Andy Stark – Coordinator
Andy Stark – Junior Bridge Coordinator
I’m excited to take over the reins from Nader Hanna who for years coordinated various junior teams, making sure we send our best to the world championships to represent Canada.
There are some initial challenges as we re-build a core of juniors, as they were all hampered by the pandemic, but I’m confident we can develop a group of keen and talented players. We’ll do that through mentoring and online play/practice.
I’ve been playing duplicate bridge since 1989 and teaching bridge since 1990. I can’t wait to share with the juniors all that I have learned and all that I love about our great game.
Cheers,
Andy
andystark@cbf.ca
CBF and Youth
It is our belief that youth are critical to the survival and growth of bridge, and that it is very important to not only welcome young players but to also support them and make it easy for them to learn and appreciate the beauty of our game.
To that end the CBF supports young Canadian players in various ways:
- The annual membership fee is reduced to $10 for players up to and including 25 years of age (effective Jan 1, 2021, continued July 1, 2023).
- Entry fees are reduced by 50% for any player up to 25 years of age competing in a Canadian Bridge Championship event. Use promo code JUNIOR for discounted rate.
- The Erin Berry memorial fund helps juniors up to 19 years of age with expenses incurred to attend bridge events.
Furthermore, the CBF Junior Program provides mentoring and coaching to develop interested junior players, with the purpose of selecting teams to represent Canada in the bi-annual World Youth Team Championships, and occasionally the World University Bridge Championship. The teams representing Canada in these events are chosen by a selection committee from the players who are registered in the Junior Program. Players are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to learning and practice, as well as their bridge capabilities. Teams representing Canada at these world championships are fully subsidized by the CBF. You can help our youth development efforts by donating to the CBF Junior Fund. To donate click here.
If you are a junior player under the age of 25 and are interested in joining the CBF and/or the CBF Junior Program, please send the following information to juniors@cbf.ca: name, date of birth, contact information, and your ACBL number (if you are an ACBL member). Please note that you must be a resident of Canada to join the CBF Junior Program. Our Junior Coordinator is Andy Stark and you can contact him at andystark@cbf.ca with any questions about our junior program.
Souvenirs of previous selections and teams
2020 – Trials held in Toronto in March 2020
U21 : Martin Zhao & Jacob Freeman and Olivia Laufer & Albena Vassileva
U16: Samuel Li & Han Wu and Katherine Yang & Yolanda Ling
Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4 Picture 5 Picture 6 Picture 7
Youth Souvernirs at the 2016 World Championships with Nader Hanna
