Heart of Yorkshire AC Handicap Tournament

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Heart of Yorkshire won by Eileen Magee

Summer came early to York this year. Towards the end of May the lawns were scorched and dry. A gentle backwards take-off to get position at hoop 1 would leave the striker's ball nearer the boundary than the hoop. Maybe A-class players could cope, but the Heart of Yorkshire is for mid-range handicaps. I'd never admit that York's lawns were unplayable, but they weren't easy.

I shouldn't have worried. If June had arrived in April, then, of course, April would come in June. The grass turned lush and green, sterling efforts by the grounds team had the courts cut to perfection, but was the rain going to stop in time for the tournament? Not according to the forecast.

Twelve players from the North of England assembled on the Saturday morning under leaden skies. A new format this year meant that two 26 point, 3 hour games, would be played each day, with players playing to a base of 10. Enough time to play to a finish, and enough bisques to get going, resulted in over half the games completing a peg-out.

By the end of play on Saturday, Malcolm Tingle and Philip Snowden had pegged-out on both their games, with Eileen Magee and James Moir also having won both of theirs. On Sunday morning, Eileen played a closely contested game against James, and was ultimately victorious at 19 - 18. Malcolm su?ered a temporary drop in his stunning roqueting and hoop running form of the previous day, and lost 17 - 26 to Philip. The last round thus included a true final, with Philip playing Eileen, the only two participants to have won all three of their previous matches. Would Philip continue his clean sweep of peg-outs? If so, could I claim that his home club, Fylde, was somehow, temporarily, part of the Heart of Yorkshire?

It was an enthralling game. Eileen played with the thought, care and skill that had characterised her tournament, making good use of her bisques, and keeping control of the game. For a long time, the game could have gone either way, but in the end, Eileen emerged as the worthy winner by 19 points to 9, earning the Heart of Yorkshire trophy and all our congratulations.

A special mention also goes to Debbie James, James Moir and Malcolm Tingle who all earned their Bronze Merit awards, and Philip Snowden who in addition to being runner-up gained his Silver. Well done!

Many thanks to David Magee for acting as Referee, and to all those who helped set up the lawns and refreshments, and tidied away at the end, and to York CC for their hospitality. And the rain did stay off…. mostly.