By Simon fellus (Photos courtesy: Rodolfo Boccale)
100 people attended the opening night of the free bridge course for under 35.
[ilink url=”http://csbnews.org/new/italia-corso-di-bridge-under-35-gratis/”]Bridge Course < 35[/ilink]
Thursday, 27 March, at the presence of the President of Regional CONI Riccardo Viola and the President of the Italian Bridge Federation Gianni Medugno, the course started in the beautiful location of the Tennis Bar , close to the Olympic Stadium and the Foro Italico.
The course, strongly supported and organized by the Lazio Bridge Regional Committee (attended by the President Patrizia Prattichizzo Pelino with almost all the councilors), saw the participation of university students, workers and even some high and middle school students; a healthy female presence slightly exceeded the number of males present.
The teacher Mario Guarino, a little bit excited but not at all frightened, talked for 45 minutes about the rudiments of Bridge: 13 cards each, tricks, dealer and dummy. Someone already heard about it, some people wonder where they were, others were amazed and curious about an interesting – hopefully – brand new thing.
After the end of the first lesson, tables and chairs were arranged with the help of friends, who also came to attend the first lesson, and 48 pairs were challenged in a tournament on the distance of 8 boards (hands) each group, prepared by Guarino, helped by the tutors team who always assist him. The Mitchell movement applied (an unusual method on a first lesson), immediately allowing participants to interact among them and helping to amalgamate the group. A lot of pairs were changing table, presented themselves holding hands and sharing information with each other. The difference between a course and a successful course is directly proportional to the relationship and collaboration of the participants, especially outside of the table.
Three groups of 8 tables each, 24 pairs on North-South line and the same in the East-West for about 1 hour and a half of play. The final ranking was:
Immediately at the table, committing horrible mistakes, the important thing was to make it clear to participants that the competitive spirit is an integral part of bridge. Not surprisingly, at the end of the tournament, they were all in front of the screen, waiting for results, following in real time the ranking upgraded.
Final applause for the winners Santolamazza-Berardi followed by Darui-Quaresma and Cornali-Comitangelo in NS, and Rogani-Laurendi followed by Augello B.-Augello D. and Cantarella-Castellacci in EW.
See you next Thursday!