It seems quite a stretch, but maybe it's true: yesterday I read in a very reputable newspaper that Bridge was going to be a demonstration sport at this next Winter Olympics. Could this be true?

I'm skeptical, in part because I thought the practice of having demonstration sports had ended and in part because this is the first I've heard of bridge joining the Olympics.

But if it is true, then what a hoot! Hey, I'm not saying bridge isn't a perfectly fine game. But a sport? At the Olympics?

Meanwhile, Orienteering, of course....

-- Swampfox (wmikell@earthlink.net), July 17, 2001

Answers

I am amazed that bridge could even be conceived of as a sport...but apparently they are -- what do I know? The press release below comes from the American Contact Bridge League. (And for more amusing "sports" in world games, check out the list of sports to be held at the World Games in August in Japan... Orienteering is included, but so is "fly casting, "faust ball," "korf ball" and even odder stuff.)

>>Olympics officials will get a close look at bridge in Salt Lake City next year. MEMPHIS, Tennessee, March 30, 2001 - The World Bridge Federation (WBF) will conduct exhibition matches in Salt Lake City next year prior to the start of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

"This is great news for bridge because it means the best players in our sport will be able to demonstrate the talent, intellect, strategy, and concentration required to play this challenging game," said David Silber, CEO of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL).

The championships will not officially be part of the Games, but the WBF is expecting the International Olympics Committee (IOC) officials to visit the contest to show how bridge games are conducted. The dates have not been set, but the championships, which are divided into three categories: open, women and juniors, will conclude a couple of days before the Games begin on February 8, 2002.

"This step is a natural progression since the IOC last year recognized bridge as an official sport and said that the WBF must conduct official bridge demonstrations before the game can be included in the Winter Olympics" Silber said. The ultimate goal is to have bridge on the schedule of competitions for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

Since the IOC recognized bridge as a sport, Switzerland's Marc Hodler, a vice president of the organization, has been pushing for inclusion of a demonstration of bridge at the Games in Salt Lake City. WBF officials view the arrangements for Salt Lake City with optimism. WBF President José Damiani, in announcing the Salt Lake City matches, said "Any new sport introduced to the Olympics must go through a demonstration phase. If the demonstration goes well, then the sport is formally introduced at the Olympic Games four years later." The WBF is headquartered in Paris, France and has been recognized by the IOC as a Sports Federation.

The IOC and bridge are not strangers. For the past three years, the WBF has staged a bridge championship called the IOC Grand Prix at Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the Olympics Museum and IOC Headquarters. Invitees to the IOC Grand Prix have included players from around the world. Damiani said in late March that the WBF had not decided on the selection process for the teams that will participate in the Salt Lake matches. He congratulated Hodler for assisting in finding hotel space for the matches. At Hodler's urging, the IOC allocated space for the matches at the Americana Hotel in Salt Lake City.>>

-- Peggy (Pdickison@aol.com), July 17, 2001.

Observant followers of the TDF will have noted that Lance Armstrong and the USPS Team support the inclusion of bridge into the Olympics... errr... at least their jerseys have the word BRIDGE on the chest.

I think lawn darts tried this a few years back, but didn't make it. The "demonstration" may be sort of an honorary thing to give some publicity to the bridge organization. Personally I don't think the IOC should encourage this sort of thing.

-- Mook (everett@psi.edu), July 18, 2001.

I think Ski-O tried this, too -- wasn't there some kind of exhibition in Japan when the Winter Olympis were in Nagano?

The main problem as I see it is that participants in the Olympics are referred to as "athletes", a term that is not applicable to bridge players. (On the other hand, Gail Gagarin's stepfather is one of the nation's top bridge players, so we might have one of our own, sort of, to cheer for.)

Finally, I must comment on Peggy's fortuitous typo: "American Contact Bridge League". Contact Bridge, now that might be a good sport. "Who are you calling a dummy? Gimme that ace! !"

-- J-J (jjcote@juno.com), July 19, 2001.

The notion still tickles me. What in tarnation will they "demonstrate" that the IOF Officialdom hasn't seen before? They haven't seen bridge before or played themselves. I love it!

"Look, George! I think the bidder from Morocco at table 32 is getting a calf cramp!"

-- Swampfox (wmikell@earthlink.net), July 23, 2001.

The third sentence in my previous post was meant to end with a question mark!

-- Swampfox (wmikell@earthlink.net), July 23, 2001.