John Beech Memorial Easter Tournament

[<<] [>>] by Betty Bates at Pendle
7th April (AC)

The first day proceedings started on a very wet Friday afternoon. The lawns were in incredible condition considering the bad weather in recent days. The damp and cold start was improved by the warm welcome of the club and their catering team on hand with hot tea and biscuits and an even warmer welcome from Brian Medley the tournament manager. It was nice to see familiar faces from around the country. The sixteen players were not disheartened by the dreary weather; as they say in Norway, it is not bad weather, it is just bad clothing. It was a very relaxed tournament, players could opt out of playing whenever they wished, with the proviso that in order to qualify for the handicap competition, 5 games were played over the course of the weekend. The rain came down in bucket loads and a couple of the lawns appeared to become small lakes, but with the help of the new squeegee they were soon sorted. A big thank you to the players who helped, as the volume of water was quite substantial (and heavy to push); allowing play to continue unhindered.

At day one Fiona Crompton, Mark Simmerson ,Angharrad Walters and Andrew Gould were unbeaten, Andrew winning 26-0 in less than an hour against Stephen Wright.

Saturday was very squally with the precursor to Storm Dave, which was to arrive later that day. 33km ph winds were recorded in Earby in the afternoon. Sadly John Henderson had to withdraw due to injury, although no one was left waiting too long for a game.

At day 2 Angharrad and Mark were still unbeaten.

Sunday was extremely cold, luckily there were no ill effects after the previous evenings 40mph winds (Storm Dave). A number of the players huddled in the heated hut when out of play.

At day 3 Angharrad and Mark were again still unbeaten.

In contrast to the previous days, on Monday, the clouds cleared, the wind dissipated and the layers of clothing were removed as the sun shone, and even the balloon flights took place due to the calm weather.

The handicap final was between Betty Bates and partner Lee Hartley which resulted in some friendly banter. In a nip and tuck game Betty was eventually victorious after pegging Lee's front ball off, winning plus 4.

Angharrad Walters and Mark Simmerson played the Advanced final with Angharrad the victor in a closely fought contest.

The Advanced event (Peter Dowdall Trophy) was won by Angharrad Walters

John Beech Handicap was won by Betty Bates

Low Handicap trophy - Lee Hartley

High Handicap trophy- Debbie Watson

Fastest game - Andrew Gould

Most games played - Stephen Wright

Handicap changes for Betty Bates and Mark Simmerson. Lee Hartley did his first TPO.

Brian Medley ran the tournament extremely swiftly, helped by a wonderful cohort of friendly and amenable players. Thanks should also go to ROT Angharrad Walters and the numerous other referees who helped out at the busier times. Extended thanks to Stephen Wright chairman of Pendle and his team for their warm hospitality. The groundsmen at Pendle also deserve a mention for the excellent condition of their lawns and also the catering team who served delicious warm, home cooked meals and were very attentive. A lovely weekend played with conviviality. Finally, the wooden spoon was awarded for the first time in many years the last recipient was John Beech, however the 'winner' will remain nameless.