Keith McDonald

Keith McDonald comes from a large family, four sisters and two brothers, all of whom played a variety of card games from an early age. He graduated from ‘five hundred’ to bridge in 1974 and was soon playing the new ‘Precision’ system competitively at the Queensland Contract Bridge Club, then located at Manning Street, South Brisbane. There he came in contact with some of the prominent names of Queensland bridge of the time including Denis Priest, Fay and Tom Landy, the Neill clan (Barbara, Warren, Don, Irma and youngsters Sue and Bruce) and Harold Hiley to name just a few.

In 1980 Keith became the QCBC delegate on the QBA Council and joined the board of the QCBC in 1983 where he served for many decades. In 1985 he replaced Jan Kirk as Vice President of the QBA and was elected President in 1986, taking over from Reg Busch. In 1994 he became one of the Queensland delegates for the Australian Bridge Federation and was appointed President in 1996. For many years, Keith held the dual roles of President of both the state and national bodies.

He stepped down from the ABF in 2014 and from the QBA in 2017, the longest-serving in both, having provided outstanding service to bridge in Queensland and Australia-wide. He has every reason to be proud of his accomplishments as a bridge administrator with both the ABF and QBA prospering under his presidencies. This has been formally recognised by:

• Life membership of the Queensland Bridge Association; and
• Member of the Australian Bridge Federation Committee of Honour.

State Representation

• Australian National Championships – Queensland Open Team – NPC 2004, 1998, 1997, 1994, 1992
• Australian National Championships – Queensland Seniors’ Team 2012, 1999 (NPC)
• Australian National Championships – Queensland Women’s Team – NPC 1991, 1989
• Australian National Championships – Queensland Youth Team – NPC 2003, 2002, 2000, 1991, 1989, 1985, 1984, 1983