London’s High Court has ruled that bridge is not a sport.
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But members of the English Bridge Union were told today that Sport England’s refusal to include bridge in a list of bonafide sports was justified.
Dove said he had only been asked to consider whether Sport England had “erred in law” when refusing to classify bridge as a sport and concluded that its decision was in line with legislation.
If bridge had been reclassified as a sport, the EBU would have been eligible for government and lottery funding.
Bridge, he said, had “many of the attributions of playing sport …”
The EBU, which was founded in 1936 and has 55,000 members, has brought a High Court challenge against the lawfulness of the adoption of the policy by the funding body which is accountable to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Phil Smith, the director of sport for Sport England, welcomed the ruling, saying: “Sport England’s job is to help the nation to be more physically active, a role given to us by our Royal Charter”.
Mr Justice Dove dismissed the request for a judicial review and upheld Sport England’s decision.
He noted that the bridge union had already spent 100,000 pounds ($210,000) in litigation expenses and had also been ordered to pay at least 50,000 pounds to cover the English Sports Council’s litigation costs.
It had claimed the ordinary and natural meaning of “sport” in the 1996 Royal Charter, which established Sport England, was sufficiently broad that it did not necessarily require physical activity.
During the case Sport England had argued bridge was no more of a sporting activity than “sitting at home, reading a book”.
He added: “Whatever action is taken the EBU will continue to work with the counties and affiliated clubs to make bridge, and its wide ranging benefits, available to as many people as possible”.
The judge added: “I am equally unpersuaded by the suggestion that “physical training and recreation” is a phrase whose general understanding has moved on or which exists within a factual or social context where its meaning may have developed and changed since the 1937 Act was enacted”.
“There’s a lot of calumny going around claiming it’s an attempt to get funding from Sport England”, he said.
“Sport England may have been concerned that we were just after money, but we have resources, we simply want to be recognised internationally”.
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Bridge is played by four players in two partnerships.
