Please see ELIGIBILITY FOR RESTRICTED EVENTS for additional information.

No entry will be regarded as complete unless an entry form has been submitted and entry fees paid for each member of the team / pair

The Regulating Authority reserves the right to refuse admission to any entry which includes a player who does not qualify under these conditions of entry or who is not in good standing with any registered bridge club, bridge association or the Regulating Authority.

DIRECTOR

Chief Tournament Director - Dr Laurie Kelso

Senior Director - Peter Busch

DRAW FOR NEXT ROUND

The draw for the next round in the Swiss Pairs and Teams events will be sent to your mobile at the same time it is displayed on the projector screens at the venue. If you wish to receive your results or draw via your mobile, complete the following link www.tinyurl.com/abftext prior to the event.  If you have registered at other ABF events you will automatically be on the list. 

ELIGIBILITY FOR RESTRICTED EVENTS

Masterpoint requirements as at 31 December 2025

Restricted Pairs: Both players must have fewer than 300mps.

Barrier Reef 300 Teams: The average master points per player must not exceed 300mps, nor may any individual player possess more than 500mps. Additionally, team members who are life masters may not play together in a partnership.

Additional Limitations: A player having won a Restricted event is not eligible to enter that event in subsequent years.

A player may not have previously won two or more ABF events with the same master point restriction or higher as the one entered. Notwithstanding, players who have already entered a restricted category at the time of winning their second such ABF event, will be deemed eligible.

ENTRY FORM

MyABF registration is required to enable submission of an entry to this event.  Registration information can be found at MyABF resources and how to sign up.

For MyABF queries Pele  0439 949 060 or Kim  0412 064 903 (manager@qldbridge.com.au) To be decided?

To lodge an entry for the Barrier Reef Congress, go to My ABF - Congresses and scroll down to May 2026. Click on Barrier Reef Congress and scroll down to Events. Select your event and click on Enter. Your name will be pre-filled and you have the option of including your partner/team. Click Bank Transfer in the Payment Method for each player. When complete, click the Save and Pay Later box.

For payment options see PAYING FOR ENTRIES below

ENTRY FEES

Walk-in Pairs $ 30

Swiss Pairs $160

Teams $580

GOLD POINTS

Gold Points are awarded in all events except Walk-in Pairs when Red Points are awarded.

HOSPITALITY

Welcome drinks and nibbles will be served after the final Pairs Session at approx. 5:30pm on Tuesday.

Farewell luncheon will be provided at 1:00 pm on Friday.

Please advise Di Garside on 0439 598 019 of any special dietary requirements.

MOBILE PHONES

Players are not allowed to use their mobile phones during session times. Please ensure they are either TURNED OFF or on SILENT. Please see Toni Barrell, Tournament Organiser, to look after your phone if you are expecting an urgent call.

If you wish to receive your results or draw via your mobile, complete the following link www.tinyurl.com/abftext prior to the event.  If you have registered at other ABF events you will automatically be on the list. 

PARKING

The stadium has free onsite parking for 310 spaces with 6 dedicated handicapped spaces.

PAYING FOR ENTRIES

Direct Deposit: Westpac BSB: 034-212 A/c No: 558992

(Please use your Name & ABF Membership Number as reference on all bank transfers)

Cheque: Payable to: Townsville Bridge Club Inc

Mail to: PO Box 1053, Aitkenvale Q 4814

PENS

Pens will be supplied at the beginning of the event and belong to the players who are responsible for carrying their own pens from table to table.

ALERTS SUMMARY For more detailed information see ABF Alerting Regulations

PRE-ALERTS

List your unusual or complex treatments in the pre-alerts section of the system card. For instance – RCO 2s, Bergen raises, DONT Dbl vs 1NT, unusual carding (leading low from doubletons should be noted in the “leads” section of system card).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announce the number of clubs contained in a 1♣ opening and the HCP range of a 1NT opening. Those playing a strong club system just need to announce 1♣ as “Strong 16+”.

ALERTS DURING THE AUCTION

Alert by circling partner’s call and saying “Alert” but don’t offer an explanation unless asked (then aim to be concise, yet complete).

DON’T ALERT

• Any double or redouble

• Any call beyond 3NT, except a conventional opening bid

• A bid of a suit bid or shown by an opponent

• Any 2♣ response to a INT opening bid in an uncontested auction (e.g. Stayman)

• Any Jump Raise in a contested auction

For our New Zealand players, we do NOT use STOP Cards

DO ALERT:

All other conventional calls (such as Transfers, 2♥= hearts and a minor)

‘Unusual’ natural bids. These include: weak jump shift responses, pre-emptive jump raises (but only in uncontested auctions), inverted minors, canapé tendency, negative free bids, transfer accepts that deny four trumps, etc.

At the end of the auction, the declaring side should mark any unusual calls that weren’t alerted at the time. Do this with a plus sign (+).

IF PARTNER STUFFS UP (it won’t be you!)

Declarer/Dummy: If partner fails to alert or provides a wrong or misleading explanation, you should wait until the end of the auction before calling the Director and correcting.

Defenders: wait until the end of the hand before piping up.

BRIDGE MATES

If you are unfamiliar with the Bridgemate Scoring Unit please arrive a few minutes before your first session and ask a Director or other official for a quick tutorial.

BRIDGE MATES II – PLAYER NUMBERS FOR THE PAIRS & TEAMS EVENTS

PAIRS: The player numbers you first enter on the Bridge Mates are your ABF numbers.

TEAMS: NS at the home table should enter the ABF Numbers for the players in your OWN team.

To simplify the process for entering player numbers for these teams, from Round 2 onwards if your team is sitting in the same seats as in Round 1, you may just enter ‘1’ for all four players. The unit will display ‘same as Round 1’ as the player names and the system will correctly record the pairs. If there is a change of player or their position in subsequent rounds, please re-enter the ABF number as applicable.

PROGRAM

Butler Swiss Pairs (Open & Restricted)

Swiss Teams (Open & Restricted) To be decided? This is a picture so I need to redo it