A British judge has been asked to resolve this weighty question after Sport England ruled the popular card game is not a sport.
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Much is a stake as the judge, Mr Justice Dove, was asked to apply his brain power to whether Sport England had erred in its definition of sport. If bridge is decided to be a sport then it could be granted a certain amount of public funds for tournaments and to prop up bridge bodies.
Needless to say, people on Twitter seemed to agree with Sport England’s decision…
“However, the issue for the court of this application is not whether the game of bridge has any benefits for health or otherwise, or whether a different government might take a different view as to whether it should be funded through the sports councils, but whether Sport England – and other sports councils – erred in law by the adoption of the recognition policy in October 2010”.
“It would also encourage young people to play the game”.
Ben Jaffey, representing the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said it was common ground that bridge was a game of the mind.
Doreen Ross, organiser of the club based at St George’s Church Hall, Woodford Avenue, said she thinks that bridge should be classed as a sport.
Mr Smith said classifying bridge as a sport would also “open the door” to other pursuits like chess and Scrabble to “dilute” Sport England’s budget.
They argue that in bridge, or chess, someone else could make your move or lay your card for you, and that you should not be able to compete in sport “by proxy”. It said bridge is no more of a sporting activity than “sitting at home, reading a book”.
Phil Smith, director of Sport England, told BBC Radio 5 live the argument ultimately came down to money and his organisation must spend its “precious funding” on activities which improve physical health.
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However, the organising committee for the 2020 Olympic Games included bridge on its shortlist for possible inclusion in the Tokyo games – though it was not included in the final consideration – and it has since been included as one of the sports which will be contested in the 2018 Asian Games and 2017 South East Asian Games.
