EBL President’s Farewell
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Gianarrigo Rona |
Authorities, dear colleagues, dear friends,
As per every human activity, “tempus fugit” and also for this 2 nd European Open Bridge Championship the term expired and our mind already runs toward the next bridge event. Two weeks have passed since the beginning of this event and these two weeks witnessed you as protagonists of these competitions.
As I often say, success in a championship is very important and represents the objective of all competitors, but results can have high and low moments, like in any other matter of our lives. What is really important is friendship, serenity, the pleasure of being together, and enjoying ourselves all together.
I am strongly convinced, and today more than ever, that bridge means loyalty, fair play, friendship, solidarity. I – and I am sure all of you - am not inclined to accept that even a single evident occurrence could infringethese fundamental principles. If someone does not want to follow these rules cannot stay with us, he has to go away. On this matter I have no doubt, I am not disposed to accept discussions.
At this Championship we introduced new technologies, in collecting and transmitting results and I believe that this is a great development and that we are heading in the right direction. Of course this was the first time and we had to face some small problems which I am sure will be solved next time. I believe that this is another important goal in developing bridge and its image.
I hope you had a pleasant stay in this lovely place, Arona, which with this magnificent resort, Mare Nostrum, has been perfect for all our needs, both as players and staff. I wish to thank the Spanish Federation, the Asociacion Canaria de Bridge, the Organising Committee, our sponsor friends who allowed us to run this Championship machine successfully, the Authorities of Canary Islands, Tenerife and Arona, which welcomed us with great warmth and friendship. I hope to have the opportunity to come back shortly.
To express to our Friends our gratitude, I am pleased to award them with the EBL plaque.
If the greater part of the success of this event goes to you the players, we have to give credit also to the truly amazing work of the staff, whose dedication and professionalism deserve your appreciation. It is my pleasure now to introduce to you these extraordinary people, asking them to stand up to receive your applause.
My dear friend and colleague, Championship Chairman, Micke Melander; Ton Kooijman, the indefatigable Manager of the European Championships; Gianni Bertotto, the Championship Technical Director; the Appeal Committee chaired by Bill Pencharz, Jens Auken and Jean-Claude Beineix; the Tournament Directors led by Antonio Riccardi and Max Bavin; the IT System Manager, Tomas Brenning; the staff of Technological and VuGraph Services led by Carl Ragnarsson, Duccio Geronimi and Chicco Battistone; Grattan Endicott and Jan Louwerse, the Managers of the Convention Cards and Line-up desks; Silvia Valentini, Lars Persson, Freddy Braque and the staff of the Registration, Information and Hospitality desks; the Medical Commission, Yves Aubry, Paolo Gabriele and Roberto Pennisi; Fulvio Colizzi and his colleagues in the Main Office; Jan Swann and his assistants in the Press Room; Jean-Paul Meyer, Mark Horton and all the journalists and technicians of the Daily Bulletin; Panos Gerontopoulos and the operators of the EBL Internet Services; the VuGraph Commentators, led by Barry Rigal; Monica Gorreri and the Duplication staff; the EBL Secretariat with Andrea, Gildana and Livia; the Treasury staff, led by Marc De Pauw, with Federica Zorzoli and Dirk De Clercq; Sebastian Jimenez, the Venue Facilities Manager; the Lavazza team, who with kindness and charm offered us I do not know how many thousands coffees and teas over the past two weeks, thanks to our great friend, the Lavazza Company. Last but not least, Patrick Jourdain. John Carruthers and the IBPA Officers and journalists, our precious companions on our journey in developing bridge. As usual I was about to forget, but just in time I remembered, our superb Master of Protocol and Ceremonies, Anna Maria Torlontano.
Dear friends, dear players, in our events there are no losers, and we will celebrate the victory of all of you. Congratulations to all of you. This evening is for you. And we are here to thank and honour you, and let me express a special thank to all the players who came here from America and other extra-European countries, allowing the Championship to reach a tremendous technical level.
I hope you enjoyed the event, will have a very pleasant evening tonight and once back home will have happy memories of it. Of course I will be waiting for you, all of you, with open arms in two years at the next European Open Championship.
And now it is really over and I declare the 2 nd European Open Bridge Championship officially closed.
'Un abbraccio’ to you all.
Gianarrigo Rona
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