A radio campaign designed to promote bridge playing among young people is to launch next week.

John Burville of the Bermuda Bridge Club promised to “ramp it up” after Bermuda’s good showing at the Youth North American Bridge Championships this year.

The club will also offer a $500 first-place prize to schools in a competition for pupils to create their own video clip about the benefits of bridge and $25 iTunes cards will also be given to the young people who take part.

The early-morning radio advertisements, which will start on Tuesday and run until September 16, will spread the word from parents and children about the value of the game.

Testimonials from the tournament in Las Vegas in July, where 24 young Bermudians took part, included one from a mother who said her daughter “could not stop talking about this amazing event”.

The woman added: “This is something the kids will never forget. They will enjoy this game for life.”

Bermuda Youth Bridge was set up in 2015 to promote what Mr Burville said was “athletics for the brain”.

He added: “It’s proven to enhance maths and science scores by more than 20 per cent. It’s great for social interaction, because you have to work closely with your partner. And there are nonstop puzzles.

“You become Sherlock Holmes, and you learn that what you don’t say is almost as important as what you say.

“You keep on learning with bridge and we all actually love to learn, even if school can change your mind a little about that.”

Mr Burville said the club was “thrilled” about the youth programme and keen to see it get bigger.

Bridge is taught at five schools — Bermuda High School, CedarBridge Academy, Saltus Grammar, Somersfield Academy and Warwick Academy — every week with the help of volunteers and teachers.

The adverts will air from 7.15am to 8.15am on radio stations Ocean 89 and Power 95.

• Any pupils at school in Bermuda are eligible, in groups of four to six. Entry forms must be submitted by September 30, with the final videos sent in by November 18. For more details on the competition, see www.bermudabridge.com