. And if you do well and want a challenging game, chances are you will get it.

Key congresses

There are a few big congresses throughout the year that attract large numbers of players and take place over a week or longer. They are:

• Summer Festival of Bridge, Canberra (January)
• Central West Festival of Bridge, Orange (April)
• Coffs Coast Gold Congress (August)
• Sydney Spring Nationals (October)

At these events, you may play against skilled players and even enjoy an occassional win! But most likely you will play matches against people of a similar level, thanks to the Swiss movement.

And as mentioned, some congresses offer events for players with masterpoints below a level, such as 20, 100 or 300 masterpoints.

Find a congress

To find a congress that suits your timetable and preference to be face to face (F2F) or online, head to our events calendar.