About Joan Butts

Joan Butts is a world-class bridge player and teacher who has represented Australia in world championships and taught thousands of students worldwide.

While she loves playing bridge, Joan’s true passion lies in teaching. She’s dedicated to helping players of every skill level learn bridge in a simple, enjoyable way.

Joan began playing at 25 and ran her own bridge club for 30 years. Her deep commitment to bridge has shaped her career, including 12 years as National Teaching Coordinator for the Australian Bridge Federation (ABF). There, she used her background in education and psychology to develop a successful Teacher Accreditation Programme and trained hundreds of bridge teachers.

Bridge is the world’s most popular card game, with something to offer everyone. Whether you play socially or competitively, online or in person, Joan’s approach makes learning accessible and fosters friendships that last a lifetime.

The Online School of Bridge

Launched in 2017, the Online School of Bridge was created when Joan saw the need for an online bridge school that offered top-quality teaching that could be accessed from anywhere in the world. In addition to moving to a modern education platform where students can track their progress, she has also introduced support for several bidding systems including Standard American, Acol and Two Over One Game Force.

The Online School is home to the largest library of online, curated bridge lessons divided by skill level. It uses a spiral learning approach to introduce each topic in small steps that build over time. This method supports learners from absolute beginners to experienced players, making bridge skills easier to develop through simple, achievable activities.

Whether you prefer watching videos, reading notes, practicing interactive bridge hands or testing your knowledge with a quiz, each course is designed for players to learn at their own pace, in their own direction, with Joan as their guide. And when you want to take a break from lessons you can play unlimited random bridge hands using Standard or Acol.

We hope to see you join our Online School of Bridge to learn, play, and connect with fellow players — everything you need to improve your game, all in one place!

The Joan Butts Bridge Team

Tom Butts, Operations and Accounts

Joan’s son Tom works tirelessly in the background of Joan Butts Bridge to keep everything running smoothly for our incredible community. He’s been an integral part of the growth of the Joan Butts Bridge business and has been at his mother’s side throughout. Tom’s 20-years’ experience as an entrepreneur in online business, digital technology and accounts make Joan and Tom the perfect team to deliver the very best overall experience.

Sophie Sonnenwirth, Marketing

If you’ve ever come along to one of Joan’s luxury bridge holidays, or joined us for our popular Live Online Lessons, it’s likely you will already know Sophie! Sophie has been working with entrepreneurs like Joan for many years to help ensure all the backend logistics run like clockwork.

Carmi Gari, Customer Support

Carmi is our superstar customer support liaison! When you email us for assistance, it will be Carmi who sends you a friendly reply. She will go to all lengths to make sure your questions are answered.

Danielle Bejr, Course and Membership Management

Every team needs an organiser who understands the technology, and Danielle makes this role look like a breeze! She works hard in the background to make everything run as seamlessly as possible so that you can enjoy playing bridge online.

Jules Walters, Live Online Courses and Support Coordinator

Our all-around support superstar, Jules touches all parts of the Joan Butts Bridge business. From hosting live bridge lessons to sending fabulous weekly emails, Jules is our go-to person to keep things running smoothly so you can learn and play bridge.

Joan's Bridge Achievements Since 2022

2025 Bridge Championship Titles

Selected to represent NSW in the Open Team for the National Bridge Championship (March)

Winner of the NSWBA 2025 Senior Teams Championship, with her team members Michael Courtney, Liz Sylvester and Peter Gill

2024 Bridge Championship Titles

Spring Nationals (October) - 2nd with Michael Courtney

Australian Championships (July) Orange Welcome - 1st with partner Michael Courtney

Interstate Senior Teams (July) Orange - 1st with partner Michael Courtney and team

NSBC GNOT Qualifying (May) - 1st with partner Michael Courtney and team

NSBC Morgan Swiss Pairs (April) - 1st with partner Michael Courtney

NSW Seniors Trials (April) - 1st with partner Michael Courtney

NSWBA State Mixed Pair Championships (April) - 3rd with partner Michael Courtney

Pairs Championship Final, 2024 Gold Coast Congress - 6th place (out of 1600 players)

2023 Bridge Championship Titles

NSWBA State Mixed Pairs Champions

South Pacific Teams SFOB ABF Nationals, Canberra - Quarter Finalists

Ivy Dahler Swiss Pairs Gold Coast Congress - 3rd Place

2022 Bridge Championship Titles

ABF Victor Champion Cup Mixed Pairs Winners

NSWBA State Mixed Pairs Champions

NSWBA State Mixed Teams Champions

ABF Gold Coast Rescue Open Swiss Pairs Winners

NSBC Falls Estate Mixed Teams Champions

National Events (Australian Bridge Federation)

Open Swiss Pairs Gold Coast Rescue - 1st Place

VCC Australian Mixed Pairs - 1st Place

Open Swiss teams Gold Coast Rescue - 2nd Place

Open Swiss Teams Gold Coast Rescue - 3rd Place

Australian Mixed Team playoffs – semi finalists

South Pacific Teams SFOB ABF Nationals, Canberra - Quarter Finalists

NSW State Events (NSWBA)

State Mixed Teams - 1st Place
State Mixed Pairs - 1st Place
State Open Pairs - 2nd Place
State Swiss Pairs - 2nd Place
State Open Teams Final - 3rd Place

NSBC Events (North Shore Bridge Club)

Falls Estate Mixed Teams - 1st Place
Watermark Club Teams - 2nd Place
Morgan’s Swiss Pairs Championship - 2nd Place
Mixed BAM Teams - 3rd Place
Mixed Teams Championship - 3rd Place