Youth Bridge in your country

[Rossoneri]

Maybe we all could contribute to have a better idea how different countries are heading with regards to youth bridge.

 

For me, I feel quite lucky to be in Singapore as the bridge calendar is packed with events, of which quite a lot targeted towards youth players. This weekend there's a national youth team championships, and half a year back we had youth pairs, schools pairs and schools teams. In addition, there are at least 2 other tournaments organised by schools/unis for youth players.

 

A usual night at SCBA (our NCBO and biggest club locally) can easily see youth players occupying half of the field or more than half of the field. Usual field is around 6-8 tables. Sometimes more. In addition, I must add that we have a very enthusiastic club manager who openly encourages youth players to join events, a recent example would be the number of youth players she managed to find to partner older players for a special pairs event. We ended up having 19 tables, of which around 2/3 of the partnerships contained a youth player.

[ivanhs_bg]

In Bulgaria is nothing like that. Bridge is not popular amongs junior at all here. We are no more than 10-20 juniors in our NBO which is of about 1000 members. There are two junior events (pairs and teams) and we allow some over 25 guys to join for a more interesting tournament. This year Bulgaria participated for the first time in a junior event

since 1987. This is the first time we make real progress in that area and go on an international level. And i hope the good story continues.

[awm]

One thing I think has been great for US junior bridge is the north american collegiate championship. This event has teams of four all of whom must be students at one university (as well as under 26) competing for a championship. The early stages are held online, and then the top few teams are flown (expenses paid!) to the NABC for the last few rounds.

 

There are several reasons I think this program is especially good for bridge. The requirement of students from the same school encourages bridge players to start clubs and teach friends at their college to play. There are a few young American bridge players who are quite good but they are scattered all over the country. Without the "same school" requirement, these young bridge players would just group together and form a few dominant teams, which would actually tend to deter less experienced students from getting involved in the event. With the "same school" requirement, many colleges have one or two of these top players who then teach a bunch of friends to play in order to form a team of four.

 

Making this a competition between schools also brings "school pride" into it, and while bridge will never have the profile of basketball or football here in the states, people are still excited to hear that their school made the "collegiate final four of bridge" which makes for a nice article in the school paper and a nice advertisement for the school bridge club.

 

Finally, the collegiate event is one that encourages students who know the basics of the game to get involved in tournament bridge. Most of the other programs here in the US are targeted towards teaching the basics to ever-younger kids (most of whom never become involved in duplicate, but this may still be a good outreach program for the game) or training and transporting the very best juniors for international events (but these juniors were playing lots of duplicate long before they were on the junior team and many of them are full time professional players in any case).

 

Hopefully ACBL will continue to support the collegiate championship -- despite more teams participating each year, last year ACBL cut back the number of teams going to nationals from eight to four, and the organization of the online qualifier has always been pretty spotty. There are some ex-juniors heavily involved in the organization for this year who will hopefully get things moving in a better direction.

[kfay]

I whole-heartedly agree with everything that Adam said in his post.

 

I participated in the Collegiate National Championships all four years of my undergraduate career and was fortunate enough to make the field at the NABCs twice. Not only were these experiences the highlight of my bridge career but I know that people in our club here at Michigan were excited by the event and worked all year to try to make the top team for our school. It also got a lot of the newbies interested in the game when they saw that bridge could actually take you places unlike the euchre club or scrabble club, etc.

 

Frankly, the cut of funding to the College championships last year were extremely upsetting to me. Not only was my team left out of a field we would have made had there been 8 teams, I felt that we were a vastly superior team when compared to the one who qualified ahead of us. Why then did we lose? As Adam said the qualifiers have been poorly run in the past and only rely on 5-board matches in a RR field of 4 or 5... hardly the sample size that would lead to the top teams progressing. Since the qualifiers are held on a Saturday morning in February and many of the students are eager to participate, I hardly feel that a longer qualifier would be a problem and would only need volunteer directors to be possible.

 

Partly in anger at being left out of the field I wrote a letter to the coordinator of the Collegiates and voiced some of my concerns about the format of the tournament. To me it was upsetting that the ACBL, who constantly stumps about the need to introduce bridge to the younger crowd, was cutting back on what I considered to be its best venture in increasing youth bridge in the US; much more attractive than bridgeiscool.com or any of their efforts. Personally I feel like the increasing furor over teen bridge is misplaced. Efforts to introduce the youth NABCs and such, while admirable and warranted, are targeted towards a demographic that requires not only the interest of the young players, but their parents who must fund their activities and allow for their children to go places and to clubs 'just to play cards.' College-aged players, on the other hand, are at the stage where they can stay out late with their friends learning the game and soon invest their own resources in towards playing in tournaments and such. In response to my letter I received what I felt was a very condescending and uninterested reply. In my opinion the ACBL would be well-advised to direct more funding toward collegiate bridge, particularly the Collegiate Championships, and to appoint a director towards this end who has genuine concern for youth bridge in general.

