2009-13: Enjoying & winning
We relate our encounters in the subsequent five years in the championships; the preparations, on the day etc..
On a year by year basis, below are simple accounts for the five period 2009 to 2013: We won the trophy twice and also got a surprise exit in the first round. In all these tournaments, a great day out and meetings friends, spectators and marble enthusiasts.
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
2013 Surprise exit in 1st round
Another very successful tournament, well organised and managed throughout the day. It was a great day, dry throughout (bitterly cold). We were shocked to lose to the "Johnson Jet" team in the very first round (we beat them 32-2 in 2012). The KO blow came via the truly-in-form Paul Smith who got 23 marbles in one break and hence finished the game. Up to that point, we were cruising at a score of 10-2. We also participated in the Golden Oldies, with Bob Croft reaching the semi-final and lost to the eventual winner Paul Smith (it was Paul Smith's day). Leila played the Ladies competition and came runner-up against Alison - the game went to the last marble on the ring, where Alison was first to get it out.
Three of the four semi-finalists were similar to last year. The fourth slot got taken by the Johnson Jet who went to final and met the Black Dogs. This latter won it. Some additional photos here for the 2013 event.
2012 Great day out, no trophies
We were not sure about the weather on the day of the tournament; 6th of April; mainly to an unprecedented set of weather behaviours (yes even by British standard) - we had three interesting preceding weeks - the first two were continuous dry and sunny spells to make any British Summer jealous - followed by a week of snow and rain and low temperature (we had snow in Leeds!) Anyway back to marbles - it turned out to be a glorious sunny day. It was well attended from the beginning and crowd cheering. All seem to have enjoyed themselves. Most of the regulars were there as usual and hence catching on events over the past year.
The organisation was really good and streamlined this year; with very little gaps between games. As usual the Mayor of Crawley came to open the sessions. The main (central) ring was used for all team games, the individual and best lady championships. The side ring was used for the Golden Oldies tournament.
This year, we made it to the semi finals; having had a very good set of games all way the semis. We lost to the eventual German winner "1st MC Erzgebirge". The latter were equally in great form. The same four semi-finalists as previous years also made it the semi-finals. So no new challengers yet to the tournament. Interestingly enough since 2007, the cup was won three times by us and three times by the "1st MC Erzgebirge" German team.
So despite practicing and training well, no trophy this year, Leila came second in the Best ladies championship and Halim lost to Chris Pampel from 1st MC Erzgebirge in the Individuals. Bob lost to the eventual runner up in the Golden Oldies. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the day. Some additional photos here for the 2012 event.
2011 Back as Champions
This year saw a special long holiday break with Easter closing on the Royal Wedding and Bank Holidays - meant that most people were on holiday for a good period. The weather did not disappoint either with some glorious continuous sunshine, hot temperature for over ten days. The tournament was on Friday 22nd of April. The good weather meant that three rings could be used this year. It was needed as a new one-off tournament called "Royal Wedding" was added to celebrate the event taking place exactly a week later. The teams got there by 10am and ready for the big day. The Mayor of Crawley made his usual appearance and wandered around various matches taking places and showing a keen interest in how it is played. Photo on the right is one of the morning games.
It is always refreshing to see new teams joining in and also teams that only came a year or two ago returning. After the initial knock-out rounds, the tournament lived up to its expectation - with usual suspects showing up from the quarter finals. The four 2010 semi-finalists ended up in the semis in 2011. The four semi-finalists were "1st MC Erzgebirge I" (2010 Winner, Germany), "HandCross 49ers", "Black Dog Boozers" and "Yorkshire Meds". We met the German team in the semi-final. It was a very exciting and nail-biting game; we won it, a sweet revenge from last year's semi-final defeat. So, we progressed to the final where we met a well-prepared "Handcross 49ers". We also won this game to take back the trophy to Yorkshire!
Leila from Yorkshire Meds won the best lady tournament in what became a trio thrilling finish between the three best female players (and all previous winners of this trophy, including Alison Reimer and Jen McGowan). Photo on the right is Leila in full focus.
We had a new addition to the team this year (Rose Croft, wife of Bob Croft). Rose came to replace Aziz Kara. She had been in intense practice a few weeks prior to tournament in our Leeds training ground to bring her up to speed with theory, practice, rules etc. Rose absolutely lived up to expectations by scoring the winning marble (the 25th marble) of the final! Some additional photos here for the 2011 event.
2010 Heavy rain but good fun
The World marbles championship took place as usual on Good Friday, this year being 2nd of April 2010. The weather played its part to challenge the tournament and the forecast was accurate with heavy rain between 11am and 3pm. So it was the gazebo had made a few trips back and forth on the main marbles ring. As usual, all the teams got there by 10am to get ready for the big day. It was really pleasing to see a number of children interested and playing in the ring. It also helped to have the mayor of Crawley showing a keen interest in playing and practising shooting.
The usual teams were present and a few additions with marbles champions from the USA and the mayor of Crawley also playing. After a long wait due to the weather and poor conditions on the side rings, the games one by one made their way to the quarter-finals around 4pm. The four semi-finalists were the same as last year "1st MC Erzgebirge I", "HandCross 49ers", "Johnson Jets" and "Yorkshire Meds". It seems that these are the regulars that make it to the semi-finals year on year. We (Yorkshire Meds) faced the German team "1st MC Erzgebirge I" and lost. So after winning the trophy two years in a row, we let the Cup slip to the German team who also won the final against the "HandCross 49ers" to claim the 2010 trophy back to Germany. As usual, it was very good to see so many familiar faces and teams. Some additional photos here for the 2010 event.
2009 Defending champions retain titles
On Friday 10th of April 2009, Yorkshire Meds went to the World Marbles Championship in Crawley (United Kingdom) as defending and reigning champions. They successfully defended and retained their title. The tournament has witnessed some thrilling quarter-finals, semi-finals and final games. This year, the tournament had seen an all British final for the first time in years, given previous German domination. In addition, Halim (one of our star player) has won and retained his title as the individual champion second year running
When we won it in 2008, it was a surprise for many (since our previous best were two quarter-finals in 2005 and 2006). So there was an element of surprise in 2008. However, this year, every team we played tried to be at their best with us. So we practised and prepared accordingly. As usual, once you get to the quarter-finals it gets very competitive and serious. Two strong German teams (including last year runner-up and 2006 & 2007 winners) were there.
Yorkshire Meds featured in a number of newspapers, TV programmes, radio programmes, various forums and live radio shows, including:
- "Top Stories" on the BBC News Web site on 11/04/2009
- BBC Leeds Web site on 15/04/2009
Some additional photos here for the 2009 event.
