Nicola Smith and John Holland will be two of the inaugural inductees to the EBL Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame has been established to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the European Bridge League, and nine players will be inducted during a ceremony at the European Championships in Italy in June.
Nicola has played in the European Championships 24 times for Great Britain and England's Women's Team, winning a gold medal on eight occasions. She has also won numerous other medals, including gold in the Venice Cup twice. She was awarded an MBE in 1995 for her contribution to bridge.
John has played in the last six European Championships, the most recent four appearances in the Senior's event in which he won a gold medal in 2014. He also won the D'Orsi Bowl - the 'Senior World Championships' - in 2009.
The other inductees are:
Open - Paul Chemla (France), Benito Garozzo (Italy), Geir Helgemo (Norway/Monaco), Julian Klukowski (Poland)
Women - Bep Vriend (Netherlands), Sylvie Willard (France)
Senior - Apolinary Kowalski (Poland)
April 11, 2017