[whereagles]

Situation here (Portugal) isn't too good. Very few young players, and even fewer events. Some of the young players are good, but have no profile to play for the national team because they're a source of problems instead of tricks :(

[Tola18]

In addition, I must add that we have a very enthusiastic club manager who openly encourages youth players...

I want to emphasize this:

These enthusiastic leaders, "fire-souls" in swenglish, are tremendous important, I believe. Almost always when we see a successful activity - it is in much because of them. One single or a group / team of them.

It may be a grown up (or a few). Or it may be a couple of young persons with some support of grown ups.

 

I can write up some examples I have seen myself, will do it perhaps later on.

 

Just now I want to start the follow up question: What to do to find and encourage such persons? Make it possible for them to work and do their good??

 

 

I think one answer can be, it is good if they can make a living out of their bridge commitment.

One example: In Sweden it is tradition the club officials are working on voluntary basis. No pay. As best expenses paid (ie stamps and phone). But there ARE some clubs driven professionally/semiprofessionally. These clubs are, by the way, often succesful.

 

Lets proceed with this discussion! (perhaps in own thread?)

[gwnn]

In Romania there are about 3 or 4 decent junior players, and equally many semi-decent players and like 5-6 total newbies, but the National Junior Team or the ones who train with the NT coach is almost exclusively comprised of the latter two categories for various reasons (mainly coach-player relation I think).

[PeterGill]

Australia does OK. Our national bridge body the ABF pays airfare, accommodation and entry fees for trips to overseas events like World Championships and PABF (Pacific Asia) Youth events, so our top youth players are well looked after.

 

Our 2008 National Youth Bridge Week in January in Canberra will be the 40th one.

It started in 1969 and usually has about 14 tables. In July there is an annual Interstate Youth Teams Championships for teams of six from each state.

Last weekend the National Youth Triathlon (Pairs, Teams and Individual) was held in two cities, scored simultaneously across both fields, with a Crazy Pairs at the start.

 

There is a National Youth Bridge Coordinator role, paid $7,000 p.a., currently vacant. The ABF Youth Committee is active. Our Friends of Youth Bridge Fund which rich people donate to, and which any youth player can apply to for financial assistance to go to bridge games, has about $25,000 in it. We have National Yotuh Bridge Buleltins, and a website at www.abf.com.au/youth.

 

School bridge is fairly dead in Australia. Perhaps we should get involved in www.schoolbridgeleague.org (ref About Us) which is supported by Bill Gates?

 

Two university bridge clubs are active, both using a novel and successful promotional method which was developed by Gabby Feiler.

 

Like almost everyone in every country in the last 80 years, we have never managed to get any large scale youth bridge promotion to take off.

 

We have heaps of young people playing on BBO.

 

Peter Gill

Sydney.

[Fluffy]

Spain has around 20 juniors or so, there are no junior events at all, federation invest no mney in juniors, and if you wanna represent yor country as junior it will normally cost you 700-1500€.

[Tola18]

a novel and successful promotional method which was developed by Gabby Feiler.

Sounds interesting. Im googling on it, but could you tell more / give a good link?

[finally17]

I actually have a lot of problems with the way the ACBL promotes (or fails to promote) youth bridge.

 

Admittedly I'm not as involved in Adam, so he's sure to have more insight than I into certain things, but I'm only a couple of years removed from being a junior, and I have my own experiences.

 

There are lots of easy things that the ACBL could do to help promote bridge that they don't do...here are a couple of points:

 

1) I learned to play bridge in high school. When I showed up at college, I went with only one bridge playing friend, and all of a sudden we couldn't find four. We quickly discovered the local club and went out there once, but both being broke college freshman we decided that we weren't interested in paying to play, even though it was only four bucks (which is actually quite cheap compared to many places). He ended up transferring, or I might have gone back sooner, but as it was I didn't go back and stay back until 3 years later.

 

Now, would it really be so hard for the ACBL to subsidize high school and college kids? Some clubs/districts/units are much better at this than others...i've heard of free and I've heard of no student discount. In my experience the latter is far more common. And 5 or 6 bucks may not sound like much, but it's a fair amount to a broke freshman, especially when on top of that he has to find a ride out to the club that is several miles away and to which there is no public transportation.

