We had hoped to get back to live bridge at some stage in March, but unfortunately the feedback is that not enough players are ready for that step just yet to make our national events viable. We have therefore decided to hold the National Pairs finals online on 19-20 March, and the IBU likewise has decided to hold the Burke and O’Connor trophies online on 12-13 March. All these events will be on the RealBridge platform, and over three sessions, as normal. We are still hopeful that March may represent the end of online national competitions, and that we will be back live in April; but to a large degree that depends on the appetite of the membership to attend such competitions. The CBAI Governing Council will meet on 5 March, and the regional delegates will express their views on this matter to contribute to a formal decision, and we will keep members posted.
Entries for the National Pairs finals are based on qualification events, and will be made by our Regional Secretaries. The online entry system is now open for the Burke (IBU Open Teams) and O’Connor (IBU Intermediate Teams) Trophies. Normally, there is a requirement that all four members of a team must be eligible to represent a single county or administrative district. Given the current circumstances, it has been decided to waive this requirement, as was done last season, so that the competition is effect open entry for 2022; in keeping with the spirit of the events, however, it has been decided to limit entry strictly to players eligible to represent either the CBAI or the NIBU, so entries including a participant from overseas with no Irish eligibility will not be accepted.
Thank you for your continued support for our virtual competitions.