Halfway Bouleathon

A weekend's Extreme Boule Extravaganza in Halfway, Llandovery saw some of the hottest, extreme boule action of 2012. A host of players battled it out over three days, with various Extreme Boule disciplines testing the nerves, courage, accuracy, and troll shattering abilities of those who took up the Extreme Challenge. The game results are reported below. Of note are the Lady of the Lake Cup Challenge at Llyn y Fan Fach which involved 15 stars of the game, and the radical innovation of the Eliminator - an Extreme Boule game format which is likely to be quickly adopted by 'kids' on the 'street'.

The undoubted stars of the weekend were Mike Hopkins and Gwen Thomas. Hopkins took on all opponents , in all Extreme disciplines, and completely shattered this years World Rankings to pieces. Regarded by some as the second coming of James Perrot, early on Hopkins was almost booed out of the game following a disgusting episode of 'emptying his pockets'. However, with a redemptive 'gifting of the jack' in the following crucial game, Hopkins redeemed himself - earning himself the nickname 'The Gentleman of Extreme Boule' in the process. A annerving accuracy and a lack of sass mouth had the fans cooing Hopkins name into the Welsh hills. How Hopkins more illustrious London rivals Woolridge and Martin respond is the hot topic in many Extreme Boule discussions right now.

Gwen Thomas, a living legend and regarded as the 'Godmother of Extreme Boule', returned to a rich vein of form. Highlight of the weekend for many neutrals was Thomas' elegant run to the Lady of the Lake Cup final and her absolute demolition of experienced boulers Waterman and T. Wort.

Stan Charles returned to walk amongst us. Once touched by Jean Baptiste Gressier, Charles gave us a glimp of what he's capable of, before descending into Hot Bloody Mary oblivion. Pippa Cox sassed her way to dominating the Eliminator Challenge and put herself back in contention for the number one spot. Rich Waterman, The Wizard of Edale, remained unfazed and scored solidly, particularly when playing near a mermaid. Sioned Jones made her return to the Extreme Boule scene and rookies Jim Cooke and Emlyn Roberts brought a fresh faced zeal to proceedings and will surely have a bright future in THE sport of 2012.

Game Results

Extreme Rating:  **** to *********
Dangers & Annoyances: The Lady of the Lake

Friday Night Meltdown
1. D. Woolridge     11
2. T. Wort               10
3. S. Moss               9

G. Thomas Comeback
1. G. Thomas          6
2. E. Roberts           1
3. T. Wort               0
4. R. Waterman      0

The Gentleman of Boule
1. M. Hopkins        11
2. S. Moss               9
3. T. Wort               8
4. D. Woolridge      3

Summoning the Lady of the Lake
1. R. Waterman      7
2. S. Moss              4
3. T. Wort              3
4. P. Cox                2

Llyn y Fan Fach Cup Challenge
1. M. Hopkins     
2. G. Thomas
3. D. Woolridge
4. M. Wort
5. R. Waterman
5. J. Cooke
5. S. Jones
5. S. Murphy
9. T. Wort
9. E. Roberts
9. S. Moss
9. N. Moss
9. K. Harrison
9. P. Cox
9. C. Davies

Big Hill Game
1. T. Wort            16
2. R. Waterman    11
3. M. Hopkins       3
4. D. Woolridge    2

Trout Farm Jack Chasing
1. M. Hopkins      16
2. S. Moss            12
2. T. Wort            12
4. D. Woolridge   8

Eliminator 1
1. M. Hopkins
2. P. Cox
3. R. Waterman
4.T. Wort
5. S. Moss
6. C. Davies
7. D. Woolridge
8. S. Murphy

Eliminator 2
1. P. Cox  
2. T. Wort
3. R. Waterman
4. S. Moss
5. D. Woolridge
6. M. Hopkins
7. C. Davies

Eliminator 3
1. T. Wort
2. S. Charles
3. S. Moss
4. J. Cooke
5. D. Woolridge
6. P. Cox
7. R. Waterman

Prestige
1. M. Hopkins          6
2. D. Woolridge       3
3. T. Wort                2
4. G. Thomas           1

Mr Grubby Paws
1. T. Wort               6
2. D. Woolridge      5
3. G. Thomas          3
4. S. Moss               2
5. S. Charles           1

Phew....