If, after reading this page, you have any questions about the UKBGF Tour or would like to apply for your tournament to be part of the Tour, please email ukbgftour@gmail.com
About the Tour
It takes both skill and a bit of good fortune to win a tournament. The UKBGF Tour 2022 is designed to identify the most consistent performers, as well as taking top-flight backgammon right around the UK. The tournaments are a mixture of one-day and two-day, single-elimination, double-elimination and Swiss tournaments, supported by some of our leading clubs. Each tournament awards Tour Points to UKBGF members who take part – your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to collect as many as you can. The scoring is explained in more detail here. Our highest scorer over the course of the year will be crowned Tour Champion – and there will be trophies for the top three. Plus, there are potential places up for grabs in the Tour Winners’ Invitational (TWI) tournament, planned to be held in January 2023. However, please note that currently the TWI is subject to confirmation.
For intermediate level players – that is, people rated 1600 or below on average over the last quarter of 2021 – there’s the UKBGF Intermediate Tour 2022. Accumulate points at at one or more of the five events for intermediates, as well as at the single-division events in the same way. Scoring works in the same way as for the main tour – details here.
To check whether you can play in the Intermediates, see the list on the Intermediate Eligibility page (pending an update at year end). The ratings of all the players listed exceeded the relevant threshold and they are therefore NOT eligible. If your name is not listed on this page, you may play in an Intermediate event. Rare exceptions might arise, for example strong overseas players without a UK rating would not be expected to enter Intermediate events.
The qualifying events so far are:
1. The Memorial Tournament (+Intermediates)
25th – 27th February, at Ambassadors in Bloomsbury.
Tournament Director: Andrew Selby
2. West Yorkshire Open
18th-20th March, at Clayton Village Hall, Clayton, nr. Bradford
Tournament Directors: Steve Lee, Tim Cross
3. St Albans Open
30th April to 1st May, at Greenwood Park Community Centre, St Albans
Tournament Director: Chris Purchase
4. Blackpool Imperial Cup
10th-12th June, at the Imperial Hotel, Blackpool
Tournament Directors: John Wright, Kevin Jones, Mark Calderbank
5. Cambridge Open
27th-28th June, venue TBC
Tournament Directors: Peter Booth, Julia Hayward
6. Liverpool Open
9th – 10th July, at a great venue in Liverpool – details TBC
Tournament Director: TBC
7. Midlands Open
23rd – 25th September, at Moseley All Services Club, Birmingham B13 9EA
Tournament Director: Matthew Fisher
8. UK Open (+Intermediates)
2nd – 4th September, Location TBC
Tournament Directors: TBC
9. Newcastle Open
7th – 9th October, at the Royal British Legion, West Jesmond, Newcastle
Tournament Director: Keith Gill
10. Bristol Open (+Intermediates)
4th-6th November, at Rainbow Casino, Bristol
Tournament Director: Tim Line
11. London Open (+Intermediates)
9th – 11th December at Ambassador Hotel, nr Euston station, London
Tournament Director: Andrew Selby
Note that some tournaments have fixed entry limits, so do book early. If any are fully booked, prospective players will have to join a waiting list and await cancellations.
Tour Prizes
The Tour Champion will be able to hold the UKBGF Tour Trophy for a year, and have their name engraved on it – joining our past champions:
- 2016: Sebastian Wilkinson
- 2017: Steve Bibby
- 2018: Tim Cross
- 2019: Kevin Jones
- 2020: Covid – no Tour
- 2021: Covid – no Tour
The top three finishers will also receive a personalised memento.
Rules
All tournaments on the tour are played to UKBGF rules.
Registration
You’ll need to register with each event individually. Registration and entry fees are determined by the Tournament Director at each event. There are reduced fees for UKBGF members at some events on the tour; where fees are uniform there will instead be a side event or extra bonus prize for UKBGF members, so there’s a little extra for you all everywhere.
Eligibility
All UKBGF members are eligible to take part in the Tour, and you need do nothing to be included – we will collect up the results and publish Tour standings. If you qualify as an Intermediate and you enter Intermediate competitions you will automatically be entered into the Intermediate Tour.
If you join the UKBGF part-way through the year, then you can still take part for the rest of the Tour, but Tour Points from events that started before you joined are not awarded retrospectively so to maximise your chances, join early! Also, memberships cannot be processed in person by organisers of the Tour events. Therefore you must join online before the day of the tournament in order to accrue Tour Points for that event.
UK Ratings
All match results will count towards the UKBGF UK Ratings.
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