The Nick Ashley Trophy 2020

In previous terms, we have played a Cuppers (inter-colleagiate team) tournament; under COVID-19 conditions, this tournament has been replaced for Michaelmas 2020 with a singles' ladder tournament for the Nick Ashley Trophy. The winner was declared as the player on the top rung of the ladder at 23:59pm on Friday December 4th.

This competition is open to anyone who is a current member of Cambridge University Tiddlywinks Club (please contact the tournament organiser or a member of the Committee if you wish to join).

Tournament Organiser: Sophie Brawn

Final ladder

Given the additional lockdown restrictions, Edward Brown has been declared "probably the winner" of the Nick Ashley Trophy for Michaelmas 2020.

  1. Edward Brown
    No outstanding challenges
  2. Ed Green
    No outstanding challenges
  3. Zach Bond
    No outstanding challenges
  4. Sophie Brawn
    No outstanding challenges
  5. Marc Mills
    No outstanding challenges
  6. Alex Fairclough
    No outstanding challenges
  7. Toby Bruce
    No outstanding challenges
  8. Molly Birch
    No outstanding challenges

Pending new entrants

  • None waiting

Results

WinnerScore(s)Date
Zach Bond * - * Edward Brown 04/12
Zach beat Edward in what was supposed to be a tournament game, but due to rain affecting the equipment was in fact a Peterhouse Pot rules friendly, and not counted.
Zach Bond 5 - 2 Sophie Brawn 04/11
Edward Brown 6 - 1 Ed Green 03/11
Toby Bruce 5* - 2* Molly Birch 31/10
Ed Green 7* - 0* Zach Bond 29/10
Sophie Brawn 4 - 3 Marc Mills 26/10
Edward Brown 6* - 1* Marc Mills 25/10
Ed Green 5 - 2 Alex Fairclough 20/10
Zach Bond 4 - 3 Sophie Brawn 18/10
Sophie Brawn 4 - 3 Marc Mills 6/10

Key: challenger won, challenger lost, new entry.

Rules

Matches

A match will consist of AT LEAST ONE Singles' Tiddlywinks game as per the rules lined out by the English Tiddlywinks Association, ETwA.

  • A match may consist of more than one game provided both players agree to the number of game BEFORE the match
  • It is not necessary for a match to take place entirely in one session, however there will be no deadline extensions on the basis of match length
  • If you are unable to complete your match before the deadline then whoever is in the lead at this time will be considered the winner
  • Intentionally making it difficult to complete a match because you are winning will be considered unsporting behaviour and you may be penalised for it - don't agree to a longer match if you are not going to have the time to play it

Joining the tournament

To join the ladder tournament you can EITHER:

  1. challenge someone who is already on the ladder IN THE BOTTOM 3 PLACES:
    • If you win the match you will join the ladder one place above them
    • If you lose or draw the match you will join the ladder at the bottom

OR

  1. you may play a match against someone not already on the ladder who also wishes to join the ladder
    • In this case you with both join the ladder at the bottom, with the winner being positioned above the loser (should the match end a draw, for the purposes of ladder positioning the winner will be decided by flipping a coin)

Issuing challenges

Once you are on the ladder you may move up it by challenging anyone UP TO 3 PLACES ABOVE YOU in the ladder:

  • If you successfully beat them in a match you will leapfrog them to be one place above them in the ladder
  • If you fail to beat them in the match then your positions shall remain unchanged

Accepting challenges

If someone below you in the ladder challenges you to a match then you will have ONE WEEK from when the challenge was issued to play the match. The tournament organiser must be alerted on the same day a challenge is issued for the time constratint to come into effect. If the match fails to occur within ONE WEEK then the challenged will be given the win and will take their opponent's place in the table UNLESS:

  • Their opponent can give the tournament organiser a very good reason why they are unable to play a match before the match deadline
    • Note that not realising they had been challenged will not be considered an acceptable reason unless it is deemed that the challenger chose a particularly obscure method with which to challenge them - e.g. challenges via email or Facebook will be deemed valid in most cases whereas challenges via smoke signal will not
    • Being 'too busy' is also unlikely to be considered a valid excuse - while we are happy for people to get involved who don't wish to play many matches, we would like our ranking system to favour those who do play more matches, so repeatedly conceding matches will NOT be penalised or frowned upon but it will result in you placing lower in the ladder
    • Also note that the sooner the opponent alerts the tournament organiser to their inability to play the match, the more sympathetic they will be - e.g. alerting the tournament organiser that you will be unable to play several days before the week has elapsed will look better than waiting until after a week has elapsed
  • The challenger is deemed to have made it unduly difficult for the match to be organised, as determined by the tournament organiser. This includes (but is not limited to) behaviour such as:
    • Ceasing or minimising contact with their opponent after the challenge has been issued
    • Offering very few times when they would be free to play a match before the match deadline
  • The challenger withdraws their challenge before the match deadline has passed

Note that the tournament organiser will NOT be chasing people up asking for excuses and if a match has failed to occur without anyone contacting the tournament organiser they will automatically give the win to the challenger. The opponent may concede the match before the match deadline if they wish.

