Feedback on Jersey World Championships 2006

[Secretary J.B.B.L.]

Evening All,

Firstly I would like to thank everybody who entered and came along to watch the tournament at the weekend. Hopefully you all enjoyed youself.

Secondly; well done to Kevin Tunstall for winning the singles and all the other winners of the competitions.

Thirdly; I would like to ask for all feedback on the weekend, be it good or bad so that we can develop the tournament further.

Cheers one and all
Sean

[Sparky]

Hi Sean

Firstly I would say that the changes I suggest are mostly fine tuning, and that I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend (except for losing of course :()

1. Access into Hall restricted by people looking at 'the Comp Sheets'

2. Cold draughts to some scoring positions when windows open and would have been worse if temperatures were lower, not sure if extractor fans were working or need upgrading ?

3. Hand wiping 'towels' in toilet kept running out (I only used a few, honest :))

4. Beer wasn't very good, especially when new barrel of Jimmy's put up, which seemed to happen quite often when some friends of mine were near by ;D.

5. Better advertising of dinning room food options would help if available to non-residents (Xmas menus etc. seemed inappropriate to us), which would increase revenue and decrease waiting at Bar.

6. Ruckled-up 'protective carpet layer' was dangerous in places and just unpleasant in others.

7. Maybe better Bar layout, or more staff, to reduce 'peak-time' queueing for BB essentials ;D

Sorry mate but you did ask, but I bet someone has already flagged some of these, Eh!

Graham

[NigelS]

Sean

Firstly congratulations to you and the Jersey committee on another great tournament.

I have one suggestion though, in England we allow games to be played with just one scorer, but in Jersey you insist on two. This is fine if you can get the scorers but there is no doubt especially with the doubles that it was tough finding people to score which is understandble as you need 32 volunteers for 16 tables throughout the evening. Perhaps a compromise can be made in that if you can get checker that is fine but still allow games to start if there is only one scorer if both players are in agreement.

Just so not to convey the wrong impression, Sean, it perhaps needs to be added that almost everyone who took part would be in agreement that the Ommaroo is a superior venue to the De Normandie.
Great atmosphere, well-organised event. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. 8-)

[Sparky]

tommo said:

Just so not to convey the wrong impression, Sean, it perhaps needs to be added that almost everyone who took part would be in agreement that the Ommaroo is a superior venue to the De Normandie.
Great atmosphere, well-organised event. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. 8-)

Absolutely right Tommo

[SirKT]

Hi Sean
just to confirm what i said last night that it is still a fabulous competition and a brilliant new venue. :)
Obviously i`m over the moon with winning, but the BIOC or World Champ`ships has always been my favourite. ;D
The Inn on the Park was a hard act to follow and the De Normandie did their best most of the time, but with the Ommaroo, i`m pretty sure you have a winner there. ;)

I`m in agreement with Sparky about the entrance being clogged up with people looking at the draw sheets, so maybe they could be moved to the right hand side somehow. :-/

The two corner tables 14 & 1, did cause a few moans for players and spectators alike (especially in the pairs). :(
16 tables is a great idea, could it be run on 14 i wonder? Gonna sit down and work it out now. ???

Going on to Nigels point about the scorers, I do agree with him that one would be enough, maybe a neutral on each table, that would save some time. :P

I think most other matters were minor and wouldn`t take much sorting out. :)

The one other thing which you touched on last night, about the Jersey committee members helping more, this is essential with a tournament of this size, and as the numbers are sure to go back up in the future they must come forward, especially when setting up that many tables. >:(

Thanks again for a great weekend. I thought the AE Singles was the icing on the cake for me this year, but getting married and winning the World championships in the same week....................... what a buzz ! :) ;) :D

sparky said:

4. Beer wasn't very good, especially when new barrel of Jimmy's put up, which seemed to happen quite often when some friends of mine were near by ;D.
Graham

Just repeating an overheard conversation - a limited supply of draught mild had been "drafted in" for the downstairs bar, which had proved popular, and a more generous supply was pledged to be made available for next year's tournament.

[milhouse]

Hi, Brilliant tournament and thoroughly enjoyed myself on my first trip for this tournament.
The only thing i really had a gripe with was the lager which was pretty awful.
Also, agree with the comment about the entry being blocked because of people looking at the draw sheets.

[barbelman]

milhouse said:

The only thing i really had a gripe with was the lager which was pretty awful.

Mark - lager IS pretty awful....... (insert vomit smiley)

Tony

[Lord Cheeky]

Great weekend great venue.
Beer, i agree was awful.
To many tables, or to many people in the hall it was very cosy and cramped.
Not disabled friendly!!!
Plus i needed my mountaineering gear to get up that ramp!
Good tournament great people and i played some half decent bar billiards.

[Lord Cheeky]

One last thing, well done to Kevin for winning

[Chris_Sav]

My congrats to the new committee as well and to KT.

Venue is far superior to the Normandy, only concern with the hall was insufficient extractors and the dodgy ramp up the stairs.

