Youth and Junior Bridge
Youth and Junior bridge is an opportunity for young people to get involved in a fun and social sport. As players learn and improve their bridge game, there are opportunities and invitations to compete in tournaments of various levels and even travel around the world.
This page will list links to Junior and Youth bridge tournaments and websites.
WORLD YOUTH BRIDGE SITE
This is a fantastic online magazine from the World Bridge Federation with articles, news, links, video quizzes and more! http://youth.worldbridge.org/
2023 World Championships – World Bridge Federation
The WBF is delighted to announce that the 2023 World Youth Bridge Championships will be held at the NH Eindhoven Conference Centre Koningshof in Veldhoven, the Netherlands from July 31st to August 7th, with Registration and Opening Ceremony taking place on July 30th. More information on WBF website here → | Official Championship Website here.
YOUTH BRIDGE EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Real Bridge has organized three junior events this fall, all free. Categories are U16, U21, U26, U31.
Sun 1 Oct. For details click https://realbridge.online/junior-bridge-festival-sunday-1-oct-2023.html
Fri/Sat 11/12 Nov. For details click https://realbridge.online/junior-bridge-festival-fri-11-sat-12-nov-2023.html (Note that this is a single event on a single day – the date depends on the timezone.)
Sun 10 Dec. For details click https://realbridge.online/junior-bridge-festival-sunday-10-dec-2023.html
Coaches and captains please contact events@realbridge.online
Bridge Winners is an English online web forum with people from around the world discuss all things bridge. You will find a great section where Youth Bridge Event announcements are posted. Click here to visit Youth Bridge Education
Do YOU want to learn to play bridge?
1. Find a local club, call them up and ask them if they have lessons for youth and juniors. Click here for links to clubs in your area
2. Find a Bridge Teacher – if you live in the USA this link will help you find teachers in your area. Just call them up and see if they have a junior lesson program happening anywhere. http://www.abtahome.com Or you can talk one of your school teachers to teach bridge. Send them to our Bridge Teacher Links page here
3. Get your School to give lessons – there’s a step by step set of instructions for your school. Ask them to go here in North America Bridge Teachers for Youth or the can go to the World Bridge website for teachers here. Or give them this link to our Bridge Teachers Page.
4. Online Learn To Play Links – we’ve added lots of links and videos and apps to our Learn Bridge area click here >
5. Check out the links below!
WHAT ARE THE CATEGORY AGES?
In the World Championships, the eligibility for different categories depends on when a person is born. For the 2023 Championships the ages are as follows:
Under 31: for players born on or after 1st January 1993
Under 26 Open: for players born on or after 1st January 1998
Under 26 Women: for players born on or after 1st January 1998
Under 21: for players born on or after 1st January 2003
Under 16: for players born on or after 1st January 2008
And for the 2023 Championships only, this additional:
For a maximum of two players in each team the following ages will be permitted:
Under 31: for players born on or after 1st January 1992
Under 26 Open: for players born on or after 1st January 1997
Under 26 Women: for players born on or after 1st January 1997
Under 21: for players born on or after 1st January 2002
Under 16: for players born on or after 1st January 2007
In the World Youth Teams Championships, teams are made up in the following categories
The World U-31 Teams Championship, introduced in 2020, and this championship is also by invitation. It is for players who must not have achieved their 30th birthday by 31st December of the year prior to the year in which the competition is to take place.
The World U-26 Teams for the Jaime Ortiz-Patiño Trophy. This Championship is for Junior players who must not have achieved their 25th birthday by 31st December of the year prior to the year in which the competition is to take place
The World U-21 Teams for the José Damiani Cup. This Championship is for players who must not have achieved their 20th birthday by 31st December of the year prior to the year in which the competition is to take place.
The World Women’s U-26 Teams Championship for the Gianarrigo Rona Trophy and this Championship is also for players who must not have achieved their 25th birthday by 31st December of the year prior to the year in which the competition is to take place.
