Peter Nelson won the Sidmouth B-Level Advanced Tournament

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Players at the Sidmouth B-Level Advanced

Due to last minute withdrawals and one late entry the manager arrived with prepared American blocks which were no longer viable. After a short period of panic followed by consultation with the players it was decided to run the event as a Swiss. A draw was made and play, somewhat miraculously, got underway promptly at 9.30. The decision to revert to a Swiss subsequently proved fortuitous as some players were unable to complete a full schedule of games in the extreme heat and a player retiring due to a recurrent injury.

The courts were in good condition due to the efficiency of the watering system although the odd bare patch made some hoop approaches difficult to judge. Three rounds were played on the first day although two players were unable to play a third game. The day ended with two home players (Phili Harris and Peter Nelson) on three wins. These two met in the opening game of day two with Nelson emerging the winner. By lunchtime there were two retirements an the competition progressed with a reduced field of twelve.

Day 2 ended with Nelson on six wins, Harris on five and Andrew Thomas on 4. On day 3, Nelson having played both Harris and Thomas, was paired with Moliver who needed to win to keep the tournament result in doubt. Moliver rose to the challenge, played skillfully, had Nelson by the throat and was close to finishing with 20 minutes to go with Nelson on 4 back with his other ball marooned at hoop 4. Moliver commencing what should have been his final, or at least penultimate, turn attempted a cut rush close to 1 back. The shot was played with vigour but failed to cut and the striker ball despite colliding with a secondary ball en route was adjudged to have ended close to Nelson's balls. Nelson took the hoop 4 ball to peg and Moliver, having missed the lift stroke, snatched "defeat from the jaws of victory" leaving a somewhat embarassed manager winner of both the game and the tournament. Harris's hopes were further dashed as he fell to a norrow defeat at the hands of Phil Dunk.

The tournament was played in excellent spirit, was enjoyed (with the possible exception of the retirees) by all. The Sidmouth Club was happy to host the event and was very grateful for the unusually high amount spent at the bar!

Handicap changes were Nelson (1 to 0.5) and Thomas (3 to 2.5).

This report would be incomplete without giving special thanks to Julie Sorrell who attended on all three days with the sole purpose of keeping players plied with iced water and the occassional hot drink.