The Opening ceremony will take place on Saturday 29 August, 19.30 hrs, at 'Teatro Alfa' (connected to the hotel). The ceremony will be followed by a musical show in the theatre and by a cocktail/dinner at  the hotel.

The Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup & d'Orsi Senior Bowl round robins will start on Sunday 30 August and finish on Saturday 12 September, with the final knockout stages starting on Sunday 6 September. Matches will normally be played starting at 11.00, 14.30 and 17.30 hrs daily.

The quarterfinals of these events will end before the start of the Transnational Open Teams, allowing eliminated players to participate in this event. The time schedule for this event is yet to be announced.

The Closing ceremony will take place on Saturday 12 September, 20.00 hrs, followed by a cocktail and a seated dinner.

The 7th World Transnational Open Teams Championship is a prestigious and most enjoyable event. Being transnational, it is open to teams composed of players from different countries, nominated by their National Bridge Organization and approved by the WBF Credentials Committee.

This is a great opportunity for players to participate in a wonderful bridge tournament while at the same time experience all the atmosphere and excitement of the final stages of the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup and watch some of the greatest players in the world on the first class vugraph presentation. Players wishing to compete in this Championship should contact their NBO and request nomination by the end of July 2009. There is no quota, and NBOs may nominate as many teams as they wish to compete in this great tournament.

Players eliminated from the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup as well as those from the d'Orsi Senior Bowl will be able to enter the World Transnational Open Teams Championship free of charge, if they enter as a complete team.

The World Transnational Open Teams will take place during the second week of the Championships, starting in the late afternoon on Monday 7 September. The format will be Swiss Teams. It is normally played as 10-board matches (3, 4 or 5 per day) for 15 qualifying rounds (150 boards). The quarterfinal will start on Thursday late afternoon, the semifinal will be played on Friday 11 Sep­tem­ber and the final will end on Saturday 12 Sep­tem­ber.

Registration of Teams deadline - Bermuda Bowl / Venice Cup 15 May - d'Orsi Senior Bowl 15 May - World Transnational Open Teams until the start of the Cham­pion­ships, subject to availability Payment of Entry Fees per team deadline - Bermuda Bowl / Venice Cup $4,000 1 July - d'Orsi Senior Bowl $4,000 1 July - World Transnational Open Teams - (for 4 or 6 new players) $1,500   Players eliminated from the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup or d'Orsi Senior Bowl may participate in the World Transnational Open Teams free of charge if they enter as a complete team of such players. This applies even if they are from different countries or series. If players from the main Championship events join players coming to São Paulo to participate in the WTOTC the charges will be as follows: •  For teams containing 1 or 2 players who participated in the Championship events: $1,500 •  For teams with 3 such players: $800 •  For teams with 4 such players: $400 •  For teams with 5 such players: $200		Registration of Players' Names deadline - Bermuda Bowl / Venice Cup 1 June - d'Orsi Senior Bowl 1 June - World Transnational Open Teams until the start of the Cham­pion­ships, subject to availability Registration of Systems deadline - Bermuda Bowl / Venice Cup 7 July - d'Orsi Senior Bowl 7 July
		All entries must be sent to: World Bridge Federation 40 rue François 1er F-75008 Paris France   cfrancin@worldbridgefed.com

For the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup and d'Orsi Senior Bowl, the Conditions of Contest give full details of systems regulations and registration, but players should note that it is a requirement that all systems are registered in advance via email to Anna Gudge: anna@ecats.co.uk. No HUM or Brown Sticker (BS) conventions is permitted at any stage of the round robin in either the Bermuda Bowl or Venice Cup, nor are they be permitted at any stage of the d'Orsi Senior Bowl. Pairs wishing to register Brown Sticker systems for use in the KO phase must register these, together with the relevant BS forms, by 7 July 2009. No extension to this deadline will be granted. Pairs using Brown Sticker conventions or HUM systems lose their seating rights.

For more information please contact: World Bridge Federation Christine Francin 40 rue François 1er F-75008 Paris France   +33-1-5323 0315       cfrancin@worldbridgefed.com

The 39th World Team Championships will be played in accordance with the WBF General Conditions of Contest (updated May 2009), as well as the Supplemental Conditions of Contest, available here in PDF format.