The World U-16 Teams Championship for the Koç University Trophy, and this championship is by invitation. This Championship is for players who must not have achieved their 15th birthday by 31st December of the year prior to the year in which the competition is to take place.
Why might you want a bridge club in your school?
YOUTH BRIDGE LINKS
WORLD YOUTH BRIDGE SITE
This is a fantastic online magazine with articles, news, links, video quizzes and more! http://youth.worldbridge.org/
American Contract Bridge League (ACBL)
The ACBL is the governing organization for bridge in Canada, the USA and Mexico. They have a strong Junior Bridge program and some excellent players. Their new website (2021) doesn’t seem to have a dedicated Junior section but you can find upcoming Junior events here
Here are some other relevant links:
Bridge 4 Youth (Seattle WA USA)
Canadian Bridge Federation Youth Programs information cbf.ca/about-the-cbf/cbf-youth-programs/
United States Bridge Federation (USBF) has a Junior Online Training Program
Atlanta Junior Bridge – great resource for youth players in Atlanta Georgia.
European Bridge League (EBL)
EBL Youth Committee www.eurobridge.org/
English Bridge Union (EBU)
English Bridge Education and Development – Learn, Teach, Grants http://www.ebedcio.org.uk/
Australian Bridge Federation (ABF)
Youth in Bridge Australia www.abf.com.au/member-services/youth-bridge/
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TEACH KIDS TO PLAY BRIDGE?
Everything you need to know can be found on the Bridge Teachers for Youth dot Org webpage.
Online WBF Teaching Program – Free teaching program and material to be used for teaching bridge in schools or at bridge clubs or private classes by teachers in NBOs all over the world.available in French, Spanish, Serbian, Chinese and English. Visit website!
All face to face tournaments were cancelled in March 2020 when the World Health Organization announced a world-wide Pandemic due to the spread of the new coronavirus and Covid-19. As a result, bridge went online. You can find lots of online events and links on our Bridge Tournaments page – as well check out our Online Play and our Innovation Snippets on the home page. F2F tournaments are slowing starting back up again (October 2021) . Have fun!
World Championships 2022
Aug 7-14 7TH WORLD YOUTH TRANSNATIONAL BRIDGE CHAMPIONSHIPS Palazzo Dei Congressi in Salsomaggiore Terme http://youth.worldbridge.org/august-2022-7th-world-youth-transnational-championships/
Sep 12-17 FISU World University Championships Antwerp, Belgium fisu.net/sport-events/fisu-calendar
OLDER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP LINKS
2nd World Youth Teams ONLINE Championships | Official Site Here
Youth World Triathlon Championship | TBA
2019 Youth National Bridge Championships | Hundreds of students 19 years of age and younger will gather this summer in Las Vegas Nevada to compete in the annual Youth North American Bridge Championships. From pair events to team events, players 19 and younger will play for fun, trophies and scholarships. Entry is free for ACBL members, ACBL Membership is only $5. More info here
1st World Youth Teams ONLINE Championships | March – June 2018.
Youth World Triathlon Championship | 22-27 September 2018
Come and play in Orlando! Enjoy a really exciting event which will be held alongside the 15th World Bridge Series.
Read more here (not currently available)
2017 World Youth Open & Teams Championships | Aug 19-26 Lyon, France
Official Page Here
Click here to go to the information pages for the 2016 Youth Teams Championships
There are collages using the pictures of the teams – many of them on the WBF Facebook page – remember to “like” the page so you get notifications when new pictures are uploaded.
They are also being put on the WBF photogallery for the event on Flickr.
2015 4th World Youth Open Bridge Championships organised by the World Bridge Federation in cooperation with the Croatian Bridge Federation & Opatija Bridge Association was held in Opatija, Croatia from 20th – 29th August. Click here to read more >
Videos from the World Youth Championships feature tips and interviews Click Here >
The 2013 World Youth Open Bridge Championship was held in Atlanta Georgia, USA. Click here to read more >
