Well-known (and much-loved) bridge teacher Thomas MacCormac will run his first ever online beginners bridge class starting on Sunday 7 June 2020 between 19:00 and 20:30. The sessions will be held on BBO using Zoom, so students will need basic computer knowledge, and to familiarise themselves with Zoom, but Thomas will guide them through the BBO platform, so no bridge experience is expected. The cost of the lessons will be a very reasonable €5 a week. Contact Thomas at tmaccormac@gmail.com to express an interest.
Vigfús Pálsson from Iceland is running an international Swiss Teams tournament on BBO over the weekend of 22-24 May. The competition will consist of five 8-board rounds on each of Friday and Saturday, progressing to semi-finals and final on Sunday. There will also be a B competition on Sunday. You will find full details here, and can enter by contacting Vigfús Pálsson by email at vip@centrum.is or by mobile +354 693 1061. The entry fee is €50 per team or €25 for juniors (Under-26).
The Keep Bridge Alive project being run by Professor of Sociology at the University of Stirling in Scotland (and Scottish international bridge player) Samantha Punch has been rebranded as “Bridge: A Mindsport for All” (BAMSA). The key goals of the project are to work in collaboration with bridge organisations to use research to transform the image of bridge, to increase participation across all ages, and to enhance the sustainability of bridge as a mindsport that connects people and challenges their minds.
The project has recently produced a short video, Why Play Bridge? What Makes Bridge Brilliant, which may be found here. Hopefully, it will not be too long before we are back to face-to-face bridge (and hand-shaking!) as seen in the video. In addition, the researchers are interested in learning how bridge players have responded to the challenges to the game presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, which they will collate in an effort to provide insights into the short- and longer-term impacts on the bridge community. You can email your views to bamsa@stir.ac.uk or for more information see the BAMSA website. Responses don’t need to be long and can be structured as you wish. So please consider responding yourself, and bring this to the attention of any fellow bridge players that you think might be prepared to help.