leggi in italiano »
Two newsworthy items recently surfaced in Italy. Firstly, Maria Teresa Lavazza has resigned from her position as Italian Team Manager as of the conclusion of this European Open Teams Championship in Dublin. Madame Lavazza has presided over the Italian side for more than a decade, winning eight European Open Team Championships, two Olympiad Teams, one Bermuda Bowl and one Rosenblum Cup. Lavazza’s resignation is reportedly due to the Italian Federation’s decision to run open trials for their international teams rather than the current practice of having the Team Manager (heretofore Madame Lavazza) choose the team. The loss of Madame Lavazza will be felt all over the bridge world.
It is very likely that without her guiding hand, Italy will decline in performance as playing sponsors begin to take part and they field a lesser team than those with their six strongest players.
Secondly, Lorenzo Lauria will not be in the Italian team for Lille, which will however contain the other five stalwarts. Replacing Lauria, in partnership with Alfredo Versace, will be sponsor Romain Zaleski, perhaps a harbinger of things to come.
IBPA (International Bridge Press Association) Bulletin No 569 – June 10, 2012 – Editor: John Carruthers
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June 12, 2012