by Margaret Parnis England

I had hoped to be writing about the result of the Hennessy MBA Open Teams Championship this month. Due to unforeseen circumstances this Championship had to be postponed for a couple of weeks. It has started and two rounds have been played, with another two to be played on Monday and Friday. The leaders with the most Victory Points, (VPs) are Albert Sacco, Marie Farrugia, Anna Vella and Nathalie Marlin.

These are the favourites but there is still a lot to play for. At the Annual General Meeting of the Malta Bridge Club it was decided to have bridge on a Friday throughout the summer months. I am sure this will be popular as more people are interested in playing bridge during the summer. The Malta Union Club introduced bridge on Thursdays last  summer season which proved to be very popular.

I think it is of interest to read some of the message from one of the past presidents of the World Bridge Federation. Jose Damiani, who I know personally, and did so much for the bridge world. It was because of him Bridge  forms part of the Internatioanl Olympic Committee. 

Message from the WBF Past-President: "Bridge is a Sport.  What is behind the policy of bridge as a sport which I first promoted about 30 years ago and which has been accepted by all my predecessors and successors? Duplicate Bridge is a game of skill. 

"That is one of the main reasons why it is considered a sport, despite some nations' definition of sport as demanding physical activity. In the international bodies to which bridge belongs (the International Olympic Committee, SportAccord, ARISF, IMSA, and the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire), sports are divided into various categories: physical sports, mind sports, motor sports, coordination sports, and equestrian sports. Some are Olympic disciplines, others are not, but they all organise competitions which:

1) minimise luck

2) are subject to clear rules (the first bridge code was published in 1871) 

3) are universal 

4) promote health (we are proud to help fight dementia)5) offer security

Everybody is happy to see bridge embracing values of sport such as fair play, discipline, ethics, hard work and performance. We are not pursuing Olympic grandeur, but we are positioning bridge to help with its promotion and development for the benefit of the players and NBOs. Even though some may criticise this stance, no one has yet offered any other relevant marketing concept.

Using this 'branding' is the only way to introduce bridge into schools successfully, and this has already been done in some countries."His message is far too long for me to reproduce in its entirety in my short article but I really wanted  to stress how seriously the WBF take the game and what a pity it is that we have not yet managed to introduce it to schools and the University.

University bridge is very big worldwide, the students travel and see the world at a very subsidised rate playing bridge for their country! One day who knows...