Gianarrigo Rona, the president of WBF |
The World Bridge Federation (WBF) has awarded the 2014 World Bridge Series Championships to Sanya, a city in the China’s southernmost Hainan province acclaimed as a tropical paradise for tourists. This will be the first time that the World Bridge Series Championships have gone to a city outside Europe and America.
Gianarrigo Rona, the president of WBF, and vice president Patrick Choy, were interviewed by People's Daily Online before and after the contract signing ceremony on Wednesday in Beijing.
PD Online: How did it happen that the World Bridge Series was awarded for the first time to a city outside Europe and America?
Gianarrigo Rona: As you know, the CCBA (Chinese Contract Bridge Association) and the WBF have worked together and organized tournaments together previously. In 1995, Beijing held the World Bridge championships. In 2007, Shanghai held the World Bridge championships. Last year, Taicang held the World Youth Bridge championships. China has the capacity to organize tournaments and events. We believe the World Bridge Series Championships will be a success in Sanya.
PD Online: Why did the WBF choose Sanya? What the advantages of Sanya as a host city?
Gianarrigo Rona: We approached the CCBA and asked them if they had any candidate cities to organize the event. They invited us to visit Sanya. We found that Sanya is a fantastic place. The people, the weather, the tropical scenery – everything there is great. We can see that the city has the capacity to organize sport events… Players can bring their children, their spouses, and their families to Sanya for the event. It will be a fantastic holiday for them. The Championships will be held in Sanya in October, over the course of a month.
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