Stefan Back as Master of Ceremonies opened proceedings. Pavel Mokran (pictured left) as president of the Slovak Bridge Federation welcomed everyone to Slovakia, and wished us a pleasant time, unforgettable deals, and plenty of fun. Then the Chairman of the WBF Youth Committee Panos Gerontopoulos (pictured right) welcomed the players to one of Europe's newest countries for this magnificent opportunity. After the previous World Junior Pairs in Hungary, only three years ago Panos had travelled to Slovakia to meet Pavel, leading to the idea not only of their staging one of the world's biggest junior events ever in Slovakia, but also of Slovakia becoming a member of the EBL and WBF. It was a tribute to the organizing skills of such a small federation.

With welcoming rain to cool the climate to temperate levels, Panos was happy to welcome the 34 countries from 5 zones together with about 430 juniors, the second largest junior bridge event ever held; this was something we could be proud to be a part of.

Panos told us that WBF President Jose Damiani will join us tomorrow and will be at Sunday's Closing Ceremony, and that he had received the best wishes of Gianarrigo Rona, President of the European Bridge League. Panos then introduced the staff, the TDs led by Antonio Riccardi, the Director of Operations Dimitri Ballas, the Chairman of the Appeals Committee Patrick Jourdain and the Bulletin Editor Barry Rigal.

Finally, Panos was very happy to declare the 6th World Junior Pairs Championship and the 1st World Schools Bridge Championship officially open and to wish all the participants the best of luck.

To complete the ceremony, Stefan Back introduced the players from each country as rousing cheers were heard, from all the participants, especially Argentina, Australia and Austria, through to Sweden, USA and our hosts Slovakia.