East Dorset June Tournament

[<<] [>>] by David Williams at East Dorset
26th June (AC - Mixed)

East Dorset's June Tournament is split into two days of handicap play followed by a two-day level-play class event. All players mentioned are East Dorset members unless shown otherwise.

Twelve players gathered for first two days of knock-out handicap play with daytime temperatures in the high 20s and the courts looking pristine. With no time limits, concern was shown for Margaret Page (16, Ealing) and Phil Taylor (5, Tunbridge Wells), who slogged it out for almost 6 hours in their first game on the resurfaced Court 5, but Margaret eventually prevailed to join Jonathan Powe (-2), Jeff Dawson (-2) and David Williams (3.5) in the semi-finals. Jeff and Jonathan successfully made it through to the final where Jeff beat his clubmate +15, to take the splendid Cripps Memorial Cup. Additional congratulations to Jeff, as he has now joined an elite few players on -2.5.

In the consolation Swiss, the consistent play of David Fuller (-2) saw his 4/4 wins take the Parkstone Rose Bowl, with Tim O'Donnell (-1.5, Hamptworth) and John Freeman (16) sharing the honours as runners-up on 2/3.

The following two days were blessed with cool sea breezes, which made play during the weekend A- and B-Class Level Advanced tournaments much more comfortable. In the B-Class, Phil Taylor and Andy Meikle (4) both ended with 3/4 wins, so a 'Nottingham tie-break' (a two-ball break from Hoop 4 starting with a rush in Corner 4) was needed to find the winner. In the end, Phil's two hoops were enough to take the Weldon Trophy.

In the A-Class, with David Fuller and Tim O'Donnell locked together on 4/5 wins, another tie-break was needed. This time, a 14-point advanced game was chosen, which saw David eventually taking the honours (+2) after a nail-biting 3-hour marathon, finally receiving the Parkstone Salver in front of a small crowd of two at 8pm.

Special tribute was paid to Andrew Gregory (Newport) for the tenth year that he has so ably managed these tournaments, showing flexibility and consideration to the players' needs throughout.

Many thanks to the groundsman Kirin for the excellent courts, to the hoop-setters (Jeff and his team) for the firm hoops and to the cafe for providing first-class catering throughout.