At ten o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the Poznań 2025 Open Sports Bridge Championship was… opened. That is, there was no official ceremony, but the first two competitions began, team competitions: of mixes (as many as 94 at the start!) and seniors (19). For now, the elimination phase is underway in them, after which on Monday 32 mixed teams and on Tuesday 8 senior teams will start in the play-offs to fight for medals, and at the same time the pairs tournaments in these two categories will start. The other two – open and women – will compete according to a similar schedule in the second week of the event.
And it is already clear that the barrier of a thousand participants, enchanted so far in the European championships of the Open formula, will be broken, and with a wrap! After all, more than 1,300 badges have been prepared for the competitors registered for the 11th European Transnational Championships, and experience from the previous ten editions shows that the number of withdrawals just before the start never exceeds ten percent. Besides, the badges may have to be… made up, as we remind you that EVERYONE who registers and pays the entry fee can play in this championship – regardless of the sporting level presented. And registration for pairs tournaments will last “until the last minute”, that is, until 20:00 on the day before the start of the competition. The cut-off date for mixed and seniors is June 22 (Sunday), and for the open and women’s categories – June 30 (Monday).
Meanwhile, among the 463 bridge players who are playing in the mixed teams tournament, the Young Wolves are causing a sensation. Because these Wolves are really young: Polish sisters Gabriela and Hanna Banaś, Zuzanna Pniok and American brothers Brandon and Ryan Wolpert are a total of… 61 years old. Yes, yes – their average age is a little over 12, and is inflated by 14-year-old Gabrysia; the rest go to fourth/fifth grade. Elementary school… In addition, “in person” they saw each other for the first time in Poznan, just before the start of the championship.
– But they have known each other longer, of course, because they have created a group in social media,“ says one of the animators of this unique bridge pack, Michal Wróbel, coach-selector of the Polish under-21 national team. ”Some time ago, one of our World Cup champions Wojtek Gaweł, who plays a lot in the States every day, asked me if I would look for someone to play for the sons of one of his American partners Gavin Wolpert (No. 46 in the WBF world ranking). Because he and his wife Jenny – a Swede, nee Ryman, also a professional bridge player – are going to Poznań with the whole family, and the youngsters have just started learning to play, so why should they get bored with some sightseeing… So I consulted with our excellent educators of young talent, Tomek Kierepka and Marcin Kuflowski, and they selected Gabryska, Hanka and Zuzka. The former, the oldest, is now playing in the Polish School Youth Championships, but they end tomorrow, so she will join.The other two immediately decided that they preferred the European Championships….
– The guys have been playing for a shorter period of time than us, as they have only been playing for a few months, while we have been playing for two years,” says Hania Banaś. – But it’s cool, we can handle it. After the first session, we swapped pairs to see who was more comfortable with whom.
– The party is great! – Zuzia Pniok is enthusiastic. – Even our school English is enough, both when dealing with the guys and when giving explanations.
– This team is so uplifting when you think about the future of bridge, that together with EBL President Erik Laurant we didn’t have a moment’s doubt and exempted all five from paying the championship entry fee,” adds Igor Chalupec, vice president of PZBS and treasurer of the European Bridge Federation, which owns the rights to organize the ME.
At the halfway point of the qualifiers, the Young Wolves are ranked 94th. But there are many indications that, starting so early today, the last ones will be the first ones in the future!
Detailed results of the 1st day of the Poznan ME: http://db.eurobridge.org/repository/competitions/25Poznan/microsite/Results.htm
