The Freedom Tournament, originally scheduled for 21st and 22nd August eventually ran on the 28th and 29th August. Perhaps the theme of the event is befitting as 45 players were liberated from ‘community sports sanctions’ imposed upon them. Some key committee members were not present on tournament day, but the event ran well with the support of each and every BMAQ member present. We could not be any prouder as a family to have run a successful event yet again.
The event started 10 minutes later than usual on Saturday as committee members scrambled to find a replacement for Maria Padar who unfortunately was not able to be freed in time. Thank you for David Williams, Susan Brown and Sobee for filling in at an incredibly short notice. It’s been a while since BMAQ held a BYE tournament. We had Andrew Kinge in a calm world of his own, reading a book oblivious to the slight chaos. Andrew’s team has a BYE in the morning but his love for us as a family is evident judging (I’m not judging) by his presence 3 hours earlier than expected.
We welcome new players – Rajesh Mehta, JB (Jahangir Bhagat) and Haiyang. How exciting to have two Rajesh(s) as well as 2 Craig(s) – one escaped briefly at lunch time to spend time with his dog. Oh! I forgot to mention we had two Gus(s)- (Agus & not so A, Gus).
John Ursem had a left shoulder injury early on and retired, replaced enthusiastically by Klaus and Karina. John, we hope your camera has minimum weight bearing impact on your shoulder. Rajesh Mehta injured his left knee but admirably persevered till his game was over before surrendering his spot. His perfect fill-in was his namesake, Raj Gupta who played very well as always. We wish both players a speedy recovery.
We congratulate the winning team ‘Free as a bird’ led by Guru Nagaraj running away with freedom scores of 2065, Haiyang for top score of 495, followed closely by Colin Rule with 491.
Thank you everyone for your continuous support. This may well be John and Bev Ursem’s last playing tournament but they will be present in our upcoming Stanthorpe Masters so everyone please give your support and see you there next month!
BMAQ Committee
Actions Shots from the Tournament (Photos courtesy John Ursem)
