Report from the 2014 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship in Hastings

Portugal's Nuno Cunha wins the Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship 2014.

Nuno Cunha and his prize of a big round pound received from Buttons Committee member Emily Gottfried

After the World £2 Tat Challenge the second of the amusement arcade championships contested at the Old Town Amusements in Hastings during the World Crazy Golf Championships weekend is the much sought after World Crazy Air Hockey Championship.

Amusements in Hastings, full of fun

This year a total of 32-players registered to compete and 31 actually turned-up.

With Peter 'The Crazy Aced Assassin' Jones making a welcome return to Hastings many of the crowd was eagerly anticipating seeing this wildman of the pucks in action. Unfortunately he was to be defeated at the hands of the Portuguese Man O' War Nuno Cunha who was in rampant form and won 7-4 in the semi-finals.



The other semi-final saw and all-Dodd match-up take place, with Matt picking up the win 5-3. Helen had defeated top talent including 'Squire' Richard Gottfried and Steve Lovell (by Rock Paper Scissors!?) in the preliminary stages.

Squire crashing out to Helen Dodd in the prelims. As per usual

Peter Roughley vs. Chris Hillman in quite a battle in the main arena

Local lad Ted McIver faces-off against Rhyl Professional Peter Jones on table 3

After a tie in the round stages Helen Dodd and Steve Lovell tied, with the crowd demanding a decision a brutal game of Rock Paper Scissors followed with Helen picking up the win

Dodd vs Dodd. Unfortunately Rob Dodd was unable to compete this year

The Puckmaster vs the young pretender

Cunha and Dodd with the eyes of the world (of Air Hockey in Hastings) on them

While Nuno would go on to be robbed by a cruel bounce-out on the very last hole of the World Crazy Golf Championships on the Sunday he had no such luck in his match in the final against Matt Dodd. He was on the ball (puck?) in the match, and while it was a closely contested match Nuno would take the grand prize and title of Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champion for 2014.

His quid prize was quickly spent as he gave Matt a rematch almost straight away. Nuno won that match too. Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds...

Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships Hall of Fame:

2014 Nuno Cunha (POR)
2013 Chris Harding (ENG)

2012 Pasi Aho (FIN)

2011 Peter Jones (WAL)

2010 Kevin Moseley (ENG)

World Adventure Air Hockey Hall of Fame:

2013 Pasi Aho (FIN/GER)

The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships Hall of Fame:

2010* Scott Lancley (ENG)

* Note: the Air Squash tables were removed soon after, meaning the tournament became a 'normal' Air Hockey event.

Following the main-event Steve Lovell (Bully) and Steve Ragless (Stormtrooper) took each other on in a match. Nuno the Winner watched as Paul Preston acted as the ball boy - he was certainly dressed the part in his football socks!

Related blog posts:

- Air Hockey blog posts

Videos:
- Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships 2014 in Hastings - Jones vs Cunha
- Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships 2014 in Hastings - Grand Final

Crazy Golf in Prestatyn

A revisit to the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn, Wales.

At the Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn

In August 2009 we visited and played the excellent 18-hole (19 if you count the 'Top Hole') Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course on Bastion Road in Prestatyn. The course was the 147th we played and the second to last played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to Wales.

Emily lining up a Putt on the 6th at Prestatyn's Crazy Golf course

While on our Holiday on the Buses weekender in Prestatyn in September 2014 we visited the course a few times and on our first walk passed we saw our friend and fellow minigolfer Peter Jones practicing!

Spotting Peter Jones at the Prestatyn Crazy Golf course

The course is in great condition and has some classic and tricky obstacles and putts. It's well worth a visit and has some of the friendliest course owners we've encountered on our travels.

On hole 9 of the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Prestatyn

Check out the photos of the marvellous miniature golf course below.

Part of the Holiday on the Buses weekender organised by the On The Buses Fan Club included a Crazy Golf competition - The Butler Cup. As there were semi-pro players on the holiday this year there were two categories in the competition and Emily won the Pro Event!

Emily Gottfried - Holiday on the Buses Crazy Golf Competition Pro Champion 2014

Before playing the tournament we had a bit of a warm-up and after my round I rang the bell on the Lucky Last Hole to win a FREE GAME.

A rare thing to see - me with a FREE GAME voucher!

Check out MiniatureGolfer.com's page for the course where you can see photos taken by our friends and fellow minigolf tourists Paul & Owen Johnson, and Jam Trubridge.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 147 - Arnold Palmer Putting at Prestatyn
- 'The Butler Cup' On the Buses Crazy Golf Tournament
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Wales
- Prestatyn

Chris 'Who' Harding wins the 2013 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship!

Report, photos and video from the 2013 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championship in Hastings.

A packed house

When Crazy Golfers are not Crazy Golfing they can often be found lurking and loitering in the warmth of an Amusement Arcade.

