Oliver has played bridge for 30 years but it was during lockdown that he moved in to a full time career in the game. Initially running games for clubs in Yorkshire and further afield, he set up the Oliver Cowan Bridge Club, giving players from all over the country the chance to play in games aimed at specific levels. With nearly 750 members, the club has continued to grow as things slowly return to normal.
A lot of Oliver’s games were initially focussed on the non-expert categories and that involved running a range of events, firstly online and latterly face to face, with a focus on helping to develop players in the Improver category. With a keen interest in junior bridge, Oliver became Squad Leader of the u16s and has recently launched an ambitious project of teaching bridge in non-fee paying schools which is being funded by his Online League Supporting Junior Bridge.
With the frustration of weekend congresses being solely online, in January 2022, Oliver ran his first face to face weekend congress and followed that up in July with 16 tables in Leeds for a weekend event. In 2023, he is working in partnership with the EBU to deliver the Spring Bank Holiday Congress and the Scarborough Summer Congress in addition to a number of other events.
All Oliver asks is that if you do bump into him and you haven’t met before, when you introduce yourself as John Smith, be prepared for a blank look as it is more than likely that he will know you by your BBO username!