Bridge going to court to be classified as a sport

[The Wycher]

I see that the England Bridge Organisation is going to the High Court to over turn Sport England's decision to rule it not a sport.

According to the guy from Sport England if it is classified as a sport then it would be eligible for grants etc and would dilute the funding available for real sports which get people fit such as Archery and shooting (to be fair he may not have used those sports as examples).

Clearly if Bridge is allowed in then Poker would I believe by definition be in the same category.

Do Blonde members feel they should succeed or not?

[Nakor]

My understanding is this is Sport England's definition vs that of the Charity Commission that has a section for Mind Sports, of which Bridge is one?

I think the charity commission definition is spot on and the classification allows people to use Bridge (and poker) nights to raise money for good causes etc.
Not sure a sporting definition is needed for either in relation to Sport England funding.

One thing that crossed my mind when listening to the story this morning - if the Sport England define Bridge (and possibly poker) as Sport, would the elite competitions then be open to things like WADA rules regarding drug testing if they want to chase funding?

[The Wycher]

The comment about drug testing made me think of Bill Werbeniuk and him having to retire because beta blockers were banned after they had already banned alcohol. I wonder what poker players would have to pack it in if alcohol and/or drugs were banned.

[bobAlike]

The comment about drug testing made me think of Bill Werbeniuk and him having to retire because beta blockers were banned after they had already banned alcohol. I wonder what poker players would have to pack it in if alcohol and/or drugs were banned.

Alcohol and drugs I presume

[Graham C]

Someone on the radio a bit back said that a sport should be defined as something you have to change your shoes to do.  Not entirely sure Sport England would agree 100% but it did make me smile.

[Honeybadger]

Someone on the radio a bit back said that a sport should be defined as something you have to change your shoes to do.  Not entirely sure Sport England would agree 100% but it did make me smile.

That's an odd definition. That would mean gardening is a sport but snooker isn't.

[DaveShoelace]

Someone on the radio a bit back said that a sport should be defined as something you have to change your shoes to do.  Not entirely sure Sport England would agree 100% but it did make me smile.

That makes my wife the greatest ever British sportsperson.

Cliffs: she has a lot of shoes

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