Sylvie Willard (born 7 August 1952) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player. Sometime prior to the 2014 European and World meets (summer and October) ranked 4th among 73 living Women World Grand Masters by world masterpoints (MP) and 8th by placing points that do not decay over time."Women World Grand Masters"
. WBF. Retrieved 2014-11-07. Sylvie Willard

Life

Willard was born in

Trébeurden Trébeurden (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Trébeurden are called ''trébeurdinais'' in French. International relations Trébeurden is twinned with: * Vâlcelele ...

on the coast near the northwest tip of France. She was one of 8 children of Nicole and Irénée Bajos de Heredia. Her father barred bridge from the home as a threat to education and invited Sylvie only at age 18 to play the game with him elsewhere. She earned a degree in computer science and studied bridge afterward. As of 2011: she is married and separated; her children Isabelle of Los Angeles and Fabrice of Paris are 34 and 33. Her husband François is a director and their son Fabrice has participated in some EBL and WBF bridge tournaments including 1998 play on the France juniors team (under-26 years).

Career

In competition among national women teams, she is a 2-time world champion, winning the biennial

Venice Cup The Venice Cup is a biennial world championship contract bridge tournament for national of Women. It is contested every odd-number year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Bermuda Bowl (Open) and d'Orsi Bowl (S ...

in 2005, 2011 and 2015. France also won the 2002 Olympic Grand Prix, women's flight, a non-medal event in association with the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. (The Olympic movement rejected bridge for the regular summer or winter program and the

World Mind Sports Games The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) was a multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games" after the Summer and the Winter Olympics". The i ...

were inaugurated in 2008.) She is a 7-time

European Bridge League The European Bridge League is a confederation of National Bridge Federations (NBFs) that organize the card game of contract bridge in European nations. In turn the EBL organizes bridge competition at the European level. It is a member of the Europe ...

champion from 1979 to 2010 (

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: "New leader of the European classification"; "This year, she moved to first place in the European rankings."). Willard and her current longtime regular bridge partner

Bénédicte Cronier Bénédicte Cronier is a French bridge player. Cronier was born in 1961. Bridge accomplishments Wins * Venice Cup (2) 2005, 2011 * North American Bridge Championships (6) ** Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match (1) 2015 ** Machlin Women's Swiss Tea ...

(Women World Grand Master, recently 8th-ranking by MP) are both residents of Paris. For several years they have frequently participated in the

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

, thrice-annual 10-day meets organized by the

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission ''"to promote, grow and sustain th ...

(ACBL). They were co-recipients of the ACBL's annual Sidney H. Lazard Jr. Sportsmanship Award in 2013. According to selection chairman Sidney H. Lazard (Sr.), "These women are the epitome of grace, good manners, cheerfulness and sportsmanship, making the bridge experience more pleasurable for everyone."

Bridge accomplishments

Honours

* ACBL Sportsmanship Award 2013"Cronier, Willard Win Lazard Sportsmanship Award". ACBL press release, 15 December 2012
Reprint
at csbnews, Confederación Sudamericana de Bridge. Retrieved 2014-11-07.

Wins

(2) 2005, 2011 and 2015 World Team Championship Winners
WBF. *

(6) **

Machlin Women's Swiss Teams The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams North American bridge championship is held at the spring American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Machlin Women's Swiss Teams is a four-session Swiss Teams event with tw ...

(1) 2011 **

Wagar Women's Knockout Teams The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Wagar Women's Knockout Teams is a knock-out team event. The event is restric ...

(1) 2011 **

Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams The Sternberg Women's Board-a-Match Teams bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC) and is a four session board-a-match event, two qualifying sessions and two final sess ...

(3) 2009, 2010, 2013 **

Chicago Mixed Board-a-Match The Mixed Board-a-Match Teams is a bridge competition held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). From 2010 the event is officially the Freeman Mixed Board-a-Match Teams, as it is contested ...

(1) 2009

Runners-up

(2) 1987, 2001 World Team Championship Winners
/ref> *

(3) **

(2) 2012, 2013 **

(1) 2012

References

External links

* *
Sylvie Willard Gombert
at infobridge.it
Women Stars
at the

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigiou ...

– with biographies (none yet for Willard)
WILLARD Sylvie
athlete information at the 1st

SportAccord World Mind Games The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) inaugurated the SportAccord World Mind Games December 2011 in Beijing. For all sports, the meet was invitational and the events were not world championships. Beside satisfaction of the participating ...

(2011)
ACBL 2013 Sportsmanship Award
at Bridge Winners, 10 December 2012 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Sylvie 1952 births French contract bridge players Venice Cup players Sportspeople from Côtes-d'Armor Living people French women