The
Bermuda Bowl is considered The World Cup of Bridge and is held every
two years during odd years. When last held in Bermuda in 1975, the
Bermuda Bowl attracted significant attention throughout the World.
In the years since then, the championship has grown tremendously.
From a modest six teams in 1975, a total of 20 teams, which will
have qualified in zonal competitions, will compete in January 2000
in Bermuda for the most coveted prize in bridge.
Founded by Bermuda resident Norman Bach, the Bermuda Bowl was the
first ever International Bridge Teams Championship. The handsome
Bermuda Challenge Cup, a gift of the Bermuda Government to the winners
of that first championship, soon became known as the Bermuda Bowl
and is now awarded to the winners of the World Bridge Federation
Team Championship.
The
Bermuda Bowl, which is the oldest WBF Championship, was first held
in 1950 in Bermuda, eight years before the World Bridge Federation
itself was formed. It was contested by USA, Europe and Britain over
a four day period. The Bermuda Bowl then developed into a regular
challenge match between the USA and the winners of the European
Championship, a more logical arrangement than the first three-cornered
contest.
In
1958, the World Bridge Federation was formed and began to arrange
its member countries in geographical Zones, the basis for Bermuda
Bowl eligibility. The contest began taking on its present world
wide character.
The
format of the Bermuda Bowl was changed in 1967. Where previously
the placings had been decided by a simple round robin, with two
points for a win and one for a tie, now there was to be a round
robin in which each team met each other in three separate matches,
with 20 victory points at stake in each match; followed by a two-team
final over 128 boards. The change proved successful and the old
format was never restored.
In
the 1970s, the tensions increasingly common in top-level competition
had begun to worry the administrators. As Julius Rosenblum wrote
in World Bridge News in 1974, "Over the years, I have attended
WBF tournaments in many different capacities. At almost every tournament,
innuendoes about unethical conduct have come to my attention. Sometimes
there have been direct accusations. Many officials have the feeling
that it is better to sweep these matters under the rug than to expose
them to the light of the day, to the glare of publicity. I do not
agree. We can deal with innuendo's and accusations openly without
any damage to the game of bridge."
With
this stance Rosenblum, as President of the WBF, was in effect backing
Jaime Ortiz-Patino, then a Vice-President, who, in a move strongly
opposed by some members of the Executive Council, had proposed the
use of table screens in World Championship play. In 1974, the WBF
Executive Council decided by six votes to three with two abstentions
to use screens and bidding boxes in the next Bermuda Bowl.
In
1975, the first use of screens was made, but it did not include
under-table barriers to foot movement. Few would have thought this
likely to prove a serious omission! Nevertheless, three days after
the contest began the Appeals Committee, through its Chairman, Julius
Rosenblum, announced that it had resolved to reprimand severely
a pair for unnatural foot movements. Foot barriers were then introduced.
In
1977, changes were made to the WBF Constitution and By-laws, establishing
the important principle that WBF competitions would thenceforth
be by invitation only. A Credentials Committee, with members from
various zones, would have power to issue or withhold invitations.
Controversial at the time, these changes are now widely seen to
have been beneficial. Other bodies have since adopted similar procedures.
1985
saw a further innovation: the Venice Cup was conducted at the same
time, with the same format, eligibility and boards. Thus a record
total of twenty teams were eligible - ten in each series.
Over
the years, there have been many changes in the format of the Bermuda
Bowl. The latest philosophy holds that each one of the seven geographical
Zones should participate as of right, and that plural representation
should be accorded to Zones 1 and 2, which have many more players
than the others. However, the seeding of a team from each of these
Zones had not proved to be universally popular, so the WBF Executive
Council approved a new format for use in Yokohama, Japan, in 1991.
Under this format (which applies equally to the Venice Cup) Zone
1 may enter four teams, Zone 2 three teams, Zones 3-6 two teams
and Zone 7 (which has only three NCBOs) one team. The 16 teams were
split into two groups of eight with the top four teams from each
group to qualify for the quarterfinals after a double round robin.
For
Bermuda Bowl past results click here.
|