World Marbles at Tinsley Green

The tournament is said to date back several hundred years to 1588 during the reign of Elizabeth I, when is reputed to be the scene of an epic marbles battle between two young men, over the hand of a local milk maiden.
The event in its current format takes place each year on Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

 and has been played annually since 1932 at the Greyhound public house in Tinsley Green in West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

. It is a team event, where teams of six players participate in a knock-out tournament to win the coveted title and a silver trophy. The event is open to anyone of any age or nationality and over the years teams from USA, Netherlands, France and Germany have participated alongside the British teams. In fact German teams have lifted the trophy on six occasions.

Rules of the game

The championships are organised by the British Marbles Board of Control (BMBC) and the version of marbles played is "Ring Taw", known in USA as "Ringer" and in Germany as "Englisches Ringspiel" Forty-nine target marbles are grouped closely together on raised concrete ring measuring 6 ft (2 m) in diameter. The playing surface of the ring is approximately 3 inches above the level of the ground and is covered in sharp sand at the start each game. Each of the target marbles is a glass or ceramic sphere having a diameter of approximately half an inch. Two teams of six players take turns to drive marbles off the ring by aiming a larger "shooter" marble called the "tolley" at them. A Tolley is a glass or ceramic sphere having a diameter no more than three-quarters of an inch. A player's knuckle has to be in touch with the ground when he or she shoots, which is called "knuckling down". Only the thumb can be used to direct the tolley. Moving the tolley closer to the target marbles is banned and known as "cabbaging" which is cheating. Any forward or other advantageous movement of a players shooting hand during shooting constitutes a foul known as "fudging". Any intentional or persistent contact between a player or his or her clothing and a marble, another player's tolley or his own tolley while it is motion constitutes a foul known as "blocking". No score results from a foul shot, which automatically terminates the turn of the offending player, but he or she retains any score achieved in that turn, prior to the foul shot. Any player who makes three foul shots during a game is automatically eliminated and takes no further part in that game.
The first team to knock out 25 marbles from the ring is the winner.

A Brief Historical Time-Line

• 1932 – The Black Horse from Hookwood, were the first winners of the trophy in which 5 teams participated.
• 1942 to 1945 – No tournaments took place due to the war.
• March 1951 – The coldest recorded conditions for tournament which was won by the Tinsley Green Tigers beating Arundel Mullets in the final.
• April 1962 - Glass marbles were used for the first time in place of older clay ones.
• March 1972 – Of the nine teams to enter, two were all female, the Prima Donnas from Crawley
  Crawley
  Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
  
   and the Kernockers, who were the wives of the Blue Beats, policemen from London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  . It was said that the ladies took too long to take their shots, even the referee had to apply the time limit to the games they played. After a debate by the British Marbles Board of Control (BMBC), initially involving the wearing of mini-skirts, it was deemed that women were not suitable for the game and banned from the main tournament, having a separate event for women and children. This was later to be retracted and indeed ladies and children do now take part.
• April 1977 - One faction attempted to revolutionize the sport, by introducing Astroturf
  AstroTurf
  AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
  
   and electronic scoreboards, and moving the tournament to Crawley Leisure Centre. The BMBC refused to move the event from the Greyhound and held a rival event with two teams of Morris Men. The Greyhound as a venue proved to be more popular venue and carried on the tradition from then on.
• April 1987 – A Trophy was introduced for "the women's best individual player" and won by Jackie Hodge.
• 1989 and 1991 – Highest number of teams ever entered, 28 teams of six totalling 168 players competing.
• March 1992 – The TennKy Sharpshooters from Tennessee
  Tennessee
  Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
  
   and Kentucky
  Kentucky
  The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
  
  , USA are the first overseas team to win the trophy.
• April 2000 – Black Dog Boozers become the most successful team by winning the event for a 13th time.
• March 2008 the Mayor of Crawley, Councillor Sally Blake, unveiled a blue heritage plaque from Crawley Arts Council, commemorating the continuing importance of the Greyhound and the Marbles tournament to local history.
• September 2008 the Greyhound Pub, in Tinsley Green closed. With the British and World Marbles Championship facing an uncertain future, but the pub was soon open again in time for the next tournament.
• October 2010 – The tournament has its own article in Wikipedia.
• July 2011 - Greyhound Marbles website launched by Sam McCarthy-Fox of the BMBC