 

And you can argue that kids can get free play online, and kids can find and teach their friends, but there's nothing like a strong club to learn at...online is great, but we all know it doesn't compare to being able to sit around a table at the local bar after the game and discuss the hands with people who can answer your questions...and I think this is especially true for beginners and intermediates, because conversation comes a lot easier than text based communication, especially when you're just beginning to build your mental framework for the game.

 

2) There's an untapped source of potential bridge players that already interact with current players and yet are ignored as far as I can tell. At least in the midwest, in several cases the caddies at various regionals are math team squads from a local high school. The couple of cases I know of specifically, they're doing it to raise money to cover travel expenses to competitions, and they're often the kinds of kids you'd expect would be interested.

 

It wouldn't be hard to make as a stipulation of this caddying job that the kids take a 2 hour class 3 or 4 weekends in a row, and then get their own closed game (with masterpoints!!) on the Saturday of the regional they're caddying. And for every 20 kids caddying, I bet you get a full table coming out to the clubs somewhat regularly if the games are subsidized.

 

Now I know the various districts already have their sources of caddies...but some struggle to find them I know. Seems like the ACBL could partner with Mathcounts, the AHSME folks, etc (either encouraging such partnerships locally or having a larger formal relationship) and get some classes going with kids they already know are potential future customers. Especially when these kids are already at the tournaments, and often already playing other card games in their downtime.

 

Anyway, those are just a couple of ideas and issue I've had. There are just so many little things that could be done. I see a lot of talk about how the ACBL is so interested in junior bridge, but I was actively involved for at least 4 years as a junior, I just didn't see that interest born out.

 

I know there are other points of contention I've had, but at the moment they don't come to me.

[mike777]

It does seem that of all things pouring money into college bridge always seemed the best way to promote youth bridge.

Now it seems, my guess, that internet bridge is pouring money into the ACBL. Something is causing their revenue to go through the roof. God Forbid they tell us what.

 

Who knows the "best" way to pour the money into college bridge, just pour it. Define College bridge broadly, and pour it in.

 

Experiment with online tourneys, see what works what does not, see how to improve the perception of noncheating tourneys.......

 

Call it college internet, call it free trips for college students, call it whatever....

 

Sure most of it will be a complete waste..so what...That is how things work.

 

There are so many super smart people that play bridge, throw their ideas against the wall and see what sticks.

[zzmiy]

Situation with junior bridge here in Belarus is quite the same as it must be in every small NBO - we have few bridge players and too few junior players - about 10 , I guess, and noone of expert level. There's no special events for young players (though all major national competitions are open so we can freely participate in them) and no junior national team (because of financial problems and lack of good young players). New players "come in" from time to time thanks to efforts of few enthusiasts and it seems there's hope for better times :P

[brianshark]

Ireland has around 30000 registered members of the NBO, but only around 10-20 U25 and U20 bridge players, mostly of novice/intermediate skill with 25% of those advanced players.

 

There are no dedicated competitions due to insufficient numbers though there are new efforts to get young players playing in congresses and national competitions and help out with funding and hand analysis and stuff. Also there are moves to teach more schools players that are in early stages so maybe in 5-10 years time we double the number of youth players.

 

But for having such a large bridge populace, it's disappointing how terrible the Irish youth bridge situation is.

[ASkolnick]

I am no longer a junior but I was lucky when it came to playing bridge. One year we were invited not to an NABC for the collegiate championships, but the ACBL headquarters in 1992.

 

Here were some of the ways that it seemed to have at least a little popularity in the area where I was (Schenectady/Albany).

 

1) Club on campus - We were able to organize a bridge club and receive some funding from our student union. Although the club was not that big (We learned that with 7 people our most common number, if you use a rotating dummy, you can keep the game going). I happened to be the president of our Bridge club.

 

2) Local club which encouraged juniors to play - We were able to play in sessions for under $5 and there was also a local tavern next door which had 1/2 sandwich and drink specials for $1.92. During their sectionals, they also cooked and made their own food.

 

3) Good players in the area who encouraged juniors to play - At the time when I was around Schenectady, many players (Larry Mori, Juanita Chamber, Neil Chambers, Granovetters, Jade Barrett etc.) not only made it interesting, but were more than happy to talk to you or encourage you with playing. You never felt talked down to and thought they were clearly there to help promote the game.

