STEVE KING MEMORIAL MASTERS

[tommo III]

Having acquired from the (disbanded) Horsham League the perpetual trophies for the Horsham Masters on behalf of original sponsors (West Sussex County Times) arrangements have been made tonight for the following:

Sat 30th Sep 2023 at the Inn on the Green, Ockley - Horsham League swansong, the STEVE KING MEMORIAL MASTERS

This has been mentioned casually to the Billingshurst League with the idea of them taking on the competition in future years - particularly in view of there being a reference to a possible Masters in their 2019 AGM minutes......Feedback was favourable.
For this year, invites are for the top players of both Leagues (please see list below). Format will probably be a straight knockout.
Entry will be FREE, and there will be prizes for winner, runner-up, semifinalists and for highest score of the day on each of the two tables.
Would those on the following list please confirm (or deny) their availability (note: number 1 seed would have been Steve (W14,L1 Ave 4558) who topped both leagues' performance lists - hence this year's billing)

1 Ricky Dewdney (Cricketers/Plough)  (W14, L2 Ave 7094)
2 Paul Jobbins (Windmill GG/Roffey CC)  (W14, L4 Ave 3846)
   Graham Daniels (Windmill GG)  (W12, L5 Ave 5025)
   Mick Clack (Cricketers)  (W11, L3 Ave 4604)
3 John Slee (Roffey SSC)  (W11, L5 Ave 6180)
   Dave Sands (Roffey CC)  (W11, L7 Ave 2926)
4 Billy Hammond (Cricketers)  (W11, L7 Ave 2913)
5 Dick Dewdney (Cricketers/Plough)  (W11, L7 Ave 2901)
   James Childs (Mucky Duck)  (W10, L4 Ave 3903)
   Steve Holden (Mucky Duck)  (W10, L7 Ave 2407)
6  Dave Howlett (Roffey SSC/Norfolk)  (W10, L8 Ave 3436)
7  Brian Goodchild (Cricketers)  (W9, L6 Ave 2801)
8  Clive Thompson (Windmill GG)  (W8, L4 Ave 3686)
    Derek Taylor (Windmill CC)  (W8, L4 Ave 3441)
    Dave Simmons (Railway)  (W8, L6 Ave 2922)
9  Michael Wilson (Windmill GG)  (W7, L2 Ave 5840)
10 Tony Franks (Norfolk Arms)  (W7, L4 Ave 4024)
     Mick Fairs (Roffey Y) (W7, L5 Ave 4620)
     Steve Vizor (Plough) (W6, L2 Ave 2831)
11 Colin Southouse (Roffey CC)  (W6, L3 Ave 5652)
    Mick Holmwood (Windmill GG)  (W6, L3 Ave 4314)
12 Graham Sparksman (Roffey CC)  (W6, L4 Ave 3665)
13 Jim Greensted (Roffey Y)  (W5, L2 Ave 7277)
14 Mark Webber (Plough)  (W5, L2 Ave 3449)
15 Dick Cable (Roffey Y) (W5, L4 Ave 3851)
    Pete Fisher (Roffey SSC)  (W9, L9 Ave 3029)
    Mick Johnson (Mucky Duck)  (W9, L9 Ave 2184)
16 Jim Balchin (Roffey CC)  (W7, L7 Ave 2348)

Cheers,
Clive T

PS A history of the Horsham Masters can be found HERE  and hopefully the WSCT will be taking an interest as they sponsored the perpetuals back in 1988 - which I must say have been kept in tip top condition (see below)




@19/8/23,  2 slots left to be taken up.

[paulJ]

I'm OK for this one, see you there.

[gandalf the untidy]

i am in

[tommo III]

Horsham/Billingshurst Masters   - 10 entries already and 6 only slots left.

Only 3 refusals so far, need a few more (!) or else I will have to re-think the programme 

Hot food will be available on the day.

[billiardsmichael]

So are some of the players listed above on a "reserve" list then?

[tommo III]

All acceptances named will play. I have a separate reserve list in case too many dropped out (which happily hasn't been the case).
I have worked out a programme for 16 but this may have to become 24 (with some more names added) if proving 'too popular'.
Hope this makes sense !

Response so far has been brilliant, and the Billingshurst League will be taking it on in future years (as per last week's AGM).

[tommo III]

Bump !

As at 18/8/23, there are 3 slots left to be taken up.

Please indicate your acceptances or refusals a.s.a.p. out of fairness to those on the reserve list.  Thanks.

[tommo III]

Despite several messages I haven't heard back from the two Plough men, so the last two places have been offered to Pete Fisher and Jim Balchin.

The Line-up is now 83% complete, with seeds 1 to 14 confirmed.  This allows me to go ahead with producing a souvenir programme.

If there are any last-ditch withdrawals, a wild card will be offered on the day.

[gandalf the untidy]

please confirm start time when you can

[tommo III]

Sept 16, 2023 7:24:57 GMT gandalf the untidy said:

please confirm start time when you can

Hi Colin,
I am hoping to get play underway at 12 noon.
The line-up is not quite finalised yet, but you will either be player M or player L.

If player M your first game is at 13:15, if player L you would be on at 12:50.

Regards,
tommo III

[tommo III]

Sept 15, 2023 19:34:53 GMT tommo III said:

Despite several messages I haven't heard back from the two Plough men, so the last two places have been offered to Pete Fisher and Jim Balchin.
The Line-up is now 83% complete, with seeds 1 to 14 confirmed.  This allows me to go ahead with producing a souvenir programme.
If there are any last-ditch withdrawals, a wild card will be offered on the day.

No reply to three messages from Steve V, but I've got new contact details for Mark so will include him in the line-up and then if he's a no show I will offer a wild card for position 'O'.
Pete Fisher is a 'No' and Derek has dropped out too but have had acceptances from Dick Cable and Jim Balchin.
So here's the draw for the first phase, with tables and starting times:

12.00 T1 B v Q  Ricky Dewdney v Jim Balchin
12.00 T2 I v J    Clive Thompson v Michael Wilson
12.25 T1 C v P   Paul Jobbins v Dick Cable
12.25 T2 H v K   Brian Goodchild v Tony Franks
12.50 T1 D v O  John Slee v Mark Webber
12.50 T2 G v L   Dave Howlett v Colin Southouse
13.15 T1 E v N   Bill Hammond v Jim Greensted
13.15 T2 F v M   Dick Dewdney v Graham Sparksman

 

[tommo III]

One week away !
An e-mailed reminder has been sent out to all competitors.

Please see previous post for (seeded) draw and start times.

Food will be available throughout the day.

Hoping the day will be found enjoyable by all.

tommo III

[gandalf the untidy]

Hi All

Thanks to Tommo and those involved in setting up for today

Glad to be considered and humbled to be involved

[tommo III]

Thanks Colin, 
Pleased you could make it and I must say you're a star for doing most of the scoring duties on Table 2. Likewise Michael Wilson for doing the lion's share for Table 1. This meant that we were able to keep to within ten minutes of the scheduled time throughout. Thanks to all the competitors also for making this possible.

I will put the results up shortly, but just to say that I took loads of positives from the day and will start with some thank yous.
First of all to Mine Hosts Lauren and Julie for making us comfortable and attending to our every need.

Thanks to John Slee who with Lauren, Julie and myself as late as Wednesday put together the second table which had been on its side against a wall since Lauren acquired it from the pub down the road when it closed during the Covid scare. John and I did the initial levelling and Lauren sorted out the timer and lighting aspects.

Stuart Mepham had given it a re-cover recently and many thanks to him for popping by to perform final levelling and timer adjustments.

Finally thanks to Graham Sparksman for representing Horsham in the handover of the competition and in the presentation of prizes. We started with a half-minute silence for Steve King followed by applause, and it was great that his daughter Danielle was in attendance - along with her handsome and extremely well-behaved pup Percy. 

A memorable day for me, and I hope that others enjoyed it in equal measure!  
 

