Closing Address by the chairman of the EBL youth Committee Mr Mayor, Mr President of the World Bridge Federation, Mr President of the European Bridge League, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, The world’s oldest competition for young players has once again come to an end. This year, we staged the 20 th edition of the European Youth Teams Championships which started as a single event for national Junior teams 37 years ago. Almost everything has changed since then, and our flagship competition was no exception. From the 10 teams that gathered in 1968 in Prague representing an equal number of countries, in Riccione we had 26 countries which participated in three series with a total of 46 teams. It is indeed an impressive progress, and it is imperative that we should do whatever it takes to preserve it. However, this is not easy. Junior bridge needs outside support to survive, and this should come from the adult world. Grown ups have the means. They also have the motive to see Junior bridge flourishing, as this is the only way to guarantee the future of their favourite sport. Yet, every day we experience dark clouds in the sky of Junior bridge. It is sad to see many grown-ups caring almost exclusively about themselves and denying a small contribution to youth bridge. It is very negative to see organizations that remember Juniors at the very last moment and are almost always unable to assign a proper budget to their needs. And it is appalling to see administrators whose support to youth bridge is restricted to words. We should also have a look at our own structure and realize how easily we can lose what we enjoy today. Sad as it sounds, youth bridge depends on a small number of devotees. They are the people who do everything just for the sake of their satisfaction that they are serving a noble cause. How disproportional to the importance of youth bridge to rely on circumstantial support. And how scary this is for the future... But why am I saying these things to you? It is clear that you, the young players, who are listening now are the lucky ones. Apparently, your organizations care about you, and you are escorted by team officials who are prepared to help you build up. Our worries are about the young players who are not present here tonight, and the young non-players who could have been with us had there been a local effort to let them meet our wonderful sport. I know that it is easier to say what others should do, rather than what we can try ourselves. The EBL is an international organization with limited means and limited jurisdiction. Yet, we have tried many ways to support youth bridge, either alone or in cooperation with the WBF. This championship which provides motivation to the best young players is one example. The Junior Pairs championship which addresses all young players is another. The Junior Camps justify our motto that, in bridge, there is a place in the sun for every young person. Unlike other sports, we do not require young people to devote themselves exclusively to bridge. We value the variety of interests in a young person’s life. As a mind sport, we are the complement of physical sports; not an adversary past time. As a mind sport, we go hand in hand with a young person’s education. And as a sport, we require sociality which is a great service to young people, rarely found in other mind sports. You, the elite of the young players of Europe, are a living example of what can be accomplished. But we can - and should - do more, especially if we work all together. Your participation here in such great numbers is certainly the first and very important step. But let us not stop here. Tomorrow you are going home, and your friends will be interested to know if you had a nice time at the championship - did you reach your goals? did you have fun? was it worthwhile? Watching you during the past ten days, I feel that I can guess the answer, but your friends at home may not. So, tell them all about it. Explain why bridge is such a great sport. Tell them that bridge is a recognized sport, on the edge of joining the Olympic Games. That our family extends in over 120 countries and five continents. That in bridge we do not watch passively what others do, but take active part ourselves. That some of the greatest names of society are bridge players. That bridge opens doors and bridges generations, races, religions, national and political differences. Tell them more than anything else, that bridge is for them and for everybody, and - as I said before - that in bridge there is a place in the sun for every young person, however little or much he wishes to get involved. I know that we are all anxious to applaud the winners of the European championships, so I do not wish to take much more of your time. However, if we liked these championships as much as we did, we owe a word of thanks to those who made it happen for our sake. First of all, we must thank the town of Riccione. It is a lovely place, full of life and with a relaxed atmosphere. We were fortunate enough to have enjoyed the suitable premises of Palazzo del Turismo, and very satisfied with the hospitality we were offered at the numerous little hotels around our venue. So, a very big thank you goes to Riccione. We are here thanks to the invitation of Federazione Italiana Gioco Bridge. This is a prime bridge organization - indeed, one of the main pillars of international bridge. It is all very nice to say what we need and what we must have, but the truth of the matter is that when all hope seems lost, we know that FIGB is there to support international bridge. So, it is far from a formality to say a very big thank you to FIGB, its President Gianarrigo Rona and all the worthy people in its structure. The staging of the European Youth Team Championships may seem simple but it is a very complex affair. Many people worked for months to make it happen, and, therefore deserve our praise and sincere thanks: Maurizio di Sacco and Andrea Pagani. The Championships run so smoothly because they had a number of international experts heading the various departments. Each of these persons was happy to contribute with his/her expertise to the tournament, and we were most glad to be served by such great people. Let me mention the most visible of them, asking you to make sure that they can hear your reaction loudly: The Tournament Directors headed by Chief Antonio Riccardi, Assistant Chief Marc van Beijsterveldt, with Eitan Levy, Nedo Kulenovic and Paolo Sgroi. The Appeals Committee led by Patrick Jourdain. The Daily Bulletin with Chief Editor Brian Senior, Co-Editor Peter Ventura, Layout Editor Iris Harilaou and Photographer Maria Ploumbi. The Internet department with Fotis Skoularikis. The wonderful Vugraph, run by Chicco Battistone’s team and commented by Barry Rigal and a number of international experts. The Main Office, run by Gianni Bertotto’s team, the Scoring department run by Eria Franco’s team, and the Duplication run by Ilaria Varesi and her team. Our most efficient Computer Systems specialist Duccio Geronimi. The Hospitality team, led by Sylvia Valentini. The Press Room, managed by Maggie Pearce. Last but not least, the person related by definition to all mishappenings, the Operations Director Dimitri Ballas. I am - and I believe that you are too - very fortunate to have some very capable people taking care of youth bridge affairs, listening to your needs and planning ahead accordingly. I refer, of course to the EBL Youth Committee. Marijke Blanken and Micke Melander could not be with us here this time, but all the rest could: Vice Chairman Stefan Back and members Andrea Pagani and Thomas Sch r nfeldt . Dear friends, Before leaving you, let me say a couple of words for the exciting youth events we are preparing for you in 2006. We will start with the World Youth Pairs Championship which will take place in Piesztany, Slovakia, from 30 June to 2 July. Piesztany is a nice town some 80km east of Bratislava, and the venue is a suitable hotel on the outskirts of the town, amidst woods and fields. It is our intention to run this massive event for the first time in two separate series, one for Juniors and one for Schools, provided, of course that the entry will be such to justify it. Immediately afterwards, the World Junior Camp will follow in the same venue, ending on 10 July 2006. The World Youth Teams Championship will take place at the beginning of August next year, in a location which is yet to be named. The flagship event of the WBF youth programme will be held for the first time in an even-numbered year, to complete the change of cycle, and the new element will be again the Schools series. As you all know, the championship in Riccione has been the European qualifier for the prestigious world zonal event, so it remains to us to wish our teams the best of luck when fighting for the world titles. Dear friends, Take with you the wonderful memories from Riccione and have a safe journey home. We will meet again with more exciting events next year! Until then, let us all work for our goals - but also a little bit for bridge. Thank you for your attention.

Page 2