World Bridge Federation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
World Bridge Federation

Formation	August 1958
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Official language	English, French,
President	Jan Kamras
Website	World Bridge Federation

The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the main group that manages the sport of contract bridge around the world. It organizes big championship games. Many of these events happen every four years.

The most important championships are for national teams. These include the Bermuda Bowl (for open teams), the Venice Cup (for women's teams), and the Senior Bowl (for senior players). These three events are called the "World Teams Championships" and happen every two years. Every four years, there are also the World Team Olympiads, which are part of the World Mind Sports Games.

The World Bridge Federation started in August 1958. People from Europe, North America, and South America helped create it. It is a non-profit group based in Switzerland. Harold Stirling Vanderbilt was honored for helping develop the game. The current president is Jan Kamras from Sweden.

The WBF has 123 National Contract Bridge Organizations (NBOs) as members. About 700,000 people are part of these groups. Many of them play in bridge games locally, nationally, and internationally. Each NBO agrees to follow certain rules, like letting all citizens join and keeping high standards for fair play.

The World Bridge Federation has a Congress where each NBO can send one person. This Congress meets every two years. An Executive Council helps run the WBF, with help from different committees.

Major Bridge Events

The World Bridge Federation organizes many exciting championships! These events bring together the best bridge players from around the globe.

World Team Championships

These championships happen every two years, in odd-numbered years.

1. World Team Championships (Open Series: Bermuda Bowl)
2. World Team Championships (Women series: Venice Cup)
3. World Team Championships (Senior series: Senior Bowl)
4. World Transnational Open Team (WTOT)

World Bridge Games

These games happen every four years, in the same year as the Summer Olympics. They used to be called the World Team Olympiad.

1. National Open Teams
2. National Women Teams
3. National Senior Teams
4. World Transnational Mixed Team

World Bridge Series Championships

These championships also happen every four years. They include many different types of events:

1. World Open Knockout Teams (Rosenblum Cup)
2. World Women Knockout Teams (McConnell Cup)
3. World Senior Knockout Teams (Rand Cup)
4. World Mixed Swiss Teams
5. World Mixed Pairs
6. World Open Pairs
7. World Women Pairs
8. World Senior Pairs (Hiron Trophy)

Other Global Competitions

The WBF also hosts many other world-level competitions, including:

• World Bridge Championships
• World Transnational Open Teams Championship
• World Mind Sports Games
• Wuhan Cup
• Rosenblum Cup
• McConnell Cup
• World Senior Teams Championship
• World Mixed Swiss Teams
• World Open Pairs Championship
• World Women Pairs Championship
• World Senior Pairs Championship
• World Mixed Pairs Championship
• World IMP Pairs Championship
• World Masters Individual Championships
• World Mixed Teams Championship
• World Par Championship
• World Junior Pairs Championship (for players under 21)
• World Junior Teams Championship (for players under 21)
• World U26 Junior Pairs Championship (for players under 26)
• World U26 Junior Teams Championship (for players under 26)
• World University Bridge Championships

Regional Bridge Events

Many regional groups also hold their own championships:

• European Bridge League events like the European Team Championships (bridge)
• Asia Cup Bridge Championships
• Asia Pacific Bridge Championships
• Southeast Asia Bridge Championships
• Asia and Middle East Bridge Championships
• African Bridge Championships
• North American Bridge Championships
• Central American & Caribbean Bridge Championships
• South American Bridge Championships
• South Pacific Bridge Championships
• Commonwealth Nations Bridge Championships

Goals of the WBF

The World Bridge Federation works to achieve several important goals:

• To help the sport of Bridge grow all over the world.
• To be part of the Olympic Movement. This means following the rules of the Olympic Charter.
• To spread the spirit of Olympism and Olympic education.
• To connect National Bridge Associations in all countries.
• To create and run competitions to decide world champions.
• To set standard rules for bridge games.
• To support and encourage sports ethics, which means playing fairly.
• To make sure fair play is always present in bridge games.
• To fight against doping in sports and protect the health of bridge players.

Leaders of the WBF

The World Bridge Federation is led by an Executive Council. This council includes delegates from eight different parts of the world, plus the President.

There are five delegates from Europe, five from North America, two from Asia Pacific, and one from each of the other five areas. Two more members are chosen by a group of high-level players. This means the council has twenty voting members, including the President.

