THE PARADISE PARK FUN LIFESTYLE HOTEL, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NORWEGIAN BRIDGE FEDERATION (NBF), CELEBRATES THE 12TH JANUARY EDITION OF THE BRIDGE TOURNAMENT TENERIFE WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE WORLD CHAMPION GEIR HEGELMO AND THE YOUNG SOFIE SJOEDAL
The 12th edition of the Bridge Tournament Tenerife January repeats its venue in Los Cristianos, Tenerife.
Paradise Park Fun Lifestyle Hotel collaborates again with the Norwegian Bridgefederation (NBF) to bring bridge to the island, the only card game considered a sport by the Olympic Committee.
The NBF lists it as their largest bridge tournament outside of Norwegian territory and the second biggest they organize. Its number of players has increased over the years. In 2010, the year in which the first festival was organized, 90 participants were registered. This number has been growing every single year, reaching 350 players in 2020. The current circumstances forced it to be canceled in 2021. However, despite this, 210 people have registered in 2022.
This latest, which began on January 10 and will last until the 29th of the same month, stands out for the presence of two sports legends. On the one hand, Geir Hegelmo, 51 years old, number 1 in the ranking on several occasions, winner of the European championship twice and bridge world champion up to three times. On the other hand, Sofie Sjoedal, 20, is also present, recognized for being one of the most promising youngsters in the world of the famous card game.
A STAR OF THE BRIDGE
Sofie Sjoedal is crashing all the records inside the Bridge, the Norwegian record woman, shares with us her feelings and history as a player.
Could you give us a summary of your career as a player?
“At the age at 11 I started playing in the national woman junior team. This was for me the first big step in my career. In addition, it opened doors for me to fight for the European championships, where I won gold two times. In the world championships I managed to win a gold, silver and bronze medal. Although I do not forget my silver medal at the Norwegian Championships, which was a great challenge for me”.
Why Bridge?
“My parents were occasional players and they taught me the necessary basics to understand the game and his rules. I had fun from the first moment and what started as a hobby is now an opportunity to visit islands like Tenerife and places like the Paradise Park Fun Lifestyle Hotel”.
When you started playing?
“11 years ago, I started at 8 because of the influence of my parents. I thought it was a fun game from the beginning. You can tell that I still like it because year after year I play more”.
How are your feelings for this tournament? Do you see yourself winning?
“I don’t consider myself to be one of the favorites. I was surprised with the level of the tournament, it is my fifth time participating and winning games is not easy. I don’t like to anticipate results too, I always try to play the best I can with my partner. It’s my priority.”.
You are competing against the experienced Geir Hegelmo, another bridge legend. What are your thoughts about him?
“Geir Hegelmo is a bridge legend. I haven’t had the opportunity to compete againts him this year. I respect him a lot as a player. Moreover, he deals with a lot more pressure than me (laughs)”.
Cheerful, humble and focused. Sofie Sjoedal is eager to play and win the Bridge Paradise Park Fun Lifestyle Hotel Tournament. Past, present and future of the Bridge at 19 years old.
