As 2025 draws to a close, we want to acknowledge the people who have helped make the first full calendar of Bridge NSW’s life a productive one.
Firstly, a big thank you to the ongoing members of our Board, Council and Committees. All of these positions are volunteer roles, and we could not survive without them. Equally, a huge thank you to 140+ club committees, and their directors, teachers, event organisers, session helpers, scorers, board dealers, tech supporters, event convenors, catering helpers, handymen, managers of club websites, and many other valuable roles. And thank you to those who encouraged family and friends to take up the game in 2025. More than 10,000 players enjoyed bridge across NSW in the year thanks to you and your passion for our bridge community.
In 2025, Bridge NSW was very pleased to welcome the following people:
- Michael Green (Peninsula) – Board member, Board Secretary, Council Secretary
- Frank Hardiman (Finesse) – Board member
- Members of the new Bridge NSW Council, which represents all clubs: Chair Lynleigh Evans (Southern Highlands), Satha Arumanayagam (Parramatta), Bas Bolt (Sapphire Coast), Derrick Browne (Sydney), Catherine Chaffey (Southern Highlands), Phil Glover (Wagga Wagga), Noreen Grant (Albury), Chris Hamam (Randwick), Mary Anne Loveridge (Sydney), John McIlrath (North Shore), Glenda Parmenter (Armidale), Ted Popper (Easts) and Sharon Thompson (North Shore)
- The Chairs of each committee: Glenda Parmenter (Clubs and Community – Armidale), Fraser Rew (Events – Sydney), John McIlrath (Directing – North Shore), Steve English (Education – Sydney) and Dagmar Neumann (Governance – Sydney)
- Members of the new Congress Discipline and Ethics Committee: Peter Peterson (Newcastle), Tammy Schwarz (Blue Mountains), Janet Brown (Lennox Head), Jane North (Dubbo) and Anne Tonna (Orange)
- New committee members: Sachiko Cathcart (Events – Peninsula), Lynleigh Evans (Governance – Southern Highlands), Noreen Grant (Governance – Albury), Chris Hamam (Clubs and Community – Coogee), Frank Hardiman (Clubs and Community, Events – Finesse), David Havyatt (Clubs and Community, Directing – Illawarra), Annick Marsh (Clubs and Community – Inverell), Sonya McLennan (Clubs and Community – Yamba).
- Mitch Dowling – Executive Officer
- Ben Falkenmire – Marketing and Communications
- Nic Morris – IT
Thank you also to regular content contributors, Derrick Browne, Rakesh Kumar, and Kate McCallum.
Secondly, thank you to the following volunteers who undertook invaluable work for Bridge NSW this year before moving on:
- Alan Bustany (Central Coast Leagues Club) for his contributions as a founding board member and Tournaments Committee member, tireless efforts building and running OPL and OTL, and many ideas to strengthen the NSW events community
- David Hudson (previously North Shore, now Canberra BC) for his contribution as a board member and wise counsel on strategic decisions
- Alison Hanson (Armidale) for her sound legal advice as General Counsel and as a member of the Governance Committee
- Maurits van der Vlugt (Sydney) for his valuable efforts as our first Chair of the Tournaments Committee, building the initial committee and its strategy
- George Finikiotis (SA Bridge Association) for his contribution as Chair of the Discipline and Ethics Committee
- David Havyatt (Illawarra) for the immense work he undertook as Executive Officer, especially his help setting up organisational processes and documents
- Committee members: Marjorie Askew (Clubs and Community – Ballina), Kyna Foo (Events – Sydney), Alison Hanson (Governance – Armidale), Susan Humphries (Events – North Shore), Stephanie Price (Events – Sydney), Vicki Williamson (Clubs and Community – Grafton).
Finally, thank you to Rob Ward (Sydney) and Dagmar Neumann (Sydney) for their service representing NSW on the ABF Council, and for Jake Andrew who is taking their place as the NSW representative.
We are also grateful to the ABF for the support they have provided in multiple areas, and to Bridge Victoria and NZ Bridge for ongoing collaborative work. Collaboration across the Australian bridge community is strengthening and is vital for its long term health. We look forward to delivering more shared projects in 2026.
To everyone who has contributed in 2025: thank you. Bridge is a community game. You make bridge better for all of us.
