BAMSA’s Youth Research enters a new phase

Published On: January 23rd, 2026By BAMSA

BAMSA’s “Bridge, Youth and MindSport Education” research project has reached a significant milestone with the completion of its international research fieldwork. The fieldwork completed over 2025 captured rich insights based on in-depth interviews with young bridge players, parents, schoolteachers, and bridge teachers to understand the factors that facilitate or hinder young people’s engagement with bridge.

Having carried out research across Scotland, England, Norway, and the United States, the research team is now turning its attention to broader engagement through impact and dissemination activities. Please encourage all young bridge players aged 31 and under to participate in our youth bridge survey:

International Youth Bridge Survey

If you are a young bridge player, please consider taking part! Your voice matters, and your answers will help shape how bridge is taught and played in schools, clubs, and online. The survey takes only 10-15 minutes to complete and it’s anonymous. You can also enter our prize draw for 2 x 50$ Amazon vouchers.

The research team has presented preliminary findings at the European Bridge League NBO Seminar, 30-31 January 2026 in Utrecht. This presentation represents an important opportunity to engage with the bridge community and explore how findings from the BAMSA project might inform policy and practice in mindsport education more broadly:

Punch, S., Scotney, M. and Milosheva, M. (2026) Youth, Bridge and Mindsport Education, European Bridge League NBO Seminar, 30-31 January 2026, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

To coincide with these activities, we are delighted to announce the publication of a new article in Open Access Government, which explores the social benefits of bridge in the digital age. The article discusses how bridge can address loneliness in young people (linked to screen use) and offer a healthy balance of online and face-to-face leisure for digital natives:

Milosheva, M. and Punch, S. (2026) ‘Could the Mind Sport Bridge provide Much- needed Social Connection in the Digital Age’, Open Access Government, 6 January 2026.

These new developments represent exciting progress for the BAMSA research team and our youth work as we move from data collection into analysis and dissemination. We remain committed to translating our research findings into practical recommendations that can support the growth and inclusivity of youth bridge programmes. Whether through completing our survey, engaging with our published work, or following our conference presentations, we would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the bridge community for their input and invite them to continue participating in this exciting research journey.