Bermuda?s bridge community is gearing up for its annual Regional Bridge Tournament which starts this Saturday at the Elbow Beach Hotel.

The designation ?regional? refers to the geographic zone, administered by the American Contract Bridge League, which incorporates the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda.

The week-long Bermuda tournament, now in its 45th year, is one of the longest-established tournaments in the entire zone.

Tournament chairman, Judy Bussell, reports that close to 350 visitors are booked to arrive on the Island for this year?s event.

An estimated 100 local participants will swell the numbers to almost 450 players.

The largest group, numbering 80, are the members of a Toronto bridge club. Their organiser, Barbara Seagram, is arriving early for the tournament in order to give four seminars to members of the Bermuda Bridge Club.

Local players are looking forward to playing against top North American players.

This is especially important as trials will be held here in April and May to determine the Bermuda teams who will travel to Istanbul to compete in the World Bridge Olympiad.

Last year Bermuda had great success in winning the Zonal play-off in Martinique to qualify for the World Cup of Bridge held in Monte Carlo in last November.

This year organisers are offering bridge events every morning, afternoon and evening. The week culminates with a prize giving and farewell dinner on Saturday, January 31. All in all, there is a great bridge week shaping up.