Patrick Shields

Patrick started playing bridge at school in Scotland but only got fully hooked when at university in Cardiff, where he learned from, and started playing with, the Welsh national team. He moved from there to live in Cheltenham and over the decades when he got married and raised two daughters, he was heavily involved in Gloucestershire bridge (most often as Chief TD), while retaining his links with Wales. He has represented Wales in the Home Internationals (as junior, open and senior), and in European Championships – but has since switched to represent England twice in the Teltscher Trophy. He has been engaged in training of experienced players since around 2005, and pre-pandemic led the (small scale) schools bridge happening in Cheltenham then. He took over the Chair of the Midlands Counties Working Group in 2019, and still holds that job. He joined the EBU Board just as the pandemic happened, and was fortunate to be already plugged into online bridge at that time. As a result, he became heavily engaged in helping Gloucestershire players move to playing online, as well as playing more bridge himself every week than he ever did in a month before. He is now in his fifth year on the EBU Board and is heavily involved in the planning on the development and competition fronts. He also teaches at Cheltenham Bridge Club and runs a U3A MiniBridge group.

Last updated: November 2024

Teltscher Trophy Selections: 2021 and 2022

Crockfords Cup: 2011