The Camrose Trophy or "The Camrose" is an annual

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competition among open teams representing the

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of Great Britain and Ireland: England ( EBU),

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

(NIBU),

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

(CBAI),

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

(SBU) and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

(WBU). As such it is the

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teams-of-four component of the "Home Internationals" organised by Bridge Great Britain."Home Internationals: a brief history"
By

Patrick Jourdain Patrick David Jourdain (1 November 1942 – 28 July 2016) was a British bridge player, teacher and journalist. Over six decades he played in more than seventy international matches for Wales, more than any other player. He was bridge correspond ...

. Bridge Great Britain. Retrieved 17 December 2013. "The Camrose" is the open teams event. Lord Camrose, owner of ''

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'', donated the trophy in 1936 and it was first contested in 1937. The original trophy has been lost and replaced. Because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the series was interrupted mid-way in 1939 and not resumed until 1946, yet the Camrose is the world's most-played international bridge series. Beside "The Camrose" (Open flight), the Home Bridge Internationals include annual series for Women from 1950, Juniors from 1971, Under-19 from 1990, and Seniors from 2008.

Structure

Since 2007 there have been six rather than five teams in the competition, to avoid having one team sit out each round. From 2007 to 2009 the sixth team was the defending champion, so there were two teams from the previous year's winning nation. England's second team won in 2009, when it was the final-round host by coincidence. Since then by design the sixth team is a second team from the final-round host nation, which follows a five-year cycle from Northern Ireland in 2010 to England in 2014. That second representative is named for the national bridge federation; thus "Wales" and "Welsh Bridge Union" both entered in 2011. Since 2005 a double round-robin is scheduled on two weekends. With six teams, each weekend comprises five rounds of three head-to-head matches, a single round-robin. A match is now 32 scored at

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and converted to ."Camrose Trophy 2011"
Bridge Great Britain. Retrieved 17 December 2013. So every team plays 320 deals in the entire event, 64 against each of its rivals. Before 2005, the teams played head-to-head matches over five weekends. Before 2007 there were simply five national teams, or four during the 48-year absence by the

from 1951 to 1998.

Results

England won both of the completed pre-war and the first 15 post-war contests, through 1960. Only England and Scotland were winners in the 56 renditions before year 2000, including England–Scotland ties in 1961, 1972 and 1973. Ireland first won in 2000 and won four straight beginning 2005."Archives: Camrose Trophy Winners"
Bridge Great Britain. Retrieved 17 December 2013. See also sibling pages. Wales won its first Camrose in 2011, but now England are again dominant, winning nine times in the last eleven years. The 2022 contest was won by England.

Winners by nation

The competition has been completed 79 times up to 2022. There was an outright winner on each occasion except for 1961, 1972 and 1973, when England and Scotland tied for first place. England's count includes a wins in 2009 and in 2019 by its second team, "English Bridge Union".

Winners by year

Three times recently (*), the winners have been one of two entries from their countries, namely "Ireland" 2008, "EBU" 2009 (English Bridge Union), and "Wales" 2011. They were the defending champion team, the England "B" team, and the Wales "A" team respectively. Their compatriots were "Hosts Ireland", "England", and "WBU" (Welsh Bridge Union).
Bridge Great Britain. Retrieved 17 December 2013. Sibling pages give 2003 to 2009 and 2011 to 2013 scores and more. The 1939 contest was not completed and the next six did not take place because of

Players

competition in bridge requires a minimum of four players on each team; up to two additional players may be added as alternates. Two tables are in play at the same time with the North–South pair at one table and East–West pair at the other table being teammates. Camrose matches comprise two sets of 16 deals with player substitutions permitted between sets. Since 2007 the annual event comprises ten matches for each national team; previously there were eight or six matches. All 2011 participants played in 80 to 144 of 160 deals on the second weekend, or five to nine of ten sets (five matches), led by Rex Anderson and David Greenwood who played nine sets for Northern Ireland. Anderson is the career leader with 92 ''matches'' played (through 2011). :*Patrick Jourdain also played two matches for Scotland.

Trophies

Trophies are awarded for each match, in addition to the overall trophy.

References

External links

Bridge Great Britain (BGB)Contract Bridge Association of Ireland (CBAI)English Bridge Union (EBU)Northern Ireland Bridge Union (NIBU)Scottish Bridge Union (SBU)Welsh Bridge Union (WBU)
{{WPCBIndex Contract bridge zonal competitions Sport in Ireland British games