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Sheffield Subbuteo Club New Year Open Competition 2012   Flickers Ratings Table For 2012   Flickers On The Road   2011 ESTFA National Championships   Sheffield Open Results   Final Lincoln Flickers Ratings Table For 2011   Winter Newsletter Available   English Subbuteo Table Football Rankings   Final Lincoln Flickers Ratings Table for 2010   First Flickers Newsletter Available    Flickers Now Registered With ESTFA    Flickers 'Rankings'    Scottish FA Cup 1975/6 Replica Tournament In Bracknell    Flickers World Cup Warm Up Session 2nd June 2010    Yorkshire Phoenix TFC Final Standings 2009/10    Inaugural Flickers Meeting    Yorkshire Phoenix Open Club Meetings    Yorkshire Open 2010    ESTFA Huntingdon Open 2010 

Sheffield Subbuteo Club New Year Open Competition 2012

Results:

PRELIMINARY ROUND:
BRIAN KINRADE (s) 1-1 Andy Garbutt

QUARTER FINALS:
Simon Jackson 0-1 ROB ATKIN
Mat Atkin 0-0 NICK MARSTON (s)
JOHN DEVANEY (s) 2-2 Rob Barrs
Brett Price 1-1 BRIAN KINRADE (s)

SEMI FINALS:
ROB ATKIN 1-0 Nick Marston
JOHN DEVANEY (s) 0-0 Brian Kinrade

FINAL
Rob Atkin 1-2 JOHN DEVANEY

NEW YEAR 2012 WINNER: JOHN DEVANEY (Lincoln Flickers)

The more anally retentive among you might care to view the highlights of the final at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JGP-mfemP0.

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Flickers Ratings Table For 2012 (correct up to 9/2/12)

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Flickers On The Road

So far this season, three Flickers players have taken part in various external competitions organised either by the ESTFA or other clubs. As the following table (which is correct up to the end of October 2011) demonstrates, two of these players, Andy Boyer and Jez Boothman, have done extremely well, enhancing their own reputations and raising the profile of the club as a consequence:

* includes one competition which has still to be completed.

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2011 ESTFA National Championships

Arguably the most important event in the ESTFA calendar, the National Championships, took place in Leicester on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October. The competition was split into four senior divisions plus one for juniors. The three Flickers participants, Andy Boyer, Jez Boothman and John Devaney were all placed in division three, as were "part time Flickers" Adrian and Sam Curtis. The competition proved to be a highly memorable one for the club, and for two of its members in particular. Andy Boyer finished top of division three with an unbeaten record, becoming the first Lincoln Flickers player to win a tournament held away from The Morning Star. Meanwhile Jez Boothman continued his fine run of recent form to finish as runner-up. Both players received trophies and will be promoted to division two for 2012. "Dippa" Curtis will also be playing in division two next year after finishing third with the same number of points as Jez, but an inferior goal difference. Sam Curtis had an inconsistent day with the highlight being a 5-2 thrashing of Darren Butler. John Devaney started promisingly but then played appallingly to finish in last place in the division, succumbing to relegation as a consequence. 

The third and fourth divisions were single day competitions played on the Saturday according to a Swiss format, while the top two divisions were played on a round robin basis over two days. A special Sunday division gave players from division three and four plus a smattering of players who might have been good enough for divisions one or two had they been available both days an opportunity for some extra competition. John Devaney was the only Flickers player to take part in this competition and managed to play much better than on the Saturday to finish fifth.

Some Snaps From The Championships (all by Garry Wright - click on the images to see super-sized versions)

There's even an eight minute video segment of the competition on YouTube which you can access at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1_jzEA1UqA. It features quite extensive footage of all three Flickers participants in action.

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Sheffield Open Results

The competition had an unusual format in that every player effectively entered twice, playing one set of matches on a cloth pitch, and another set on an astropitch. Predictably, one player qualified for the semi finals twice, and so was given a 'bye' to the final. The results in full were:

ASTROPITCH CATEGORY:

Preliminary Round
Brian Kinrade 0-0 Philip Townsend (so)
Simon Jackson 4-0 Mark Rhodes

Round One
Andy Boyer 2-0 Coen Townsend
Jeremy Boothman (so) 0-0 John Devaney
Rob Atkin 1-0 Philip Townsend
Mat Atkin 0-0 Simon Jackson (so)

Quarter Finals
Andy Boyer 0-0 Jeremy Boothman (so)
Rob Atkin 2-0 Simon Jackson

CLOTH PITCH CATEGORY:

Preliminary Round
Jeremy Boothman 1-0 Mat Atkin
John Devaney 0-0 Rob Atkin (so)

Round One
Philip Townsend (so) 1-1 Jeremy Boothman
Andy Boyer 0-2 Rob Atkin
Coen Townsend 0-1 Simon Jackson
Mark Rhodes 0-1 Brian Kinrade

Quarter Finals
Philip Townsend 0-2 Rob Atkin
Simon Jackson 1-0 Brian Kinrade

Jeremy Boothman qualified for the semi finals from the astropitch section, Simon Jackson from the cloth pitch section, and Rob Atkin from both, thereby earning a bye straight into the final. The first half of the semi final between Jeremy and Simon was played on an astropitch, and the second half on a cloth pitch. The same procedure was followed for the final.

