The Chris Diment Memorial Congress was so popular, Illawarra Bridge Association knew they had to move to a new venue.
They gambled on hiring The Builders Club in Wollongong last year and used the same event for this year’s Congress over the weekend.
Players from Illawarra, Sydney, Batemans Bay, Canberra, Nowra and the Southern Highlands travelled to be there. Pairs numbers were 68, up from 54 last year, and the number of teams competing was 34, up from last year’s 28. By all reports, the congress was a resounding success.
A legacy of kindness
The event was named after former IBA club manager and grade A Director, Chris Diment. Known for his warmth, calm efficiency and insightful guidance, Chris enriched the game for all players, especially beginners.
“His legacy of professionalism and kindness is something we can all aspire to,” says Marie.
“We maintain strong relationships with our members in a supportive environment. Foundational members, like Jill MacRae, have maintained Chris Diment’s feeling of inclusivity and positivity in the beginners’ courses.”
“Thanks to other friendly souls, such as Jeff Carbury, Kaye Hart and Rob Kinloch, many strong social relationships among our members have developed over the years.”
IBA’s culture was encapsulated by Jeff Carbury on the weekend when he welcomed attendees and advised them to: Be kind to your partner. Be kind to your opponents. And, critically, be kind to yourself.
“Chris would have surely been proud of the club and the event,” says Marie.
Where beginners are nurtured
IBA has been attracting an increasing number of beginners to the club. According to Marie, it is thanks to word of mouth and advertising in a Wollongong Council booklet for Seniors Week back in March.
IBA’s supportive culture also helps. When beginners finish their course, the club asks for them input on what they’d like to address next. Each person is given the opportunity to pair with a playing mentor.
Supervised sessions that aid beginners use to comprise three to four tables. That number is now up to nine.
“Choosing the mentor is the secret. You need to recruit players that have a style which is non-judgmental, open, encouraging, and non-prescriptive of a system. We explain to our mentors that these are the behaviours we are after,” Marie says.
“There is a country atmosphere in our club with a social focus that makes players feel valued and relaxed.”
Streamlining club administration is also a big help in allowing the focus to remain on people and not red tape. In May 2025, IBA migrated the club to MyABF. Marie and her team are already huge fans.
“It is set up well and you can adjust entries if there is a mistake. We can already see it’ll be a real time saver for our Treasurer,” she says.
“I encourage other NSW clubs to migrate too.”
Results from the weekend
Congratulations to the following winners at the Congress.
PAIRS
- Open – Lucy and Grant Cowen
- Restricted – Graham Jones and Conny Szenczy
- Novice – Chris Fergusson and Trikki Young
TEAMS
- Open – Andrew Creet, Louise Brassil, Michael Brassil, Karen Creet
- Intermediate – Andrew Grace, Ken Hubbell, Frank Hardiman, Paul Stebbing
- Restricted – Inci Khoury, Carol Jeffs, Kay Snowden, Val Hodsdon
- Novice – Aaron Poon, David Zheng, Noah Klugman, Duncan Lai
For more results, head to the Bridge NSW homepage, scroll down to “In-progress/Recent events” and click on the Results button for the Chris Diment listing.
And keep an eye out for analysis of play at the Congress from Rakesh Kumar in the July edition of Bridging NSW, our monthly newsletter.