The Executive Council meets once a year. A smaller Management Committee handles business between these meetings. The President serves a four-year term.

Past Presidents

• 1958–64: Robert de Nexon, France
• 1964–68: Charles J. Solomon, USA
• 1968–70: Carl C:son Bonde, Sweden
• 1970–76: Julius Rosenblum
• 1976–86: Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, Switzerland
• 1986–91: Denis Howard, Australia (he resigned)
• 1991–92: Ernesto d'Orsi, Brazil
• 1992–94: Bobby Wolff, USA
• 1994–2010: José Damiani, France
• 2010–22: Gianarrigo Rona, Italy
• 2023 onwards: Jan Kamras, Sweden

Gianarrigo Rona was president from 2010 to 2022. He was also president of the European Bridge League before that. On August 25, 2022, Jan Kamras was chosen as the new WBF President. He started his role on January 1, 2023. He was also the president of the European Bridge League.

History of the WBF

The World Bridge Federation was officially formed on August 18, 1958, in Oslo, Norway. Delegates from Europe, the USA, and South America were there. Baron Robert de Nexon from France, a very inspiring person in bridge, became the first President.

After him, Charles J. Solomon from the USA and Count Carl Bonde from Sweden served as presidents. When Julius Rosenblum became president in 1970, the WBF really started to become a global organization. He believed bridge needed a strong central group that worked worldwide, not just locally.

In 1976, Jaime Ortiz-Patiño from Switzerland became president. Under his leadership, the WBF began its modern era. It became a non-profit organization in New York in 1977. The WBF changed to focus on providing the best service to its members. Ortiz-Patiño helped build its structure, improve its image, and set new rules and ethics. He was later named President Emeritus for his great work.

Denis Howard from Australia was president from 1986 to 1990. After some changes, Ernesto d’Orsi from Brazil and then Robert S. Wolff from the US took over for short periods. In 1994, José Damiani was elected president.

José Damiani completely changed the WBF and bridge itself. Under his leadership, the WBF was recognized as an International Sport Federation by the International Olympic Committee in 1999. In 2000, the WBF joined the General Association of International Sports Federations (now SportAccord).

The WBF also became a member of ARISF (Association of Recognized International Sport Federations). In 2002, its main office moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, which is known as the Olympic City. The WBF is also a founding member of IMSA (International Mind Sports Association), which started in 2005.

José Damiani left his role in 2010 after 16 years. He helped bridge grow a lot, bringing in media and sponsors. He improved how competitions were run and created new events for all players. He also greatly supported teaching bridge to young people in schools. He was also named WBF Chairman Emeritus and later President Emeritus for his amazing work.

Gianarrigo Rona from Italy became president in 2010 and was re-elected in 2013.

Bridge Zones and Members

Map showing the WBF's eight bridge zones.

The WBF divides the world into eight main areas, called "zones," to help manage the sport. Each zone has its own group that organizes bridge activities and competitions.

Regions and Countries

As of March 31, 2022, the WBF had 103 member countries across 8 zones:

The WBF has grown a lot. It now has 124 National Bridge Organizations (NBOs) and about 1,000,000 members. These members actively play in bridge events at local, national, and international levels. Each NBO agrees to let all citizens join and to keep high ethical standards.

Membership Numbers by Zone

Here's a look at the number of members and NBOs in each zone:

• ZONE 1 - European Bridge League (Europe): 384,186 members (46 NBOs)
• ZONE 2 - North American Bridge Federation (North America): 124,909 members (3 NBOs)
• ZONE 3 - Confederation Sudamericana de Bridge (South America): 3,575 members (10 NBOs)
• ZONE 4 - Bridge Federation of Asia & the Middle East (Asia & Middle East): 7,307 members (11 NBOs)
• ZONE 5 - Central American & Caribbean Bridge Federation (Central American & Caribbean): 895 members (14 NBOs)
• ZONE 6 – Asia Pacific Bridge Federation (Asia Pacific): 50,242 members (12 NBOs)
• ZONE 7 - South Pacific Bridge Federation (South Pacific): 51,420 members (4 NBOs)
• ZONE 8 - African Bridge Federation (Africa): 6,086 members (12 NBOs)

In total, there are 674,317 members across 112 NBOs.

See also

In Spanish: Federación Mundial de Bridge para niños

• List of bridge governing bodies
• List of bridge competitions and awards