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Youth Committee Policy Statement

The National Youth Committee Meetings will coincide with the major ABF events and will be constituted in such a way to allow frequent participation and observation by interested parties outside of the core members.

GOALS OF THE YOUTH PROGRAMME.

  1. Provide the support and encouragement necessary to ensure that all states and territories have an active and viable programme for youth recruitment and development appropriate to their own local conditions. Also ensure that such programmes are coordinated by an individual or team with the necessary time commitment to put such a programme into effective practice. This should be achieved by conferring with State Organisations and Junior Coordinators with a view to establishing realistic short and long-term objectives and strategies.
  2. Provide all necessary support materials to assist State Junior Coordinators to attract young players into the game. In particular, research methods by which we can dispel the popular myths about bridge being an idle and immoral pastime and that it is a recreation for old people. In doing so consolidate advice to Junior Coordinators into handbook form, incorporating the successful aspects of programmes from each state and territory.
  3. Establish a National Junior Player database. available to the National and State Coordinators with minimum access time.
  4. Establish a National Junior Website along the lines of that prepared in SA. Structured within the website should be a registration form so that young players who are not attached to a formal bridge environment may make themselves known to State and National Coordinators. This facility would also provide a fast service for Coordinators to register new players on the national database.
  5. Maintain, reinforce and invigorate the current programmes for development of existing young players in addition to the current tournament schedule (ANC and Australian Junior Championships at the Summer Festival).
  6. Explore the viability of future tournaments and player development schemes such as regionalised development programmes and intervarsity and interschool competitions keeping the Internet in focus as a possible medium.
  7. Examine the viability of modified forms of bridge such as Minibridge and pass research information on to State Coordinators and the ABTA.
  8. Establish lines of communication between players, youth clubs (such as university clubs) and State Coordinators and the ABF.
  9. Maintain a National Junior Bulletin to be made available to all registered young players. The bulletin should be published at least 3 times a year.
  10. Establish, in conjunction with the ABF Sponsorship Committee (once reinstated) suitable sponsorship initiatives specifically available to young players and the Junior Programme.
  11. Develop a suitable introductory bridge teaching programme for young players. Such a programme should include the best elements of previous courses but incorporate the collective experience of those who have been teaching young players over a number of years. Maintain liaison with State Coordinators in a support/trouble-shooting capacity, reinforcing and expanding existing programmes and noting successful enterprises for the purposes of dissemination to other states.
  12. Establish new tournaments and training programmes for young players according to viability as determined by research.

Junior bridge includes players up to the age of 25. Selected Junior players are provided with subsidies to play in Australian national championships, in zonal competitions in the Pacific basin and in the World Junior Championships.

Through the measures outlined above, the ABF has expectations of a significant increase in Junior bridge activity in the medium term.

For further information, contact:

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