Eight mixed doubles pairs entered the tournament and were divided into 2 groups (A & B) with 4 pairs in each group. Each pair played a set against the other 3 pairs in their group. The winners of Group A then played the runners up of Group B and vice-versa in the semi finals to decide the finalists.
To enable all players to have further matches the teams in third and fourth place in each group then played against each other, in the same format at the first and second place teams.
In the first group, Claire Hawkins and Tony Light won all 3 of their sets for the loss of only 5 games. Keith Spalding and Dawn Parker played well to finish second in Group A.
In the second group, Rae Bezuidenhout and Nick Mason also produced a dominant performance, only conceding 6 games in their 3 sets. Rose Higgins and Malcolm Worster finished second in Group B.
First semi final was between the winners of Group A and runners up of Group B. This meant that Claire and Tony played Rose and Malcolm. This was a closely contested match with Rose and Malcolm taking the win 6-4.
The second semi final between the winners of Group B and the runners up of Group A. This meant that Rae and Nick took on Keith and Dawn. Rae and Nick proved to be too strong for Keith and Dawn and the won the match 6-1.
In the final between Rae/Nick and Rose/Malcolm they played of the best 3 sets. Having played each other in the group stages, Rose and Malcolm were looking for revenge! However as in the earlier match Rae and Nick once again proved to be too strong and won the final 6-1, 6-1.
The third placed players from Group A played the fourth placed players from Group B. Therefore, Linda Mantle and Brian Jordan were due to play Jasmine Xu and Adam Mann. However, with Jasmine leaving early, Chris Taylor the head coach stepped in to take her place. We suggested that he wore a skirt but sadly were unable to find one to fit!
As above the third placed pair from Group B played the fourth placed pair from Group A. This meant that Mair Vaughan and John Brimacombe took on Gil Harrison and Brendan Wilde.
The tournament concluded with the presentation on the President’s Plate to Rae and Nick by the Club President, John Brimacombe.
This was a charity event with the 50% of profits going to the winners choice. They chose to give this to the NSPCC.
