Second weekend of Veteran Team Championships of Wales provides thrills
The second weekend of matches in the Veteran Team Championships of Wales, hosted at North Gwent TTC, certainly did not disappoint, with plenty of intense matches occurring across both divisions to conclude a fantastic tournament.
Thank you to all of the staff and volunteers involved in delivering another great Welsh event. Well done to all of the teams and players from both divisions for competing extremely well throughout.
Premier Division
The Premier division saw new winners crowned. On the final day, Gwent C looked to retain their title but Cardiff beat the 2024 champions 4-2 in a decisive match to tie level on points. Cardiff A secured the victory on match difference to earn back the trophy that they won in 2023. Cardiff’s team consisted of Stephen Eades, Jeff Rigby, John Hook, Gavin Jones, Owen Clutterbuck and Bryan Fernandes, with all players in the team contributing essential wins throughout the season.
At the other end of the table, matches were fiercely contested between the other 4 teams (Gwent A, Gwent B, Swansea A and Wrexham) throughout both weekends, which ensured a competitive environment for all involved.
In the final averages, Owen Clutterbuck (10/10) and Daniel Petit (8/8) remained undefeated across the games that they played in the competition.
Division 1
Division One was also very tightly contested. Going into the final day, three teams were all fighting it out to be crowned champions, with Trehafod, Gwent D and Swansea C all battling for every match.
Trehafod prevailed as champions after the final round of matches. With both Trehafod and Gwent level on points, the former were victorious with a superior games difference. Trehafod consisted of captain Bhanureka Sabaratnam, Alan Thompson and David Griffith, providing fierce competition to Gwent throughout the season. A special mention goes to David Griffith from Trehafod for maintaining a 100% win record (20 of 20 matches) throughout the season. Kevin Gertsen for Swansea B (4/4) also remained undefeated.
Gwent D finished as runners up after a decisive victory over Swansea B early Sunday morning; on track to win the title, they suffered a shock draw to Cardiff B in the afternoon. Gwent D consisted of Michal Lukanic, Georgi Anastasov, Nigel Gore, David Grounsell and Julie Hughes, all of whom competed well across the two weekends of play and earned the silver medal.
At the other end of the table, Cardiff B, Gwent E and Gwent F all fought well across the two weekends and will look forward to competing again next year.
Well done to all of our competitors, we look forward to seeing the competition back again next year! With the sport and competitions continuing to grow, be sure to get your entries in early to avoid disappointment!