In a tradition stretching back to 2010 minigolfers have enjoyed playing the game of Air Hockey and the 2013 championship promised lots of action and excitement. It certainly didn't disappoint.

With reigning and previous Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Champions competing, including 2012 winner - Finnish Bruiser Pasty Aho - and the man/myth/legend Peter '5 Star' Jones returning to both Minigolf and Air Hockey action in Hastings.

With a densely packed, competitive and eager field of 30 athletes lined-up it was down to the very busy Buttons Committee to do the draw to see who would face-off in the contest to win the £1 sterling prize money, and most importantly the title of "Best Air Hockey Playing Crazy Golfer in Hastings at the End of October".

International Air Hockey action

After what seemed like hours of play, especially as the tournament was preceded by the Worlds Tat Challenge, the final came down to a battle between two English competitors as Martin Greenhead faced off with Chris Harding.

Video of the final.

Full results:

(All players ENG, unless otherwise stated)
First round
1. Jouni Valkjarvi (FIN) defeated Ruth Burke 7-1
2. Dave Donnelly (IRE) lost to Mark Wood 4-1
3. Ted McIver (SCO) beat James Rutherford 7-5
4. Chris Harding  whitewashed John Moore 7-0
5. Keith Kellard bested Marc Chapman 7-4
6. Scott Lancley defeated Daniel Cottam 7-4
7. Adam Kelly received a bye
8. Pasi Aho (FIN) beat Will Donnelly 5-0
9. Alex Exall defeated Chris Wood 6-4
10. Steve Sturdy received a bye
11. Matt Dodd beat Helen Dodd 6-4
12. Steve Lovell won against Brian Smith 6-5
13. Terry Exall bested Jonathan Mather 5-4
14. Paul Johnson Paul Johnson Johnson lost to Peter Jones 7-3
15. Neil Cottam beat Ollie Greenhead 6-4
16. Martin Greenhead won against Christian ‘Anthony Pope’ Fuchs (GER) 7-4

Second round
1. Mark Wood bested Jouni Valkjarvi 7-3
2. Ted McIver lost to Chris Harding 7-4
3. Keith Kellard defeated Scott Lancley 5-4
4. Adam Kelly lost to Pasi Aho 7-1
5. Alex Exall beat Steve Sturdy 7-3
6. Matt Dodd defeated Steve Lovell 6-4
7. Terry Exall won against Peter Jones 6-4
8. Martin Greenhead bested Neil Cottam 7-4

Quarter finals
1. Chris Harding beat Mark Wood
2. Keith Kellard won against Pasi Aho 7-3
3. Alex Exall defeated Matt Dodd 7-6
4. Terry Exall lost to Martin Greenhead 7-5

Semi finals
1. Chris Harding beat Keith Kellard 4-1
2. Martin Greenhead defeated Alex Exall 7-2

Grand final
- Chris Harding defeated Martin Greenhead 7-4

In the most thrilling and most controversial match former Worlds Champion Peter Jones faced Terry Exall.

Peter 'The Puckmaster' Jones vs. Terry 'The Master Pucker' Exall in a fiery match-up

The match finished with a win to Exall, and utter disgust from Jones who threw his paddle across the table and into the path of Terry who recoiled in fear, only to be saved by the net!

In the immediate aftermath of the hot-blooded match Jones was heard to say the table robbed him of the win claiming "You can get better Air Hockey tables from Argos. The air flow on the table in that match was terrible."

Terry, ever gracious in victory, merely said at the the end of the competition "I didn't care about winning the whole thing, as long as I didn't lose to Peter Jones."

The event was a true one and is unlikely to be repeated.

Until next year that is when it'll take place at the same sort of time in the same place. Unless Peter Jones'ses'es behaviour has seen us all banned from the Old Town Buttons.

Until next time. Peace.

Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships Hall of Fame:

2013 Chris Harding (ENG)

2012 Pasi Aho (FIN)

2011 Peter Jones (WAL)

2010 Kevin Moseley (ENG)

World Adventure Air Hockey Hall of Fame:

2013 Pasi Aho (FIN/GER)

The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships Hall of Fame:

2010* Scott Lancley (ENG)

* Note: the Air Squash tables were removed soon after, meaning the tournament became a 'normal' Air Hockey event.

Related blog posts:

- Air Hockey blog posts

Arcade Games at Star City – Air Hockey, Pool & Ping Pong

Following the first minigolf event of the BMGA Tour season at the Star City Open in Birmingham on Sunday 22nd January, a group of players headed to the amusement arcade attached to the Bowling Alley in the Star City Complex for an Air Hockey Tourney.

Among the competitors in action at the Las Vegas of the West Midlands were reigning Worlds Air Hockey Champion Peter ‘The Puckmaster’ Jones, James ‘Ruthers’ Rutherford, Seth ‘Wandsworth’ Thomas, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried & Oliver ‘The Machine’ Florence.