Semi Finals
Jeremy Boothman (1) 2-(0) 1 Simon Jackson
Rob Atkin received a bye.

FINAL
Rob Atkin (1) 3-0 Jeremy Boothman

WINNER: ROB ATKIN

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Final Lincoln Flickers Ratings Table for 2011

* This classification is presented purely for information purposes and has no official significance. Forfeits are not included, and matches won or lost on shots are recorded as draws.

** indicates Lowestoft players.

## indicates Sheffield player.

++ indicates SubaLeague International player.

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Winter Newsletter Available

The winter issue of the club's newsletter is available for download here.

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English Subbuteo Table Football Rankings

The latest ESTFA rankings, published on 1st December, contain two Flickers players (shown in bold), while our club is also listed. In full, the ratings are:

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Final Lincoln Flickers Ratings Table for 2010

Andy Boyer is accordingly our official 'player of the year' and some form of appropriate recognition ought probably to be made in the near future, but no doubt won't.

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First Flickers Newsletter Available

The club's inaugural newsletter has been published and is available for download here.

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Flickers Now Registered With ESTFA

Our club is now a registered member of the English Subbuteo Table Football Association. To view a full list of our fellow member clubs visit http://www.estfa.com/?page_id=42. At least one other club has expressed an interest in conducting a joint event with us but whether this ever transpires will probably depend to a significant extent on interest among Flickers club members. If you want to join the ESTFA as an individual it costs £7.00 and you can download an entry form from http://www.estfa.com/?page_id=44.

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Flickers 'Rankings'

Not to be taken too seriously (in fact, not to be taken seriously at all, given that our two strongest players have both played comparatively few games) the following so-called 'rankings' simply summarise the matches played by Flickers players at our monthly Morning Star meetings:

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Scottish FA Cup 1975/6 Replica Tournament in Bracknell

I attended and played in this tournament on Sunday 4th July. Players represented of the last sixteen teams which took part in the 'real' tournament, drawn at random prior to the start. All teams had identical santiago bases, which make for a much less precise game than you get with the likes of sureshots, profibases etc. I drew Kilmarnock, and finished with the modest record of Played 5 Won 1 Drew 2 Lost 2, in spite of which I managed to nab a trophy - my first. It was a great day, and I'd heartily encourage you to think about taking part in such tournaments if you get the chance. Playing in competitions is easily the best way to learn new tactics and improve your skills as well as meeting fellow enthusiasts of all ages and abilities.

Trophy winners were as follows:-

Winner - Partick Thistle (Ally Stephen)
Runner up - Hibernian (Steve George)

Plate Winner - Hearts (Mark Smith)
Plate Runner up - Dundee United (Ian Rider)

Fair Play Trophy - Kilmarnock (John Devaney)

For some photos from the event click here.

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Flickers World Cup Warm Up Session 2nd June 2010

This was easily the best attended Flickers meeting to date with six competitors and an entourage of enthusiastic onlookers. Match results were:

  Uruguay (1) 3 Mexico 0

  Brazil (1) 3  England 0

  Mexico 0 Slovakia 0

  Brazil (1) 2 Uruguay 0

  England (0) 2 Slovakia (0) 1

Classification

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Yorkshire Phoenix TFC Final Standings 2009/10

Category A - Super League

                  Trinity Rhubarb  Merfox Challenge   Total
                  Trophy  Triangle Trophy Cup

1=. Craig Heward     20     18½     20     13          58½
1=. Paul Lawrenson   16½    20      18½    20          58½
3.  Marlon Hoods      19     16½     16½    19          54½
4.  Stuart McIlroy    16½    18½     16½                51½
5.  Richard Pepper    14½    16½     18½                49½
6.  Kcarrie Valentine 14½    14½            18          47
7.  Munzi Munns       18     12½     14     13          45
8.  Gary Pearson      11½    10      14     16          41½
9.  Stathis Tsolis     9     12½      8½    15          36½
10. Keva Dderley     11½    11      11                 33½
11. Tony McCann      11½    14½                        26
12. Brett Price      11½                   13          24½
13. John Devaney                    11     11          22
14. Coen Townsend                   14                 14
15. Richard Wood                    11                 11
16. Paul Caulfield                   8½                 8½
17. Mark Parker       8                                 8
18. Philip Townsend                  7                  7
19. Josh Wood                        6                  6                

