The 2023 Autumn Junior Bridge camp is planned to happen in October. Further details will appear here as they are finalised.

Forty-seven juniors from beginners to members of the Under-21 squad signed up for the Autumn Junior Bridge Camp on 22^nd and 23^rd October at Bowles Rocks.  They included 11 who had made the long journey from Buttershaw College in Huddersfield for the weekend. Between the thunderstorms they enjoyed outside activities including Leap of Faith as well as an intense weekend of bridge training and competitions. The football and table tennis table were also popular.

The Priday Cup, which is the first event of the 2022-2023 Grand Prix, was won by Maks Bilcharz and Aleks Birdsall narrowly from Under-21 squad members Tom Furness and Lucy Norman. Antoinina Mauve and Aman Parekh came third, and a special mention must go to George Bennett and Rebekah Allen, the top Under-14 pair.

We played a Swiss Pairs competition on Saturday evening, won by Lucy Norman and Tom Furness from Lawrence Crean and Freddie Beneat, with Antoinina Mauve and Nia Hencken third.

The Bronze group played in separate novice competitions, won on Saturday evening by Charlie Gray and Paige Turpin and on Sunday by Wyatt Todd and Gurjap Singh.

The Speedball medals went to Antoinina Mauve and Aman Parekh and to William Battersby and Tom Furness.

Thank you to everyone involved, in particular teachers Stephen Kennedy, Diane Rogers and Richard Croot and all the parents and others who make this event so enjoyable. Finally, it would not happen without the support of Sussex CCBA who organise it and to Kent, Surrey, Yorkshire and EBED who all support it financially.

William Bourne, October 2022

38 juniors aged 8-17 and 24 teachers, parents and grandparents joined the South-Eastern Counties Junior Bridge Camp in the beautiful Sussex countryside at Bowles Rocks on 23^rd and 24^th October 2021. It was the first face to face junior event since the lockdowns. The youngsters enjoyed an intense weekend of training, competitions and much more. The England Under-16 squad were there as well and used it as a training session, as they prepare for next year's European Championships.

The first main competition was the Saturday evening pairs, won by William Battersby & Lottie Bedford, comfortably ahead of Zane Soonawalla and Theo Sinclair. The Under-14 section ended in a tie between Millie & Verity Hallam and Thomas Bradkin & Aleks Birdsall, and the Novice section was won by Tristan Humphreys-Cook. This was followed by the speedball event, where Rufus Barnett & Marco Vann (EW) were winners over top NS pair Raffy Sinclair & Andrew Bradkin.

Finally, the Priday Cup was held on Sunday afternoon over some feisty boards. The winners were Zane Soonawalla & Theo Sinclair with 65%, only 0.25% ahead of William Battersby & Lottie Bedford with Tom Furness & Lucy Norman not far behind. The Under-14 section almost resulted in a tie again, but Cecilia & Aleks Birdsall squeaked it by 0.25%. The Novice section was won by Ben & Hannah Cusack. Hannah was the youngest person there.

There wasn’t only bridge though. On saturday afternoon the kids engaged in a variety of activities, from rock climbing to dry skiing, from archery to bushcraft.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this weekend such a success. In particular, Sussex CCBA who run it, Kent and Surrey CBAs who sponsor it, teachers Michael Rushworth, Jessica Mauve, Diane Rogers, Alison Nicholson, and Giorgio Provenza, Director William Clennell, and Bowles Rocks for being such wonderful hosts. They even coped with some unexpected guests when the local Premier Inn had to close down at no notice. Last but most definitely not least a huge thank you to William Bourne, the heart and soul behind the event, whose commitment to bridge and junior bridge in particular is unparalleled.