Got back late last night from La Dunkerquoise. Met up there with Martin, Sean, Rachel, Monty, Vince, Hoff and Nancy and have got to say what a great competition and great company – so really enjoyed the weekend. Angie, Ash and I were representing the Kent Region so the organisers really looked after us with hotel accommodation and meals/drinks. Played with Angie in the doubles on Friday, Ash and Sean in the triples on Saturday and Ash in the doubles on Sunday. Overall pleased with how we played, although I/we had the “usual” bad few ends! Beat some good teams who I think were surprised at our standard of play. Got to mention one game in particular though, which was the last game Ash and I played in the doubles yesterday. After lunch, having qualified for the main and playing really well, we were looking forward to playing a good French team only to find we had been drawn against two little “kids”. Ash said hed seen the older kid playing Saturday, shooting up front for a very good triple, and hed looked pretty good, so we shouldnt take them for granted. Anyway,“pretty good” turned out to be an understatement! He and his even smaller mate turned out to be bloody awesome! And after an hour and twenty they beat us 13-8! We played really well but they were better! A really good little pointer (and I mean really little!) and the shooter hit 90+% and “carreaued” nearly every time! One end he shot the coche at 9 metres to save losing a 5! And just to top it off, the three times he missed, the little bugger ;-) hit the coche to kill the end or give them points! A truly awesome display! Afterwards I managed a few words with the leader of their “fan club” that had been watching the game, who turned out to be the pointers mum, and she told us that he was 10 and was the minime champion of France and his friend the shooter was 14 and the cadet champion of France! Obviously we didnt enjoy losing, but Ash and I both agreed we had really enjoyed the game because just watching these two stars of the future in action was an experience/pleasure. As I have said before, players wanting to improve their game, can and should make the effort and cross the Channel and play in this kind of competition. You dont have to go all the way to the south of France (although the weather and competitions are better!), to get this experience there are plenty of competitions in the north. The language barrier can be a bit of a problem but from my experience the French players make you most welcome.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 13:51:59 +0000