Thoughts on a Weekend in Yarmouth
Well for the second year running we have covered the UPC-BUCS 8-ball pool championships. An event that this time around had just under 500 attendees. The best that the universities in the UK have to offer.
The standard of pool seems to have improved on last year especially in the singles. I must say a big well done to Warwick’s Jay Murphy here for his win over reigning champion Lee Morris in the final.
From my point of view, with the amount of events I have attended over the last two years, I would say that the tournaments promoted by the UPC are well organised, although I think the players in the singles would probably prefer longer matches. (Just an observation, time constraints are massive on an event of this size).
It was a good decision to move the UPC’s main event to Great Yarmouth at the Vauxhall Holiday Park, the park is well equipped for pool events, it already hosts EPA Inter-county, Interleague and other tournaments throughout the year. From what I understand the accommodation is also good value, although perhaps a little cold!
The only thing that seemed to be lacking in my opinion was provisions for food, unless you want fast food there is not a lot else available. It was a shame to see that the restaurant was closed all weekend as I feel it may have done some good trade. You then have to look at not only what the outlets are serving but also the price.
I understand business is about profit, but this has to be coupled with value. I don’t think any of the outlets particularly offered value. My eagle eye also spotted that with 500 people in the room the bar was rarely, if-at-all, busy. The main reason for this being the high beer prices, an average of about £3.40 per pint. Surely a good idea for the park to cut prices when they know students are around as town offers more choice and is far cheaper.
I don’t want to detract too much from the pool, the park does an excellent job of maintaining the tables which were lightning quick throughout the event. I did not hear one complaint about the quality of the tables, a rarity in pool tournament terms. In fact the majority of players I spoke to were singing the praises of the tables throughout.
Great Yarmouth as a town seems to have an excellent night life, and the town itself is far bigger than I actually thought, I imagine it is even better in the summer when it is somewhat warmer! Yarmouth must benefit greatly from pool tournaments as it brings an influx of people in off-season to spend money in bars. clubs and restaurants.
Roll on next year!
Harry Hayman 4 v 8 Ronan McCarthy
