Fundraising to send our four Junior Teams (U26; U26 Women; U21; U16) to the World Youth Teams Championships next year has begun in earnest.
EBU Vice-Chairman Ian Payn has taken responsibility for the campaign after the resignation of Darren Evetts from the EBU Board. He will be supported by the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Gillian Fawcett, Squad Leaders, players themselves and their parents, in his endeavours to engage counties clubs and individuals in raising funds for this worthwhile cause.
County Chairmen have already been written to, and the response so far has been encouraging (Sussex having already raised funds well before the letters even went out), and we have also received a very generous donation from the Worshipful Company of Playing Card Makers.
This campaign has only two rules:
- 1. No contribution is too small. We are grateful for any effort.
- 2. No hard sell: this is an entirely voluntary affair.
There is very exciting news on the major sponsor front, as well. Squad Leader for the Women’s U26 Sally Brock has managed to acquire a massive £10,000 donation from Touchlight to fund travel and, crucially, training for the U26 Women’s team. We are incredibly grateful to them.
"Touchlight is delighted to support the Under 26 Women’s Bridge team and look forward to seeing their progress throughout 2018.
Touchlight was established on the conviction that our ever-increasing understanding of DNA would lead to its emergence as a material of the future. As such we have developed, patented, scaled and evidenced a revolutionary enzymatic platform to enable the new generation of DNA-based products."
But it’s not all about big packages – we want everyone who wants to, to feel a part of this, to feel they’re encouraging the future of the game.
Update: Thanks to No Fear Bridge for their support of the U16s through the donation of free membership to their website to all the squad and coaches.
If you want some ideas or further information please e-mail Ian Payn (idp@ebu.co.uk) or Peter Stockdale (peter.stockdale@ebu.co.uk).
December 13, 2017