Championship Results

Year	Date	Teams	Team Winner	Runners Up	Individual Winner	Best Lady	Weather
1932	24 March	5	Black Horse	-	-	-	-
1933	14 April	-	-	-	-	-	-
1934	29 March	7	-	-	Jack Arnold	-	-
1935	19 April	4	Tinsley Green	-	Big Bert Botting	-	-
1936	10 April	4	Crawley Busmen	Southern Railways	F.S.'Champ'Harding
1937	26 April	6	Tinsley Green	Rustington Rambles	George Burberry
1938	15 April	5	Copthorne	Crawley Busmen	Tom Weekes
1939	21 April	8	Old Comrades	Crawley Busmen	Fred Rowe	-	Sunny
1940 (A)	25 March	10	Copthorne Sharpshooters	Old Comrades	Fred Rowe
1940 (B)	22 March	2	Crawley Busmen	The Army	F.S.'Champ'Harding
1941	11 April	7	Copthorne Spitfires	Crawley Busmen	Jack Carmen
1942	3 April	no games
1943	23 April	no games
1944	7 April	no games
1945	30 March	no games
1946	19 April	7	Copthorne Sharpshooters	Copthorne Spitfires	Harry Langridge
1946	4 April	4	Copthorne Sharpshooters	Crawley Tools	Harry Langridge	-	Rain
1948	26 March	5	Copthorne Spitfires	Copthorne Sharpshooters	Harry Langridge	-	Fine
1949	15 April	6	Tinsley Green Tigers	Arundel Mullets	Harry Langridge	-	Sunny
1950	7 April	8	Arundel Mullets	Tinsley Green Tigers	Wee Willie Wright	-	Sunny
1951	23 March	4	Tinsley Green Tigers	Arundel Mullets	Big Bernard Wilcock	-	Very Cold
1952	11 April	6	Tinsley Green Tigers	Handcross Bulldogs	Cyril Wilcock	-	Best weather for years
1953	3 April	6	Tinsley Green Tigers	Copthorne Spitfires	Cyril Wilcock	-	-
1954	16 April	5	Tinsley Green Tigers	Arundel Mullets	Aurthur Chamberlain	-	>-	1955	8 April	8	Tinsley Green Tigers	Rebels	Wee Willie Wright	-	Fine
1956	30 March	6	The Casuals	Tinsley Green Tigers	Wee Willie Wright	-	Cold and Dry
1957	19 April	7	Telcon Terribles	Rebels	Wee Willie Wright	-	Dry
1958	4 April	6	Telcon Terribles	Tinsley Tigers	Len Smith	-	Sunny and cold
1959	27 March	5	Telcon Terribles	Tinsley Tigers	Wee Willie Wright	-	Drizzley
1960	15 April	9	Telcon Terribles	Tinsley Tigers	Len Smith	-	-
1961	31 March	5	Telcon Terribles	Tinsley Tigers	Len Smith	-	-
1962	20 April	6	Telcon Terribles	Rulslip Rat Pack	Len Smith	-	Cold and windy
1963	12 April	7	Telcon Terribles	Tolley Flickers	Alan Smith	-	Dull and Cold
1964	27 March	6	Toucon Terribles	Tolley Flickers	Len Smith	-	-
1965	16 April	4	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Len Smith	-	-
1966	8 April	8	Toucon Terribles	Us	Alan Smith	-	-
1967	24 March	8	Toucon Terribles	Boys of County Armagh	Alan Smith	-	-
1968	12 April	6	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Len Smith	-	-
1969	4 April	8	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Len Smith	-	-
1970	27 March	10	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Len Smith	-	-
1971	9 April	7	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Len Smith	-	-
1972	31 March	9	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Len Smith	-	-
1973	20 April	12	Toucon Terribles	Pernod Rams	Len Smith	-	-
1974	12 April	12	Toucon Terribles	Pernod Rams	Alan Smith	-	Rained Off
1975	28 March	-	Toucon Terribles	Johnson Jets	Alan Smith	-	Cold/Snow
1976	16 April	-	Pernod Rams	Toucon Terribles	-	-	-
1977	8 April	9	Handcross Rebels	Wessex Wottsits	Jim Lay	-	Fine
