Secretary Trophy 2021

24 July 2021, Meadows

Roger Binks was the new name for the Secretary Trophy.

Entries were far below previous years; initially 6 players but reduced to 4 in the week before the event at Meadows.  The plan was for all to play each other twice in the 14-point advanced with bisques in 80 minute games.  In accordance with SCA custom the lift/contact version used hoops 3 and 5.  A late addition increased the field to 5, causing an alteration to a single block with one out-player for each of the 5 rounds.  At the briefing, the offer of a 90 minute time limit was rejected – interestingly only 2 of the 10 matches went to time, perhaps the good summer weather helped.

Read more: Secretary Trophy 2021

Summer Weekend 2021

3-4 July 2021, Balgreen

Roger Binks won all his games in the tournament of diminishing blocks and player difficulties.

Two days to go - plans in place for 6 entrants to play each other in a single block; three 26-point games of 3 hours on day 1 and two on day 2.  One day to go - number rises to 7; retained single block three games each day, despite the tight time schedule.  Handicaps range from 2 to 24.  The competition was played in good warm weather, in splendid isolation at Balgreen.

Read more: Summer Weekend 2021

East v West v North of Scotland 2021

5-6 June 2021, Meadows

The weather on Saturday was poor with some showers, but cheered up for Sunday.  The effects of wariness over protection against viral infection and sheer distance reduced the number of entrants, sadly lacking from the North.  With only 13 on day 1 and 14 on day 2 an East v West format was adopted.   (This event needs 18 to 21 on each day for the three-way split, which is more complex to manage.)  Three full lawns were set and games were based on 14-point AC or 19-point GC, each limited to one hour with a cut-off at time even if a draw resulted.  Most GC games were completed, but some AC games struggled with the tight schedule – especially when a wide variance of bisques was present.  As options, GC or AC could be played as doubles, with Alternate Strokes or One-ball as other AC options.

Read more: East v West v North of Scotland 2021