Review of 2017

2017 was yet another successful year for Orkney Pool with both the men’s and ladies teams defeating Shetland in the annual inter county matches. The men’s 26-13 success was a seventh win in the last 10 years while the Ladies 17-13 victory ensured the cup returned to Orkney after narrowly missing out the previous year.

There was more success for the Orkney teams at the annual Islands Blackball Championships in Falkirk in September which Orkney sent 5 teams to. Not only did the Orkney Men’s ‘A’ team win the team trophy for the fifth time and the fourth consecutive year, but the Orkney ‘B’ side also made it to the final. The ‘B’ team picked up wins against all the competing Islands ‘A’ sides along the way as they became the first ‘B’ side to compete in a final at the IBA championships. The Orkney Ladies put up a great defence of their team cup but narrowly missed out on retaining it after being defeated 8-5 by a very strong Isle of Man team in the final. The Orkney Ladies ‘B’ team also made it through to the semi finals for the first time showing that Ladies pool is very much on the way up

Orkney had great representation in the men’s IBA singles as well as 5 players made it through to the quarter final stages, but it was Dave Addinall from the Isle of Man who lifted the trophy by defeating Darren Tait in the final. Dave’s win denied Orkney from taking the singles trophy home for the fifth consecutive year

Competition numbers in Orkney Pool are also on the up, with 104 players taking part in the 7 ranking events of 2017 compared to 88 the year before. 5 different players won the 7 events with 8 different finalists which shows just many players we now have capable of competing for trophies. Neil Cormack was the winner of the Challenge Cup, Darren Tait secured the League singles title while Erik Wilson took the Orkney Masters and Players Championship trophies home. Keith Keldie pocketed the Double Elimination and Orkney Singles titles while Paul Sinclair won the final event of the year, the Orkney Pool Classic.

We also started a summer pool league which attracted enough interest to form 2 leagues. Both leagues had 17 entrants and over 100 games were played in each group before Neil Cormack emerged the winner after it was narrowed down to the final 6. It was great to see so much pool played over our normal quieter months and the extra sharpness players built up over the summer has benefitted their games for the league season.

Sadly though, 2017 was also tinged with sadness, firstly at the passing of Dave Craigie in September. Dave was a colourful character on the Orkney Pool scene and represented Orkney against Shetland as well as playing for the East in all the early fixtures against the West in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He also played in the recently created senior East versus West matches where he took great delight in reminiscing about old times on and off the pool table. Dave was also an integral part of the successful Torvhaug Pirates side, which dominated Kirkwall and District League Pool when it first began in the early 80’s. Also, all at Orkney Pool were devastated to hear about Graham Budge, who sadly passed away over Christmas. Graham was a very popular and cheery lad, who came from a pool loving family and was himself a very talented player having represented the East in matches versus the West. Our deepest condolences go to Graham’s family at this terribly sad time

Pool gets back underway in 2018 with the Challenge Cup on the 7^th January, which already has over 90 entries. League pool restarts on the 11^th January and The Team Cup begins shortly after. There are also many other competitions which are squeezed in before Orkney head to Shetland at the end of March to defend the inter county trophies, so 2018 promises to be another big year for Orkney Pool.

Orkney Pool would like to wish everyone all the best for the year ahead. Hope 2018 is good for you all