[billiardsmichael]

Thank you for organising Clive, it was a great day. Excellent venue, with two tops that had rather different challenges! Well done to Slee for his victory and commiserations to Jim who made the high score of the day in the final - but the silver fox was caught out by the wiley ol' fox on this occasion!

[tommo III]

Full set of results for today (a report will also appear on the Billingshurst website early next week).

Last 16 (Table 1 scores are given first)
Ricky Dewdney (3750, 1580) bt Jim Balchin (3330, 1270)
Clive Thompson (3740,1740) lost to Michael Wilson (6260, 1980)
Paul Jobbins (4550, 1530) bt Dick Cable (1920, 2120)
Brian Goodchild (2640, 1800) bt Tony Franks (1800, 340)
John Slee walkover Mark Webber (no wild card available)
Dave Howlett (1920, 2890) lost to Colin Southouse (6050, 2130)
Billy Hammond (1870, 930) lost to Jim Greensted (5840, 1690)
Dick Dewdney (4810, 1790) bt Graham Sparksman (2310, 1470)

Quarter-finals (Table 1 scores given first)
Ricky Dewdney (8880, 2300) bt Michael Wilson (5090, 2930)
Jim Greensted (9330, 2800) bt Dick Dewdney (3070, 1300)
Paul Jobbins (5420, 1610) bt Brian Goodchild (1400, 950)
John Slee (8340, 2220) bt Colin Southouse (5050, 2820)

Semi-finals (Table 1 scores given first)
Jim Greensted (5820, 1100) bt Ricky Dewdney (1100, 4320)
John Slee (6040, 3020) bt Paul Jobbins (1020, 1140)

Grand Final (Best of three, played on Table 1 only)
John Slee 2 (2340, 8420, 6470)  Jim Greensted 1 (12970, 2720, 3860)

Winner: John Slee
Runner-up: Jim Greensted
Losing semi-finalists: Paul Jobbins, Ricky Dewdney
Highest Score (Table 1) Jim Greensted 12,970
Highest Score (Table 2) Ricky Dewdney 4320

The Highest Score stakes were interesting.........Jim beating his own quarter-final score of 9330 on Table 1 with 12,970 in the Final.
Whereas Table 2 (a modern Supreme) presented an extra challenge to the players - but seemed to get easier as the day wore on, with familiarity no doubt: Dave Howlett made the early running with 2890, then in the quarter-finals Jim (2800) and Colin (2820) came oh-so close before Michael's 2930 took over top spot. John broke the 3k barrier with 3020 in the Semis only for Ricky to take it at the last gasp with 4320.

Some high-class bar billiards was played on the day, hoping for more of the same tomorrow in the Summer Doubles.

[iang]

Congratulations to John & Jim.

A huge thanks to Clive for bringing this back, right from obtaining the WSCT trophies from the EGM at Horsham to finding such a good venue to host a weekend of events and the untold hour's behind the scenes. It's also a fitting tribute to the late Steve King.

[johnslee]

Hi all
Just a few thoughts of a great weekend at the Inn on the Green. Saturday the pub hosted the Steve King memorial Masters which I was 
Fortunate enough to Win. Thanks Jim for a great final which could  have gone either way. Many thanks  to Lauren for hosting the event which
By all the comments as a terrific success. Smashing to catch up with old friends. 
Sunday saw the King and Barnes doubles return and congratulations to my Redhill buddies Michael and Joe pulling out all the stops to beat
Kevin and Martin in the Final . It takes a terrific amount of organisation to stage a weekend like we have just had ,not only the admin on the
2 days but everything leading up to the weekend. Clive deserves all the praise that everyone has given him. A huge thanks mate.
I am sure that the Billingshurst league will take up the mantle and carry on this great weekend of competition. 

Sleezy.

[tommo III]

A page is now available to view HERE on the Billingshurst website (also accessible via link given under 'Bygone Days'):

Now working on similar for Sunday's K & B Open Doubles, should be ready by tomorrow.

