One-Ball success for Ally Hoyland

September 5th 2021

The skies were overcast for the August Bank Holiday One-Ball Tournament, but at least it was dry. Eight members had signed up to play, which meant it could be run as an all-play-all tournament, with up to 7 rounds in total.

One-Ball is a simplified variant of AC, and it is suited to players of either code. The AC players were represented by Roger Hayes, a past champion, Tony Jackson who is the current holder of the Windsor Aubrey Trophy, and the 2018 National One-Ball winner Margaret Murray, along with veteran player Ninette Flowerdew and newcomer Neil Pinker. However, regular GC players Ally Hoyland, Sue Duncan and Anwen Owen had decided that the format suited their skills sets too and, having had a bit of coaching in the days leading up to the tournament, all three took part and made very good use of their bisques.

As it turned out, the leading player on the day was Ally, with six wins. Roger was runner-up with five wins, just pipping Sue into 3rd place on a who-beat-who basis. And, as a complete newcomer to the game, Anwen was surprised and delighted by her three wins, matching Ninette’s and Margaret’s scores for the day.

Photo by Roger Hayes