The candidates for the EBU Presidential Election are Yves Aubry from France, the current EBL President, and Panos Gerontopoulos from Greece. Mr Gerontopoulos has sent us this letter to present his candidacy.
I am pleased to write in order to tell you that I have decided to run for President of the EBL.
In the long time that I have been fortunate enough to serve the EBL, I had the opportunity to run for President several times. But I did not do so, thinking that there were other candidates who could serve the EBL at least as well. However, this time the situation is different. Over the past four years, nothing has changed in the EBL, and it is clear that the League is left to be blown by the wind, moving without any direction, plan or vision for the future. This happens at a time when bridge is under competition by other sports and pastimes, and needs to develop in order to survive in the future. This situation may not continue for four more years without repercussions, and I felt that I should step in and try to stop the ‘road to perdition’!
The election will take place on Sunday, 29th June 2014, in Opatija, Croatia, during the European Team Championships. In accordance with EBL Statutes, the President is elected by delegates of the member countries of the EBL. So do the 12 members comprising the EBL Executive Committee.
Traditionally, nothing much is heard about EBL elections outside the closed circles of the General Assembly. I believe that this is wrong and must be changed. What happens in the EBL very much depends on who sits on its board which takes all policy decisions. Therefore it should concern every bridge enthusiast. So far, the official EBL website does not even mention the EBL elections. For this reason, I have setup a separate website, to deal exclusively with the campaign leading to the EBL elections. This website provides information and serves as a forum for argument, comment and debate on any EBL-related issue. This website can be found at the address: www.panos-ebl.eu
Panos Gerontopoulos
We asked a reply to Mr Aubry and we will glad to publish the Aubry’s view about the EBL Presidential Election.
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