Last weekend saw players from various clubs across the Crewe and District league compete in the Handicap tournament. With players representing 7 out of the 12 different clubs in the league it was lovely to see such a variety of faces!

The mens singles was up first and with 10 entries it was a relatively busy event so we had to split into two groups. The first group was made up of Colin McClure, Phil Wall, Chris Slinn, Josh Bamford and Matthew Owen with handicaps ranging from -4 to +7. It was a hotly contested group with 4 games finishing on 21-20, Josh won all 4 of his games in the group stage (but with two 21-20s and a 21-19 it was a hard fought win!) with Phil Wall coming in second so both progressed through to the semi-final.

The second group was made up of Dave Lee, Tom Baston, Marcus Walsh, Pawel Chlebowicz and Wren Wrang with handicaps ranging from -4 to +5. Again another close round with Pawel and Tom coming joint top as they’d both won 3 out of 4 games. Pawel just edged ahead of Tom on the points and so went through as the winner of the group but both progressing through to the semi-final.

Josh faced Tom in the semi and Phil took on Pawel, Josh and Pawel both won their games to go through to the final. A -3 handicap for Josh vs Pawels 0 start saw an intense game but ultimately Pawel took the win with a score of 21-19.

The womens doubles had five pairs; Claire & Ruth, Kara & Rachel, Mie & Christine, Symone & Sue and Zoe & Becky. The group had multiple cross club pairings and it was great way to see more ladies pairs competing! Again some really close scores and with Ruth & Claire and Symone & Sue coming top of the group they played again in the final to decide the winner. The experienced partnership of Ruth & Claire managed to prevail their opponents 10 point head start to be declared the winners.

Next up was the mixed which had ten pairs so were split into two groups, the first contained John & Symone, James & Christine, Iain & Ruth, Vipul & Susan and Rich & Kara with handicaps ranging from -8 to +7. Rich & Kara and Iain & Ruth both managed to overcome their -8 and -7 handicaps respectively to come top in their group.

The second group was made up of Brian & Sue, Phil & Mie, Dave & Claire, Wren & Becky and Josh & Zoe with handicaps ranging from -7 to +8. Josh & Zoe and Phil & Mie tied for games at the top and both progressed through to the semi-final.

Kara & Rich faced Mie & Phil and Iain & Ruth faced Josh & Zoe meaning games had a bit of inter club rivalry! Kara & Rich and Iain & Ruth both won their semi-finals however because timings had overran the final had to be played after the tournament so Welsh Row accommodated the game at their club night (much appreciated!) and it was played the next evening. Another close game but Kara & Rich took the game 21-17 to win the event.

Unfortunately only two entries in the ladies singles saw Becky Tong and Kara Robinson playing best of 3 to compete for the title. Adrenaline was on the organisers side meaning Kara won in two sets.

The mens doubles was another well contested event with 11 pairs again in two groups. The first group was made up of Colin & Pawel, Iain & Matthew, Ben & Joe, David & Tom, Carl & Rich and Vipul & John with the handicaps ranging from -5 to +3. With two pairs tied in second place and another two pairs tied in third it was a well contested group. Ultimately Carl & Rich took the group with Vipul & John coming in second.

The second group consisted of Brian & Chris, Josh & Dave, Phil & James, Dave & Gregg and Wren & Marcus with handicaps ranging from -6 to +7. Phil & James overcame their handicap to take the group with Dave & Gregg coming in second.

Unfortunately due to running behind on time we were unable to run the semi-final and so had to go to a straight final between Carl & Rich and Phil & James. With the pairs originally starting on a -5 and -6 handicap respectively it meant we entered the final with a 0 and -1 handicap so it was expected to be a tight game. Ultimately Phil & James outplayed their opponents to take the win.

Many congratulations to our various winners and runners up and a massive thankyou to the handicappers and to everyone that participated, especially for your patience with the busy schedule! Pictures of the winners and runners up in the photo section.