 

I still play and have friendships with many of the people from my college because of this bridge connection. It can be a serious and social game.

[PeterGill]

>>a novel and successful promotional method which was >>developed by Gabby Feiler.

>Sounds interesting. Im googling on it, but could you tell >more / give a good link?

Not googlable, alas.

 

I'm going off-topic. Transfer this to a new thread if you want.

 

Gabby is a med student at Sydney University. Some of you know him from the World Junior Championships/Camps.

He was 2nd in the World Junior Indvidual in New York.

At http://bridgestoriesofbridgeboy.blogspot.com/, scroll down Bridgeboy's blog to Match 12 to read more about Gabby.

 

Sydney Uni has a 3-day Orientation Week at the start of each year. The Sydney Uni Bridge Club's stall offered membership for $2 which included a bridge book worth $14 (obtained for much less from friendly people). You had to turn up to the Bridge Club in order to get your free book. The club meets most lunchtimes in a tutorial room with chairs and desks.

This got the potential players to actually turn up, beating bridge's image problem.

 

A Sydney bridge club donated about 40 bridge wallets. Warren Lazer and Gabby prepared 40 hands which illustrate the beauty of the card play, e.g. when you open the wallet of Board 15, West might be asked to make nine tricks in no trumps, with AKQ43 in clubs in an entryless dummy opposite 9872 in declarer's hand (the 9, 8 and 7 must be dumped under the AKQ in order not to block the suit). Not complex endplays, but cute stuff which might take the fancy of a bright youngster. It is vital for them to see immediately that bridge is that a boring game played only by oldies.

 

When newcomers arrived, they were sat down in threes, with an experienced player as "instructor" always being dummy.

They were given hands to play, as above. No bidding. Generally the aim being to take 7 or 9 tricks in no trumps, or 8 or 10 tricks in spades or hearts, once they knew what trumps were. Boasrd 1 in no trumps might have KQJ10 in a suit, and you have to dislodge the opponent's ace to ahcive the number of tricks. After a few such lessons, bidding was introduced via one page of notes per lesson.

 

This method is particularly useful in countries like Germany (Skat) and Australia (500) or New Zealand (500), where a national card game involving tricks and trumps (named in brackets) already exists on a large scale.

 

At the O Week stall, Gabby and his team attracted passers-by by saying: "Ever played 500?" or the like. Like everywhere, bridge in Australia is regarded by the young as an old person's game which no self-respecting youngster would play. The card game 500 has no image problem, not being popular amongst the elderly, so 500 was used to attract them.

 

Universities which have used this method have succceeed in setting up real bridge clubs. The universities in Australia which have tried other methods to promote bridge have all failed. For teaching bridge to brainy yougnsters, it is the best method I know.

 

Peter Gill

ABF Youth Committee

WBF Youth Committee

[Tola18]

This is the first time we make real progress in that area and go on an international level. And i hope the good story continues.

Yeah. With young Beatrice already a good adv level in understanding of bridge.

and having 15 years to develop further being still junior....

 

Tremendous.

[neilkaz]

ASkolnick,

 

Did you go to Union College ? I graduated from there in 1981. I see that the Studio of Bridge and Games is still active !! At the time I was at Union, I believe it was run by Lynn Deas.

 

.. neilkaz ..

[ASkolnick]

Actually I went to RPI. It wasn't run by Lynn Deas when I was there, it was run by Bill and Norma Shelley. But Lynn did frequent there a lot. Lynn was also very instrumental in helping us juniors at the time. Many of the people I played with then, I still talk to and play with today.

 

I was up their several years ago for a sectional, but alas it was not the same.

[UDBlueHens]

Hello, everyone... Late to the party.

 

It does seem that of all things pouring money into college bridge always seemed the best way to promote youth bridge.

Now it seems, my guess, that internet bridge is pouring money into the ACBL. Something is causing their revenue to go through the roof. God Forbid they tell us what.

I agree with what many here have said already: Colleges are a great place to spend money and focus development activities.

 

We have some wonderful things that us collegiates 'ripe' for bridge. In particular, we tend to have time to waste and waste it with gusto. If I can skip classes or stay up all night to play poker, watch movies, or just be ridiculous (which I have) then I will certainly do the same for bridge if it tickles my fancy.

 

Over the holidays, my father was recounting (first time I had heard this) about how he gave up most of freshman year playing rubber bridge for change in the student center. Nowadays it's poker, but I think bridge could make serious progress if the game was marketed well.

 

On a marketing style note: Adam's point about the college championship is an excellent one.

 

Anyway, thanks.