2012 European Teams go to Dublin

The 51st edition of the European Team Championships, EBL's principal competition, will be held in Dublin, Ireland, on 12-23 June 2012. The venue is Citywest Hotel, Leisure & Golf Resort, a suitable facility that offers room and play accommodation 'under the same roof', in Dublin's Saggart suburb.

Following Greece's withdrawal last October, the race to determine an alternative venue became a top priority and led to the signing of the agreement between Irish Bridge Union (IBU) President Mary Kelly-Rogers and her EBL coun­ter­part Yves Aubry. The agree­ment was ratified by the IBU board on Monday 23 January 2012.

This is the fourth time that a European Team Championship is hosted in Ireland. The 1952 and 1967 editions were held in the Dublin area, while the latest one, in 1991, took place in picturesque Killarney.

NBOs' Seminar in Budapest

Budapest is to host the sixth edition of the NBOs' Seminar, which is organized by the EBL, February 2-5, 2012. The Seminar addresses officers of the League's member countries. It provides an opportunity for extensive discussion of all subjects concerning bridge and how a NBO can organize it best. The programme includes expert pres­en­ta­tions and panel discussions.

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ITALY RETURNS TO THE PODIUM

Allegra Lavazza: Norberto Bocchi, Antonio Sementa, Giorgio Duboin, Agustin Madala, Guido Ferraro

ITALY, represented by team Allegra Lavazza, was once again the winner at the European Champions' Cup competition. Beating the holders, team 't Onstein of The Netherlands, they scored their 8th victory in 10 competitions and regained their usual place at the top of the podium. The bronze medal went to Bulgaria's champion team Vito.

The 10th edition of the European Champions' Cup took place in Bad Honnef, a spa town near Bonn, Germany, 17-20 November 2011. Twelve teams took part: teams representing the top ten countries of the most recent European Teams Championships (Ostend 2010) and, in addition, the defending champions and the host country team.

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Luxembourg wins
European Small Federations Games

Luxembourg was the winner at the 4th European Small Federations Games which took place in San Marino, 13-16 September 2011. They beat Monaco in the semifinal and Estonia in the final to get the gold medal. The silver medal went to Estonia, and the bronze to Lith­u­a­nia.

The 4th edition of the European Small Federations Games was quite successful with 15 countries being represented. These Games are held annually and involve National Bridge Federations with up to 500 members.
 

In January 2012, FISU (World University Sports Federation) and WBF will start the 3rd World Online University Team Championships on Bridge Base Online (BBO).

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The Swedish Bridge Federation is the organizer of the Nordic Junior Pairs Championship and Junior Camp which will be held this year in Karlstad over the Easter weekend, April 4-8, 2012.

The events are open to Juniors from all over the world. The Pairs Championship comprises three series (Juniors, Youngsters, Girls) where transnational contestants are welcome.

Both events will be held in Gustaf Fröding Hotel of Karlstad in central Sweden. The total cost of SEK 3,500 (about €400) per person includes full board accommodation in double rooms for 5 nights, all entry fees and transfer from the airport and/or railway station.

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ISRAEL AND POLAND WIN
EUROPEAN YOUTH TITLES

ISRAEL and POLAND, the major forces in youth bridge today, dom­i­nated the field at the 23rd European Youth Team Championships, held in Albena, Bulgaria, 13-23 July 2011.

Israel, the current world youth title holders, are now European Junior champions too, while Poland made the double for the third con­sec­u­tive time: they are European Youngsters and Girls cham­pions, as they were in 2007 and 2009! This year, Israel got the silver medal in the Youngsters, as they did both in the Juniors and Youngsters two years ago!

Other medal winners in Albena were Italy and Denmark (silver and bronze) in the Juniors, Sweden (bronze) in the Young­sters, and The Netherlands and France (silver and bronze) in the Girls.

Held biennially, the European Youth Team Championship is the flag­ship competition of the European Bridge League for people up to 26 years of age. Each EBL member country may participate with one rep­re­sen­ta­tive team to each of the three series, for Juniors, Young­sters (up to 21) and Girls.

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