Closing Address
by the Chairman of the WBF Youth Committee

Mr Presidents,
Dear officials and guests,
Dearest Juniors,

This is one of the rare moments which are happy and sad at the same time. Happy, as we are concluding one of the most successful youth bridge events ever held – and sad because the time has come – too soon – to say goodbye to those of you who are leaving tomorrow.

I know that many people had been looking forward to the 6th World Youth Pairs Championships with both pleasure and anxiety.

• One of them was the President of the World Bridge Federation José Damiani. A keen supporter of youth bridge, Mr Damiani proved once again his dedication, not only with his continuing support, but also with his physical presence here in Piestany, just a few days after concluding the running of a successful but tiring World Bridge Championships in Verona.

These are not the best times for youth bridge. While most people agree that the youth is the future of our sport, very few of them are prepared to do little or much in order to see the objective being achieved. It takes the full devotion of the rest to keep us going. In Istanbul 2004, Mr Damiani proclaimed that the effort of world bridge should be focused on the youth, as this is the one and only way for bridge to remain alive and attractive in the mid- and long-run. Since then, the President has intensified his efforts to ensure that bridge follows the right course.

• Another person who had been anticipating this championship with anxiety was the President of the Slovak Bridge Association Pavel Mokrán. I met Pavel three years ago when we saw each other in Bratislava and decided that Slovakia should join the European Bridge League and the World Bridge Federation. A systematic and most efficient worker of his organization, Pavel has led the Slovak Bridge Association from success to success. In the three years elapsed since the first discussions, Slovakia joined the EBL and WBF, hosted a regional youth event with the neighbouring countries in Bratislava, took part in the European Youth Championships, and undertook the organization of the World Youth Pairs Championship and Camp. The leaders and governing bodies of many well-developed Federations have indeed a lot to learn from Pavel Mokrán and the 81 members of the Slovak Bridge Association. Pavel, whatever we say, we cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us…

The map of Europe is changing. What was previously the edge of our continent, has now regained its geographical position and become once again the center of Europe. The western civilization was well served here for many centuries, and arts flourished in this wonderful land. For us, this championship was a wonderful opportunity to visit Slovakia, admire its natural beauty and watch its fast development. I am sure that many of us will return again and again to this attractive land.

• The Youth Committee and I were also awaiting this event with anxiety. This is justified because the World Youth Pairs Championship is the most massive event we run. This means that, in this case, we do not only address the elite – as we are often accused of – but the entire mass of young bridge players everywhere. In addition, this year we were happy to split the field in two series, and give both our Juniors and Schools players the opportunity to compete in a more appropriate environment. But would the split be a success? The answer took some time, but it was clear and loud: Yes! 420 young players from 34 countries and 5 WBF geographical zones – all of you – left no doubt that youth bridge fully deserves what is put into it. Congratulations to you all….

Good things do not happen alone, so we need to thank the numerous people who worked hard to make the 2006 World Youth Pairs Championships a great success.

o I have already spoken of the indefatigable Pavel Mokrán, but I should also mention the effective on-site co-organizer Raduz Dula.
o The excellent team of Tournament Directors, headed by Antonio Riccardi and Rui Marques, and including Petr Jallinec, Mirek Mecik and Eitan Levy.
o The Chairman of the Appeals Committee Patrick Jourdain, who was happily left unemployed.
o The impressive Scoring Team of Marc van Beijsterveldt and Harvey Fox.
o The Daily Bulletin staff, with Barry Rigal, Peter Gill and Akis Kanaris on layout and Internet.
o The man with the overall technical responsibility, the Operations Director Dimitri Ballas.
o And finally, the many anonymous caddies, assistants and helpers who indeed made the tournament happen.

I should not forget to mention a very special group of people, who always attend the youth events and help you throughout. I am speaking of course, of my closest collaborators, the members of the Youth Committee. Present here are: Charlotte Blaiss, Peter Gill, Andrea Pagani, Thomas Schoenfeldt and, of course, the Vice Chairman Stefan Back.

As I said at the beginning, this is one of the rare moments which are happy and sad at the same time. We are very happy that we are here tonight all together, celebrating one of the most successful youth bridge events ever held. We are very happy to be sharing these moments with many good old friends and many new ones whom we met here for the first time, but will be seeing again, I am sure, in our forthcoming events. We are very happy that as of tomorrow we will be spending eight days with many good friends during the 7th World Junior Bridge Camp – the second best attended ever held.

However, we are sad that we will miss many of our good friends we have with us tonight, as the Junior Camp could not fit in their plans this year. For them, as well as for the rest of you, and those who could not make it to Piestany, there is the next World Junior Camp which we plan to hold next year in North America. This is to follow the second edition of the World Junior Individual Championship which will be held in the same place. Details should be available towards the end of the year, but I would urge you to start making your plans. Following the great success we had with the first edition in New York, we trust that these events will live up to our expectations, and will be one further step in the direction of making youth bridge accessible to all young people around the globe.

With these thoughts in mind, I would like to thank you all very much for coming to Piestany, wish to those who are leaving tomorrow a safe journey home, and renew our appointment for next year in North America.