Sarah Bell (née O'Connor) first learnt to play bridge at school. She started pursuing her interest in the game more seriously at Cambridge University, where she studied Natural Sciences. After graduating, Sarah moved to Manchester to qualify as a chemistry teacher. She now works at a school in London, leading their learning support department. This is a real passion of hers, although she hopes not to stay out of the classroom/lab for too long!
Sarah first represented England as a junior in the European Teams in Romania, 2009, and made many subsequent appearances for the U26 Women's and U26 Open sides. It was through the junior squads that she met Mike Bell, whom she married in 2017 (and, yes, plays bridge with). She has been lucky that her bridge career has given her many opportunities to travel and she enjoys playing abroad. Her proudest international achievements are winning the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match ("Point a Board" to us Brits) at the ACBL Summer Nationals in 2017 and taking the silver medal in the World Women's Pairs in 2022 with her German friend, Marie Eggeling.
Away from bridge, Sarah is interested in gastronomy and cooking and also recently took up knitting, completing her set of stereotypical retirement activities. Now she just needs to retire!
Last updated: November 2024
Bronze Award 2022
Major International Selections
Junior European Championships: 2009 and 2013
European Mixed Teams Championships: 2022 and 2024
Camrose: 2024 (EBU team)
Lady Milne Trophy Selection: 2015 (EBU) and 2020
Junior Camrose Selections: 2013
Summer Meeting Four Stars Teams: 2017
Tollemache Cup: 2017
Crockfords Cup: 2023
Hubert Phillips Bowl: 2023