Club 75 fifthMemorial Competition reaches final stage

20 dominoes teams to compete for $700,000

The Turning Point Sports Club and Club 75 fifth overseas Memorial Competition has reached its final stage after six weeks of competition.
The competition is being run off in memory of Leslie Thompson, Carl Moffett, Ego Griffith and according to organizer Colin McEwan of Turning Point after hard and energetic preliminary games it has now reached the pinnacle.

Speaking exclusively to Stabroek Sport, McEwan said that the competition which started in July and was expected to finish this Sunday will now go on to the last Sunday of August.

He added that the competition was run off in a zone format with Georgetown fielding 10 teams, West Bank and West Coast combined four teams, East Bank, Lower East Coast and Upper East Coast two teams each, making  a total of twenty teams.
According to McEwan, Bartica and Linden were also asked to field teams for the competition but when he visited Bartica in early July they recalled the experience in the Kazak Competition in Georgetown and declined following the problems they had with accommodation. However, the organizers were willing to bring them down if a cost was worked out.

Meanwhile, the Linden team complained about transportation, noting that sometimes the competition may end late in the evening leaving them stranded in Georgetown. The teams that have confirmed for the finals following the final round of competition last evening are from Georgetown, Turning Point “B”, F&H Supremes, Mean Machine, Strikers, Taurus, Trouble Shooters, Upset, Exodus, Specialist and Reflection Bar, East Bank teams Providence and Onassis, West Bank and West Coast combined, Frankies, Lumber, Shattas and Warriors, Lower East Coast, Royal Bunch and Survival Run and Upper East Coast, Tricky Baby and Bottom End.

McEwan announced that over one hundred teams took part in the initial stage of the competition and over $400,000 in cash will be handed out to the top four finishers along with trophies.

And the top two will also receive medals along with other expenses. Almost $700,000 had to be secured in sponsorship. The final seven rounds which will start on Saturday  with two rounds followed by another two on Sunday and three  the following Sunday will be played according to the Guyana Dominoes Association format which will see six teams being eliminated in the first round followed by three each in the second and third rounds.

This will be  followed by two each in the fourth and fifth rounds and then by  one in the penultimate round leaving three teams to vie for the championship.
The seeding for the teams that have made it into the final round will be decided before Saturday to determine the number one and the rest of the seeding.
 The competition will start at 14:00 hours on the three days and family members of the deceased will be on hand to make the presentations to the winners and runner-ups.  The final rounds will be played exclusively at the Turning Point Sports Bar.

Organiser McEwan said that since this competition started in 2003 it has become an annual event on the dominoes calendar and he hopes to have the continued support for the premier tournament which has been attracting  the best of the local dominoes players.  McEwan though is unsure if any overseas representative will be present for the finals as earlier expected.