After finishing in second place for the past three years, Brian Cook of Toronto finally took home the top prize in the World Crokinole Championship (WCC) held this past Saturday in Tavistock.

"If I stayed focused," he said, "I would be fine," he said about the final rounds. "It's 100 per cent mental at this point," he said. During the qualifying rounds, however, he said, "I was ten times more nervous playing an 80-year-old lady."

Winning the singles title trophy and $1,000 in cash, Brian, an Owen Sound native, defeated 2005 champion Bruce Hartung of Palmerston in the final round by a score of 12-2. Raymond Beierling of Varna earned third place by edging three-time champion Joe Fulop of Exeter 14-8.

"Ray gave me the most trouble in the first round (of playoffs)," Brian said.

Brian Cook, a researcher with Toronto Public Health, also earned the most 20's in the preliminary portion of the tournament with 86 in the adult singles competition consisting of 144 players. He has been a crokinole player most of his life and is currently a member of the St. Jacobs Crokinole Club. His father, Elmer Cook, has a photo of his son at age five playing on an arborite board he made in the 1960's. Elmer is the current champion at the Owen Sound Senior Crokinole Club where 24 players meet every other Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. from October to May in the Harrison Park seniors' building.

Brian first placed in the WCC tournament back in 2000 when he teamed up with Joe Fulop to earn fourth place in the doubles division. After a brief hiatus, Brian returned in 2004 to earn second place behind Joe Fulop, then second again in 2005 against Bruce Hartung, and then again in 2006 placing second behind champion Jason Beierling.

Saturday's championship also saw Brian Cook's niece and nephew playing in the tournament. Maxwell Hosken earned second place in the Junior division while Emma Hosken participated in the Intermediate division.

"They got interested when they saw me coming home with cash every year," Brian says.

Some crokinole players are in a league of their own and every year on the first Saturday of June, hundreds of crokinole enthusiasts congregate in Tavistock. This year, 552 participants gathered for the ninth annual event which saw $5,000 in cash prizes and trophies handed out.

Players this year came from as far away as California, Texas and Pennsylvania in the U.S. and from all over Ontario and as far west as British Columbia, Canada.

New to the tournament this year was a Skills Competition designed and operated by Varna brothers Raymond and Jason Beierling. The adult and youth skills consisted of 10 shots plus a bonus shot with predetermined positions for opponentŐs discs. It was possible to score 3 points per shot with deductions for missed chances. Wide open, hit and roll, tight squeeze, long double, double down, and money in the bank are some of the names for these tried and true shots. Each one tests your skill as a player and works well for practising techniques outside the one-on-one game. "It removes the psychological factor that some players face when playing other well-known competitive players," says Jason.

Working in conjunction with the World Crokinole Championship Committee, this event and the sample shots "should encourage more players to sit down and set up some practice shots," Jason says. The more you play the game and the more you practice, the better you will become.

Winners in this year's Skills Competition were Nathan Walsh and Jesse Wiseman in the youth class; Carl Nicklas and Nyle Eby in the Cues division, and Dan Shantz and Ray Kappes for the Adult finger shooters. Winners also received cash prizes and t-shirts from the Beierlings' new online crokinole business, crokinoledepot.com. They are now the official distributor for World Crokinole Championship boards, clothing, t-shirts and other crokinole accessories and merchandise.

Other winners in the 2007 WCC competition include: Intermediate Singles (20 competitors) Champion - Nathan Walsh, St. Pauls; 2nd Place - Will Taylor, Millbrook; 3rd Place - Bobby Pettigrew, Vienna; and 4th Place - Jesse Wiseman, Kitchener; Junior Singles (10 competitors) Champion - Kohl Hedley, Beachburg; 2nd Place - Maxwell Hosken, Brampton; 3rd Place - Trevor Grasby, Stratford; and 4th Place - Evan Tollenaar, Monkton; Cue Singles (30 competitors); Champion - Wayne Schultz, Tavistock; 2nd Place - Raymond Schwartzentruber, Tavistock; 3rd Place - Dave Brubacher, Dorking; and 4th Place - Carl Litt, Kitchener; Recreational (64 competitors); Champion - Ken Robinson, North Bay; 2nd Place - Beverley Vaillancourt, Penetanguishene; 3rd Place - Merv Knechtel, Rostock; and 4th Place - Murray Matthison, Stratford; Doubles (232 competitors) Champions - Jason and Raymond Beierling, Varna; 2nd Place - Ron Haymes and Ray Haymes, Wainfleet; 3rd Place - Robert Mader, Breslau and Richard Mader, Waterloo; and 4th Place - Joe Fulop, Exeter and Ab Leitch, Goderich; "B" Division Doubles 'B' Champions - Jeff Fuhr and Al Fuhr, Shakespeare; 2nd Place - Kevin Bechtel and Ray Kappes, Waterloo; 3rd Place - Dan Battler and Art Eby, Waterloo; and 4th Place - Julie Neeb, Wellesley and Tony Snider, Waterloo; "C" Divison Doubles 'C' Champions - Dan Taylor, Etobicoke and Geoff Taylor, Millbrook; 2nd Place - Richard Kosmal and Wayne Campbell, London; 3rd Place - Blaine Patterson, Newmarket and Mike Countache, Holland Landing; and 4th Place - Lloyd Wiseman and Steve Wiseman, Kitchener; Cue Doubles (52 competitors) Champions - Paul Weber, Drayton and Oscar Weber, St. Jacobs; 2nd Place - Waldron Eckstein, New Hamburg and Valerie Kropf, Tavistock; 3rd Place - Paul Sorley and Carl Litt, Kitchener; and 4th Place - Carl Nicklas and Ray Schwartzentruber, Tavistock.

Early Bird registration draw winners for an Official WCC jacket were Murray Matthison, RR 3, Stratford and Carl Litt, Kitchener. The oldest and youngest player awards went to oldest - Harvey Bennewies (86), Kitchener and Margaret Coward (80), Kitchener; and youngest - Tyson Kuepfer (5), Brunner and Ainsley Hogg (6), Toronto.

The 10th annual World Crokinole Championship is set for Saturday, June 7, 2008.

 
World Crokinole Championship™ Box 988, Tavistock, ON, Canada NOB 2RO
Telephone 519-655-2102 - Fax 519-655-3560 - e-mail:worldcrokinole@rogers.com

© 2007 World Crokinole Championship™