EBL Press Conference

Yesterday's conference gave members of the press the opportunity to pose questions to the illustrious panel, Gianarrigo Rona, President of the EBL, José Damiani, President of the WBF and Radoslaw Kielbasinski, President of the Polish Bridge Union.

Before question time, each of them addressed the meeting.

The EBL President outlined recent developments, including the proposed change to the date of the General Assembly so as to follow the pattern of the WBF.

With regard to forthcoming events mention was made of the Champions Cup in Rome in October, the European Open in Antalya 2007, the European Championships in Pau 2008 and the 50th anniversary event in 2010, provisionally to be staged in Amsterdam.

In 2008 the three events will all finish on the third Saturday.

The WBF President expressed the appreciation of the WBF and the EBL for the efforts and achievements of the Polish Bridge Union, not only at the Championships, but also in recent years.

Outlining proposed venues for forthcoming events, the president mentioned Sao Paulo 2009, and tentative plans for Vancouver 2010 and Australia 2011. He also acknowledged the candidacy of Poland as a future venue.

The Polish president spoke about the experience of staging a major Championship and the constant struggle to overcome inevitable difficulties. He expressed the hope that everyone would leave with happy memories of their experiences in Warsaw.

With Patrick Jourdain, President of the IBPA acting as co-ordinator, the floor was opened for questions.

Jean-Paul Meyer - Le Bridgeur asked about the provision of an Internet room for the players, the long gap between the Championships and the associated World Championship events and the uniformity of the playing cards.

It would be difficult to provide a room that could cater for the demands of so many players and modern technology provides many ways of connecting to the Internet.

The cost to Federations of sending teams to two major events in one year was significant factor.

The playing cards were supplied with the assistance of the Danish Federation.

Max Rebattu - De Telegraaf asked about the qualification of Senior teams for Shanghai, the problems of telephone communication from the Press room and an enquiry into the results of the World Pairs Championships in Verona.

In the event of a qualified team withdrawing the opportunity to compete will be offered to the team winning Round Robin B.

Telephone calls using the 'Skype' system should resolve any future difficulties.

The WBF president indicated that it whilst it was impossible to prepare a movement that covered all eventualities greater care would be exercised at future events. Following an investigation the results stand.

Nissan Rand enquired as to possible changes in the format of the Championships.

With up to forty teams the Round Robin format will be preserved. With more than forty teams there will be two groups.

Christer Andersson enquired about future plans for Junior events.

The next EBL Youth Championships will be held in either the Netherlands or Italy and the vnue will be announced in October.

Patrick Jourdain - Daily Telegraph asked about Duplicate Poker in relation to the Intellympiad.

The WBF President has discussed the possibility of sponsorship with Bill Gates. He wants television coverage and the introduction of a duplicate element to Poker, thereby eliminating luck may be the solution, as the popularity of the game on TV is well known.

There followed an audio-visual presentation on Pau, the Championship venue in 2008, which was warmly received. The French delegation answered questions, in particular highlighting the ease of reaching Pau by road, rail and air.