How did you get started in Bridge? At what age? Who do you learn from?
I started when I was 16, Laura introduced me to youth bridge and the community and that was it – I was hooked!
What do (did) you do professionally?
By day, I’m a Data Scientist. By night, I’m a bridge teacher! (<–way more fun)
Who is your partner and for how long? Longest Partnership?
My U31s partner is Alex Goss. We’ve been teammates heaps over the years but only partners occasionally. I’m excited to see where this goes. My longest partnership is with Seb Wright who is now my teammate on the team. We’ve been playing together for over 5 years and grown our bridge abilities together.
If you had a choice who would you like to play with? Australia and Internationally – living or dead.
Pete Hollands!! I watch his Weekly Free’s regularly and sometimes he makes a play because it just ‘feels’ right – I wanna pick his brain! 😛
In your playing career, what is the bridge success that has the most meaning for you?
Defeating the #1 seeds (England) in Warclaw in 2022 with Jenny Thompson (and Jamie and Eva) is hands-down my favourite success in bridge. It was view-graphed and commentated and all my friends and family back home followed along as the Aussie underdogs knocked out the favourites!
And your worst moment in bridge?
Cried at my very first youth week because my partner kept shaking her head at the bridge table. Turns out she was just bewildered that our opps kept underleading Aces!
What do you do between sessions to put you in the best frame of mind for the following sessions?
Fresh air!! If you ever want to find me post score-up, that’s where I’ll be. Hope they have some in China…
Do you have a favourite and least favourite convention?
Favourite convention = Lebensohl. It’s so clean and often gets you out of a tight spot.
Least favourite convention = These days it’s 2NT enquiry after a pre-empt – my partner always has trash! Why do I even ask…
Would you prefer to have more system or less?
Less!! Everyone who plays with me knows this. Keep It Simple (Stupid) and focus on the Card Play.
What do you to do to improve your game?
Play, read, youtube and post-mortems over pints of beer.
Favourite bridge book
Defensive Signals
What interests or hobbies do you have besides bridge?
I’m kind of obsessed with ultimate frisbee. If you ever want a toss, I’m game.
What is the number one thing that bridge has done for you as a person and for your life?
I have met so many beautiful people through bridge, many of which I know will become life-long friends.
Bridge results and awards
2022 Helman-Klinger award, bunch of ANC victories and representing Australia twice in the U26 division.
National Titles
Working on it!
State Representation
Played for VIC Youth team and now get to Captain and mentor them 🙂
National / International Representation
Repped team Aus in 2022 and 2023
Any other details/information you wish to provide
If you’re reading this, you should go find 10 friends and introduce them to bridge!
