Young Player of the Year 2002
An award for Young Pair of the Year 2002 has been made to Jonathan De Souza and Paul Wilson.
Paul Wilson and Jonathan De Souza after winning the 2002 Under-19 Pairs Championship
Young Player of the Year - Previous WinnersYoung Player of the Year - The Award Details
Jon, who has just had his 19th birthday, and Paul, almost 18, have been playing together for several years and achieving some great results. In 2002 they won the Under-19s Pairs Championship, were second in the Peggy Bayer trials and second in the Schools Cup playing for Loughborough Grammar School.
These results alone could have been enough to justify this award, but it was also made in recognition of the pair’s sustained level of achievement over a number of years. Their win in the Under 19s Pairs was their third successive win of this competition – they first won in 2000 when Jonathan and Paul had just turned 16 and 15 respectively. And they won the Schools Cup convincingly in both 2000 and 2001. In each of those years they narrowly missed out on the Young Player or Young Pair award by being pipped by other contenders, but this year they have received their due recognition.
Paul is still at school in Loughborough but Jon has now gone on to Trinity College, Cambridge. The pair still get together regularly to play bridge, however, as they are members of the current junior Under-20 squad. This year they have already shown their form, by being part of the successful English team that won the Peggy Bayer Trophy in January
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