Bridge By Country: South Africa
Bridge is played everywhere in the world. For our next location in our Bridge by Country series, here’s where to go and what to know in all things bridge, if you’re living in or visiting South Africa.
The South African Bridge Federation
The South African Bridge Federation is the country’s largest bridge organization, and your go-to place for everything bridge whether you’re looking for a bridge club or a local bridge partner.
- The SABF Congress will be taking place in Kwazulu-Natal between 12 to 19 July, 2019. More information is available by contacting the SABF directly.
There’s also the African Bridge Federation, representing the larger continent for bridge.
Bridge for Charity
Bridge and charity always go together well, and Helderberg Hospice hosts a Bridge4Hospice event to promote bridge, play cards and bring in much-needed money for charity. According to the organizers, it’s been in motion for four years.
The game for 2019 is scheduled to take place on the 10th of June, 2019.
More information about the game, time and place can be found at the website for Helderberg Hospice. Enquiries about the next or future Bridge4Hospice games can also be e-mailed – and if you happen to run a hospice yourself, why not bridge?
Bridge by Province
South Africa is a country with nine provinces (or states) and eleven official languages – but some of the provinces have contract bridge represented much better than others.
Other than the national South African Bridge Federation, there are 3 larger unions that represent bridge:
Kwazulu-Natal Bridge Union
Eastern Cape Bridge Union
For the other provinces, that’s the Northern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West, you might be better off looking for a smaller bridge club by town or city rather than province – and you might want to ask the SABF to refer you in the right direction for a local game.
The good news is that there are plenty of bridge clubs spread all over the country. Just a few examples include North Gauteng Bridge, Benoni Northerns Sports Club, Port Alfred Bridge Club, and again, we’d recommend that you ask the SABF for more depending on your area.
If you’re looking for a bridge club in the Southern Cape, this list on LoerieBridge should find you what you need.
There’s also the South African Women’s Bridge Assocation out there who can help to point you in the direction of nearby clubs, games and bridge events.
And there’s a little website called Bridge By Sid Ismail where you can go to find some fascinating bridge hands and a bunch more useful local links.
Buying Bridge Supplies
Card decks are sold everywhere, and can usually be picked up for less than the price of a pack of cigarettes from the same counter. If you’re buying at smaller shops, expect to see plenty of Bicycle knock-offs.
If you’re looking for more specific bridge supplies, Play Bridge is an SA-run website that sells everything from bidding boxes to duplicate boards.
And last but not least, The Magic Shop is another great resource for buying everything cards, based in Cape Town but shipping to most parts of South Africa.