Lots of young players took part in the Brighton Congress and there was no better advert for the skill and expertise of our young players than the win of John Atthey and Simon Cope in the largest event of the the whole congress, the Swiss Pairs. John, who is 23, is an important part of the U25 Squad, and although Simon is now too old to be a junior, he is much involved in coaching and encouragement of our junior teams. Simon and John led for much of the competition, except for a sequence on Saturday evening, but they came back strongly on Sunday to win comfortably in the end.
This was a great performance; a look at the top thirty places shows that the entries included a large number of players and pairs with international experience. Both players will be playing in the newly formed Premier League, starting next month, albeit in different teams.
Other young players in the top twenty pairs included Mike Bell, playing with the U20 Squad Manager Mike Byrne, who finished 11th; Andrew Woodcock and Ollie Burgess, who will represent England in the U28 team at the Mind Sports Olympiad in Beijing were 13th; and Dan McIntosh, with Chris Cooper, was 19th. Dan is in the U20 team for the same event. The huge strength in depth of the field at Brighton provides a great opportunity for serious squad practice and the junior players all welcome the opportunity they are given to take part.
We are currently discussing how more suitable midweek competitions could be organised for our young players to enter alongside the two big weekend events. The midweek teams was a strong event, bolstered by the entry of a Dutch junior team and, with 28 teams competing, the largest event for years. The competition is KO, played each afternoon and was a triumph for the junior group. Mike Byrne and Simon Cope joined up with Mike Bell, the Paske brothers and Ed (Ken) Jones. They coasted through the week and although the final was a close affair they were worthy winners.
Most of the other mid-week events are relatively light-hearted, and the juniors seemed to enjoy swapping partners and joining in. (Indeed when I took part in the Speedball Pairs one night I seemed to be the oldest player in the room — it was great fun. If you've never tried Speedball you really should give it a go — three minutes a board and a Bridgemate to cope with as well!)
The second weekend of teams saw less Junior success. Ollie Burgess and Mike Bell, in different teams, made the 'B' Final, which put them in the top 16 of the 193 that entered. The highest placed all junior team were our Camrose team from this year: Fiona Brown, Susan Stockdale, Dave Cropper and Steve Raine who finished 53rd, just outside the top quarter. The first named pair will also be in Beijing with the U28s.
Off to Loughborough this weekend for the Junior Teach-in. It will be great to see all the young keen bridge players hoping to learn and set off on their first lessons. There is still room for extra participants, email me at mamos@ebu.co.uk or John Pain at john@ebu.co.uk.
Wednesday 27 August 2008
Thursday 7 August 2008
Brighton
It’s that time in August when most of the EBU seems to decamp to Brighton for the Summer Congress. I love Brighton, a little seedy but lively and cosmopolitan, lots of places to eat and for the second week in August bridge-players everywhere with those sacred pieces of paper with hands on engaged in that holy ritual “What happened to you on Board 32?”
There’ll be lots of juniors of course. Big Swiss events are great for young and upcoming players because, a couple of good matches and you get the chance to play against the leading stars of our game. In eight board matches anything can happen. It’s pairs this weekend and though I won’t be in Brighton until Sunday, I’ll be following the results carefully to see how all of the Juniors are doing.
It’s an important time especially for the Under 21 Team selected to go to Beijing to play in the Mind Sports Games. They have been preparing assiduously, brushing up systems and making sure their agreements are all tidied up. Look out to see how they get on this weekend. I predict good things for our three pairs:
Ed Jones and Tom Paske
Rob Myers and Ben Paske
Adam Hickman and Dan Macintosh
James Paul and Graeme Robertson are not going to Beijing because of university commitments, but they did well in the European Youth Pairs in Poland recently (finishing 6th) so we can expect them to finish high up as well.
A team of young Dutch players are also preparing for Beijing by coming to Brighton and will play a midweek challenge against our team which is sure to be fun as well as competitive.
Junior Bridge is not just about internationals and high level competition. I’m getting lots of enquiries at the moment about bridge in schools and how the EBU can help. We have good teaching materials and Minibridge is a great way to start even for those as young as seven or eight. If you are involved in a school in any way and think you might be able to start a little group, get in touch and we may be able to get some more young people involved.
The Junior Teach-In in Loughborough is only a few weeks away, but as always there are still some places. Click here for details. Young bridge players are just like their seniors, entries are always left until the last moment. Individuals or groups are welcome and it’s a great opportunity to come along and meet others and enjoy some expert bridge tuition. All standards are catered for from complete beginners to experienced Junior internationals.
I’ve been busy preparing hands for the Autumn Simultaneous Pairs which will be played as minibridge, and as bridge in competitions in Schools and Universities. It’s another chance to get involved so look out for details of that on the EBU website.
Finally are there any university students out there who would like to form a Bridge Club at their university next term or perhaps need some help reviving a club that needs a boost? Let me know and we may be able to help with tuition and advice:- mamos@ebu.co.uk
I’m pretty busy next week at Brighton with TD training during the week and helping with the Swiss Teams at the weekend, but do come and talk to me. I’m free all day Friday so if you’d like a chat drop me an email or leave me a message at EBU reception and we’ll fix a time.
There’ll be lots of juniors of course. Big Swiss events are great for young and upcoming players because, a couple of good matches and you get the chance to play against the leading stars of our game. In eight board matches anything can happen. It’s pairs this weekend and though I won’t be in Brighton until Sunday, I’ll be following the results carefully to see how all of the Juniors are doing.
It’s an important time especially for the Under 21 Team selected to go to Beijing to play in the Mind Sports Games. They have been preparing assiduously, brushing up systems and making sure their agreements are all tidied up. Look out to see how they get on this weekend. I predict good things for our three pairs:
Ed Jones and Tom Paske
Rob Myers and Ben Paske
Adam Hickman and Dan Macintosh
James Paul and Graeme Robertson are not going to Beijing because of university commitments, but they did well in the European Youth Pairs in Poland recently (finishing 6th) so we can expect them to finish high up as well.
A team of young Dutch players are also preparing for Beijing by coming to Brighton and will play a midweek challenge against our team which is sure to be fun as well as competitive.
Junior Bridge is not just about internationals and high level competition. I’m getting lots of enquiries at the moment about bridge in schools and how the EBU can help. We have good teaching materials and Minibridge is a great way to start even for those as young as seven or eight. If you are involved in a school in any way and think you might be able to start a little group, get in touch and we may be able to get some more young people involved.
The Junior Teach-In in Loughborough is only a few weeks away, but as always there are still some places. Click here for details. Young bridge players are just like their seniors, entries are always left until the last moment. Individuals or groups are welcome and it’s a great opportunity to come along and meet others and enjoy some expert bridge tuition. All standards are catered for from complete beginners to experienced Junior internationals.
I’ve been busy preparing hands for the Autumn Simultaneous Pairs which will be played as minibridge, and as bridge in competitions in Schools and Universities. It’s another chance to get involved so look out for details of that on the EBU website.
Finally are there any university students out there who would like to form a Bridge Club at their university next term or perhaps need some help reviving a club that needs a boost? Let me know and we may be able to help with tuition and advice:- mamos@ebu.co.uk
I’m pretty busy next week at Brighton with TD training during the week and helping with the Swiss Teams at the weekend, but do come and talk to me. I’m free all day Friday so if you’d like a chat drop me an email or leave me a message at EBU reception and we’ll fix a time.
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