International Trials 2023/24

The dates and preliminary notices for the CBAI’s International Trials have been posted to the website calendar.

The International Committee has decided to continue with the Trials Pre-Qualifier which made its debut last year, and is aimed at players who do not have the required 100 National Points to enter the trials proper, but wish to gain experience of trials conditions, and to attempt to qualify for the subsequent trials. To enter these trials, players must either (a) hold 50+ National Points, or (b) have won 25+ National Points in the last three bridge seasons. Depending on the entry, the intention is that one of team of four will qualify from these trials for both the Camrose Trials and the Lady Milne Trials. These teams will also be offered, as part of their prize, post-trials coaching with a suitably expert international player.

The dates and key information for the various sets of trials for the 2023/24 season are set out below:

• Trials Pre-Qualifying Competition: 23/24 September, in Templeogue. Entries from suitably qualified pairs (as above). Closing date for entries Friday 11 August at 17:00.
• Camrose Trials: 27/30 October, in the Monument Bridge Centre in Limerick. Entries from teams of 4, 5, or 6 players. Closing date for entries Friday 15 September at 17:00. The Camrose weekends are 5/7 January 2024 in Wales and 1/3 March 2024 in England. To encourage entries, the International Committee has approved a new prize for the runners-up in these trials (subject to an appropriate initial entry) –  a bridge bursary of €500 to be used on an agreed bridge expense, such as entry for a suitable overseas bridge tournament.
• Lady Milne Trials: 10/12 November, in Templeogue. Entries from teams of 4, 5, or 6 female players. Closing date for entries Friday 29 September at 17:00. The Lady Milne weekend is 19/21 April 2024 in Ireland. As the hosts, we will qualify two teams for this event this season, one to represent the Republic of Ireland, the other the CBAI.
• Teltscher Trials: 2/4 February 2024 in Templeogue. Entries from teams of 4, 5, or 6 players, who must have been born in or before 1960. Closing date for entries Friday 15 December at 17:00. The Teltscher weekend is 17/19 May 2024 in Scotland.
• A number of participants in last year’s trials made the point that slow play did not seem to be managed. The International Committee will instruct all trials TDs that slow play penalties must be rigorously enforced in the future.

Several of these changes have been made with a view to encouraging more participants to enter the CBAI’s international trials. We hope to see some new faces in the trials arena this season.

In addition, the season also sees two sets of IBU international trials, each over two weekends, to select teams for the 2024 European Championships in Denmark. The provisional arrangements for these trials, for which formal notices will be supplied as soon as possible, are:

• Open, Women’s, and Senior Trials: 19/21 January and 26/28 January 2024, in Templeogue;
• Mixed Trials: 16/18 February 2024 and 1/3 March 2024, in Templeogue.