2026 JANUARY NEWSLETTER
All the best for the new year and good luck at the bridge table in 2026. We can't all be winners but we can all have fun.
Don't forget that the old Fremantle Bridge will close at the start of February and getting to the Club may be a challenge for those of us coming from the South.
PLANNING AHEAD
Membership Renewals
Thank you to everyone who has already renewed their memberships and a gentle reminder to everyone else that it is time to renew. You can pay by direct debit or at the director’s station by cash or card
Charles Pearce Cup
Wednesday evenings in January. Just turn up. Pre-entry not required. Play whichever Wednesday nights you want. Each pair’s best three scores from the four possible evenings are combined and the highest placed pair of WABC members wins. There is also a prize for the best Restricted Pair from WABC.
WABC Anniversary Pairs
Saturday 31 January Afternoon. Single session, match points, scored across the room. Red Points. this is one of the Club's biggest sessions and you must pre-enter to play. Enter on myABF, fill out a paper entry form at the club, see Martin, or see David. $9 members, $11 visitors. All welcome. Don’t miss out on the WABC Birthday fun and cakes.
Learn to Play Bridge
Beginners Lessons start on Monday 2 February with a choice of morning or evening classes. If you know someone who wants to learn then now is their chance. Other courses for Rookies and more advanced players will run later in the year and Joan Butts is running workshops in February.
Wednesday Night Swiss Pairs
Two Wednesday evenings, 11 & 18 February. Pre-entry required. Open red point event.
WABC Mixed Swiss Pairs Congress
Saturday 14 February. Two session Swiss Pairs. What could be better than spending Valentine’s Day playing bridge with your favourite partner of the opposite sex? There will be a normal duplicate session in the afternoon running alongside the Swiss Pairs.
JOAN BUTTS WORKSHOPS
Friday 20 February to Monday 23 February. Four morning (10am—12 noon) workshops followed by an afternoon duplicate sessions with Red Points on the Sunday. Book the workshops on myABF and check the benefits of attending all four workshops such as reserve seating and a month’s free access to Joan’s Online School of Bridge. The duplicate sessions are normal walk in events.
Fri: Improve Your Slam Bidding (Key Card & Cue Bidding)
Sat: Defender’s Plan: Keeping Defensive Communications Alive
Sun: Improve your Declarer Play: Playing Safe, and Recognising the Danger Hand
Mon: A Modern Approach to Competitive Bidding
Joan Butts brings decades of experience, international playing credentials, and a trusted teaching style to every lesson. Joan has represented Australia at world championship level and has taught thousands of students across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the United States. Her teaching materials are trusted by clubs and learners alike for their clarity and practical approach.
WINNERS & PAST EVENTS
WABC Open Day
About thirty visitors came to the club to play or learn about bridge followed by Champagne and Canapes. Some have even joined as a result. This event was organised by Jodie Basham, Tessa Mayall, Karen McLean and Lynne Milne and a number of club members helped on the day.
WABC Teams of Three
A very enjoyable event with fourteen teams playing and directed by Ricgard van Proctor. Won by Tessa Mayall, Karen McLean and Christine Sabier who had Phil Tearne as their the Master. In second place were Gayle Baillie, Claudia Baker and Miriam O'Brien who had David Matthews as their Master. Many thanks to all the Masters whose participation made this event possible: Beatta Bieganski; Tad Bieganski; David Burn; Nick Cantatore; ron Cooper; David Cowell; Bruce Fraser; Mark Goddard; Peter Holloway; Marnie Leybourne; David Matthews; Lynne Milne; Phil Tearne; & Deana Wilson.
The Christmas Party & Prize Giving
The Christmas Party & Prize Giving was well attended although a number of the winners were absent. Checkout the 2026 Handbook for more details about the Club's Competitions, Awards and other information.
The President's Award, which recognizes club members who enthusiastically help around the club, was awarded to
John Nelson and Kath Negus for their work on Trumps Plus. The new format looks great and has more content.
Sue Lind for her ongoing help and support of the supervised Sessions
Kate North played the most sessions during the year, 261 times! Other notable efforts were Will Nunn 241, Brian Embleton 240, and Helen Ross 234 sessions.
Our winners for 2025 were:
Another enthusiastic helper at the club is Valerie Keevil who helps out on Wednesday nights, often getting out of her pjs to play.
There isn't much evening bridge played these days but it's a fun little group who turn up on Wednesday nights and they would love to see more players come along
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
Welcome to the following new members: Chrys Abeyasinghe; Elaine Baughen; Geoff Cook; Mark Siford; Felicia Symonds; & William Turner.
ANDY HUNG
Our old club professional has had a couple of very good results lately.
In October, Andy was part of the The WHAM team (Michael Whibley, Sartaj Hans, Andy Hung and Matt Brown) that successfully defended the Gold Teams in India against a very strong field.
Then in early December, andy was part of Team Shourie (Raj Shourie, Gavin Wolpert, Sartaj Hans, Andy Hung, Michael Whibley, and Nabil Edgtton), who won the Soloway Knockout Teams in North America. They defeated Team Rosenthal (Andrew Rosenthal, Aaron Silverstein, Christian Bakke, Boye Brogeland, Martin Schaltz, and Chris Willenken) 150-73 in the final.
Two exceptional results.
LESSONS & WORKSHOPS
JOAN BUTTS WORKSHOPS
The Joan Butts Workshops are listed earlier. Enter here or use a paper form at the club or see Martin or one of the Directors.
2026 WABC TEACHING PROGRAMME
The programme for 2026 is being finalised and will include:
Beginners Part 1 & Part 2
Rookies
Card Play 1 & 2
Deadly Defence
There will be another week of workshops mid year as well as a number of one off workshops by some of our well known local experts.