The first game to be played was on the closest table to the door and after a draw of sorts was organised by Emily ‘Lemony’ Gottfried play commenced with a match-up between perennial Air Hockey loser, ‘Squire’ Richard Gottfried, and the Welsh Worlds Air Hockey champ and side-tournament specialist Peter ‘The Dragon’ Jones.

Peter Jones (far side) faces-off against Richard Gottfried in the longest match ever!

Unbeknownst to the players the match would create something of a record result, as the machine was a bit broken! The final result saw 31 goals scored as the match seemed to be never ending. Normally the first player who scores 7 goals is the winner and the machine keeps the puck from being returned. However in the battle between Gottfried & Jones, Richard managed to get the upset win, with a slim victory of 16-15.

With the match going on for so long Richard retired from the rest of the contest due to exhaustion and went to have a nice sit down. This meant that Peter ‘The Crazy Aced Assassin’ Jones was back in the contest and would face Seth ‘Tooting’ Thomas in the ‘first’ round.

Before that contest could take place a new table needed to be found for the match between Ruthers and The Machine. Play then commenced after Ollie had put a deposit down for half an hour’s play on the Ping Pong table. In the Air Hockey match Ollie took control and defeated Ruthers 7-5 meaning The Machine would head to the final to face either Thomas or Jones. The defeated Ruthers consoled himself by heading to the Table Tennis table to take on and beat all-comers (except Seth, who was just too good). One notable result was the ‘Squire’ (ranked 50th alongside Brad ‘The Fist’ Shepherd in the 2010 World Series of Pong) coming out of retirement for one more match. He was swiftly beaten 11-6 by Ruthers.

Ping Ponger Ruthers awaiting new challengers

In the highly anticipated match-up between Worlds Champ Peter ‘Toy Truck’ Jones and the sporting polymath that is Seth ‘Clockwork Orange’ Thomas the result was an unexpected win to Thomas, who managed to take down the champ and win 7-3 to line up a contest against The Machine in the Grand Final.

The Machine warms-up for the Air Hockey final with a bit of Table Tennis

Having seen the photos of the Air Hockey matches online, and on being told he had wrongly assumed that Peter 'Indoor League' Jones had been dishing out lessons, Finnish player Pasi ‘Bruiser’ Aho commented “He's just giving you that false feeling of confidence and will strike back when it matters.”

With the first Air Hockey table used in the competition set to ‘Long Play’ the players couldn’t imagine that the event would befall some other controversy, but that is exactly what happened in the big final match-up. With Seth Thomas easing to a 6-2 lead against Oliver Florence what happened next could of been taken straight from a round of ‘What happened next?’ on TV game show A Question of Sport. As Ollie hit a goal to bring his score up to 3 goals, the puck got stuck in the goal mouth and couldn’t be retrieved, nor did it register on the scoreboard!

Seth Thomas and Oliver Florence face-off in the Air Hockey Final

Luckily Emily ‘I’ll get #TheMan’ Gottfried was on hand and went and got the man to come and have a look at the machine (the table, not Ollie). With much wrenching and fiddling the technician was unable to get the puck out, so instead turned off the table and gave the players their pound back.

Pucking Hell! The Air Hockey Puck gets stuck in the goal

This caused a dilemma as the result of the match was still undecided. To decide the ultimate winner of the Star City Air Hockey Contest, Seth and Ollie decided to play one game of Ping Pong as a decider!

The result of the Air Hockey Tournament is decided on a Ping Pong Table

In the end there seemed to be only one possible result as Seth took an early and commanding lead, as he had done on the Air Hockey, and finished the match by smashing in a result of 11-2 and leaving The Machine with the runner-up spot.

Following the final of the Air Pong competition Seth declared that “the fun isn’t over if I’ve still got money left” and proceeded to challenge players to games of Pool. First up was Richard who, apart from the break and potting one ball, spent the game speaking with Peter 'PJ#2' Jones on the sidelines.

Richard Gottfried enjoys a nice sit down on his way to a Pool defeat at the hands of Seth Thomas

With the Hurricane Simulator ‘Out of Order’ a doubles Pool match was proposed, with the line-up of England (Ollie & Seth) to take on the ‘Wales’ team of Peter and Richard. England won.

And that wrapped up the fun and games at The Buttons of Star City. For a change no Laser Tag was played. The next big arcade event will no doubt be a £2 Tat Challenge at the amusement arcades of Worthing, West Sussex in April.

Links:
- 2011 Worlds Crazy Air Hockey Championships in Hastings
- Crazy Minigolfers Play Air Hockey Tournament in Hastings
- The Undisputed International Worlds Crazy Air Squash Championships

Cliff Lift Funicular Railway in Southend-on-Sea

While in Southend-on-Sea on Saturday 2nd December 2011 I had a ride on the Cliff Lift Funicular Railway. The lift was built in 1912 and reopened in 2010 following its closure in 2003.

You can get some great views from the carriage and it's 50p well spent to go on the 'trip'.