Bill Leaver won the inaugral Over 60s competition with a fine run climaxing in a strong performance against Peter Blair in the final who no doubt let Bill win as he felt guilty about actually being far too young to qualify for this age group. The competition was superby run by Paul Wilson.

The Over 40s was an open affair with pre-tournament bookies favourite Darren Nalton off skiing. Simon Etherington made a welcome appearance, looked very sharp and will be a dangerous addition to the leagues this coming month. The final was a tough old battle with Jim Morrisroe attacking hard and positively levelling the scores after 2 games. The next 2 games were both tight with Dominic just edging away in the latter stages of each to reatin his title.

Jim and Dom Enjoy a Tight One

The next tournament is already up for entries and is the Club Championship..

Entry for the Hackers is up on the noticeboard now, to start near the end of November and the final to be on Friday 11th December.  Applications are restricted to players in the lower leagues (specific details on the form) and it’s a great competition without the prima donnas from the upper leagues so you are warmly welcomed into it.

The Isle of Man format was used for the first time in this year’s blitz following successful runnings of two team tournaments using this format. For those who didn’t play this was a team event for all standards but played to time raterh than to a fixed score. It’s an excellent format but needs the exact player numbers with no dropouts. In the final week, 4 people dropped out but fortunately there was a strong interest in the tournament and there was a waiting list of folk to step in. The format also relies heavily on people being ready to mark and ready to play as there was a maximum of 2 minutes in between games.

In the event, players and markers were absolutely fantastic and it ran to clockwork. After the first 30 minutes the ‘A’ team were dominant but as the last pair of matches came to court, they were the only team of the 4 who couldn’t win it.

For reasons currently under investigation the person who picks the teams, didn’t win it this year but rather that honour went to the fine collection of Gary McSorley, Paul Wilson, John Dale, Jim Morrisroe and Sam Hill. A blurry picture of the winners exists but I’m struggling with memory on the website but hopefully add in the future. Onwards to the Hackers…

Past Blitz Winners

Following Paul Wilson’s excellently run Team Blitz in September to sharpen team players before the season kicked in, there will be a less excellently run Blitz Night for all club members. The purpose of this competition is more about getting people playing a fairly social tournament with no doubt teh odd competitve matches too. Teams will comprise all abilities.

Details are on the noticeboard at the club where you can put your name in for entry. Numbers are restricted to 20 players though to ensure it doesn’t over-run. A stamp against the entry name is required to confirm entry