All the teams to represent NSW in the Open, Seniors, Youth and Women's events at the Australian National Championships (ANC) have now been selected. Our representatives in Perth in July are:

The Australian National Championships (ANC)  involve much more than just an interstate competition, they include major events and sessions open to all bridge players. Check out the detailed program on MyABF and join our representatives for a great game in Perth.

More than 10 clubs from all over New South Wales have already run club qualifying events and submitted the names of their representatives for the State Mixed Pairs Championships weekend on 29-30 May. This very popular event will be held at the NSWBA clubrooms: at the time of publication of this newsletter, there are 37 pairs listed as participating. Note that players who were unable to play in a club qualifying event are welcome to enter directly for this two-day championship. Or you might like to play in the one-day Autumn Swiss Pairs congress, which will  be held on Sunday 30 May. If you are concerned that the number of entries for that seems very small, don't worry, many of the State Mixed Pairs contestants will be playing in it after the Saturday qualifying event.

Not all State events are held at the NSWBA! In fact NSWBA welcomes the involvement of local clubs in organising and hosting some state events, so that more players can participate without travelling. The upcoming State Seniors Championships from 15th-18th June (comprising 2 days of Pairs and 2 days of Teams) is an initiative of Central Coast Leagues Bridge Club. For details, please see the program brochure and then enter via the NSWBA website.

The Teams of Three is another well-liked NSWBA event, which offers a great learning experience. NSWBA invites experienced players to coach each table by partnering with each player in at least one round. This year the event can only accommodate 36 tables under Covid restrictions, so enter now to avoid disappointment!

The next NSWBA Monday Night Championship will be the City of Sydney Teams starting from 21st June over 3 weeks. 

Other upcoming F2F congresses:

• Illawarra Bridge Association Chris Diment Memorial Congress on 12th-13th June
• Wollstonecraft Bridge Club Teams on 13th June
• NSBC@Lindfield Restricted & Novice Festival on 19th-20th June
• North Shore Bridge Club Festival of Bridge on 24th-27th June
• Trumps Bridge Centre Winter Teams on 4th July

If you have been playing in online congresses, you will be interested in this report about the MasterBridge Online Swiss Teams held in April:

• MasterBridge April Online Swiss Teams by Rakesh Kumar

At the national level, both the Autumn Nationals in Adelaide and the Barrier Reef Congress in Mackay in April were well supported by players. The next national congress will be the Victor Champion Cup to be held in Melbourne from 10th-14th June. It is exciting to see that the tournament is being held at a new venue, the Marvel Stadium. Details are on MyABF, the new ABF online platform which is also where you can enter for one or more events. 

If you're craving something more than interstate travel, the New Zealand Bridge Association invites you to consider the NZ National Bridge Congress at the end of September in Mt Maunganui/Tauranga.

For those who are tight for time, online Congresses continue to offer convenience:

• MasterBridge Online June Matchpoint Pairs on BBO on 5th June