World Youth Bridge Championships Hefei, August 2026

Oct 1

7 min read

A typhoon to bookend both sides of a bridge event is not the usual opening challenge at a bridge championship. For Australia’s youth teams in Hefei, China, it became part of the story.

In August, 30 young guns (+their wannabe young captains & chef de Misson as well as many parents and guardians) travelled to the World Youth Transnational Championships and faced far more than tough opponents. They dealt with heavy heat, long days, high-pressure boards and dumpling overload. Ultimately though, not even typhoons could stop them.

They came home with medals, finals appearances and one clear message:

The future of Australian bridge is already here.

u26 Mike Doecke (NPC), Heath Watkins (Vic) , Kate Macdonald (Qld) , Paddy Taylor (Qld) , Bertie Morgan (SA), Adrian Le (NSW), Fletcher Davey (SA)

For the first time, Australia fielded teams in all five youth divisions. That alone marked a major step forward. The results made it even better. The Under 21 team won gold in the Division D teams final, Natalie Newman and Ida Andersen won silver in the Under 26 Women’s Category B pairs final, and the Under 26 Women’s team qualified for the teams finals.

There were standout performances across the squad, including a remarkable Butler result from Under 16 pair Ada Sun and Alex Wu. Just as important, the campaign showed the strength of the coaching, mentoring and volunteer network behind youth bridge in Australia.

Australia’s full youth contingent made history in Hefei

Australian bridge has had big moments in Hefei before. At the same venue in 2025, Australia’s Seniors won Australia's first international gold medal since 2013, while the Open team claimed bronze. Those results gave the venue a sense of a home ground avantage with many of the youth captains already knowing that to get to the best hot pot, you must first walk through the nail salon!

This time, the young players added their own chapter.

Sending Australian youth bridge teams to all five divisions was a milestone in itself. It takes local lessons, club encouragement, school and university flexibility, online practice, mentoring, fundraising, team trials and everyone getting to the venue. Hefei showed what can happen when those parts start to connect.

The size of the travelling group mattered too. With 35 players, Australia did not arrive with a token presence. It arrived with the display of a genuine youth programme, one that gave players across all divisions the chance to test themselves against international fields and had other teams excited to join the Karaoke mega room with us.

That experience is valuable even before the scores are counted. A world youth championship brings different systems, styles, tempos and pressure points. Players learn how opponents from other countries compete, how to recover from a poor board, how to stay fresh through long sessions, and how to trust a partnership when the match is on the line.

For many young players, the tears, smiles and adventure not only shape the coming decades of bridge but also shape the humans they become.

The Under 21 team struck gold

U21 Jess Brake (NPC), Dev Shah (ACT), Remco Spencer (QLD), Aadhi Hariharan (NSW), Taydon Gold (Vic), Diya Shah (ACT), Jade Wilkinson (ACT)

The headline result came from the Under 21 team, who won gold in the Division D teams final.

A gold medal at this level is never simple. Teams events demand more than technical card play. They test system discipline, partnership trust, table presence and emotional control.

Small choices swing matches. So do calm recoveries after a board goes wrong.

For a young team, that kind of victory can become a foundation. Players return with confidence, but also with sharper standards. They know what international pressure feels like. They know how much detail matters. They know they can compete.

Natalie Newman and Ida Andersen took silver in the pairs

Australia also brought home silver through Natalie Newman and Ida Andersen, who finished second in the Under 26 Women’s Category B pairs final.

Newman and Andersen’s result added to a strong showing from the Under 26 Women’s contingent, whose teams also qualified for the finals.

That finals qualification deserves attention. Reaching the final stages in a world youth field shows consistency across the qualifying rounds. It means the team handled the early pressure, adapted to the field and kept producing scores when the standard rose.

U26W Renee Cooper (NPC), Natalie Newman (NSW), Jess He (ACT), Jasmine Skeate (QLD), Ida Andersen (NSW), Lara Topper (NSW), Alexis Wilsmore (ACT)

Ada Sun and Alex Wu produced one of the standout performances

Some results need context to be properly understood. Ada Sun and Alex Wu gave Australia one of those performances.

The Under 16 pair finished fifth on the U16 Butler list, which included 337 pair combinations. On its own, fifth is an excellent result. The details make it even stronger.

Ada and Alex played 84 boards together. Each of the four combinations above them played only 14 or 28 boards.

At Under 16 level, that is exciting. Young players at this stage are still building judgement, system memory, table habits and emotional rhythm. To produce that kind of ranking in a large international field gives Australia another reason to feel confident about the next wave of youth bridge.

