2010 British Matchplay Championships
Guide to the competiton

Welcome to the 2010 BMGA Matchplay Championships at Splash Point Mini Golf. The British Matchplay Championship is a unique event in the BMGA calendar. With every player un-seeded the draws can through up any crazy combinations of matches at every stage. 2010 sees a significant change for the event with the competition played out across a single day on one course.

The first round ties have already thrown up some classic match ups – the current champion Andy Exall vs the reigning UK number 1 Chris Harding: two of the current form players from Kent, Marc Chapman and Michael Smith going head to head: and perhaps the tie of the round, with the course owners and designers paired up in a battle of the Splash Point Mini Golfers with Anthony Pope & Peter Emmerson facing each other.

Each subsequent round on the day will no doubt throw up more great matches and with 5 rounds guaranteed for every player.

It's impossible to call the winner at this stage and the only thing that is certain is that the player that wins all five of their matches will be crowned the Champion for 2010!

THE COMPETITION
The competition features 32 players and all players will play 5 matches in the day.
The competition is a knock out competition but the added incentive for players who get beaten is that they then go on to the next round to play the other players who have lost in a separate pool - for example if you do get beaten in the first round then you move through to pool B where players are contesting 17th to 32nd place - this carries on for the duration of the competition. If you win all 5 matches you will be the champion, lose all 5 and you will come 32nd!

THURSDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY PRACTICE

It's just £10 for free practice all day. A bargain in anyone's books. The course will be open from 09.00 until 08.00. Please don't start playing before then as a few of our neighbours like their lie in and won't appreciate hearing your moans, groans and yee haas. Please also remember to pay before you play. We'll be in the hut with our hands held out so you can't miss us.
The course is open to the public during the day so please respect that they have also paid to play and don't get in their way. If you seem them coming up behind you please pick up your balls and let them play through. You're there all day so there's plenty of time to practice each of the holes.

SATURDAY NIGHT - COMPETITION NIGHT

As everyone knows courses play very different under the unforgiving lights of a competition. So to get you in the mood, or to give you a few more things to worry about and keep you awake, we'll be holding a 2 round stroke play competition from 18.00. Its £5 to enter with cash prizes (TBC) for the first 3 places.

Please note - we are unable to store peoples personal possesions in the hut during the weekend as it will be in constant use by the Splash Point Mini Golf staff

SUNDAY - COMPETITION DAY
The big day. Play starts at 9.00am prompt with practice from 08.00. Again please remember not to start
before then as our neighbours enjoy their sleep and we enjoy the nice relationship we have with our neighbours.
The draw for the first round has already been played and produced some cracking tie's:

Match 1. Michael Smith v Marc Chapman
Match 2. Leo Kukielka v Nick Chitty
Match 3. Anthony Pope v Peter Emmerson   
Match 4. Chris Harding v Andy Exall
Match 5. Rocky Bullin v Oliver Florence
Match 6. Scott Lancley v Alan Norman     
Match 7. Cindy Kukielka v Richard Gottfried
Match 8. Chris Jones v Trevor Robertson
Match 9. Brad Shepherd v Tim Davies
Match 10. Sean Homer v Owen Johnson
Match 11. Marion Homer v Trevor Exall
Match 12. Richard Skeggs v Ruth Bullin
Match 13. Gareth Holmes v John McIver
Match 14. Jas Kukielka v Paul Johnson
Match 15. Stuart Lovejoy v Adam Kelly
Match 16. Tony Kelly v Martin Robertson

Playing format

Rounds 1 to 4 will be shotgun starts. Starting holes will be decided with a mini draw with balls numbered 1-18 made by the first person drawn in each match (good luck if you draw numbers 3, 4 or 7!).

After each round, there will be another random draw to again decide each set of matches and the starting hole. Each round should be completed comfortably within an hour. There'll be some basic breaks between rounds but it's going to be a long and intensive day so make sure you are fed water and sun-creamed! Anyone that passes out will obviously be disqualified.

The final round is expected to tee off from approx 3pm onwards.
This will hopefully be a rolling start (in reverse order) for each of the 16 pairs.

Prize money 

1st place: £100
2nd place: £75
3rd place: £50
4th place: £25
There will be a few other random prizes during the day TBC.

Ranking points

As one of the most intense days of minigolf in the calendar featuring nearly all the UK 's top players there will also be a sizable ranking haul on offer: The winner will pick up 600 points with this being apportioned down through the field to 10 points for 32nd place
(full details will be worked out before the day).

Good luck to one and all.
It looks like it'll be one of the hardest and most closely fought competitions of the year.

Full wheelchair access. Available for
kids parties, private and corporate hire.

OPEN WEEKENDS DURING MAY & TUESDAY - SUNDAY FROM 1st JUNE
(weather depending)