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The
Commonwealth Bridge Championships.
Daily
Bulletins from Bridge Club Live Click
Here.
Participating
Teams, Click
Here
Fully
1/3 of the boards in the Canada-Wales match are detailed in the
Saturday Bulletin (Bulletin
4 - Click Here for PDF file)
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 Commonwealth
Nations Bridge Championship 2002
by
Judith and Nicholas Gartaganis
The
English Bridge Union (EBU) organized the first Commonwealth Nations
Bridge Championship held from July 15th to July 20th, just prior
to the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. No expense was spared
to make the competition enjoyable for the participants and the
EBU succeeded in running a truly memorable championship event.
Thirty teams participated, of which twenty-eight represented Commonwealth
jurisdictions including seven locations within the United Kingdom
(Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Isle of Man, Wales, Jersey
and Guernsey). The remaining two entries were included because
of the generous sponsorship provided by Maple Financial Group
and Ms. Brigitte Mavromichalis. The "Maple Team" was
made up of strong Manchester-based players while the "Patron
Team" members were Tony Forrester, John Armstrong, Paul Hackett
and his two sons, Justin and Jason.
As
winners of the 2001 Canadian National Team Championship, our team
(Keith Balcombe, Gordon Campbell and the two of us) was asked
to represent Canada. We were very excited by the prospect of participating
in this inaugural international competition and hoped we would
be up to the challenge of representing our country with distinction.
Keith
and Gordon arrived in England a few days prior to the commencement
of the competition in order to get acclimatized to the time change.
Meanwhile we were in Greece for a 10-day vacation and so had plenty
of time to relax before the event. The opening reception was scheduled
for Monday, July 15th. Although we had allowed ample time for
unexpected delays, there were a few exciting moments with luggage
and plane connections so we arrived at the hotel barely in time
to change for the reception.
The
first day was an early indication of the tremendous event that
had been organized. Each participant received numerous mementos
including a professionally assembled souvenir program that featured
pictures of the competitors, flags, and an economic and historical
profile of each jurisdiction. The opening reception was held at
the Manchester Town Hall, an impressive edifice with considerable
history evident in the décor. Completed in 1887, this neo-Gothic
building reaches 286 feet above Albert Square. At the front main
entrance, a statue of the Roman Governor, Agricola, surveys the
square. He founded the original fort of Mamuciam, from which the
city began.
It
was quite an experience meeting competitors from around the world
and trying to "pin" them with small Canadian lapel flags
(which everyone accepted good-naturedly). The food and drinks
were delicious and our team retired for the evening eagerly anticipating
the start of the competition.
Page
2: Day One Round Robin
Page
3: Day Two Round Robin
Page
4: Day Three Round Robin
Page
5: Gold Medal Match (now online)
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