An open letter to all EMA member-countries: take your responsibility toward the young and enthusiastic riichi society in Europe. Let’s have that next EC Riichi organized!

At the same moment that 68 riichi mahjong lovers were playing their second hanchan in the Open Dutch Riichi Mahjong Championship, Tina Christensen, president of the European Mahjong Association, sent a concerned e-mail to the member-countries of the EMA. It was about the next European riichi mahjong championship.

VIENNA - Is it discrimination? Is it allowed? Is it better for mahjong in Europe to make the next European Riichi Championship ‘for Europeans only’? Is it okay to make an exception then to the rule and admit Japanese players, since they developed riichi mahjong and we can learn a lot from them?

VIENNA - Austria may very well organize a second European mahjong championship. In 2009, the OEMC (Mahjong Competition Rules) was organized at Baden (near Vienna). Now the Vienna club Kasu has submitted a request at the European Mahjong Association to organize the European Riichi Mahjong Championship 2012. EMA has yet to decide about the application.

HANOVER - Day 1 of the European Championship was the day of Gemma Collinge from the UK, of Joel Ratsimandresy from France and of Sjef Strik from Holland. Gemma topped the ranking after the hanchan (rounds) 1 and 2. After three rounds, Joel Ratsimandresy took over, and then it was Sjef Strik from the Netherlands who got to the number one position after hanchan 4 and 5.