[tommo III]

Oct 2, 2023 21:53:27 GMT johnslee said:

...... It takes a terrific amount of organisation to stage a weekend like we have just had ,not only the admin on the 2 days but everything leading up to the weekend....... 
Sleezy.

Thanks for your kind comments John, but I would be embarrassed if I received all the credit for organisation.
In fact as recently as Wednesday the last piece was still to be fitted into the jigsaw puzzle, this being the installation of Table 2 - a modern Supreme, which still required assembly - and I couldn't have done this by myself ! So the team of Lauren and Julie and you and I set about our task .......

First of all the bottom frame was set on its side in the chosen position and the legs were bolted in. Then we carefully hoisted it up and lowered it into place. Next the slate, newly re-covered by Stu Mepham who had warned me it was "----ing heavy" was added, and finally the top frame with cushions was slotted in, Julie better than the rest of us in finding the knack.

Top cushion then had to come back up for us to check the operation of the timing mechanism. The engraving on the box suggested it took 50 pence, but all the slots except the far one were blocked and none of us could fathom the type of coin needed, so making it work on freeplay was the next target, with Lauren producing a suitably sized paintbrush to be positioned to keep the bar lifted. There are two spindly levers attached to the timer, one engages it and a bulb lights up and the other drops the bar down when time's up - which we found was a reasonable 17 minutes.

This was all very well (to operate the lever manually), but the top frame had to be pushed back down in place for our competition and for the bar to work a rod of sorts was needed to bridge the gap between coin slot and spindly lever, so Lauren tasked himself with coming up with something "Heath Robinson" and meanwhile the paintbrush was put back in place ........

Next we had to test that the balls would return okay to the tray, and firstly we had a red ball that was too big for the holes, so luckily there was a spare. And we had a ball getting stuck in the extreme left hand channel, which we had to find a way of widening. Here John and Lauren came up with a joint solution, John producing a splinter/matchstick of the required length to ease the two sides of the channel apart, and Lauren providing a screw of the equivalent length to make the fix more permanent.

The lighting was now a consideration, Julie providing a brighter bulb for the rather sorry-looking lampshade, and Lauren stating that an angle-poise type light that affixed to the back of the table would be arriving before the weekend.

Then it was left to John and me to see what we could do about the levelling up of the table. As might be expected there was a serious roll to the left and it played uphill, so the left side had to be raised and the back lowered. Bearing in mind the heaviness of the slate with the need to get underneath and lift each side on our backs while making the feet adjustments, I think these couple of old'uns by the end of the evening had done a remarkable job on making it playable.

So we took our leave, happy in the knowledge that the two competitions could now go ahead as planned, although it was advisable to contact Stu to give the whole thing the once over (which he kindly did on Friday, making last minute adjustments to table levelling and timer).  And so to the journey home: got out onto the A24 near Capel, only to find the southbound lanes entirely sealed off for road surfacing. Complete silence from both of us as we headed for miles completely in the wrong direction towards Dorking! Eventually of course I was able to double back and find the A29 which took us back past the I.O.T.G. !!!  So having dropped John off, I finally arrived home at quarter to twelve to find Margo on the doorstep armed with a frying pan ....

But hey - I thoroughly enjoyed Wednesday's adventure and am eternally grateful to my three amigos, including Julie who set up an extension for my admin desk on Sat/Sun.    And worth mentioning that Table 1 (pub's own table which is owned by Jean) played impeccably the whole weekend as some of the high scores will bear witness.

[paulJ]

Had a (free) read of West Sussex County Times in the library this morning, only one

thing worth reading in the sport section: a well-written report on a good weekend's

BB at Ockley. Nice to see some of our names in lights, inc photo of Sunday winners.

[tommo III]

Thanks Paul,
Writeup is not 'word perfect' unfortunately as three of the photos I submitted have been excluded and they didn't "proof read" afterwards.

But hey ! - always good to get some publicity for our game, including mention of the sponsors and of the ex-Horsham League and the new venue Inn On The Green:  Makes it all worthwhile, somehow.

And as you say, a nice pic of Michael and Joe.

tommo III