A Hampshire club has received funding from its local Borough Council so that members could attend one of EBED’s Tournament Director training courses.
Three members of Chilworth Bridge Club attended the course thanks to a grant from Test Valley Borough Council. The club hopes that the training will enable directors to run sessions throughout the year, thereby encouraging the valuable social and intellectual interaction the bridge can provide to residents in the area, particularly older players. The council obviously recognised and agreed with this likely benefit.
We are pleased that local governing bodies are increasingly seeing the benefit of supporting bridge activities in their area. Your club may wish to consider approaching your local council to see if they are willing to invest in the provision of bridge. The word ‘invest’ seems appropriate. We all know the benefits that bridge can bring to the mind, through both the mental exercise and the socialisation that the game offers, and a small donation to supporting bridge could lead to larger long term savings in the funding of social services or health care providers.