1978	24 March	12	Brewery Shades	Ifield Musketeers	Bob Watts	-	Fine
1979	13 April	9	Handcross Rebels	Talbots Tolleys	Barry Ray	-	Fine
1980	4 April	12	Black Dog Boozers	Bow Street Fudgers	Barry Ray	-	Sunny
1981	17 April	16	Black Dog Boozers	Bow Street Fudgers	Paddy Graham	-	Fine
1982	9 April	13	Bow Street Fudgers	Addington Alcos	Barry Ray	-	Sunny
1983	9 April	13	Bow Street Fudgers	Handcross Rebels	Barry Ray	-	Cold/Wet
1984	17 April	19	Bow Street Fudgers	Black Dog Boozers	Paddy Graham	-	Fine
1985	5 April	17	Black Dog Boozers	Bow Street Fudgers	Terry Gant	-	Wet
1986	28 March	22	Black Dog Boozers	Bow Street Fudgers	Ian Gardner	-	Fine
1987	17 April	25	Black Dog Boozers	Punters	Paddy Graham	Jackie Hodge	Sunny
1988	1 April	26	Black Dog Boozers	Bow Street Fudgers	Colin Gardner	Jen LeBon	Fine
1989	24 March	28	Black Dog Boozers	Handcross Rebels	Paddy Graham	Eve Vine	Fine
1990	13 April	22	Black Dog Boozers	Moonshiners	Tony Jones	Jackie Staples	Wet
1991	29 March	28	Moonshiners	Black Dog Boozers	Darren Ray	Jen LeBon	Fine
1992	17 April	22	TennKy Sharpshooters	Lions De Lyon	Darren Ray	Eve Vine	Wet
1993	9 April	17	Moonshiners	Handcross Rebels	Darren Ray	Jen LeBon	Wet
1994	1 April	20	Black Dog Boozers	Handcross Rebels	Paddy Graham	Alison Ray	Wet
1995	14 April	15	Barrel Scrapers	Black Dog Boozers	Paul Smith	Jen LeBon	Sunny
1996	5 April	20	Black Dog Boozers	Moonshiners	Darren Ray	Alison Ray	Dry
1997	28 March	21	Handcross 49ers	Black Dog Boozers	Colin Gardner	Jen LeBon	Sunny but windy
1998	10 April	17	Black Dog Boozers	Barrel Scrapers	Simon Monahan	Jen LeBon	Wet
1999	2 April	21	Black Dog Boozers	Handcross Rebels	Simon Monahan	Jen LeBon	Fine/Sunny
2000	21 April	20	Black Dog Boozers	Barrel Scrapers	Simon Monahan	Jen LeBon	Fine/Sunny
2001	13 April	19	Johnson Jets	Handcross 49ers	Mark Parsons	Alison Reimer	Fine/Sunny
2002	29 March	22	Saxiona Globe Snippers	Black Dog Boozers	Benny Mchnert	Jen McGowan	Fine/Sunny
2003	18 April	20	Saxiona Globe Snippers	1st MC Erzgebirge	Chris Pampel	Jen McGowan	Fine/Sunny
2004	9 April	27	Saxiona Globe Snippers	1st MC Erzgebirge	Chris Pampel	Jen McGowan	Fine/Sunny
2005	25 March	23	Barrel Scrapers	Handcross 49ers	Simon Monahan	Suzi Joswick	Fine/Sunny
2006	14 April	23	1st MC Erzgebirge	Handcross 49ers	Darren Ray	Gabi Mühlisch	Rain then fine/sunny
2007	6 April	23	1st MC Erzgebirge	1st MC Erzgebirge II	Darren Ray	Alison Reimer	Sunny and warm
2008	21 March	21	Yorkshire Meds	1st MC Erzgebirge	Halim Tata	Leila Kara	sunny but cold, rain later
2009	10 April	16	Yorkshire Meds	Handcross 49ers	Halim Tata	Alison Reimer	Wet
2010	2 April	19	1st MC Erzgebirge	Handcross 49ers	Ian Gardner	Jen McGowan	Wet
2011	22 April		Yorkshire Meds	Handcross 49ers	Chris Pampel		Sunny

External links

• http://www.greyhoundmarbles.com

Greyhound Marbles Website by Sam McCarthy-Fox of the BMBC

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8pfclDLwrU

British and World Marbles championship video 2008

• http://www.itnsource.com/clipdetails.aspx?partner=hutc&year=2010&month=04&day=02&libref=x02041001British and World Marbles championship video 2010
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zjl3g_LvycYBritish and World Marbles championship video 2011