The BAMSA bridge conference at the end of June is a landmark event. It brings together an outstanding range of people from all over the world – bridge players and academics – to discuss topical and sometimes controversial issues, and to learn from each other. Bridge clubs across the globe are facing the same challenges: the collapse of face-to-face bridge in 2020; the pros and cons of digital bridge; and the hybrid future of the game after lockdown. The bridge world is in a state of flux, but the huge take-up of online bridge and pioneering approaches to teaching, recruitment and marketing give cause for optimism. (More about the programme below.)
Bridging Academia, Policy and Practice An international bridge conference 28 June – 1 July 2021
The conference has eight sessions across four days, plus two playing sessions, a conference pairs tournament and a bridge taster for first-timers. (Attendance at other sessions is not a condition of registering for either the tournament or the bridge taster.)
Each day has its own theme:
The keynote address, Bridge and Wellbeing, will be delivered by Professor Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, author of more than 30 books on learning and motivation and a lifelong bridge player.
The conference is an open forum for academics, bridge players, organisers and policymakers from across the bridge spectrum (local, national and international). The aim is to provide a relaxed online environment in which to share ideas, review good practice and focus on solutions.
Theoretical sessions will provide insights into current academic thinking and conceptual frameworks for understanding bridge as an academic subject. Tabled for discussion are definitions of sport, mindsport, serious leisure; and the light the game throws on gender, ageing, and interaction between people of different ages and generations.
To help participants prepare for the conference, a wide range of pre-recorded presentations are now available to view on the BAMSA website.
For more information or to register for any of the sessions go to: https://bridgemindsport.org/bridging-academia-policy-practice-conference/
Conference news: https://bridgemindsport.org/martin-seligman-keynote-speaker/
Conference poster: https://bridgemindsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/bamsa-2021-conference-poster.pdf
Programme pdf: https://bridgemindsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/bamsa-2021-conference-programme.pdf