Bridging Sociology

The aim of this project is to create a new academic field, the sociology of mindsport. This includes developing a new undergraduate module: Sociology of Sport, Mindsport and Leisure. The sociology of mindsport fits academically between sport studies and leisure studies.

This work is informed by literature reviews on bridge, chess and poker. It considers how to define and conceptualise mindsports, as well as the societal challenges and benefits of a more inclusive approach to mindsport. The project began in 2017 and is ongoing.

BAMSA, University of Stirling

Snellgrove, M.L. and Punch, S. (2022) ‘Negotiating Insider Research through Reactive Collaboration: Challenges, Issues and Failures,’ Qualitative Research Journal

Snellgrove, M.L. (2019) ‘Taking Bridge Seriously’, Discover Society

Punch, S. (2020) ‘Bridge: A MindSport for All’, Leisure Studies Association

BAMSA (2021) Marketing Bridge, 4^th International Bridge Conference, Bridging Academia, Policy and Practice, 1 July 2021, University of Stirling.

Nicholson, E., Ballinger. C., Biriotti, M., Maclean, J. and Punch, S. (2021) Thinking Outside the ‘Bidding Box’: Marketing Bridge to New Players, 4th International Bridge Conference, Bridging Academia, Policy and Practice, 1 July 2021, University of Stirling.

Punch, S. and Snellgrove, M.L. (2019) ‘Keep Bridge Alive: Challenges and Opportunities’, Brain and Mind: Promoting Individual and Community Wellbeing International Conference, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb, 12 December 2019

Punch, S. (2020) Bridge: A MindSport for All (BAMSA) Journey, Presentation to Bridge 2 Bridge, Suffolk Contract Bridge Association (SCBA) and English Bridge Education and Development (EBED), 25 June 2020

Punch, S. (2020) Keeping Bridge Alive Through Research, Presentation to Western District Bridge Clubs, Stirling Court Hotel, 6 March 2020

Snellgrove, M.L. and Punch, S. (2019) Keep Bridge Alive Global Network Meeting, Norwegian Bridge Federation, Oslo, October 2019

Punch, S. (2019) Sociology of Bridge Update, World Bridge Federation (WBF), Wuhan, China, September 2019

Punch, S. (2019) Keep Bridge Alive Global Initiative, American Contract Bridge League Educational Foundation (ACBLEF), Memphis, March 2019

Punch, S. (2019) Keep Bridge Alive Campaign, Opening Ceremony for Mixed European Teams, European Bridge League, Lisbon, February 2019

Punch, S. (2018) Establishing a New Academic Field on Bridge, World Bridge Federation (WBF), Orlando, Florida, 22 September 2018

Punch, S. (2018) Bridge and Social Science, European Bridge League (EBL) National Bridge Union (NBO) Seminar, Belfast, 2-4 February 2018

Punch, S. (2017) Sociology of Bridge, Bridge and Science Committee, World Bridge Federation (WBF) Lausanne, Switzerland, 10 November 2017

Punch, S. (2017) Sociology of Bridge Research, Teacher Trainer Workshop, Scottish Bridge Union (SBU) Education, May 2017

Examples of Stakeholder Presentations

Keep Bridge Alive Global Initiative (March 2019)

Keep Bridge Alive Global Network Meeting (October 2019)

Sorry Partner, Interview with Samantha Punch, 21 April 2022.

The Setting Trick, Interview with Samantha Punch by John McAllister, Episode 7, 19 November 2018

Lecture Materials

Punch, S. (2019) Mindsports and Leisure Communities: The Case Study of Bridge, Undergraduate Module on Place, Belonging and Identity, University of Stirling: Stirling, 5 February 2019

Word Clouds

Based on Bridge Winners post asking players to describe bridge in three words