Players from around the country came to Raglan to battle it out in the 5,000-year-old game of backgammon.
Organised by the Hamilton Backgammon Club, the competition took place over two days in Volcom Lane with around 30 keen backgammon contestants.
Unknown to many of the Raglan crew, several national backgammon champs were also amongst the competitors.
National champion and winner of the Raglan comp James Noble from Auckland says the Raglan players did a fine job competing against the best-of-the-best.
“The standard was really high and they discharged themselves admirably against the top players in New Zealand. The national comp came to Raglan that weekend and regardless of the results, they were playing the best in the country.”
After the first day of competition games, 16 players qualified for the final sudden death which saw the players whittled down to eight then four until the top two players pitted their best backgammon strategies and tactics against each other.
Hamilton Backgammon organisers Greg Forsyth and Paula Southgate, who was recently elected Mayor of Hamilton, discovered the Raglanites’ love of backgammon when having a coffee at Raglan Roast.
“We decided to host an event in Raglan and encourage Auckland players down. It was so successful we will definitely be back next year,” Greg says.
Watch this space as a Raglan backgammon club could soon be on the horizon.
Janine Jackson
