I am curious

[sceptic]

Why is someone considered a youth at 28, surely this has a detrimental effect on real youths, which I would consider 21 to be the max age

[TylerE]

Well, technically Youth is up to 18... Junior is up to 28. As a 23 year old, I certainly am far far junior of everyone I play against f2f.

[ArtK78]

I started playing bridge at the age of 16. I was certainly among the youngest players at tournaments at that time. Now that I am 51, I am still younger than most of the players at tournaments, although I do see more and more younger players. However, the majority of the players are age 60 and older.

 

So, "youth" may be a relative term. :)

[pclayton]

At 44 I still get carded at the hotel bar. Go figure.

[Finch]

At 44 I still get carded at the hotel bar. Go figure.

Stop gloating.

 

Anyway, I've been 21 for at least the past 10 years.

[Fluffy]

Why is someone considered a youth at 28, surely this has a detrimental effect on real youths, which I would consider 21 to be the max age

You are english Wayne, in Spain they will call 'boy' anyone below 45. Players under 25 I think there are 5 in Madrid, 15 in Barcelona, and around 7 rest of the country. None of them plays more than twice a month.

[pclayton]

At 44 I still get carded at the hotel bar. Go figure.

Stop gloating.

 

Anyway, I've been 21 for at least the past 10 years.

I actually meant carded for my AARP discount :P

[keylime]

I turn 32 this month and I get carded still, even with the few greys entering the skull...

[Apollo81]

I agree that it seems silly to be considered a youth by 27-28. I think a lot of 22-24 year olds are still in school though, so it also doesnt make sense to cut it off at 21.

[Guest Jlall]

There are different events for people who are 21 and under, so why does this affect the 21 and under crowd? As someone who played in the U26 as an U21 I would say it helps the U21s as they can "play up" and be in a more competitive event if they want to.

[PeterGill]

Why is someone considered a youth at 28, surely this has a detrimental effect on real youths, which I would consider 21 to be the max age

The answer to the question at the start of this thread is that

University Championships in all sports are for those aged Under 28.

 

Therefore the WBF officials thought that for consistency with the World University Championships in Lodz, Poland a month earlier, the World Mind Sports Games event in Beijing in October 2008 should be Under 28.

 

FISU is the body which runs World University Championships for all sports including bridge.

 

At www.fisu.net or more specifically http://www.fisu.net/site/page_950.php,

you can click on the 184 page "FISU Regulations EN July 2007" on the right of the page. On page 112 of 184 (numbered 104 at the bottom of the page), Reg 5.2.3 says that participants in World University Championships in every sport must be at least 17 and no more than 28 on 1/1 of the year in which the event takes place.

This applies to all sports including bridge.

 

If you go to page 148 of 184 (labelled 140 in the index and and at the bottom of the page), you find Bridge included in the sports, between Karate and Beach Volleyball.

 

The WBF adheres to FISU's standards because by doing so, bridge players should (I think) be able to get financial assistance from their university in order to take part in the World University Championships in Lodz. If you search www.unibridge.org, I'm not sure whether you would find the specific procedure

to follow in order to obtain such financial assistance.

 

Therefore U28 is not an arbitrary choice of age limit. I think that on the other hand, the U26 and U21 age limits used for a long time in bridge are arbitrary.

 

Peter Gill

Sydney, Australia.

[Elianna]

I turn 32 this month and I get carded still, even with the few greys entering the skull...

I get carded depending on how I dress when I'm alone, but I NEVER get carded when I'm with Adam.

[Tola18]

I get carded depending on how I dress when I'm alone, but I NEVER get carded when I'm with Adam.

Adam, so is the name of your dragon?? :)

[kenberg]

Good God, this actually makes sense! A new challenge: Why is Bridge listed between Karate and Beach Volleyball? And why is page 112 numbered 104 at the bottom of the page? Don't worry, I can survive without knowing the answers!

 

I have been told that there was once a person bearing my name who was under 28, but I can't recall him.

[kenrexford]

I was disturbed when I learned that I was too old for American Idol.

[ArtK78]

I was disturbed when I learned that I was too old for American Idol.

Ken, somehow that thought disturbs me as well. But probably not in the same way.

[finally17]

I don't watch the show (except a couple of episodes of the tryouts) but I'm pretty sure they removed the age restrictions before the last season. I imagine tryouts for the upcoming season are over, but if you're really interested, I think you can probably try for the 2009 season!

[CSGibson]

I am 28. I've been playing bridge for 20 years, but only playing duplicate for the last 4. I don't feel like my relative youth has been a detriment to my playing (quite the contrary, people tend to underestimate me to their own detriment), so I don't feel like I need special protection like an age-restricted event.

 

I do understand that the organizers might want to have special college competitions for which there should be an upper age limit, or an upper masterpoint limit, so that college bridge players are protected the same as college athletes are protected from competing against professional athletes, but to define a person of age 28 or younger as a youth is fairly random.

[helene_t]

I'm surprised that many people here at the Lancaster University assume I'm a student. Back in NL most people took me for older than my real age of 41.

[whereagles]

I've known some students over 40, helene :(