Bridging the age gap of China's bridge games

World
Europe

Unlike other sports, most bridge players attending the ongoing China's 13th National Games are either seniors or children, with a wide age gap that both saddens and delights the organizations overseeing the classic card game.

College students, who once made up the greatest share of players, have become alien to the strategic games. Times have changed, so did their interest.

In an attempt to keep the game relevant, the China Contract Bridge Association (CCBA) has targeted young players, aiming to instill the love of the trick-taking game at an early age.

The promotion strategy worked well, but it also explains why the age gap is so visible during the Tianjin tournament.

Yuan Yujie, an official with CCBA told Xinhua News Agency that more efforts are still needed to narrow the gap in popularizing the sport.

Bridge players attend the ongoing China's 13th National Games on July 7, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

Bridge was once popular at college campuses during the 1980s and 1990s. And those college students, in their late 50s today, are still the most active group.

But the card game has lost its appeal among the young. Unlike those college students at the time who had few fun games and were working for state-owned companies, students nowadays enjoy video games but face much more competition in the employment market.

In order to attract more players, the CCBA has set up bridge class as a selective course at colleges, but the result was far from satisfying. Beginners need training for at least six months to compete in a tournament, yet 90 percent of the students drop out after one or two lessons.

Bridge players attend the ongoing China's 13th National Games on July 7, 2017. /Xinhua Photo

To tear down the threshold, Wu Min, secretary of the bridge association in Tianjin, invented the "mini bridge," which combines rules of classic trick-taking card game whist and rules of modern bridge.

Wu also introduced his "mini" game to 35 colleges, and the dropout rate decreased from 90 percent to about 70 percent.

To attract younger players, northeastern China's Liaoning Province has taken a different approach.

Students attend the 2016 National Primary and Secondary Students Bridge Game in Beijing on August 5, 2016. /VCG Photo

"We try to reduce students' academic pressure by giving them preferential treatment of school admission examinations," said Wu Xia, secretary of the bridge association in Liaoning.

For example, student players who win a medal in the provincial competition or make it to the final six in the national middle school student championships can be admitted by colleges with a lower score on entrance exam, she explained.

Liaoning fielded in four players who are under 12 years old in Tianjin. More than 2,000 middle and primary school students in the province take active parts in bridge games, according to Wu.

Students attend the 2016 National Primary and Secondary Students Bridge Game in Beijing on August 5, 2016. /VCG Photo

Thanks to the efforts of all concerned people, more and more Chinese teams are competing in events across the world, which "makes me really proud," Yuan said.

(With inputs from Xinhua)