International tournament University South Wales case study

University of South Wales case study

Client: Welsh Bridge Union

Event: The 2020 Junior Camrose Weekend (An International Bridge Tournament)

Delegates: 100+ youth (11-18 year olds) with adult supervisors and family members also in attendance to accompany and support younger players. UK and International delegates.

Background

The Welsh Bridge Union (WBU) is a membership-funded organisation committed to promoting the game of duplicate bridge. It is also the National Bridge Organisation for Wales recognised by, and affiliated to the World Bridge Federation & the European Bridge League.

The organisation takes it in turns to host events involving other nations and the 2020 annual event was hosted at the University of South Wales Newport (Casnewydd) campus in February. It attracted junior bridge players from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, as well as some international participants. The event involved bridge playing areas, catering and accommodation.

The event was held over a three-day period. Bridge playing started on the Friday evening and continued throughout Saturday and Sunday. A gala dinner and awards took place on the final evening.

Challenge

The key challenges for this event was dealing with large numbers of youth delegates in suitable flexible spaces for their bridge tournament.

The client wanted a cost effective and flexible catering solution for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

They also wanted cost effective accommodation near the event venue, where all the youth participants and their families could stay together, without requiring additional transportation.

There were also international participants flying in from various parts of Europe so a venue close to the M4 for accessibly was important too.

Finally, a more glamorous location for the evening Gala Dinner and Awards was required.

Solution

The University of South Wales Newport campus was chosen because it was able to provide the flexible, modern and cost-effective venue hire required by the organisers. The venue also has low-cost student-style accommodation within walking distance of the venue and for the Gala Dinner and the venue’s event’s team was able to exclusively hire out a local restaurant within walking distance of the University, going above and beyond to support the organisers.

The University provided six medium-sized rooms for smaller tournaments and larger spaces for breakout spaces, refreshments and networking. The in-house catering team provided breakfast, lunch and dinner for all three days, apart form the Gala Dinner which was held at Pierre Bistro in Newport’s Friars Walk, as an exclusive hire of the restaurant. The University events team organised the pre-order process for the restaurant to support the client.

There were numerous last-minute changes to refreshment timings and room layouts, which the University team easily accommodated.

Benefits

Flexible, modern event spaces
Flexible and cost-effective catering solutions to meet all dietary requirements
Low-cost accommodation within walking distance
Support from in-house events team and catering manager to meet organiser and participants requests
Attractive waterfront, accessible location with numerous facilities and transport links within walking distance

Testimonial

It was an outstanding success and was helped in no small way by your events team. From our first enquiry to throughout the event itself they could have not been more helpful. Even helped us book the restaurant for our gala dinner and that turned out to be an inspired choice."

David Newman, President of Welsh Bridge Union

David, President of Welsh Bridge Union, went on to add, 'There also has to be a special mention to the University catering manager and her team who again could not have been more helpful even when they did not know of one vegan.

'Almost without exception everyone enjoyed their weekend and I have received messages praising me for my organisational skills - little did they know the help given by the University events team. We look forward to returning again in 2025 when it’s our turn to host again!'