19:15 19 February 2014 by GS Jade Barrett, CsbNews correspondent
«Old age is a special problem for me because I’ve never been able to shed the mental image I have of myself – a lad of about 19» – E. B. White
When young non members of the bridge community wander into a tournament, one of the invariable observations they make has to do with the older age of the participants. While the comments are factually based, the game is anything but played by the old.
A truer evaluation of the average duplicate bridge athlete’s age is measured by the time they have spent at a table, as opposed to the number of years they have spent on this Earth (though to be fair, I personally feel 29 when things go well, but 99 when they do not).
Our fellow enthusiasts rarely perceive themselves as old while in the throes of competition, and they are not. In my experience, the game reveals their inner image whenever the tournament has begun.