2nd World Junior Pairs
Camp
SPORTILIA SPORTS ACADEMY • SANTA SOFIA , FORLÍ, ITALY

Venue | Program | Qualification | Cost | Entries

THE CAMP

After the successful launch of the World Junior Camp two years ago, the WBF Youth Committee is proud to announce that the 2nd World Junior Bridge Camp will take place in Sportilia Sports Academy, Santa Sofia, Forlí, Italy, 14-22 July 1997.

Junior Bridge Camps have existed in Europe for over 20 years now, and played a very important role in the development of the game among young people. Camps do not mainly address the champion players but the lesser mortals; they aim at helping young people make new friends, and strengthen ties already developed between older friends, under the umbrella of their common hobby. In the Camps there are very few rules, but many possibilities open to those who wish to take them. Many great players, including some of today's World Champions, started their careers as shy participants at the European Camps where the rule has been that whoever joined once, came back again and again.

The WBF is happy that, with the cooperation of the European Bridge League and the support of the American Contract Bridge League, many obvious difficulties in the establishment of a World Junior Camp were overcome and the first event of the series proved such an astonishing success. This year we expect an even greater success and we wish to thank Federazione Italiana Gioco Bridge for undertaking to host the event.

THE VENUE

SportiliaSPORTILIA, the venue of the 1997 World Junior Bridge events, is a multi-purpose residential center for the practice and fostering of sports situated in the countryside of the Tuscany-Romagna Appennines, Italy's backbone mountains, 800 meters (2,600 ft) above sea level, in an ideal setting of lawns and woods.

Extending over an area of 170,000 square meters (42 acres) in the municipality of Santa Sofia, district of Forlí, SPORTILIA can be reached from the Bologna-Ancona and Rome-Cesena motorways and is close to the airports of Bologna and Rimini.

Equipped with state-of-the-art sports facilities, SPORTILIA is a fully-integrated center designed to satisfy sporting requirements at every level. Facilities (available free of charge to all participants) include:

a stadium
two grass football fields
one synthetic grass pitch for hockey and rugby
courts for hand-ball, basketball, volleyball and tennis
outdoor health and fitness course, etc.

The Pairs Championship will take place in the Sports building, an 1,350 square meters (4,430 sq ft) indepedent structure, while the spacious lobby will be available 24 hours during the Camp for bridge and other indoor activities.

Accommodation All participants will be lodged in Sportilia, where 3- or 4-bedded rooms with private facilities (WC, bath or shower) are available. Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) will be served at Sportilia's restaurant.

Transportation. The Italian Bridge Federation (FIGB) has kindly agreed to offer free transportation to all participants from Rome airport or Bologna railway station to the venue and vice versa.

PROGRAM

The Opening Ceremony will take place Monday 14 July, 7 pm, after dinner and before the first tournament. The Camp will be closed with the traditional festivities on the night of Tuesday 22 July. Participants will be expected to leave Wednesday 23 July, after breakfast.

The daily program includes lectures (for weaker and stronger players) on various bridge subjects to be given by acknowledged teachers. Certain hours will be devoted to physical sports. In the numerous bridge tournaments, the mixing-up of nationalities will be systematically encouraged. FIGB will offer two organized outings to nearby places of interest. Naturally, participants will have plenty of free time to spend it as they wish within the framework of the Camp.

QUALIFICATION

Junior Camps are not mainly addressed to champion players but to the anonymous mass of lesser mortals. Therefore, the level of play should not be regarded as a qualification.

Participants should, in general, be 17-23 years old. This is a guideline rather than a strict limit. National Federations (NBOs) wishing to enter people who are one or two years younger, will be advised to send a group leader whose primary function will be to take special care of these young people. On the other hand, the Youth Committee is prepared to allow older participants, suggested by countries where Junior Bridge is not highly developed. In any case, the standard age limit of 25 years (born in 1972 or later) cannot, of course, be exceeded.

COST

The total cost of the Camp has been fixed at L 650,000 (Six hundred and fifty thousand Italian Lire). This includes full-board accommodation at the venue for nine nights, and participation in all parts of the program.

There are no other costs involved, apart from the usual personal ones.

Naturally, participants must make and pay for their own travel arrangements, either directly or through their NBO.

INFORMATION & ENTRIES

Further information is provided by the WBF Youth Committee and Federazione Italiana Gioco Bridge.

Entries should be made through the NBOs and the Zones, not directly to the WBF by interested individuals.

Entry Forms are available from the WBF Youth Committee. The deadline for entries is 15 May 1997.

A maximum of 250 Juniors will be admitted to the Camp. Since there are usually great variations in the number of entries received, temporary limits have been set on the number of entries which will be accepted from each Zone. If, after the deadline of 15 May 1997, there are still some vacancies, these limits will be raised.

As the result of their nationals winning the 1995 WBF Youth Awards, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and USA are entitled to one free place in the 1997 Camp.

For entries
and general information

WBF Youth Committee
Panos Gerontopoulos
154 Patission Street
GR-112 57 Athens
Greece.

E-mailPhone 30-1-864 3139
Fax 30-1-861 3740
For local
information

Federazione Italiana
___Gioco Bridge
Via Ciro Menotti 11/C
I-20129 Milano
Italy.

Phone 39-2-7000 0483
Fax 39-2-7000 1398

Return to Top of page To main Competition page