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by Mark Abraham
The most anticipated event of the Junior calendar, the Australian National Championships Junior Teams, has passed. The Victorian team of Kevin Chan, Leigh Gold, Tim Lee, Arian Lasocki, Tim Shum and Kenneth Wan built an early lead in the 60-board final against NSW, lost it, and came back strongly in the final stanza to win 192-163. This was an impressive run-rate of 5.91 IMPs/board. The ANC Junior Pairs was won by the NSW pair of Gabby Feiler and Daniel Krochmalik - over a board clear of the field. The full results can be found here. Stay tuned for photos!It must have been one of the flattest Junior fields seen in recent times - had my $50 bet that over half the Junior matches would be lost by over 35 IMPs been taken up I would have lost comfortably. Of the 42 Junior matches (not including the Final), only 15 were lost by this margin, which is frighteningly low. Perhaps, as the Bulletin noted from the paucity of strange systems, old age is catching up with the Juniors! For the statistically-minded, the other fields played 56 matches in their Round Robins, and the Open, Women's and Seniors fields exchanged 26, 25 and 20 maximum results each. Even the Seniors managed proportionately many maximum results as the Juniors - c'mon guys, lift your game! Perhaps a fairer comparison might be the number of IMPs exchanged however...
In other ANC news, Leigh Gold and Jamie Ebery ran second in the Open Pairs, with Tony Nunn and Kylie Robb mid-field.
The third Stage of the Open Australian Butler Pairs Championships showcased some of the finest performances by Junior and Under 30 players seen in Open competition. Kieran Dyke and Ashley Bach stormed home in the final round to win the Open section by 14 VPs - a fitting conclusion to a superb performance over the week. For the Juniors, Tony Nunn placed fourth in partnership with Peter Gill and Kylie Robb eleventh with Matthew McManus.
Jillian Hay (Junior) and Deborah Moir (Under 30) continued their success in Stage Three of the Women's Australian Butler Pairs Championships finishing in second place after a last-round maximum win. Their performance is all the more impressive given that they had three substitutions over the week because of ill health.
Stage Two of the Australian Butler Pairs Championships saw Australia's best two Junior players qualifying for the fourteen-pair Stage Three. Tony Nunn & Peter Gill qualified comfortably after a slow start, and Kylie Robb & Matt McManus got over the line with their last-round win. For the Under 30s, Kieran Dyke and Ashley Bach continued their good form to qualify first in their section and second overall. David Kalnins with Murray Green also qualified to the third stage. Jillian Hay and Deborah Moir qualified for Stage Three in the Womens' Butler Pairs. Good luck all!
Stage One of the Australian Butler Pairs Championships is over, but some fine performances from the Under 30 and Junior players there will be remembered. In the Open Butler Pairs Ashley Bach and Kieran Dyke qualified with the highest score by more than 25 VPs. Jillian Hay and Deborah Moir qualified second in Stage One of the Womens' Butler Pairs. The WA pair of Chris Mulley & Paul Brayshaw are also in Stage Two having received direct-entry rights from their state. Also through to Stage Two of the Open Butler are Adam Sarten, Tony Nunn, Kylie Robb, Kurt Ko, David Kalnins, Jamie Ebery and Leigh Gold. Well played all, and good luck!