Growth is Bridge NSW’s #1 strategic priority.
Many clubs are not maintaining player numbers. Without new player growth the NSW community will continue to decline. This started in 2017 and was accelerated by Covid. Some signs of revival are great, but not enough.
So Bridge NSW’s highest strategic priority is to grow the number of players. But NSW clubs have different circumstances and resources. There is no silver bullet. Clubs need to act according to their circumstances.
Growth initiatives implemented
In our first year, Bridge NSW has started new services to help clubs increase their player numbers. This includes raising awareness of the need to recruit players, sharing inspiring growth stories, promoting courses, and publishing free Play & Learn resources on our website for teachers and beginners.
Bridge NSW helps promote the many courses across NSW, both face-to-face and online, from beginners to more advanced. The Bridge NSW website has a growing audience and already receives over 6,000 visits a month. Please get in touch to include your course on our instructed lessons page.
We’d like to see higher attendance at all beginners’ courses across NSW. Bridge NSW has a draft document describing ways clubs could promote beginner bridge lessons. We welcome your insights and feedback on the document before finalising it. So if you’re willing to give ideas, share your marketing templates, or give feedback please get in touch.
We also have an active NSW WhatsApp Teaching Community chat group. To give that a try please join here.
Online supervised play trial
Bridge NSW is about to trial an additional growth initiative – online supervised play. More on this will be announced this week.
Our hope is online supervised play will help retain recent learners and returning players, especially in many small and regional clubs without supervised play. Greater and sustained engagement by beginners, who may gain confidence through some online play, will help increase bridge players across NSW.
For now this is a trial only. It is over four weeks, at 4pm on Sundays, from 31 August to 21 September. Sessions will be approximately 90 minutes.
Action from clubs and teachers
We encourage NSW bridge clubs and teachers to promote this trial to all suitable players for the limited number of places available.
People can register individually, as a pair, or as a group of four players. Clubs can have their own teacher supervise their particular group.
Feedback from clubs and teachers is welcome. Equally if you are a bridge teacher or experienced bridge player and motivated to help others learn, and are willing to volunteer to supervise please let us know.
What happens after the trial
We hope these sessions prove to be a fun and helpful addition to aspiring bridge players, and bring more players to regular club sessions.
Community feedback will help Bridge NSW decide if we make this an ongoing service.
Bridge NSW will communicate more about this after the online supervised play trial, and other growth initiatives.
