Inter-club Tournament

Finally, after several months of planning and preparations, last Saturday saw the inaugural Wanderers Inter-club Tournament. Three guests teams were invited to join us, Royal Wootton Bassett from the Great Western Region, along with Southern Region's Crondall Club and Headley & Bordon who had stepped in at the 11th hour to replace Wallingford who sadly had to pull out.

The days leading up the the competition saw the pistes reconfigured for 4 lanes on the lower area and 5 lanes at the top, with one being left unused. Playing surfaces were raked while gazebos and umbrellas were erected to protect from the hot spell of weather, and the venue was decorated with colourful bunting to brighten the area.

Bright colours were not going to be an issue however, as our guests arrived in their club colours, Bordon looking particularly striking in their bright orange! After brief welcomes and expressions of gratitude, the format was explained and the morning play began with triples. Each club's eight players had previously been nominated into quartets, and for each game, one member of each quartet would sit out. Winnersh chose to exercise this option to use this fourth player as a substitute in each game so everyone got their chance to play.

The first round began cautiously, with Winnersh T2 beating Crondall T2, allowing their opponents only one point, while Wootton Bassett T1 took the honours over Bordon by 13 points to 6. The other games however, became the first matches subjected the the time limits in place, With Crondall T1 and Bordon T2 taking the honours over Winnersh and Wootton Bassett respectively.

With each club showing one win from the first round, The opponents were changed and it seems, also the fortunes. Winnersh T1 now recovered from their previous loss to beat Wootton Bassett 13-1, but our T2 team fell to the Great West club by 13 points to 5. Bordon T1 also improved their success beating Crondall, but the final game ran slowly and also fell foul of the timed rule. However, when the deadline was reached,the current situation on the piste was enough to level the scores and the game was declared a draw, each team getting one point in the league table.

The third round once again saw time limits in play, which I'd previously thought were quite lenient, but both of the host teams were unable to reach 13 against Bordon. Tara and the T1 team ended up level at 11 each, while Chris Day's T2 group narowly lost 11-10. Wootton Bassett managed two wins in their last games over Crondall, winning 12-11 for the T1 team and 13-7 for the T2. 

The triples phase of play was now complete with Wootton Bassett T2 and T1 finishing second and third respectively with two wins, but narrowly edged out by Bordon T2 who had the edge with two wins and a draw. People were now able to take a rest from the heat and enjoy the delicious buffet lunch provided by Kevin and very well received by all present.

A return to play after lunch saw the doubles aspect of the day commence and would allow no rest for the players, as everyone would be playing in their nominated pairings. Wootton Bassett and Bordon shared the victories in the matches between them, but Winnersh began to take command, winning all four games against Crondall, in two matches not allowing their opponents onto the scoreboard. This put Winnersh on top of the table, with Bordon and Wootton Bassett only one point behind. 

     

The fifth round of play saw Winnersh and Wootton Bassett share the wins between them, and Bordon took advantage, winning three games against Crondall to climb above winnersh on points difference, with the Wiltshire team close behind.

It was all to play for in the final group of matches and I felt that there was a good chance of the trophy heading west down the M4.While Wootton Bassett managed to claim three wins against Crondall, it was Headley & Bordon who would finish top of the table after two wins over Winnersh. It should be noted that they were level on points with the Wiltshire team and it was only their superior scoring rate which gave them the title, while Winnersh were third, only one point behind.

The feedback on the day was positive in all aspects, praising the concept and organisation, as well as the pleasant surroundings, quality of playing surface, the venue and the good spirits in which the tournament was held. Bordon have since expressed an intention of running a similar event at their club and we should look forward to being invited, while I am now looking to the future and considering how the idea can be developed further for next year.