The combination of the two big hotels next to each other was very good, providing the Normandie doesn't get struck by 'Jewish Lightning' now its lost so much trade.

Re comp.

Tables could have been a little closer together along the sides and that would have helped the corner tables. I was bumping against a lefty on nine??? when playing eight in the corner.

I had a chat with Nigel over the 6811 cloth he is now using as its nowhere near as quick as the old cloth. Part of Jersey was always the lightning fast tables making splits damn difficult.

Lost the toss and had a big break shoved up me in a one-legger for the sixth time in the last seven years. If you want to badge it as a World Championship, players should have equal chances.

Several of the other comments re carpet etc should disappear when the hall goes no-smoking next year.

Publicise it better next year.

Once again, well done.

Chris.

[Secretary J.B.B.L.]

Cheers for all of the replies so far, all duly noted.

Keep them coming however, we want to try and sort out all of the problems for next year.

Regarding the air conditioning (or lack of it). The Hotel have already said to me personally that they will be getting new systems fitted into the hall ready for next year. This should stop the windows having to get opened all weekend. And the carpet was extra dangerous for my liking. Even before a few too many beers I triped up on it as well. It will be sorted.

Sean

sav said:

Lost the toss and had a big break shoved up me in a one-legger for the sixth time in the last seven years. If you want to badge it as a World Championship, players should have equal chances.

Do you only have one leg then :o

sithlord said:

Do you only have one leg then :o

It's a fair question, and also regarding Sav's comment, there is always an element of Russian Roulette about the first couple of rounds. ???
At least after the First Round, if you've had a bad draw and not had a fair crack of the whip after your illustrious opponent has played out over half the time on his/her first break, the Plate is there as a consolation. ;)
Losing in similar circumstances in the Second Round though is a bummer, as your campaign is effectively over by tea-time on the Saturday. :(
But if you think of the logistics involved in making it "perfectly fair" by having double legs throughout, you would have needed a further 64 games in Round Two - an extra four cycles on 16 tables - and a further 94 games in Round One - an extra six cycles on 16 tables. :o
So that would mean extending the tournament by five hours which would demand a Friday start for the competition which would mean the Pairs Competition would probably be knocked on the head. And it would make the early stages so b-o-r-i-n-g IMHO. :-/

I believe that the organisers got it spot on this year by introducing double frames at the Third Round Stage. Not sure about the criticism that 14 tables would be better than 16, as 16 allowed all rounds to be completed in synchronicity. Playing on the corner tables was a pain, though. >:(

I would be hard pressed to find a better framework for the tournament, and if something ain't broke, then why try to mend it ? :-X

Part of the fascination is that every year there are 'surprise' performances, yet certain top players seem to revel in the challenge and get to the Final stage regardless. :)

The 'Jersey weekend' isn't just about the competition anyway - the only way to find out what it offers is to go over there yourself.
I still found it a totally wonderful experience 25 years after the first one I took part in. 8-)

[NigelS]

I have always been in 2 minds about the 2 leg v 1 leg issue at Jersey. I think it was great though to bring double games a round forward. Tommo, is right, in that the tournament would have to be extended by quite a lot to fit in 2 leg games throughout, however there are big dinner breaks on both days, so it is probably not undoable. But it also has to be said the first round shocks due to the short games has always been part of the 'magic' of Jersey in a way.

Dont know if a timed game would be fairer in rounds 1 or 2, where the opening player would have a maximum of say 8 minutes to make a break and the following player is allowed an equal chance of responding. Ok we would still have 1 leg games but at least both players would have had an equal chance.

[Chris_Sav]

tommo said:

I would be hard pressed to find a better framework for the tournament, and if something ain't broke, then why try to mend it ?

If you had lost the toss in a one rounder and had to watch on short tables; 2006 Mick Eozan 6k, 2004 Paul Sainsbury, 7k, 2003 Rich Wooton 5½k in 12 mins, etc. etc, six times in seven years, you might not be saying the same, especially when England selection etc come into it.

Doesn't have to be extended into a marathon. First break could be limited to 8 mins or ten mins and pull the handle again if necessary.

Maybe I've just been particularly unlucky, but players should get an equal chance in ANY sport and not get knocked out in any tournament by losing the toss.

Sav

I guess I shall not attend the Jersey Open then, I would not be best pleased traveling abroad just to play a possible 1 game that could be decided before you play your first shot.
The Plate isn't what I would go there for anyway.

It is very tricky giving a set time limit on breaks, 8 mins is a possible 8K or more, if both players did it though then the games would be more interesting :) as the score would be artificially close. :P

[Sir Chancelot]

Congratulations to all the Jersey crew on staging this event at a new venue.
Apart from the wrinkly carpet dissapearing has anyone considered what impact the smoking ban will have on the tournament next year ?
I am not talking about the numbers attending, but the numbers dissapearing outside for a quick smoke.
Depending on the venue (if they go for an elaborate smoker's shelter outside) or depending on mild weather, a lot of people - even the non smokers could end up in the back car park.
Over here in Guernsey a whole new culture has opened up with many pubs having more people outside the pub than inside on occasions.
Even if you do not smoke you can end up outside chating with your mates who are smokers for a huge amount of the evening.
One marker/scorer per game could be an essential requirement for next years tournament.

