3-County 4-Pin Challenge, Surrey v E.Sussex v W.Sussex

[tommo III]

Oct 20, 2023 21:04:13 GMT tommo III said:

Yes we still have something on the back burner with a visit of Sudbury south of the Thames (Surrey/Sussex) in mind.

Plans are being put into motion - watch this space !

Another one-day 'Gala' event has been arranged for Sat 2nd December at the Inn On The Green Ockley. (6-a-side)

This was really intended to cater for the Sudbury World Team Champions' desire to have a day of competitive play outside of their comfort zone, but unfortunately they have become obliged to pull out as plans for overnight accommodation fell through.

As usual, the Singles World (4-Pin) champ (Gandalf) was up to the challenge and organised a team from Hastings, with a bit of wizardry this has now become two with one from Worthing being added which means that the event can still go ahead.

To complete the line-up a team to represent the host county is being sought, but Redhill Four-pinners are few and far between and so far only two have come forward.

So if any other County reading this - Northants ? Cambs ? Norfolk ? - fancy a day of competitive fun at a great pub you would be more than welcome to take over the third slot. 

The competition will start at 12noon and should finish by 7.30pm following 18 frames played on each of two tables.

[tommo III]

Further to this, Gandalf has advised the teams from Sussex, East and West, as follows:

Hastings - Colin Southouse; Peter Payne; Alex Reardon; Alec Pope; Tom Pope; Andrew Lipscombe

Worthing - Tony Jenner; Rick Cunningham; Bob Osborne; Joe Oakley; Trevor Rees; Stuart Mepham; James Whittle

As with the other two events held recently at the venue, a souvenir programme will be provided .... this will be packed with as much 4-Pin history that I can find.



[edit 14/11/23 - 6th player added for Worthing]
[edit 01/12/23 - James Whittle added to the line-up as a late replacement for Trevor Rees]

[tommo III]

No other interest was forthcoming from other counties, so I am now steaming ahead with a Surrey side.  Maybe the competition could be expanded next year if there is a call for it and hopefully Suffolk will be included if this years logistical problems can be overcome. .... So,

Redhill - Clive T, Jim Balchin, Abbey Balchin, Michael Wilson (sub:Paul Jobbins), David Jones, Paul Trottman


[edit 15/11/23 -  6th player added to complete our line-up]

[bigtj]

Stuart Mepham Worthing`s 6th player

[daveuk1]

It's a shame the white horse can't be there this year, but being a bunch of pi§§ heads we really needed accommodation within staggering distance.

[tommo III]

Paul Trottman is Surrey's 6th player.

[tommo III]

A quick reminder that this is now just a week away. Doors open at 11.30am.

A quick draw will take place for positions, then hopefully we should be underway by 12 or soon after.

Hope it turns out to be enjoyable for all.

[bigtj]

Should be a good day, assume food being served as normal at the venue??

[tommo III]

Nov 25, 2023 12:12:03 GMT bigtj said:

Should be a good day, assume food being served as normal at the venue??

Yes, lunchtime bar menu should be available.

[gandalf the untidy]

looking forward to some 4 pin action tomorrow

[bigtj]

Trevor Reese is not well so James Whittle is taking his place. Looking forward to a good day see everyone tomorrow

[tommo III]

Dec 1, 2023 19:53:40 GMT gandalf the untidy said:

looking forward to some 4 pin action tomorrow

Great !  If the event is well received there is a good chance this can become an annual fixture - hopefully including our friends from Suffolk next time around.

[tommo III]

Dec 1, 2023 19:56:26 GMT bigtj said:

Trevor Reese is not well so James Whittle is taking his place. Looking forward to a good day see everyone tomorrow

Not a problem, James will be in the line-up (although too late to appear in the Programme).

Get well soon, Trevor .....

[sleezy]

Hi all
To everybody taking part in the 4 pin challenge have a great Day of 4 pin at  the Inn on the Green.
Great idea for the challenge Clive and hope all goes well. Only wish I could be there but off to Bath
With Jane for the weekend. 
Good luck all.

[tommo III]

Thanks John,
I know you would have loved to have taken part as one of the Blue Jays. Maybe next year !
Hope you and Jane enjoy your weekend in the lovely city of Bath.

tommo

[tommo III]

A fantastic day with the result as follows:

East Sussex 5, Surrey 7
Surrey 7, West Sussex 5
West Sussex 7, East Sussex 5

1st - Surrey 14pts; 2nd - West Sussex 12pts; 3rd - East Sussex 10pts.
Highest Break, Table 1: 1660 - Colin Southouse;
Highest Score, Table 2: 2050 - Alec Pope.

Surrey's Michael Wilson and West Sussex's Stuart Mepham were undefeated.

Many thanks to Colin for his part in the organisation, captaining E.Sussex, and to the Jenneral for captaining the team from West Sussex.

Any thoughts on the day are welcome.

[gandalf the untidy]

Thanks for your efforts in running the 4 pin comp at Ockley Tommo, I appreciate the time taken to set it up, even more so as it was a FREE event with upwards of 20 trophies up for grabs.

Looking forward to next year already

[bigtj]

A great day, plenty of laughs and banter. Thank you Clive for arranging this and all the effort you put into it. Great venue and hosts. The team from Worthing had a great day and to a man said they enjoyed themselves.

[Dave J]

Thanks Clive.
A great day, really enjoyed my first go at 4 pin.

[tommo III]

Thanks all.  I thought the atmosphere was great and the players handled the 4-pin rules well considering there were a few first-timers, notably Stu Mepham who managed to win all four, David Jones and Paul Trottman for us, and two from E.Sussex as well. Kind of Paul Jobbins too to step in for us when Abbey couldn't make it, and James Whittle subbing for Trevor Rees who had been taken poorly.

It was interesting to see how fortunes fluctuated, two-thirds of the way through Surrey stood at 4-all with East Sussex and down 3-5 to West Sussex who were also 5-3 ahead of East, so looked favourites. But then Surrey rallied and took the last four against West, to take the title with two 7-5 wins.

From what was a germ of an idea as recently as October when I ran it past Colin, we are already talking about next year when we hope a team from Suffolk will be joining us, and the possibilities of having an extra table......... Here are the player stats, photos to follow !
 

player	county	played	won	lost	score	average
Michael Wilson	Surrey	4	4	0	6880	1720
Stuart Mepham	West Sussex	4	4	0	5350	1337.5
Alec Pope	East Sussex	4	3	1	6820	1705
Clive Thompson	Surrey	4	3	1	6110	1527.5
Colin Southouse	East Sussex	4	3	1	5860	1465
Bob Osborne	West Sussex	4	3	1	5390	1347.5
Paul Trottman	Surrey	4	3	1	4180	1045
Joe Oakley	West Sussex	4	2	2	5970	1492.5
Paul Jobbins	Surrey	4	2	2	4720	1180
David Jones	Surrey	4	2	2	4560	1140
Rick Cunningham	West Sussex	4	1	3	5310	1327.5
Peter Payne	East Sussex	4	1	3	4590	1147.5
Tony Jenner	West Sussex	4	1	3	4490	1122.5
James Whittle	West Sussex	4	1	3	4330	1082.5
Tom Pope	East Sussex	4	1	3	3500	875
Andrew Lipscombe	East Sussex	4	1	3	3310	827.5
Alex Reardon	East Sussex	4	1	3	2360	590
Jim Balchin	Surrey	4	0	4	2720	680

[tommo III]

As promised, post-match photos of the intrepid 4-Pinners who took part in the first Inter-county:


Winners: Surrey (David, Jim, Paul T, Paul J, Clive, Michael); R-u West Sussex; 3rd East Sussex


Downloadable programme for anyone who left theirs behind - gives all known history of 4-Pin to date:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4


A full transcript of the day's play appears on the Crawley page of the Mid Sussex website (Page 92 - "4-Pin activity for 2023").
docs.google.com/document/d/1AOvik0beejqM8bWSye0r9fsH-JfA2qoEAcJPl29qkk0/pub

[billiardsmichael]

A cracking day yesterday, thank you for all your effort organising Clive and to Colin for helping get this off the ground and running. As ever the two IotG tables provided rather different challenges - but I must admit I enjoyed that challenge. Until next year!!

[tommo III]

A nice writeup appears in this week's West Sussex County Times  - page 63.