Playing pool at the Europeans: Bridlington 2019
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| Gibraltar Seniors Team at EBA European Pool Championship 2018, Bridlington |
The chill, the grey skies and cold rain of the Yorkshire coast did not dampen our spirits as the Gibraltar team headed for the venue that first morning. We had left behind blue skies, temperatures well into the twenties and a city making its first moves to the annual beach season, but we shrugged off the chill of a typical British spring morning and strode into the opening ceremony heads held high, proud to be waving the Gibraltar flag. The excitement ran through all the players like a current of electricity as they gathered in their team colours. We cheered each other on, waved at friends from other countries that we had not seen for some months, picked out familiar faces, and noted with a measure of awe, those champions that we would be facing in the forthcoming days.
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| Opening Ceremony at the EBA European Pool Championship 2019 |
I was not quite match ready for this particular championship. I had not been able to get enough proper practice to polish up old skills. I was not yet quite in good physical form and I knew it. But I was relaxed, looking forward to every match. Perhaps it was because I fully understood my limitations this time that I was less tense. Pre-match nerves affect everyone, not least me, but for the first time in years, I found a positive excitement in the pre-match nerves rather than the tension that can be so debilitating that sometimes hampers me. I know that I am capable of playing very well, of taking my opponents right to the wire, but I also understood my limits at this particular point in time. This meant I could tailor my expectations of my performance, I could be more forgiving, I could let go of poor shots instead of hanging on to the negative emotions that come with those dodgy performances and move on to focus on the next.
Understanding and accepting where I was in terms of my current standard of play, meant that I could focus on enjoyment, on relaxing and immersing myself in top quality pool. And this all meant that I could celebrate my victories - and there were some I really did enjoy - and not beat myself up over my mistakes!
That focus on making the most of the event as a whole meant that this trip to Bridlington was probably my favourite of recent years. My team mates were brilliant - supporting each other, boosting each other through harder games, playing to their own personal best. We are quite a new team, the Gibraltar Seniors A team, but we have come away from the Europeans thirsting for building on the bonds and camaraderie that we created at Bridlington and knowing that we can help each other reach much better performances in November in Cyprus. And, boy, are we looking forward to that.
There were many high points for me in Bridlington this year. Our team performance was the best for the Gib Seniors to date. Winning against Catalonia and Shetland were great moments. Our win against Shetland at 13-12 was so close and the excitement of playing and the closeness we felt as a team meant that it put us in good stead for the remaining matches. And if losing can be considered a high point, our performances against Malta and Ireland were commendable. Individual performances from Dave Goodwin and Brian Fa were excellent, and especially Brian Fa's ability to support and hold the team together was especially commendable. I really enjoyed playing with these guys and feel motivated to train and improve alongside them.
There were some good performances from the rest of the Gibraltar squad too, not least from Val Jarvis in the Ladies' Singles tournament. Val reached the top 16 and showed the world how even if you happen to come from one of the tiniest sporting nations, you can refuse to be over-awed and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with world champions and fight on. It was an inspirational performance.
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| Val Jarvis taking to the table |
And there was Jesse Ignacio who reached the top 32 in the Men's Singles tournament. Young, skilled, rapidly rising to be one of Gibraltar's top players, Jesse's performance made Gibraltar proud, and I'm pretty sure he's going to reach much further as he progresses in the sport.
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| Gibraltar Men's team: Stuart Bonavia, Daniel Lavagna,Kharim Robles Lopez, Jesse Ignacio and Liam Golt (from left to right) |
There were some cracking matches to be watched, the skill and stamina of the world's top players a joy to observe. Robert Tait's victory in the Masters Singles was a lesson in focus and consistency - his was a study in steady strength that proved to be indomitable to the last. That is something that I will take with me as a moment of learning.
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| Robert Tait, photo courtesy of EBA |
I want to also mention Kevin Seaman's performance in the Seniors competition. He played in a way that made the game look easy, the calm of his demeanour completely masking any nerves he might have felt. Another lesson right there for all players.
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| Kevin Seaman receiving his trophy from EBA Chairman, Sean Rumbado |
But one of the players that I feel gave an exciting performance was Gibraltar's Dave Goodwin. It was Dave's first tournament in the Seniors and he played consistently well, keeping a cool head and turning out good results. In the Senior division, he got the most breaking dishes - an achievement in its own right. I have a feeling Dave will be a strong player internationally in this division - one to watch and I am proud to be a member of his team.
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| Dave Goodwin and Brian Fa in post-match relaxation mode |
And the event as a whole was just plain fun. The venue is great, meeting players from other countries, all of whom are generous in victory and gracious in defeat. The sun came out eventually over Bridlington, and there's nothing that can quite compare to the English seaside on a sunny day - arcades, chip-stealing seagulls (Charlie Bear was bombarded by guano - had to mention that Charlie! - and Willy Gomez was dive-bombed by a kamakaze seagull) Mr Whippy ice creams and a coconut shy!) I love the Mediterranean but this took me right back to childhood holidays. The fish and chips and mushy peas were good and so was the fact that you could get a Chinese takeaway delivered to your hotel room!
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| Bridlington, Yorkshire, UK |
The EBA Europeans 2019 was perhaps my favourite tournament of the past few years. Congratulations to all the winners - you are truly worthy champions. And congratulations to all that took part - you went out there and put yourself in the fray for your country and did what you could.
Now to limber up over the summer for the Nations' Cup.........!
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| Gibraltar Seniors team - there's no stopping us now! |
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