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Ratty on Bridge The MSO WorldWide Bridge Gossip Column Most recent item added 11 July 2000 Quo Vadis EBU? England have made an inauspicious start to International competition as a separate entity. Their players arrived only 24 hours before the start of play in the Junior European Championships in Antalya, Turkey, and promptly lost their opening match against Poland 22-8VP. That was by no means the only black
cloud to hang over the team. They were late submitting their systems,
and might well have been fined. The Welsh and Scottish Bridge Federations
had provided elegant team uniforms for their players, but that was beyond
the imagination of the English Bridge Union. Even more damming is the
fact that whilst Wales and Scotland have appointed National Junior Officials,
the EBU have neither done so or responded to correspondence from the European
Bridge League. The venue for the 2001 European Championships may be changed from Madrid because of problems regarding the lack of hotels close to the playing area. The event is likely to be relocated to one of the Spanish Islands. Another event with problems is the European
Pairs Championship scheduled for Jerusalem next March. The contract
has not yet been signed, and once again, the problem is related to hotels:
this time to ones that promised free rooms, but have now changed their
minds. If the event has to be moved then it will probably be to Menton
in the South of France. The English Bridge Union, having laboured for years to be recognised as a separate entity in Europe, is now complaining about the levy of One Swiss France per registered player that it is due to pay to the EBL. Have they remembered they have to pay the World Bridge Federation a levy of US$1 per player? They are not the only country to be unhappy - the powerful Dutch Federation have more than 100,000 members, and they too are concerned about the amounts they have to pay. The President of the EBL, Gianarrigo Rona, will be in Warsaw in November to make a keynote speech to the delegates of the IOC. The Polish Bridge Federation are planning a major bridge event to coincide with the IOC gathering. All time Italian superstar Pietro Forquet proved once again that age is no barrier to success, when he reached the finals of the Italian National Championships. It made headlines in the leading newspaper Il Messaggero, because the 75 year old Forquet became the oldest player to be tested for drugs under the rules that make bridge an Olympic sport. The tests are designed to detect prohibited substances, including stimulants, narcotics, anabolic steroids, and perhaps more seriously in this particular case, drugs used by the elderly to 'aid bodily functions'. The mind boggles! The results are still awaited, but meanwhile Forquet is maintaining a discreet silence. Italy's Alfredo Versace wore a big smile at the prizegiving ceremony of the Fifth Generali World Masters, despite the fact that he finished only twenty-third. The reason? He had agreed to divide any prize with his fellow countryman Antonio Sementa. That meant Versace, who won US$500, had to give Sementa US$250. On the other hand, Sementa, who won the tournament to become the new World Individual Champion, had to hand over US$5,000! England's plans for the Olympiad in Maastricht are not exactly running on oiled wheels. Reigning European Champions Sandra Landy & Abbey Walker were unhappy with the idea of a trial taking place early in June, and withdrew. Instead of taking the logical step of exempting them - after all they are the only pair left from the Championship winning team - the EBU Selectors have exempted the new pairing of Nicola Smith & Heather Dhondy, and left four other pairs to play a trial. It is rumoured that the Selectors then offered Sandra the job of Captain of the English Open team - you can probably guess her response! On top of that, comes news that the EBU have not reserved rooms for their players and officials yet. The town was almost booked out several weeks ago, so perhaps the players will be sleeping in tents. The EBU produces a series of books for beginners under the label 'Really Easy'. They are still considering my suggestion for the next title in the series, 'Really Easy Shuffling'.
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