So the 2023 season gets underway this Sunday 12th February and the Kent squads will travel the short trip to the seaside to play our good friends Sussex.
Following last year’s success we have, I believe, enhanced the mens squad significantly and with the type of player that will thrive with the new international rule set. Some of our most talented juniors and under 23s are now eligible for the mens squad and it will be enjoyable watching them demonstrate their abilities on the mens stage.
Our trials saw some old hands coming back into the fold as well as some exciting new talent and when you add that to existing winning teams we are set for another great year of 8 ball county pool.
Our ladies will start overwhelming favourites and new additions in the squad plus existing talented players will make them the team to beat. Our under 23s are looking even stronger and I have no doubts they will go on to greater success.
Despite losing a couple of youth players we are still looking at our youth team to defend the title they won last year. They do play exciting pool and I look forward to monitoring their progress throughout the year.
Our seniors team as been somewhat refreshed even at the very last minute but with youngsters (49 years of age) coming into the squad this is the way seniors teams will be progressing moving forward.
So good luck to all our teams. Safe travels and we will see you all in Brighton on Sunday to start the next chapter!
We have just over a week to go until the first county match of the season. After such a successful 2022 it’s a difficult act to follow but the KCPA committee are sure that in 2023 we will be even more dominant.
Thanks to all of the players that have provided photos and a few words for our new team page. This is a great reminder of the breadth and depth of experience that we have in our squad.
Good luck everyone and let’s hope we can add some more titles and achievements to those player biographies this year.
KENT INTERLEAGUE PLAYERS – 2 weeks today we are holding the annual Kent Interleague Singles KO, running alongside the Interleague Play-Offs.
Do you want your name to be added to the Hall of Fame, and join the likes of James Bracegirdle, Jamie O’Donnell, Pat Cunningham, Nick Gillet, Steve Jepson and Jamie Swayland!!!!!
Registration is on the day – see the flyer for full details
Congratulations to all the Kent players and teams in Prestatyn this weekend.
Champion of Champions
Congratulations to Jordan Church (JPL1) on winning the Champion of Champions Mens Singles, defeating Dylan Leary in the final.
Great performances also from Jamie Kitchen (JPL1) to reach the semi finals and Craig Mallinder (MCCA) reaching the quarter finals both losing to Dylan on his route to the final
Jordan Church – Mens’ Singles Champion
A massive achievement by JPL1 to get to the final of the National Champion of Champions team event. Tough opponents in a strong Cambridge side but plenty to build on to get this won next time around.
Other Kent sides having a strong run in the competition were Chatham AA and Alma Aces both reaching the last 16.
JPL1 – National Team Champion of Champions Runners Up
Barbara Taylor couldn’t add a third trophy to her collection in as many weeks but a great performance to get to the final of the Ladies Singles.
Barbara Taylor – Ladies singles Runner Up
National Ladies Singles and Ladies KO Cup
Congratulations to Harriet Haynes (Whitecliffs Elite) on winning the Ladies National Championships.
Harriet Haynes – Ladies National Champion
Well done also to Katie Martin reaching the quarter finals of the National Ladies Singles and Some Team (aka Kent Ladies) for reaching the last 16 of the Ladies KO Cup.
Kent County Pool teams have ended the 2022 season by dominating pool across the categories. They delivered their best ever outcomes in region 7 by winning five of the seven categories available, finishing runner up in one and third in the other. In total we played 2528 frames winning 1602 to 926, so winning 63% of all frames.
This means we will have 5 teams attending the national finals in March next year, a remarkable achievement. But we are definitely not finished yet is the message from myself and the committee. Since I became county manager 4 years ago I have been fully supported by the committee members, captains and players in delivering the success so far. I believe we can still get better and that our most successful season is ahead of us. In short We want to win every category.
So starting with the A team, runners up after beating Surrey for the second time this year, Surrey being champions. The Kent lads squeezed out Berkshire by one frame in the end so will go to the Nationals after last years runners up performance in confident mood. 26-18 final score against Surrey.
A team top performers this year were Josh Patel and Dave Fernandez.
Our B team are national and regional champions and when you look at their development you can see the formation of a solid unit. They finished off their campaign with a 29-15 win over Surrey with no other than Captain Andy Redsull signing off with 4/4. Top performers over the season were Ash Hind and Charlie Minta.
The C team have shown the strength and depth of Kent Pool by winning all of their matches and winning their final game 24-20 against Surrey.
Jamie Hughes and Scott Woods were the top performers with Jamie winning the region individuals in his first season. Congratulations.
Ladies are again champions and there has been evidence of the new players coming in when needed and winning frames to enhance their reputations. They signed off in style with a 27-17 win with World Champion Barbara Taylor winning 4/4. Jo Herrington also delivered 4/4 and has clearly improved her game across the season. Well done to all our ladies including season top performer Vanessa Ledger who also topped the region. Fantastic achievement Vanessa.
U23 top performers were Jasper Simmonds who also topped the region and Jake Lloyd as they took the title for the first time. Jake was also top performer in the juniors and we look forward to seeing how he progresses in the coming years.
Juniors dominated the division and ended the season with a 35-1 victory which evidences the improvement that has come in the team. There are other notable exceptions with Callum Britt joining Jake in joint first, also winning the individual region, with James Goldsmith coming a close second. Another team that can go well in the nationals in March.
The Seniors had a winner takes all match against Surrey to take the title but sadly for us it didn’t happen and the seniors lost 22-14 in the end. A consolation was that Martin Prime finished top of the region and will go ahead for England trials.
Congratulations to the following players who have earned their first county medal:
Finally I would like to thank Lee and his team for significantly enhancing the playing experience for the players. The staff have been excellent all year catering for our every need and there have been many compliments with regards the standard of the club.
We will now plan for next season with trials and selection knowing the Kent County team is in a good place.
All Interleague result are up to date. Aside from the re-arranged Medway A v Rochester match in Division 1 we have just one match remaining this season here is how things look across the divisions.
Team results and individual statistics have been updated and can be found here:
