POOL CLUB
Business House League (seasonal) – Monday to Wednesday (as required) – 7.00pm start
Mini-league round-robin competitions before and after the Business House League season.
Inter-club and Club Champs (seasonal) – Sunday – Start times vary.
For all inquiries please contact Dave on 027 754 9961
Email: David.Ollason@hotmail.com or pool@warkworthrsa.co.nz
NOTE Amended Date - 2024 Business House
Start: 7.00pm Monday 6th May
Prizegiving: 7.00pm Wednesday 24th July
UPDATE - April 17th
Inter-club Birkenhead Home April 14th
For Sunday's home game against Birkenhead, we ended up with 23 players (thanks Tara for stepping in at the last minute) but they came with 27 making a grand total of 50 players on the day, a record turnout!
With that number, it was sudden death best of 1 and we played one round of singles and two rounds of doubles (one reverse) making a total of 56 matches played with 4 of our players playing twice.
It's always a great game against Birkenhead and Sunday was no exception. There was great pool throughout the day, and the Warkworth team did us proud against stiff opposition.
Congratulations to the teams; Tony & Connor, Eddie & Jill and Mike & Trish who all had a clean sheet, winning their singles and both of their doubles - Well Done!
And Connor was one of our players who played twice and was playing with me in his second set. Connor narrowly lost his second singles, but he and I won both of our doubles. In our final doubles game, the opposition missed the black leaving Connor to play our last ball and the black to win. He played a tricky ball on the cush delicately (not like him normally) with beautiful weight to land perfectly on the black, which he dispatched with ease. Connor's final tally for the day was 5 from 6. Impressive!
Feeding the 50 was going to be a mission and huge thanks to Tracey, Rachelle, Jill, Rachel and everyone else who helped make the food the success it turned out to be, with Chinese food topping up the plates we had brought.
Everyone had a fantastic day and the final score was: Warkworth 31 : 25 Birkenhead
Well Done Team!
Business House Pool League
After the Birkenhead game we gathered all players, most new and some old, who are interested to play BHP but didn't have a team.
There are now two new teams in the BHP Div B, named Mahu and Rangi.
We have also had a third new team joining the league, the Cue Crew from Snells Beach.
A huge Welcome to our three new Business House teams.
I have the first draft of the draw done and it should be finalised and published by the end of the week and the league starts on Monday May 6th at 7pm.
Curry League & Closing Tournament
The curry league finished on the 8th April and it was hugely popular, with many positive comments about the Scotch doubles format and the generally supportive and fun atmosphere of the league.
Congratulations go to Tony's team, Vindaloo, for taking the top spot, followed by Kev's team Bhuna in 2nd and my own team Kadai in 3rd place.
To mark the end of the league we had another fun wee tournament on Monday, where the format changes from 8 Ball to 9 Ball each round. It was heaps of fun, and we managed to keep it to a reasonable time.
Congratulations to Tony & Rachel who beat myself & Cam in the final of the Main, and to Jim & Colin who beat Erana & Murray in the final of the Plate.
I think that's quite enough from me!
Cheers
Dave
UPDATE - April 10th
Papatoetoe RSA prefer Saturdays for the Inter-club and last Sat we went down for the away game. There were 11 of us (4 men and 7 women) including one more newcomer - Welcome to the team, Matty. Last year was our first against Papatoetoe and it was such a success, and they're such a great group of people, that we were very much looking forward to it. They had 18 players, and so 7 of ours played twice.
Again it was the Northern Area rules, but following hard on the heels of the Onehunga match, we were a bit more comfortable with the rules this time.
That comfort showed in the Singles (best of 1) where there were lots of very good, tight games, but ultimately Warkworth held our nerves better and the wins were being chalked up left, right and center. Warkworth triumphed 12:6, setting a target that would be very hard to overturn in the Doubles - Well done team!
Too many Wins to mention everyone, but nice to see the newcomers being successful (again) with Matty, Shirley and Jason all nailing it.
We were doing well for time and so decided to make the Doubles round best of 3 and make the most of the day. And make the most of it we did, with most of the matches going to 3 with some really close, tense and exciting games.
A great example was Shirley & my game which went down to the 3rd where Shirley was faced with our last ball and the opposition were on the black. Shirley potted our last ball, which wasn't easy, and landed perfectly on the black. But unfortunately defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory as the black just jawed in the pocket. Shirley, please don't be hard on yourself, we have all been there, and we will all be there again no doubt.
Papatoetoe did pull back a bit, winning the doubles 4:5, but the damage had already been done in the Singles and the final score was:
Warkworth 16:11 Papatoetoe
The day met the high expectations set in 2023 and we all had a great time and were back in Warkworth in time for the members draw.
This pic shows the aroha each team has for one another and we look forward to the home game in July.
We have Birkenhead at home next Sunday and then the Rams at home the Sunday after.
It would be great to have a good turnout for both, so please put your name down if you would like to play.
And as a reminder, particularly for the newcomers, for our Home games it is either $10 or bring a plate. The plate can be hot or cold, but please could you bring all that you need to be able to serve the dish i.e. platters, serving cutlery etc. The RSA provides disposable plates and cutlery.
Cheers
Dave
UPDATE - March 27th
On Sunday after the AGM, 14 Warkworth players headed off down to Onehunga for our first inter-club match of the season.
We had three new players in the Warkworth team - Erana, Jason and Shirley - and a very warm welcome to the team to you all!
We arrived at 1:30pm and were greeted by Barbara, Diane and the Onehunga team, who were also 14 players. It has been 2 or 3 years since we last played, so it was great to catch up with some familiar and some new faces.
Onehunga play the Northern area national rules and we kicked off with a review of the rules for our benefit.
We started with the doubles, best of 1 frame, and with 4 pool tables we started to race through the order. At the end of the Doubles things were looking a little ominous for Warkworth as we were 2:5 behind. Congratulations to Erana & Kea and Pat & Shirley on your wins!
As we moved into the singles, however, Warkworth started to rally and we tied the Singles at 7:7 bringing the score up to 9:12. It was a great effort by the Warkworth team and I saw a number of games that nearly went our way.
We broke for afternoon tea at about 3:15pm and it was lovely - Ham rolls with chips and coleslaw, yum!
We still had some time after the tea and we decided to play a reverse singles, whereby the top of the Onehunga list plays the bottom of the Warkworth list and so on, ensuring that in this round you play someone different.
Here again Warkworth held our own and we levelled this round of singles too at 7:7 making the final score:
Warkworth 16 : 19 Onehunga.
On a personal note, I won my first round single by my opponent going in off the black, which nobody likes. But in my second round singles I played Wazza, who I think I've played in every match we've had, and I was pleased that I was able to take this one out.
I'd like to make a special mention to Erana & Kea as being the only team to win all 3 of their games - well done! And also a shout out to Shirley, who won 2 out of 3 in her first ever match for the team.
Finally, it was Marcia's birthday on Sunday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCIA!
Reminder
The sign up sheets are up for the next two matches:
-
Papatoetoe Away on April 6th, which is a Saturday
-
Birkenhead Home on Sunday April 14th
Please put your names down if you would like to play.
Cheers
Dave
UPDATE - March 20th
The first Inter-club match is an Away match @ Onehunga on Sunday 24th of March and we will head down there right after the AGM finishes.
NOTE: The RSA Club doors will be closed from 9.58am until conclusion of the AGM
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SUNDAY 17th March - Clive Hulme Invitational Tournament
Kia Ora,
During the year we host four invitational tournaments, two singles and two pairs, where we invite players from all around the Auckland/Northland region, in addition to Warkworth, to play. These events are 32 team knockout events where those first round losers move into a Plate tournament.
On Sunday we held the first of these for 2024 - the Clive Hulme invitational singles tournament.
It was disappointing to see a number of players not turn up on the day and I'll start with a huge shout out to Rachel and Zom & Emma for agreeing to play on the day and filled some of the shortfall - very much appreciated!
We had a number of guest players who were new to the tournament and the RSA and we gave a special welcome to those players.
After a run through of the rules, we got underway a little later than planned at 9:30am. After the first round, several Warkworth players progressed - Zom, Storm, Milly and Tony - with the rest of us looking forward to redemption in the Plate.
In the Main 2nd round, Deon was unfortunately drawn against his girlfriend Jennifer and he progressed to meet Zom, who had beaten Tony, in the quarter final. Storm overcame Carl, who had beaten me in the first round, with a very tense game indeed that went to the final black! And Milly's campaign came to an end at the hands of Mike, one of the newcomers from Kerikeri.
We were making good time and when we broke for lunch at 12:30pm, we were only a few matches away from the quarter finals in both the Main and the Plate. Whilst Raina & Eddie always provide a fabulous lunch, Sunday's was one of the best ever - fresh snapper and chips with all the trimmings. Thanks once again to Raina & Eddie, it was absolutely delicious and everyone enjoyed it.
In the Plate, Bob, Tony and Jimmy all made it through to the quarter finals, which was good to see. Deon got his revenge for his 2023 loss to Zom and moved into the Semis and there were great matches, particularly Storm/Gordie and Peter/Simon which ultimately resulted in a main semi final of Deon VS Gordie and Lee vs Peter.
In that Plate, Bob continued his winning ways and came out on top with a clash with Tony. Bob was joined in the plate semi final by one of the newcomers Clayton and Maurice vs Bill (another newcomer).
All the semis were great games to watch and it ultimately came down to a final in the Plate Bob vs Bill and in the Main, Lee vs Deon.
As is usually the case, the best pool of the day is reserved for the finals, and Sunday was no exception. The plate final was best of 3 and Bob took it 2:1 and in the Main, best of 5, it went down to 2:2. It was great to watch with some amazing pool on display. Deon got there in the end 3:2 - Congratulations to Deon and commiserations to Lee....next year!
Throughout the whole day I had had numerous comments about our tables and how well they are playing. Also good, positive news was that every one of the newcomers loved their day and want to come back.
We finished up in good time and several guest players stayed a little longer and played some more.
A great day had by all.
Cheers
Dave
UPDATE - March 13th
The 2024 Pool Calendar has been confirmed and is on the board at the RSA
The Clive Hulme Invitational Singles tournament is this Sunday 17th March.
It is currently full but if you put your name on the poster and we have a drop out, we'll bring you in.
The first Inter-club match is an Away match @ Onehunga on Sunday 24th of March and we will head down there right after the AGM finishes.
NOTE: The RSA Club doors will be closed from 9.58am until conclusion of the AGM
UPDATE - March 13th
Scotch Pairs Open - Sunday 10th March 2024
In Feb 2023 we tried an experiment with a new format tournament - Scotch Pairs - and it was such a success that we have adopted the format in our mini leagues and decided to make the event official and in our calendar for 2024 and we played it on Sunday.
We had a great turnout of 12 pairs, a couple of whom were playing in their first or second RSA tournament, which was great to see. Also wonderful to see some players like Leigh & Tracey, who we've been missing for a wee while.
We divided the field into two sections of 6 and qualifying was a full round robin, best of three. We got going just after 9am and everyone appeared to, understandably, be making a bit of a nervy start with most matches going to 3. However, the players hit their groove in the later rounds and there was a lot of whoops and ahhs, (plus a few more flowery comments), as matches reached their crunch points.
By round 3 in section A the frontrunners were myself and Tony on 3 and both Art & Murray and Storm & Tammy on 2 - it was well poised. And section B was even tighter with three teams on 2 - Ash & Nadine, Leigh & Tracey and Jimmy & Mike.
We broke for a lovely BBQ lunch and huge thanks to Storm, Tammy and everyone else who helped with the cooking and the prep. Special thanks to Seth who bought the food and made sure everything was ready for us.
In the last two rounds of qualifying, section A saw myself & Tony continue our good fortune to finish on 5 and a clear second place went to Art & Murray who won 1 of their last two and ended up on 3. However, in section B, things were a little less clear cut. The one certain thing was that Leigh & Tracey were the section winners having won both their last and finished on 4. However, there was a 3-way tie for second place.
There was a tense play-off for the second place slot, which was ultimately won by Ash & Nadine, narrowly edging out Rachelle & Rachel and Noelene & Kev.
The semis were Dave & Tony vs Ash & Nadine and Art & Murray vs Leigh & Tracey. I've had comments that the audience didn't know which semi to watch as they were both exciting and tense and both went to three games.
Ultimately, the final came down to Dave & Tony vs Art & Murray and promised to be a repeat of our great tussle in the qualifying, after which Art said to me - "You willnae get a beaahr match than that today!".
He was nearly right, as the final turned out to be another epic game, won and lost on the smallest of margins.
In the end, in the final frame, myself & Tony held our nerve and prevailed. I'd like to congratulate Dave & Tony and also huge commiserations to Art & Murray, who played really well and were very worthy opponents who could have taken either/both of our matches.
Everyone had a great time and we finished the final about 5:15pm - thank you all!
Finally, my apologies for not taking photos of the winners and runners up.
MINI BUSINESS HOUSE LEAGUE STARTS SOON!
The Curry League
The teams and playing order for the Curry League are up on the board and we kick off on Monday Feb 26th.
All matches are on Mondays from 7pm, except the final fun tournament on April 15th which we will start at 6pm.
The Pool Calendar
The first draft of the 2024 Pool Calendar is up on the board in small form until the final fixtures have been confirmed and the large version will be up shortly. This season will kick off with the Scotch Pairs Open on Sunday March 10th followed by the Clive Hulme Invitational Singles on March 17th.