So what does the future hold?
Based mainly on what Jose Damiani said at the press conference at the
World Championships in Shanghai, and a few subsequent conversations,
I think the intention is for something like this to happen ...
Probable WBF events have the month in capital letters.
March 2008: White House Junior Teams - 24 teams from 18 countries, on BBO's vugraph this week. An annual Dutch event for all countries to enter.
July 2008: Youth NABC in Atlanta Georgia, all countries welcome, should have a large attendance mainly in the 10-15 age range, age limit under 20 I think,
http://www.youthnabc.org/
July 2008: in Sweden, European Youth Pairs, ref this thread
September 2008 in Lodz Poland: World University Teams Championships (U28), ref other websites
OCTOBER 2008 in Beijing: three major Teams Championships, followed by Pairs and Individual events. To play in the Pairs and/or Individual, you have to be in one of the Teams events. Ref WBF website. A WBF event. Massive subsidies available in order to send teams, especially for smaller countries.
January 2009: The 41st annual Australian Youth Bridge Week has been about 15 tables. There are some thoughts of trying to expand the event to attract more overseas players in future years.
March 2009: White House Junior Teams in Amsterdam, Netherlands
mid 2009: 2nd Youth NABC in Washington DC, USA
JULY or AUGUST 2009: World Junior Pairs, transnational, held in a cost effective manner, might or might not have other youth events with it.
mid 2009: If there is a demand for youth bridge camps, the WBF hopes that individual countries willr un them, I think, rtaher than the WBF running them.
MID 2010: World Youth Teams Championships continue every two years, perhaps held in Russia alongside the Open Pairs and Rosenblum Teams.
MID 2011 World Junior Pairs, transnational, continues every 2nd year.
2012: While the intention 1s for the Under 28 event in 2008 to succeed and grow into a truly major four yearly shining light of youth bridge held as part of the Mind Sport Games every four years, the other two World Championships would probably move back to their normal timing in July or August, not necessarily as a separate stand-alone event.
I think the stated intention was to try to have one WBF youth bridge event held every year, with the events conducted in a cost effective manner, so they might be held alongside Open events for economies of scale.
I might be mistaken, but I think it is worth publicising these rough concepts.
I repeat - none of this is official - but I have a feeling that most of it will be very close to what ends up happening.
Peter Gill
speaking in a private capacity, not in any official capacity.