POOL ON THE ROCK

The 2010/2011 Gibraltar pool season culminated in the yearly Presentation night on Saturday 4th June. A good crowd gathered, not just to collect their awards but also to witness this year’s singles and doubles finals. This was held at the Fire Brigade Social Club and they set up an excellent arena for players and viewers alike.

First up was the Doubles final. This match saw Chris O’Connor and Dom Savage come up against Jonathan Collado and Justin Collado. The match was extremely cagey at first leaving the scores poised at 1-1 after nearly an hour of play. Both teams swung into action after that and it was the Collado brothers who took the initiative and came out as 4-1 winners.

After that came the largely anticipated Singles final between Steve Webber and Francis Becerra. Their respective ability and clash of styles would not let the onlookers down as they served up a veritable feast of pool. Francis started the better and maintained a lead throughout with Steve ensuring that his opponent did not get out of sight. In the end, however, Mr. Webber came through to take an exciting match 5-4 in the deciding frame. Both players were treated to a resounding round of applause which was thoroughly deserved.

Linda Alvarez (President of the GPA) and Charlie Bear (Fixtures Secretary) then presided over the presentation of the trophies. Firstly the Singles and Doubles finalists were given theirs. Awards were given to teams who won their respective divisions and also the runners up. A special mention to our best performers in Bridlington this year at the European Masters goes to Nicky Correa and Julian McGrail who excelled at the tournament. The same goes for David Wadsworth and Nicky Correa for the World Championships in Limoges, France last year. There was even a special award for ‘Best Referee’ which went to the lovely Harriet Seed who invariably takes on the task of adjudicating big pool events in Gibraltar.

All in all, it has been a great season and the Gibraltar Pool Association would like to thank everyone who took part. Hopefully next season will be just as entertaining and played in the same competitive spirit as this year. In the meantime for those who are interested in representing Gibraltar next year, the 2nd of 12 ranking tournaments takes place on 5th July. Call 56199000 and speak to Charlie for details.

Please see attachment in right column  for Final league standings for season 2010/2011: