Ian Squire writes:
Hi,
My name is Ian Squire and I live in the small seaside town of Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. Having learned to play backgammon about ten years ago I taught my son Oliver to play and we played occasional games at home. Oliver showed a keen interest and began studying the game, watching the masters play on YouTube etc and reading and developing his strategy.
In 2017 I took Oliver along to play in his first tournament, the Blackpool Imperial Cup. Not expecting to do very well against this sort of quality of player, Oliver surpassed expectations and progressed towards the latter stages of the tournament.
Oliver was encouraged by this experience and went on to study the game further, with help from the UKBGF and some top class coaching through the UKBGF collegiate scheme.
Oliver now plays to a very good standard, usually beating me with ease, I hate to say!
So we were looking for a club and did some research to find the nearest clubs were quite a distance away in Manchester, Liverpool or Clitheroe.
So we thought, why don’t we start up a little club? As I am a member of St Annes Tennis and Squash club we thought this would be a good venue with a nice quiet bar/ lounge room. So we started meeting there on Monday nights, one of the quieter nights for the tennis club.
The club committee were very much behind the idea and sent emails to all club members and helped create posters etc.
We started meeting in June and have about ten regular players ranging from beginners to a few experienced players. We are teaching children and beginners to play as well as organising mini tournaments. We are always looking at how to grow and develop this fledgling club to engage players of all levels. So if you are in the area please pop along any Monday evening from 8.00 pm. It would be great to see new people coming along and you would be made most welcome.
Ian was a school teacher for 22 years in primary and special needs schools. He now owns and operates a local carpet and upholstery cleaning business in the Lytham St Annes area. Oliver has just completed his A levels and hopes to go to Durham University to study mathematics.
“We love the game of backgammon and want to show others what a great game it is too.”
Many thanks to people at the UKBGF for their support in this venture and we will keep you informed of our progress.
The club nights are free to attend and players can join St Annes Tennis and Squash Club for just £5 social membership per year.
For more information please contact Ian Squire on 07817 111259 or send an email to: iandavidsquire@gmail.com
I know I may sound like a broken record, but it really does go to show all you need to get started is a board, a few enthusiastic players and a friendly venue! We hope Ian’s experience will encourage more to take the plunge – and do let us know if there’s any way we can help. You can now find St Annes Backgammon Club on Facebook too…
A great story, and an inspiration to all would-be club organisers.
lovely to hear about your club – wish you all success and may the dice gods be with you
Thank you Sue!
Our little club is gathering momentum now. People are becoming excited and obsessed with the game, which is very encouraging to see.
Thanks.
Ian
Maybe Ian we could arrange a few of us from Manchester to visit for a few games or you folks come to us? Could do it on a free Saturday or Sunday perhaps?
Good luck anyway and to Oliver too