Twinning with a bridge club in a different country can be a fantastic way to expand your club’s horizons. It offers a chance to make new friendships, experience different cultures (both at, and away from, the bridge table), and to travel to places you might not have considered but are none-the-less a delight to visit. What could be more exciting for your club than hosting an international bridge match where you are representing your nation?! It can also be a way to gain exposure for your club as such events are likely to capture the imagination of the local press, and a wider audience within your town.
Mike Vetch, Chair of Worcester BC, shares the story of the club’s recent twinning with BC Romorantin…
This month saw the visit to Worcester of Monsieur Alain Gillier, President of Bridge-Club Romorantin in the Loire Valley, to formalise an Exchange partnership with Worcester Bridge Club.
The partnership was the brain-child of Steve Garry, a former Worcestershire resident who now lives in the pretty French town. He contacted the Worcs County Chairman Mike Willoughby, who passed the idea on to Mike Vetch, Chairman of Worcester Bridge Club, who happens to have thirty years’ experience of running French Exchanges for school pupils at RGS Worcester.
This led to an exploratory visit from Steve, who then returned to France to sell the idea to his home club, Romorantin. There was immediate enthusiasm, so last week Steve returned to Worcester with his Bridge partner Marie Couppé and M Gillier, the Club President.
The trio were hosted in local families, and played three sessions of Bridge, at Cutnall Green, Hallow and Worcester’s home base at Royal British Legion, Claines. To make up the numbers, Mike played with Steve or Alain, which required a little mugging up on the French ways of bidding!
On the Wednesday evening at the Club, Alain and Mike formally signed the partnership agreement, and exchanged gifts and commemorative plaques. In his speech, M Gillier spoke of the history of Romorantin and of the exciting prospects for visits to châteaux and vineyards which await Worcester’s first travellers! “The game of Bridge is truly international and we look forward to receiving our friends from Worcester here in Romorantin in 2019”, he concluded.
The Exchange envisages stays of four to five nights, in families, with opportunities to play bridge, visit the region and sample some of the culinary delights! Monsieur Gillier, who worked for many years at Matra, the Formula One car maker (as driven by such as Jackie Stewart) has a particular desire to see the Morgan factory in Malvern!
As mentioned above, such events can be a way to gain some attention for your club. Newspapers in both participating towns reported on the twinning – The Worcester Observer (page 12) and La Nouvelle Republique. Such international links – particularly in the current political climate will intrigue the local media, and they will likely be keen to feature your club. Those who may consider bridge to be fairly parochial may be intrigued to learn it’s a pastime where participants are thinking of games in bistros and bierhalle, and not just in the local community centre. You may find some newcomers to your lessons amongst the readership.
Links with a club overseas may be something your club could therefore consider.
In Worcester’s case, they had a ready-made link with a French bridge club through one of their former members. Have any of your members emigrated recently and play bridge in their new home?
Alternatively, you may be able to forge links with clubs in the official twin towns of your settlement. Across three decades Loughborough BC was part of a four-way bridge twinning with some of the town’s twins, and trips to France, Germany and Poland were made. A look on google, or the website of the relevant national federation (you can find links to these through the EBL website), may help identify whether your town’s twin has a bridge club. You could then make the approach yourself, or go through official channels and involve your mayoral office/local council. Doing so may get some additional support for your event and give it great exposure and prestige.
If you do embark on any twinning activities, then do let us know.