LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
JAWSING - AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE? I refer to Arthur’s letter in the last edition, on the issue concerning the so-called advantage gained by jawsing odd numbered hoops in GC, and his remedy to minimise the benefit by only being able to then play down to the offside line. My view is that whilst he has a reasonable point worth making, jawsing is just one of the many techniques a player may adopt to gain an advantage over their opponent. It is often a risky tactic though, as not only can it be jumped over or nestled up to, but it can also be cleared from behind. I would also suggest that by jawsing a ball the striker is depriving themselves of a turn gain, which would occur should the hoop be forcefully run down to the next hoop. On balance it is better to leave matters as they are, but I thank Arthur for this thought-provoking proposal. Stephen Webb IS ‘HOME ADVANTAGE’ UNFAIR? I was recently playing in a GC league match at Letchworth, which has excellent courts, beautifully cared for and a pleasure to play on. When playing down from a hoop my ball suddenly veered off to the left, thereby being out of contention for that hoop. I turned to my opponent saying humorously ‘you didn’t tell me about that’, ‘Oh’, she said, ‘yes, there is a ridge between these hoops, one has to play on the centre to get the ball in front!’ It got me thinking as, playing at Bath, Guildford, Leighton Linslade, even at my own Watford courts, having home advantage can be the difference between winning and losing. But was this fair? The question I pose is, should clubs provide contouring for their courts to give a level playing field so to speak, for visiting teams? Stephen Webb
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