The Gold Coast Congress was born in 1962 when, following a suggestion from Tim Seres, Queensland Bridge pioneer Dr George McCutcheon organized the week long congress at Surfers Paradise, already a popular holiday resort. The field of 15 tables played in the underground conference room in the Chevron Hotel. Everyone loved it and bookings were immediately made for the following years. The congress moved into the Chevron Hotel’s new convention centre in 1964 where it stayed until 1988. The format, effectively a five session (two qualifying, three final) pairs followed by three days of teams culminating in a final, and closing with a social walk-in event and presentation dinner, has scarcely been changed over the life of the congress. Minor changes include an extra mid week walk-in event and rescheduling the Thursday sessions for an earlier start to allow everyone a “free night”. The move to the ANA Hotel for the 1989 congress was triggered when the Chevron management advised that their site was going to be redeveloped. This move added considerable prestige to the congress. Numbers continued to increase and it became an annual struggle to find much needed additional space in the ANA Hotel. Separate Senior (over 55) and Restricted (under 150mps) Teams events were first held in 2001, and were played in the nearby Gold Coast International Hotel. Vu Graph was first used to show the Teams final in 1968. The Congress is pleased to welcome an increasing number of overseas visitors, from countries including the US, UK, Japan, Indonesia and Poland. These visitors include leading players, directors and teachers who have made valued contributions to the congress, as well as winning a number of titles. Many people contribute to the Gold Coast Congress continued success.
The QBA Management Team, Congress Convenor, Directors, Scorers, Caddies,
Board Dealers, ANA Management and staff, and the players who return
year after year. |