WBF Youth Committee Chairman's
Closing Address
Mr President
Mr President Emeritus
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dearest Juniors,
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Panos Gerontopoulos
Youth Cmte Chairman
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It is so pleasing to have such a large number of important people
among us tonight, and we are very happy that we are adding together
another golden page to the history book of our sport as we come
to the close of our top event, the World Youth Team Championship.
The presence of our sport’s highest authorities here, speaks
for itself as it indicates the great interest that is given to the
young players. Bridge is conscious that the young players carry
the vitality of our sport, and young people should be conscious
that bridge offers them a constructive alternative to today’s
video nonsense and provides an answer to some of the most painful
social problems.
The support offered to Junior bridge is not just words but materializes
in a specific programme that addresses all categories of players.
The World Youth Team Championship is the flagship of our programme.
It covers the world’s top players, and is the end of a long
process of selection and qualification. Here we get the answer to
who is the world’s best, and here we see who is going to reign
in bridge heaven over the coming decades.
A few weeks ago, in Hungary, we concluded another competition,
much more massive and diverse, the World Junior Pairs Championship.
Nearly 400 young players from almost 30 countries gathered there,
in a great bridge event that brought together players of all categories
and offered everybody a great satisfaction through tough competition
for the top, opportunity for meeting and weighting one’s ability
for the average, and participation for the weak.
Immediately afterwards, the World Junior Camp proved that we do
care for all young players, not just the top and privileged. In
the Camps, bridge shines mainly through its social aspect which
makes it so unique among most sports. This is evident when we see
that all categories of players can indeed mix together and help
one another flawlessly. And we have the opportunity to demonstrate
that indeed bridge complements rather than competes with physical
sports for a place in the life of a young person.
Now, I am pleased to announce a new event which will become part
of our programme as from next year. The World Junior Individual
Championship comes to complete the cycle of events that we offer
in order to stimulate youth bridge development. Some people are
not happy because in the Individual you do not choose your partner
but have to team up with many different people. However, those who
are able to function in a diverse environment have a great advantage
in life. The inaugural event will take place in New York next July,
and it is open to all young players from around the world. The Individual
will be followed by a World Junior Camp. The two events together
will, I am sure, be the year’s top attraction for all Juniors!
Planning and running a programme like the World Junior Programme
is not an easy job and requires a lot of time and effort by many
people. I would not have had the privilege of presenting this programme
to you, if we were not fortunate enough to have a wonderful group
of dedicated people working for you on the WBF Youth Committee.
I am sure that I would be speaking for all of you if I asked the
Committee members present to stand up and receive your applause;
Stefan Back, Jean-Claude Beineix, Charlotte Blaiss, Joan Gerard,
Barbara Nudelman, Andrea Pagani.
Speaking about such a diverse programme, we should not forget that
the situation was not always as positive as it is today. It is therefore
our duty to always remember and pay tribute to those who were instrumental
in the establishment of Junior bridge.
The pioneer of Junior bridge was undoubtedly André Boekhorst
of the Netherlands, who unfortunately is no longer with us. André
fought for Junior bridge at a time when most people were even opposed
to the idea itself, not to speak of any kind of support. Despite
all difficulties, André managed to get Junior bridge off
the ground when representative teams from 10 countries met in the
first ever international competition for young players in 1968.
The development of Junior bridge in Europe went from strength to
strength. Twenty years later, it was time for the WBF to follow
suit. This would probably not have happened if Jaime Ortiz-Patiño
was not at the helm. As President of the World Bridge Federation
in 1986, he established a WBF Youth Committee, and one year later
the 1st World Youth Team Championship was launched in Amsterdam,
having the Ortiz-Patiño Trophy at stake. As WBF President
Emeritus since then, Mr Patiño has hardly missed an opportunity
for visiting the Championship and presenting his Trophy. This year
was no exception, and we are very glad to have him tonight with
us.
At the end of the eighties, Junior bridge saw another advance with
its introduction in the schools. The idea was simple but most hopeful:
if young people can learn bridge when they are very young and have
plenty of free time, they will remain in the sport even if life
forces them to abandon it temporarily. The pioneer of this idea
was José Damiani, President of the European Bridge League
at that time and of the World Bridge Federation today, who a few
years later donated the José Damiani Trophy, awarded to the
European Schools Champions today.
Finally, I would like to mention two other personalities of the
game who have supported Junior bridge actively and with great enthusiasm
for many years, and who are with us tonight for this very reason:
former WBF President Ernesto d’Orsi of Brazil and EBL President
Gianarrigo Rona of Italy.
This year we were fortunate enough to have our top competition
held in Paris. At the opening ceremony I mentioned that no one should
miss the opportunity of seeing the beauty of Paris and enjoy its
cultural treasures. I hope that you did so but, if not, that you
took a taste that will guide you to come back here again and again.
Holding the championship in Paris was made possible thanks to the
generosity of our sponsor, Société Générale,
and the French Bridge Federation who, among all other support, allowed
us to use their wonderful headquarters at St.Cloud. I would like
to thank the French Bridge Federation and its President Maurice
Panis most heartily for that.
Deciding a championship is one thing; organizing it, another –
and there is a long way in between. The fact that we have reached
the end so successfully is the result of a combined effort by many
people whom we should now thank.
Let me start with two ladies who did their utmost to ensure that
we would receive proper hospitality in Paris: Christine Francin
and France Fiastre.
A person who was instrumental in the preparations, the running
and took great care to secure that we had a great time at the FFB
headquarters and therefore deserves our gratitude was FFB General
Manager Jean-Claude Thuillier.
The technical genius behind the tournament planning was Claude
Dadoun. He was ably assisted by Fadéla, Lakdar & Mohamed
Brahmi, François Evrard, Frédéric Reaux, with
Vincent Lamaire in the Computer Services, Annie Chekroun in the
duplication, and the indefatigable caddy Sebastien Evrard.
Our team of Tournament Directors who ensured a flawless tournament
and left the Appeals Committee practically unemployed consisted
of Chief Bertrand Gignoux and Assistant Chief Marc van Beijsterveldt.
The excellent Vugraph show owes a lot to Chief Commentator Barry
Rigal, ably assisted by the extraordinary Paul Chemla and, of course,
to the team that run it, Elisabethe Antelme, Jean-François
Chevalier and Elisabeth Piganeau.
If you enjoyed the Daily Bulletin, and I am sure that you did,
then please show your appreciation to Editor Brian Senior, Co-Editor
Peter Ventura and Layout Editor George Hadjidakis. And, of course,
to our Internet staff George Georgopoulos and Marco Marin.
Last but not least, the person who is at fault when nobody else
is and carries overall responsibility for the smooth running of
the tournament, the Director of Operations Dimitri Ballas.
I would only like to add just a few words in order to thank you,
the young players, for making this championship possible with your
participation and crowning it with such a success with your good
ethics and excellent sportsmanship. It is on these values that Junior
bridge has always relied. You have continued the tradition. In this
way, you are paving the future and give us a good reason to continue
servicing this most important section of our sport.
Thank you for this, and thank you for a wonderful time in Paris.
Have a safe journey back home, and see you soon in one of future
events.
Panos Gerontopoulos
WBF Youth Committee Chairman |