What Are the Australia-Wide Pairs Events on Australian Bridge Magazine?

Updated

Australian Bridge Magazine runs three Australia-Wide Pairs events each year: the Novice Pairs, the Open Pairs, and the Restricted Pairs. They are listed on the magazine's website alongside its subscription information, Bidding Forum, and online supplement. The main distinction between the three is eligibility: the Open Pairs is open to all players, while the Novice and Restricted events are limited by masterpoint (MP) totals.

The three annual events

Event Dates Eligibility
Australia-Wide Novice Pairs 25–31 May Open to all players with fewer than 100 MP
Australia-Wide Open Pairs 25–31 August Open to all players
Australia-Wide Restricted Pairs 25–31 October Open to all players with fewer than 300 MP

Each event runs across a set window of days rather than a single session, so clubs can schedule their own sessions within that period.

How to check results and event information

The site points to two main places for following the events:

  • Provisional results — published on the site as events conclude. The page notes that provisional results for the current Open Pairs have been published.
  • Main Australia-Wide page — links to all events, past results, and FAQs.

If you are looking for a specific year's results, the results page for the 2026 Open Pairs is referenced separately from the main Australia-Wide hub.

What to know before entering

  • Check your masterpoint total first. If you have fewer than 100 MP, you qualify for the Novice Pairs; if you have fewer than 300 MP, you qualify for the Restricted Pairs. The Open Pairs has no MP restriction.
  • Dates shift by event, not by year. The May, August, and October windows are the recurring pattern shown on the site.
  • Results are provisional at first. If you are checking standings immediately after an event, expect provisional rather than final results.

The magazine's site also carries a Bidding Forum (with both an experts' version in the magazine and a readers' version online), an Online Supplement for each issue, and subscription details, but the Australia-Wide Pairs information is concentrated on the main Australia-Wide page and the individual results pages.