JAMES DEATH SCORES A ‘HAT TRICK’ OF BARTER CUPS & (MANAGER’S PRAISE & RANTS) sheets. Please do not leave it to someone else to do, and ask if you need help! By Ivor Brand (frustrated manager)
Finally, please be proactive and look for your next opponent asap, do not sit in a corner and wait for someone to find you! As for the tournament itself, there were two ‘pull outs’ due to illness on the day, which meant that two blocks were hastily amended to include byes. A warm and sunny Saturday saw John Taylor, Martin French and Ivor Brand going through as undefeated block winners, with Simon Carter, Christopher Roberts and Luis de Alarcon as the respective runners‐up. The other block was eventually won by James Death on net points over Stephen C Baker, despite losing a game to 8th place Patrick Coulter who will no doubt have been smiling all the way back home down the M5. (All results are on CS) Sunday saw the two knockout events begin with Paul Gunn and Richard Brand proving why they should not have been in the consolation event with impressive wins to face each other in the final which Paul won. In the main event James Death cruised through to the final with a little resistance coming from Simon Carter in the semi‐final, while the other half saw more challenging games including Andy Dochniak wining his semi‐final over Stephen C Baker. The final was a lesson in power and accuracy (typed through gritted teeth) by James which poor Andy could do very little about, losing 7‐1, 7‐2. The ‘optional’ playoff games were not played this year due to the relatively early tea time finish.
7.30am, on the morning that 2 drop outs had the manager hastily reorganising the blocks
By now most people will know and recognise the feat that James has achieved. I would like to continue this line of praise down several avenues by recognising the following; The groundsmen that work so hard all year round to produce the quality lawns we play on. The volunteers that provide the bar and afternoon tea for all of us to enjoy. The volunteers that come in early to set the lawns up with all the equipment. The hoop setters who come back each day to reset the hoops as necessary. Finally, to the players who come and follow the manager’s guidance and play with the ‘right’ spirit.
Now, brace yourself as here comes the ‘rant’: Firstly, Cheltenham is only one of a few clubs that could offer such a large entry of 32 and choose to do so while other clubs do not. This is good news to those players who would not qualify if the entry were cut to the ‘normal’ 16. However, this does bring certain dilemmas especially around the ‘time’ and ‘double banking’ issues. While I accept that no one likes a time limit (even a generous one) these are sometimes necessary to keep the tournament moving forward and avoid any unnecessary lengthy sitting‐out periods. So, please follow the manager’s guidance and not make ‘selfish’ decisions that will have a negative impact on others and indeed on the tournament as a whole! Secondly, with nearly 200 results to put into CS it would be much appreciated if the score were recorded correctly on to the relevant
Winner: James Death
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