The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wuhan Cup (mixed). Entries formally represent WBF zones as well as nations, so it is also known as the World Zonal Open Team Championship. It is the oldest event that confers the title of world champion in bridge, and was first contested in 1950. The Bermuda Bowl trophy is awarded to the winning team, and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament, the Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda. The term Bermuda Bowl is sometimes used for the entire two-week event, comprising the three zonal teams and one or more concurrent lesser tournaments. The latest contest was held in Salsomaggiore, Italy, in March–April 2022, having been postponed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was won by Switzerland. Structure See a description of the identical "Senior Bowl" structure or a detailed account of the 2011 event (below). Inauguration and evolution Organized principally by Norman Bach, an accountant and bridge player from Bermuda who played for Britain, the Bermuda Bowl was the first world championship event held after World War II, and started as a competition between the US, Europe and Britain in 1950. The first event was won by the US. After this, the Bermuda Bowl became a yearly challenge match between the US and the European champions. The format evolved progressively, with more teams and the addition of events for women and seniors. Key milestones were: 1950: The first open team event in Bermuda between the USA, Europe and Britain who played round-robin for raw scores or "total points". 1951: The next several contests were head-on matches between representatives of the American Contract Bridge League (North America) and the European Bridge League. 1958: The tournament permanently included the champions of South America. 1961: Eligibility was expanded to include the defending champions. 1966: The tournament expanded to five teams, with the addition of a representative from Asia. 1971: The field was expanded to include Australia. 1974: The World Bridge Federation inaugurated the Venice Cup for women's teams, contested four times on no fixed schedule before 1985. 1979: The defending champions were no longer eligible on that basis alone. 1981: Europe was awarded two places in the tournament. There would be