Reporting match results

  • It is expected that the winner of the match will inform the tournament organiser of the match result within 24 hours of the match occurring
  • Sitting on match results to avoid the ladder being updated will be considered unsporting behaviour and you may be penalised

Challenge limits

No one will be expected to play more than ONE MATCH A WEEK as part of this tournament if they don't want to (though if you do wish to play more you may). Therefore:

  • If you receive a challenge but already have a pending challenge or have played a match within the last week then please alert the challenger and the tournament organiser so that the challenger may choose to withdraw the challenge or have the match deadline altered
  • You may only issue a new challenge if you have a maximum of one pending challenge (either one you issued or received)
  • You may not challenge someone if they are EITHER:
    • the last person you challenged
    • the last person you played a match against

Umpiring

It is expected that players will umpire their own matches and the presence of an impartial umpire will not be required

  • For any contentious decisions it is expected that players will engage in a civil discussion between themselves to come to a conclusion
  • If both players genuinely cannot agree on a decision then it shall be made by flipping a coin
  • If you feel that a player is lying about their opinion on a contentious decision to gain an unfair advantage then please alert the tournament organiser after the match - if multiple complaints are made against the same player then they may be penalised for unsporting behaviour
  • If players would like an umpire to be present for their match then this is completely fine but it is something they must arrange themselves and will not be take into consideration when allowing match deadline extensions
  • Please remember that the first and foremost goal of this tournament is to have fun and it's not worth getting into heated arguments over

Equipment

(Note here that 'a full winks set' will consist of a full-sized mat, a pot and the necessary winks required to play a match)

  • If either one of the players in a match is in possession of a full winks set then it is expected this will be used for their match
  • If neither player is in possession of a full winks set then contact a CUTwC Committee member and we will organise the most convenient way for you to get access to a full winks set - there are numerous CUTwC members in possession of full winks sets throughout Cambridge so it shouldn't be too difficult to arrange something
  • To prevent the spread of coronavirus, both the pot and winks will be wiped down immediately after a match and a mat will be used no sooner than 72 hours after the last match it was used for
  • It is expected that players will use their own squidgers and the sharing of squidgers during a match will NOT be permitted under any circumstances
  • If you do not own any squidgers then please contact the tournament organiser and they will arrange for you to be loaned a squidger which you will then keep in your possession for the duration of the tournament
  • If any borrowed equipment in your possession is lost or damaged then you may be charged for it so please treat it with respect

Social distancing

To prevent the spread of coronavirus:

  • All players must remain 2m apart from their opponents at all times (note that the mat is approximately 0.9m by 1.9m and use this to ensure distance is maintained)
  • All players must refrain from touching the mat as much as is possible
  • Only one player may touch the pot throughout the match - this must be decided at the beginning and then this player will be responsible for positioning the pot and collecting the winks at the end of the match (after wiping them with anti-septic wipes)
  • Players may only touch winks of their own colour
    • To decide who is which colours, a coin will be flipped at the start of the match (agree before the match which one of you will bring a coin)
    • From then on players will be expected to move their own winks to the corner, retrieve them from the squidge-off, pick them up off the floor, etc.
    • For situations where it is easier for winks of multiple colours to be handled by one player (e.g. pile reconstruction) then the nominated player must apply hand gel before and after
    • It is still encouraged that players endeavour to touch their winks with their squidger rather than their hands where possible
  • If any chairs are used then they must only be used by one player for the duration of the match and must be wiped down afterward
  • At the end of the match, the table and relevant playing area must be wiped down
  • Mask wearing is encouraged but not compulsory - if you are either unable to wear a mask while playing or uncomfortable playing against someone noe wearing a mask then please bring this up when initially issuing or accepting the challenge to ensure your opponent is okay with this

Being removed from the tournament

You may be removed from the tournament for any of the following reasons:

  • You may ask to be removed from the tournament and this will of course be done as soon as possible
  • If a challenger is deemed to repeatedly engage in behaviour which makes it unduly difficult for their opponents to organise matches they may be kicked out at the discretion of the tournament organiser
  • Anyone engaging in any behaviour during the course of the tournament which is deemed inappropriate, offensive, unsporting, or which breaches the current government coronavirus restrictions will be removed at the discretion of the tournament organiser

These rules are subject to change by the tournament organiser at any time during the tournament and all tournament participants will be alerted to any changes as soon as possible.