[CraigC]

Would like to add my congragulations on another well-run and highly enjoyable Jersey Open, and would also echo many of the constructive criticisms made earlier. Would point out though about the beer, the de Normandie is not exactly brilliant for the that.

The point about scorers and the smoking ban is an interesting one and should be given good consideration, especially for the pairs. Hopefully a few more smokers will give up before then too.

[fazza]

The main problem at the Ommaroo will HAVE to be addressed before next year. It is totally unfriendly to the increasing number of disabled people attending the weekend. Sean told me that ramps would be in place, but the hotel could not confirm this, so we were forced to retain our booking at the De Normandie. Good job as there are so many steps into the hotel at ALL THREE entrances, and those ramps needed clampons.

[Sir Chancelot]

;D

cheeky said:

One last thing, well done to Kevin for winning

And well done to Trevor and Bob Le M for wining the first ever World pairs title. As Guernsey only entered three sets of pairs an even greater achievement than recognized or acknowledged.
Let's "hear it for the boys".
Good job we did not send over our pairs Champions Diddy and Matt Ogier ?!
Perhaps next year.

[fazza]

Hardly "boys" but point taken. They will be duly recognised when the next BBQ comes out, particularly as they had such a "lucky" semi-final win.

Surely, though, the number of entries each county/island enters does not come into the equation. If Guernsey had been confident, they should only have entered the one!!!!!

[petem]

Just found this from the Oxford Mail
A bit better write up than the Worthing Herald!!

BAR BILLIARDS: Tunstall in world champ

FORMER Oxfordshire postman Kevin Tunstall delivered the game's greatest prize when he was crowned world champion in Jersey.

The 49-year-old former Wallingford League secretary, who moved to Lancing in Sussex in February, avenged his defeat by Brighton's Jim Millward in the 2001 final with victory at Hotel Ommaroo, Havre des Pas.

Tunstall, who used to live in Abingdon, trailed 8,830-2,240 after the first leg.

And he feared the worst when he broke down with a break of around 2,000 in the second leg as his opponent rattled up 3,000 only to knock over a peg and lose his score.

"I thought I was dead and buried," said Tunstall. "If he had kept them it would have left me 7,000 down and I am not certain I would have had time to catch him."

But he seized his chance to play the table out and take the second leg 11,710-0 and triumph 13,950-8,830 on aggregate.

"It means a lot to any of us in the bar billiards world," added Tunstall. "It is not a professional sport, so we don't make money like snooker and pool players, but it is nice to be world champ- ion."

More than 200 players entered the championships, and Tunstall beat Didcot Conservative Club's Phil Collins in the semi-final, while Millward ended the hopes of Keith Sheard (Nelson, Oxford).

It was Tunstall's third success in the equivalent competition, having won the event in 1993 and 1994 when it was known as the British Isles Open.

But he struck a nerve with him that he had never had the title of world champion.

"It just niggled a bit that I thought I have got to win it to become the world champion, but deep down I always thought I had been, but not in name," he added.

There was also a local success in the Plate Competition which went to Wallingford's Mark Turner, who beat Jersey's Tim Ringsdore 2-0 in the final.

[davejones]

Pete interesting comments.

The Herald has recently explained to me that they do not have anyone to key in information sent to them. That is why the results service they have given us for so many years has this season stopped. We also had a league table published regularly. KT has only recently moved down here after playing for the majority of his bar billiard career in the Oxford area so the results secretary will have more information on his career than I do.

I would love to have the same number of column centimetres as the Oxford paper, and I give the Herald much more information than is printed.

That is why we have a new weekly report on our website which I hope to include as much information on our game as possible. If you or any member of our teams wish to include any snippets regarding matches please let me know via my email address.

[petem]

Will do Dave
I wasn't knocking anyone who sends the results and details in.
I know there was an article in the Herald which I think was reproduced on this forum,and that the papers lack space for a minority sport like ours,but this is exactly the thing we have been discussing to try and improve the profile of our game.
A World Champion in Sussex,will KT be invited to the BBC Sports personality of the year I wonder?

[Owners' Account]

Think I would like to add something to this....

While I liked the venue, IT was too small for me.

I know you guys are tired with the venues available, however seeing as we go all the way out there for such a huge tournament, half the fun was always being able to watch and enjoy all the games...

This year that was just near imposable, unless you wanted to stand there shoulder to shoulder with someone. Just made it very spectator unfriendly, and seeing as this tournament is our world champs, it kind of puts me off going somewhat if I can;t sit around and enjoy the games.....

[Sparky]

I think Glenn has a point and by reducing the number of tables it would improve spectator appeal (and maybe get more scorers/markers 8-)). I realise this would reduce the break times back down nearer to what we had before but that may be a price worth paying.