Tournament bridge in Wales

[gwynndavis]

I played in the Teams of Eight at the weekend. Seven teams played in Tumble, near Llanelli - four from the East, three from the West, none from the Mid (although the venue was well within reach), and inevitably none from the North. It was an enjoyable event; congratulations to the organisers.
Could this be the moment when Welsh bridge starts to wake from its slumbers? First decision: do we want tournament bridge to continue in Wales? If we do, it has to be face to face. To continue down the easy route of making all bridge electronic will kill the tournament game stone dead. In Wales I'd give it five years max. We need cards and we need opponents whom we can see and talk to.
Second decision: where should tournaments be played? Answer: in the SOUTH! For years bridge in Wales has suffered under the incubus of the North, who supply hardly any players to Welsh events but drag the rest of us to a mid point venue. It has contributed substantially to killing the tournament game in Wales. Welsh geography is a fact - not something to wring our hands about and pretend doesn't exist. There are of course a few (very few) tournament players in north Wales - and they play in England. They belong to the EBU, and their county is Mersyside and Cheshire. I wish them well, but Welsh championship events should be held in the South. Bridge in Wales is on life support. It may well die whatever we do. Last weekend (seven club teams, and would have been more but for covid) shows there is still hope. We would never have had that number in Llandrindod or Crossgates.
There is an aversion to doing anything differently in Wales. We prefer slow, peaceful decline. Time to wake up.

[Simon Richards]

For once, I tend to agree with many of Gwynn's commnets. However there is also another factor to consider and that relates to fixture congestion. I did not play in the WBU Teams of Eight, preferring to play in an Event in England on the same day, albeit online, but I would have played in that same English event were it to have been F2F. Just as many tournament players in North Wales play their bridge in England, belong to the EBU and have their county of affiliation as Merseyside and Cheshire there is also a similar situation with players in East Wales who play much of their bridge in Avon and other nearby counties.