English Bridge Union - History

History

The British Bridge League (BBL) was formed in 1931, and many local associations and clubs affiliated with it. In Yorkshire, for example, Halifax, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and East Yorkshire all affiliated with the BBL.

At national level the Scottish Bridge Union was formed in 1933 and the Welsh Contract Bridge Association the following year. There was still no English equivalent, but area associations were being set up: Yorkshire and the North East were formed in 1935 and the North West soon afterward. In 1936 those three bodies proposed merging to create a single Northern Association under the BBL.

Scottish and Irish representatives were willing to meet on equal terms only with those from an English national organisation, so it was decided to set up an English Bridge Union, to be composed of the three northern associations, a proposed London association and as many county associations as could be created.

The EBU was formed on 23 May 1936. At its second council meeting on 12 June it was decided that there should be eight constituent area associations: North Eastern, North Western, Yorkshire, West Midlands, North Midlands, Eastern Counties, London & Home Counties and South Western. However the BBL and another organisation, the British Bridge Association, continued to operate in England, which restricted the development of the EBU during the next few years. The EBU was reorganised during the 1939/40 season to involve the counties directly, similar to the current structure.

A council meeting was held in July 1939 which led to the new EBU organisation replacing the old, with the first meeting of the "new" EBU council being held on 15 March 1940. For the first time, those attending were representatives of individual counties rather than regional associations. According to the minutes, 23 counties were represented or sent their apologies were Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Derbyshire, Devonshire, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Middlesex, North East, North West, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Salop, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire and Yorkshire.

During World War Two organised bridge was in abeyance, but by 1945 seven counties had been reformed: Gloucestershire, the North East, the North West, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire; next year there were 19 newly formed or reformed county associations. The EBU had not yet resumed operations, however, and so a new organisation called the Tournament Bridge Association was set up to organise events and congresses, including the Crockfords Cup and the Lederer Memorial Cup. The EBU and the TBA soon realised that a single body for duplicate bridge was needed, and all the TBA members eventually joined the EBU. As a result, the number of county associations affiliated with the EBU doubled to 38.

English players took part in European and World competitions as part of Great Britain teams until 2000, when the European Bridge League accepted the EBU as a national bridge organisation (along with the Scottish and Welsh unions). Since the selection and organisation of Great Britain teams had become the BBL's main reason for existence, it was dissolved and its remaining functions were taken over by a new body, Bridge Great Britain.

The first EBU sub-committee was the Selection Committee, established 28 March 1937. The Tournament Committee was set up on 8 June 1945 and the Laws and Ethics Committee, originally called the Rules and Ethics Committee, on 1 April 1947.

The English Bridge Union Limited (EBU) continues to be a membership-funded organisation for promoting the game of duplicate bridge. As of 2008 it had 39 constituent County Associations, each with nominees holding shares.