Category B - Division One

                  Trinity Rhubarb  Merfox Challenge Total
                  Trophy  Triangle Trophy Cup

1. Kcarrie Valentine 14    14             15         43
2. Munzi Munns       15    12½      15    10½        42½
3. Gary Pearson      11½    10      13½   13         38
4=. Stathis Tsolis    9     12½      8½   12         33½
4=. Keva Dderley     11½    11      11               33½
6. Tony McCann       11½    15                       26½
7. Brett Price       11½                  10½        22
8. John Devaney                     11     9         20
9. Malc Dickson                           14         14
10. Coen Townsend                   13½              13½
11. Richard Wood                    11               11
12. Paul Caulfield                   8½               8½
13. Mark Parker        8                              8
14. Philip Townsend                  7                7
15. Josh Wood                        6                6

Category C - Conference

                  Trinity Rhubarb  Merfox Challenge Total
                  Trophy  Triangle Trophy Cup

1. Gary Pearson     9        9       9      10        28
2. Stathis Tsolis   8       10       5½      9        27
3. Brett Price     10                        8        18
4. John Devaney                      7½      7        14½
5. Coen Townsend                    10                10
6. Richard Wood                      7½                7½
7. Mark Parker      7                                  7
8. Paul Caulfield                    5½                5½
9. Philip Townsend                   4                 4
10.Josh Wood                         3                 3

(All tables courtesy of Yorkshire Phoenix TFC.)

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Flickers Meeting 12th May 2010

The third Flickers meeting again saw a turn-out of just two, in light of which we were very tempted indeed to bring down the shutters on the club. However, I've now had a re-think, and propose to give it one more try, this time (hopefully) with some press coverage to help generate some interest.

Two matches were played on the night, with the following results:

  John Devaney (0) 1  Mick Brien 0

  John Devaney (1) 1  Mick Brien 0

Overall Classification

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Inaugural Flickers Meeting

The club held its first ever meeting on Wednesday 3rd March at the Morning Star. Present were Andy Berry, Mick Brien (aka 'Ratlegs'), Martin Hodds, Rich Pepper and John Devaney. Martin and Rich are members of the well-established Yorkshire Phoenix club which is based in Wakefield and they very generously made the long trip over to Lincoln to offer their encouragement, advice and support. Mick had not played regularly since the '70s, and even then it had only been according to elementary rules, while Andy had never previously played at all (at least not according to any known set of rules!). Both did exceedingly well as the results for the night confirm:

  John Devaney (1) 3  Mick Brien 0

  Mick Brien (0) 1  Andy Berry 0

  John Devaney (0) 1  Andy Berry 0

In addition, Rich and Martin were kind enough to provide us with a 15 minute demonstration of what the game looks like when played properly.

Our next meeting will be held early in April - details to follow shortly. Before then I hope to get the local press to run a story about the club, and am also approaching Radio Lincolnshire to see if they'll give us a mention.

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Yorkshire Phoenix Open Club Meetings

Lincoln Flickers looking to improve their game could do worse than attend one of the Yorkshire Phoenix club events in Wakefield. I attended the most recent one which was held at Wakefield Wildcats rugby ground on Saturday 27th February. The main benefit of the event for newcomers is that you end up playing against people of like ability to yourself rather than suffering repeated demoralising thrashings at the hands of the "pros". See me for more details if you're interested in attending. Wakefield is easily reached by train, and you'll be sure of a cordial, encouraging welcome from the Phoenix lads.

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Yorkshire Open 2010

This season's Yorkshire International Open was held at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats rugby league ground on Saturday 13th February. Always a glutton for punishment, I elected to enter and emerged with the inglorious record of P 4 W 0 D 0 L4 For 1 Ag 16.

The main event was won by Kaspar Bennett (who beat me 7-0 without trying), the vets title went to Phil Redman, the plate to Kevin Adderley, and Matthew Parnaby beat Dylan Staples in the junior final. There was also a team event, won by Cardiff San Siro, with Yorkshire Phoenix second.

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ESTFA Huntingdon Open 2010

Partly to "pick brains", and partly to see for myself what "new subbuteo" was all about, I attended and played in the recent Huntingdon Open. Having not previously played using either polish or blocking flicks it proved to be something of a baptism of fire, but I nevertheless thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and it left me more determined than ever to get something viable and enduring off the ground here in Lincoln.

For the record, the main event was won by Martin Hodds from Yorkshire Phoenix TFC. Martin beat Kevin Dyson in the final 3-2 on shots after a 1-1 draw. The plate event was won by local player Darren Butler who overcame John Turpin 2-1 in the final.