10 March 2007
Cotswold Pro-Am Easter Pairs Tournament
The Cotswold Pro-Am Easter Pairs Tournament was scheduled for 6-9 April 2007 at the Bear of Rodborough, near Stroud in Gloucestershire. The tournament coincided with the hotel's Easter festival weekend, held in a marquee on the croquet lawn, with a farmers' market, live music and activities for children such as an Easter egg hunt.
Format
Play was planned from 3pm on Good Friday to 2pm on Easter Monday. The main event was a knockout for pairs, each made up of a professional and an amateur player. Every round was a best-of-three series of 11-point matches:
- a pro-am consulting doubles match;
- a pro versus pro singles match;
- an amateur versus amateur singles match.
Winning pairs moved on. Pairs knocked out in any round before the semi-finals went into separate Pro and Amateur singles tournaments, run as progressive consolation events and also open to direct entrants. Alongside the main events the programme listed an age-handicapped juniors tournament, open to relatives of registered players, and a 1-point shootout.
Programme
- Friday: arrival and registration until 2.30pm; draw at 3pm; pairs play from 3.30pm; junior tournament from 4pm; dinner break at 6pm.
- Saturday: play resumes at 12 noon; Pro and Amateur singles begin at 2pm; dinner break at 6pm.
- Sunday: play resumes at 12 noon; dinner break at 6pm.
- Monday: backgammon finals at 11am; presentation at 2pm; Cotswold Cool-Down Tourney at 3pm.
Trophies were to be awarded to the champion pair, to the winners of the Pro and Amateur singles divisions and to the winner of the junior tournament.