The Pool Society went on a trip south of the border a few weeks ago to take part in the annual 8 ball BUCS Tournament. A group of students consisting of two women’s teams and two men’s team travelled to represent the university and they put in some impressive performances, illustrating the plethora of talent that is here in this town.
The men’s side of the tournament was hosted in Stoke on Trent with the women’s tournament held in Derby, two locations separated by an hour’s drive. As the men’s and women’s competition were hosted in two different venues this generated challenges to travel, and vitally meant that the students were unable to support each other in matches due to clashes of fixtures, as well as the issue of travel.
Speaking to the Pool Society President, Isabella Silvers, she felt it was “clearly a frustrating decision from the overseers at BUCS as well as the UPC (Universities Pool Council)” as there were logistical challenges that arose from this choice.
Despite this limitation and lack of interaction, both teams excelled, especially the women’s 1st team who, incredibly, won the Championship, meaning that they are currently the best student team in the whole of the UK.
Heather Curtis, Daniella Montgomery and Philippa Orme were the students crowned winners of BUCS and they were supported in the final by the men’s teams, who managed to make it to Derby!
Individually, St Andrews students also shone with Philippa Orme performing exceptionally well, claiming second placed in the women’s single championships, which is a hugely successful achievement.
The men’s 1st team also had a very successful tournament making it to the quarter final of the championships, indicating the bursting talent in this town despite the limited resources for pool and cue players in St Andrews. The men’s and women’s second teams also displayed their impressive skills throughout the weekend playing against a hard roster of teams.
The Students Union only has two tables but it is the base for the St Andrews Pool Society, who gathers every Tuesday to play and catch up, with players of all abilities welcome to join.
The University of St Andrews Pool and Cue Society interestingly, are not associated with the Athletics Union, which generates challenges for funding travel and accommodation when the club are looking to enter tournaments such as BUCS. Excitingly, speaking to Silvers she stated that “the society are currently in talks to be re-affiliated”, which would enable the club to be provided with funding and would make players more able to attend competitions such as these, making the competitive side of the sport more widely accessible.
In order to for players to be able to travel and stay in accommodation throughout the duration of the tournament, some members had to pay out of their own pocket and some money was also generated through the society hosting events to fundraise.
After a thoroughly impressive weekend, the sport is thriving in St Andrews, and in particular, it is simply an incredible achievement to be crowned the best student women’s team in the whole country.
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