EBU SERVICES 2 : Running a variety of competitions for English bridge players.
This thread is for any thoughts on what this service comprises, what qualitative aspects of it are important, of how important this is across the whole spectrum of services. See the last item on the MISSION thread for context.
Comments
Inter-club competitions would be good.
Maybe a regional/county level ladder system for players - could be online too.
I think that there should be a range of competitions available - some focusing very much on the bridge, others perhaps on other social activities (nice meals, tea dances etc) that also include more relaxed bridge.
The competitions which the EBU organises are to a very large extent what they have always organised. It is hard to identify anything that has been dropped, but the attendance at almost all has been dropping over the years. Is the EBU running too many events?
The competitions which the EBU organises are populated mostly by the more experienced, higher standard, bridge players. Is this inevitable (top players cannot get a good game locally?) or it is a self-fulfilling state? The EBU does run some J-high games but that rules out only 8% of bridge players. Should there be games specifically for the 40% who are 6-high?
Do we have the right balance between EBU organised and County-organised events? The latter are often cheaper to run (being able to take advantage of volunteer effort).
Are the events run by the EBU sufficiently varied and sociable to attract a large attendance? Should more bridge competitions be organised alongside other activities?
We have the word “enjoyable” in the overall Mission Statement – how do we built that all the way through our competition portfolio?
More ngs limited events or sub sets of events would be good. Also how about a one off high end event such as handicap bridge maybe a couple of selected fun hands followed by a great dinner with a guest speaker, eg Zia. Could be a money earner for ebu once Covid permits.