Youth

Bridge is a fantastic sport for people of all ages - particularly young people. It offers a combination of competition, socialisation, mental exercise, and fun which cannot be matched by other activities.

The EBU works with the charity English Bridge Education and Development (EBED) to organise and coordinate youth activities.

These include the Junior Teach-In, the Young Bridge Challenge, Under-21 & Under-26 Championships, and numerous other competitions and opportunities to learn, organised at a national, county, or club level. County Youth Officers coordinate junior activities in many counties.

Information and equipment for those wishing to teach bridge in schools, or to youth groups, is available from EBED. They also administer the Junior Award Scheme, which offers a series of graded attainment levels which the young player can achieve as they learn to play. Those completing a level in the Junior Award Scheme will receive membership of the EBU.

We are always seeking volunteers to assist in teaching and/or promoting bridge in their area. If you are able to help please contact Giles Ip at EBED or your local County Youth Officer.

Bridge is a great way to compete, socialise and maybe travel the world. Watch this video from the European Bridge League - you could have this much fun if you take up bridge:

News

News from the EBU is below. The World Bridge Federation also collates news for young bridge players from around the world on their WBF Youth Bridge Site and social media accounts:

30 Aug 2019

Jasmine Bakhshi receives Joan Gerard Award

Congratulations to Jasmine Bakhshi who is this year's recipient of the Joan Gerard Award in the Under 16 category.

The Joan Gerard Award is presented to youth players who demonstrate aptitude, fair play, good sportsmanship and a friendly international spirit, rejecting any discrimination. They are presented every year at the Youth Bridge Teams Championships and at the World Youth Open Bridge Championships with the categories of a Junior, a Youngster and a Girl. The awards are named after Joan Gerard, who had been a long-time support of the WBF Youth Programs worldwide.

Nominations for the awards are made by attending players, NPCs, coaches, WBF championship officials and members of staff, with no one able to nominate players from their own country.

Jasmine is the first English player to win the award since Ben Green in 2003.

  • Joan Gerard Youth Awards - previous winners
  • World Youth Open Championships website
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    5 Aug 2019 | Clubs

    Bridge England Sim Pairs now supporting Junior Teams

    The Bridge England Simultaneous Pairs, will now be supporting the EBU Junior Teams and as such has been re-named the Junior Squad Sim Pairs. The event will still take place on the usual dates next February, and will also keep the same format.

    The next Juniors Squad Pairs will take place: 3rd – 6th February 2020. We hope that your club will consider hosting a heat, and support our junior teams, and that you will encourage your members to take part – if not at a heat at your club, then at one in your local area.

    Your participation, and contribution towards ensuring bridge has a bright future, is greatly appreciated.

    Clubs should enter via the EBU website. Members interested in playing can find lists of all the clubs taking part on the EBU website.

    11 Jul 2019

    Two Bronze Medals in the European Youth Team Championships

    The 27th European Youth Team Championships, which started on Fri 5th July in Oslo, Norway, have now come to an end with our U16 (pictured) and U21 (picture) teams both placing third in their groups, to win bronze medals. The U26 and U26 Women's teams each came eighth in their respective groups, which just puts the U26 team among the qualifiers for the next world championships.

    The four teams of six selected to represent England were:

    Under 16:

    Under 21:

    Under 26:

    Under 26 Women:

    Michael Byrne has written a blog for the event, you can read it here.

    The Under 16s team have also been keeping a video diary of the events, see their short videos on the EBU YouTube channel

    Live coverage of events will be shown on Bridge Base Online