ABF Executive Director

david.fryda@abf.com.au

I am pleased to announce the Board has employed David Fryda to the position of ABF Executive Director, effective 1 November 2023. David will make recommendations to the Council and the Board for the adoption of policies promoting the objects of the ABF and give effect to recommendations made by the Council or Board. He will also oversee employees and contractors of the ABF.

David is a highly regarded IT professional, including over a decade in the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO). His extensive experience encompasses leadership of both large and small teams, strategy development and implementation, as well as adept stakeholder engagement within intricate organisational landscapes. Following his retirement from full-time positions in 2017 David transitioned into the roles of consultant, coach, and educator. David was also the captain of our Australian Open Team in 2023.

The Council and Board look forward to working with David to promote the objects of the ABF.

ABF Constitution and Governance

A motion was passed by Council to hold an Extra Ordinary General Meeting on the 24 November to consider a Special Resolution to pass the amendments to the Australian Bridge Federation Ltd Constitution. These amendments are necessary to enable David Fryda to be a member of the ABF Board.

Resignation from ABF Board

Stephen Fischer resigned from the ABF Board leaving the position of Secretary vacant. On behalf of the ABF Council, I thank Stephen for his valuable contribution to the ABF Board and wish him well as he recovers from surgery. Welcome to Chris Mulley who replaces Stephen as Secretary of the ABF Board.

MyABF

Jenny Thompson has replaced Stephen Fischer as Chair of the MyABF Steering Committee.

MyABF project has continued to grow and deliver further functions for bridge players and clubs during 2023. All clubs and over 50% of players are now set up within My ABF and the figures grow each day. All National events are listed, and, from 1 Jan 2024, all State events will be as well – together with an increasing number of club events.

The project has recently faced some resourcing challenges, especially with developers. Obtaining developer resources through the bridge world would be ideal. To that end, players are asked to consider their networks to see if they know of anyone interested or know others who might themselves have suitable contacts.

Online Committee

Recommendations made by the Online Committees in their final report were accepted at the Mid-term meeting. Whilst we all recognise the strong support for online bridge, the ABF emphasises its commitment to face-to-face bridge, which remains the primary form of the game. We understand that online bridge fills a need, essentially its convenience and its low-cost, but it will never replace face-to- face bridge at the local, state, and national levels.

Director Seminar

The QBA ran a very successful online Directors Seminar on 14-15 October. Congratulations to Jan Peach for her organisation of the seminar. Also thank you to the key speaker Laurie Kelso and Peter Busch and Chris Snook for their contributions. The Development of Directors is vital to our game and the ABF will continue to support Trainee Directors at ABF Licenced events.

GNOT

The Board accepted the Tournament Committees recommendation to change the GNOT format for 2024 to include an online component. There will be no change to the first Stage which will continue to be run by the States and Territories. In 2024 this stage needs to be complete by mid-September to qualify teams to the online National Final to be held 20 to 22 September. The qualifying rounds to cut the field to 4 teams will be held on 20 to 22 September 2024. The final 4 teams will play a face-to- face GNOT final on 23-24 November 2024 at a venue yet to be determined. At the same time and venue, the 8 best ‘non-metropolitan’ teams will play a 2-day round robin for the tile of ‘Best Country Team.’ More details about eligibility, format and venue will be published on the ABF website and emailed to State and Territories. The 12 teams playing face-to-face on the 23-24 November will receive a subsidy.

Feedback and Future Meetings

The Board welcomes feedback and suggestions on the above matters or other subjects. The next Board Meeting is Friday 8th December 2023 via Zoom.

ABF Board:

Allison Stralow (President), Chris Mulley (Secretary), Rob Ward (Treasurer), Richard Ward and Sue Falkingham (Board Members)

Phil Markey (General Counsel), Michael Bryant (Deputy General Counsel) Jane Rasmussen (Executive Secretary)

October 2023