Selectors’ Bulletin #140 – WBU PREMIER LEAGUE

The Selectors met today (16th September 2021) and discussed plans for the forthcoming 2021 WBU Premier League. The dates for the WBU Premier League can now be confirmed as 23 – 24 October and 6 – 7 November, subject to there being an entry of at least four teams.

The Premier League will be held as a F2F bridge event at Cardiff Bridge Club. Entries are requested from teams of four, five or six using the BESS online reservation system on the WBU website. Entries will be £400 per team, covering both weekends. The closing date for entries is 30th September 2021.

The results of the WBU Premier League will be used as one of the main criteria in selecting the Camrose teams for 2002. More details will be provided once the full entires are known but the Selectors reserve the right to modify the plans according to current Government policy and guidance.

Selectors’ Bulletin #139 – WBU PREMIER LEAGUE

The Selectors met today (3rd September 2021) and discussed plans for the forthcoming WBU Premier League. Whilst the dates can now be confirmed as 23 – 24 October and 6 – 7 November, there was ongoing discussion as to whether the Premier League should be held as F2F bridge or online. The decision will be deferred until 10th September whilst the views of players was being sought.

Selectors’ Bulletin #138 – WBU PREMIER LEAGUE

The dates for this year’s Premier League have been confirmed as 23 – 24 October and 6 – 7 November. It is currently being proposed that the Premier League be held at the Commodore Hotel in Llandrindod Wells and would involve F2F bridge. Entries from interested Teams should be send to the National Tournament Organiser by 11 October.

Selectors’ Bulletin #137 – ONLINE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION COMPETITIONS for WORLD TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2021 and EBL CHAMPIONS’ CUP 2021

Results are available on http://db.eurobridge.org/repository/competitions/21OnlineNationalTeams/microsite/Results.htm

The Wales Open Team finished in 22nd place (out of 31 teams), which was a significant improvement on the Wales position in the past two European Championships, held in Budapest and Ostend, with Richard and Paul being very well placed in the Butler rankings. The team was:

Richard Plackett / Paul Denning
Paul Lamford / Gary Jones
Julian Pottage / Tony Ratcliff

The Open team finished above Scotland (who were 26th) and one place below Ireland, with England finishing in 9th place and, in doing so, England qualified for the Bermuda Bowl.

Wales also entered a Mixed Team that finished 15th (out of 21 teams). This position was above England, Ireland and Scotland:

Adrian Thomas / Mia Deschepper
Tony Disley / Ceri Pierce
Mark Roderick / Laura Woodruff

Selectors’ Bulletin #136 – Vilnius Cup 2021

The VilniusCup 2021 Bridge Festival is back after the interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have been asked by the organisers to help in the advertising for the VilniusCup 2021 Bridge Festival – see https://bridgescanner.com/page/bnc/post/vilnius-cup-is-back

This link contains all the information on the game formats and schedules for the event.

Selectors’ Bulletin #135 – WBU Mixed Team for EBL Qualifier for the World Teams Championships and European Champions’ Cup – 23-28 August 2021

The WBU Mixed team for the EBL Qualifier for the World Teams Championships and European Champions’ Cup – 23-28 August 2021 is:

Adrian Thomas and Mieke Deschepper
Tony Disley and Ceri Pierce
Mark Roderick and Laura Woodruff

NPC to be confirmed.

This event will he held using the RealBridge platform. Kibitzing will be available but will be subject to a 30 minute delay.

Selectors’ Bulletin #134 – WBU Open Team for EBL Qualifier for the World Teams Championships and European Champions’ Cup – 23-28 August 2021

The WBU team for the EBL Qualifier for the World Teams Championships and European Champions’ Cup – 23-28 August 2021 is:

Richard Plackett and Paul Denning
Gary Jones and Paul Lamford
Tony Ratcliff and Julian Pottage

NPC to be confirmed.

This event will he held using the RealBridge platform. Kibitzing will be available but will be subject to a 30 minute delay.

Selectors Bulletin 133 – SWEDISH BRIDGE FESTIVAL

SWEDISH BRIDGE FESTIVAL

Look at the links below for more information.

Swedish Bridge Festival 2021

Swedish Bridge Festival Conditions of Contest

The Swedish bridge festival includes the CHAIRMANS CUP. This is a popular event held in Sweden annually but is this year online on Realbridge and hence more accessible to players of good standing in Wales.  The entry fee for Pairs of 150 SEK per person translates to around £12.50 per person and that of 2400 SEK for Teams is about £200.

This is a good opportunity for Welsh players to play in this event without having the associated costs of travelling and staying in Sweden.

SELECTORS’ BULLETIN #132 – OBSERVERS NEEDED FOR EBL QUALIFIER FOR THE NEXT WORLD TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The European qualifiers for the World Bridge Championships will this year be played on-line on 23 – 28 August, with all players from each country playing in a single venue, invigilated by a neutral observers from another country.

The WBU needs to nominate at least two suitable people to act as neutral observers. These individuals would be reviewed and assessed by the European Bridge League, who would then allocate them to act as observers in other countries (likely to be Scotland or England). The EBL would pay you €100 per day and the host nation would then arrange and pay for accommodation.

If you think you are suitable for this role and would be interested in being involved in that way, please contact the Selectors.

Selectors’ Bulletin #131 – UPDATE – EBL QUALIFIER FOR THE NEXT WORLD TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS

As highlighted in the previous (Ref: Bulletin #130), the EBL are proposing to hold online qualifying events for the “2021” World Teams Championships, which are scheduled to be held in February / March 2022.

These qualifying events will be held online in August 2021, using the RealBridge platform. The qualifying events will start no earlier than 23 August and each will end on 28 August 2021.

The number of playing days in each of the four categories (Open, Women, Seniors and Mixed) will be four days (Aug. 25-28), five days (Aug. 24-28) or six days (Aug. 23-28), depending on the number of entries in each category.

The EBL has asked the WBU to advise them as soon as possible if, and in which categories, the WBU intends to send teams, with the final deadline for registering a team on the designated EBL website being 12 July. Consequently, the WBU Selectors would ask for entries for these Events (i.e.: Open, Women, Mixed and Seniors) to be submitted to the WBU Selectors by noon on 1 July 2021.

The entry fee will be €100 per team and per playing day. To illustrate this, if the WBU participated in the Open and Women categories, and the Open plays six days while the Women play four days, the WBU would pay a total of €1.000 for both teams, although it is anticipated, pending a final Management Committee decision, that the entry fees would be covered by the WBU. Players will then be responsible for any other expenses, such as meals and local accommodation, as appropriate.

Players will participate in the qualifying events from specific locations in Wales, which are most likely to be in the Cardiff area. No one will play from home, or at other private settings. Participating NBOs will gather its teams in clusters at a local venue set up according to EBL specifications, so as to prevent any communication between players. Neutral observers, ratified by the EBL, will then supervise the play constantly at every location. No other persons will be allowed in the playing area. Since each event will be partly on different playing schedules each Series will play its own boards.

Online kibitzing will be allowed, but with a time-delay of 30 – 45 minutes (depending on the number of boards in the match) and any “running scores” will also be subject to the same delay.

As usual, Europe (Zone 1) will qualify a minimum of eight teams per category to the World Teams Championships. It should be noted that it is quite common for Europe to get one or two further spots in some categories due to cancellations from other Zones. Europe has the right to the first and third such reserve spots.

The Selectors can provide additional information, as appropriate.