2nd EUSA CUP IN BRIDGE

Brugge, Belgium: August 4-9, 2007

European Universities Bridge Cup

The championship was organized with the support of the University of Antwerp from 4 up to 9 August 2007, and was hosted by the Hotel Management School in Brugge.

Teams (4 up to 6 players and possibly a non-playing captain to coach them) played the championship.

In 2005, 29 university teams participated at the European University Bridge Championships at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. These Championships were held under the patronage of EUSA. In 2006, 27 national teams participated at the FISU Championships in Tianjin (China).

This time we reached a new record: the championship was played by 32 teams.

The championship was then started with 26 rounds of 8 boards. This represents 26 hours of competition. All results and rankings could be followed on www.unibridge.org

Afterwards, on Wednesday 8 August, a semi-finale and a final were organized for the first 4 places, all other university teams played the consolidation. This represents 4 hours of competition. Semi-final and finals were life on internet (BBO-Bridge Base Online).

Moreover, every day a Daily Bulletin was published with results and comment, all illustrated by pictures; the bulletins, too, were put on the internet.(www.unibridge.org)

Each round, a match could be followed on-line internet. In average, 2000 people followed the matches on internet. At a certain moment, 5.800 people were watching.

Geert Magerman, Fisu-director Bridge, interrupted the championship for an hour for a workshop. This workshop is a tradition and gives the opportunity to discover what is necessary to develop bridge at universities in the future. The workshop was also attended by G. Rona (President of the European Bridge League) and Paul Magerman.

After an introduction in which he described the current situation in the university world of bridge and the possibilities of a university bridge club, the participants joined in a constructive discussion.

On Monday evening, a guided visit of the town Brugge was organized. About 120 students did participate.

On Thursday evening, a free and open bridge tournament was organized between the students to encourage the university spirit and to let the students know each other on another way. This also became a big success with appreciated comments from the students.

The prize giving and closing ceremonies were held in the historical town hall from Brugge, in the gothic room. This amazing place is one of the most beautiful places of Brugge.

The closing ceremony started with a word by Francis Van Loon, rector at the University Antwerp, followed by a message from FISU and EUSA by Geert Magerman; Mr Rona, President of EBL was the last speaker; the Gaudeamus closed the ceremony.

Paul Magerman, the founder of university bridge and organiser of all the Championships till know, was present and was honoured by EBL as honorary member of the EBL Executive Council. All students applauded standing.

The gold, silver and bronze medals were issued by representatives of the university and the world of bridge to:

1. Université Paris Sud (Gold)
2. Uniwersytet Warszawa (Silver)
3. Hogskolen i Sor-Trondelag (Bronze)

The bridge level was very high. One player of the winning team, Thomas Bessis, won later on the year the world transnational title in China.(organized by the World Bridge Federation).

After the prize giving an extensive buffet was offered to all participants, who could also dance on the music of an excellent dj.

The participants were given

• a programme booklet
• daily bulletins
• some gadgets (chocolate, cards, …)

OC Contact details:
University of Antwerp, Geert Magerman
geert.magerman@pandora.be  
http://www.unibridge.org