U16 Genevieve Hunter (NSW), Solcita Lu (NSW), Oliver Brayshaw (WA), Lizzy Brayshaw (WA), Alex Wu (Qld), Ada Sun (QLD), Sue Falkingham (NPC)

Fifth on a 337-pair U16 Butler list was already outstanding. Playing 84 boards together made Ada Sun and Alex Wu’s performance even more impressive.

Medals were only part of the achievement

Medals are easy to count. They make headlines and give the players something tangible to bring home. Yet the broader achievement in Hefei was bigger than the podium. Australia had teams across all five youth divisions. That means more players gained experience, more partnerships were tested, and more young Aussies saw where they sit in the world field.

For some, Hefei may become the start of a long representative career. For others, it may be the tournament that changes how they train, practise and prepare. Either way, international youth events create a clear benchmark.

Players return with practical lessons:

How well their bidding agreements hold up under pressure
How stamina affects judgement late in a session
Why partnership review matters after both good and bad boards
How international opponents create pressure through tempo and accuracy

These lessons are hard to learn at home alone. They come faster when players sit across from strong opposition and have to solve problems at the table.

Hefei also showed the importance of team culture. Travelling as a national youth contingent means players support each other beyond their own division. A good result in one team can lift the whole group. A difficult day can be steadied by teammates who understand the pressure.

That shared experience is one of the hidden benefits of sending a full squad. It builds friendships and standards that can carry into future national events, club bridge and representative teams.

U31 Alex Goss (Vic), Ben Leung (QLD), Seb Wright (Vic), Pete Hollands (NPC), Jeremy Reid (Tas), Yiwei Qi (NSW), Damon Flicker (Vic)

It took a village to get the teams there

Fielding teams in all five divisions did not happen when the players boarded the plane. The work began much earlier.

Selection, training, coaching, mentoring, administration and travel support all played a part. So did the steady effort of people who rarely appear in the final results list but make representative campaigns possible.

Australia’s 2026 ABF Youth Team Selection Panel was:

Phil Markey
Jenny Thompson
Peter Gill

The teams were supported in Hefei by a dynamite team of NPCs:

Sue Falkingham (u16)
Jess Brake (u21)
Renee Cooper (u26W)
Mike Doecke (u26)
Peter Hollands (u31)
Laura Ginnan (Chef de Mission)

An NPC’s role is also vital. At youth level, the non-playing captain helps manage much more than line-ups. They support morale, guide preparation, help players reset after tough matches and create the calmness. Captain's also ensure cats are hearded, fed and watered.

The ABF Board, staff and volunteers also supported the campaign, along with many people working behind the scenes.

Partnership coaching and mentoring came from:

David Appleton
Liam Milne
James Coutts
Paul Gosney
Andy Hung
Many state and territory youth co-ordinators

Andy Hung also ran an Under 26 training weekend, with support from the ABF and Friends of Youth Bridge.

Solid preparation matters. Partnerships need time to build agreements and trust. They need experienced players who can explain not just what to bid, but somehow convince a passionate, young and invincible human that what they did was LUDICROUS!

Why this matters for Australian bridge

The Hefei campaign matters because it joins three important pieces.

The first is participation. Australia had enough depth to send teams in all five youth divisions. That suggests more young players are finding serious bridge and staying with it.

The second is performance. Gold, silver, finals qualification and strong Butler results show that Australia’s youth players are not just attending international events. They are competing.

The third is continuity. These players now bring experience back to Australian clubs, youth programmes, state events and future national selection contests. They raise the standard around them.

That matters for every part of bridge. Youth players bring energy and ambition. Experienced players bring knowledge and perspective. A healthy bridge community needs both, and the best results come when they work together.

Where to next?

The Australian youth contingent left Hefei with medals, milestones and proof that the next generation is ready to compete.

The Under 21 gold was a proud moment. Natalie Newman and Ida Andersen’s silver added another podium finish. The Under 26 Women’s finals run showed strength under pressure. Ada Sun and Alex Wu’s Butler performance gave Australian supporters another result to remember.

Just as importantly, Australia fielded teams in all five youth divisions for the first time. That is a sign of growth, effort and belief across the whole youth bridge network.

Not even typhoons could stop them, and neither should this momentum stop here.

The challenge now is to keep building: more youth lessons, more mentoring, more partnership practice, more support for travel, and more chances for young players to test themselves. Hefei showed what is possible when the community gets behind them.

Australian bridge does not have to wait for its future to arrive. In Hefei, it was already sitting at the table.

Event website: https://championships.worldbridge.org/2026-hefei

Some more fun from Hefei: