Welcome to the Yorkshire Meds Marbles Team Web Site
On Friday 21st of March 2008, having gone all the way to the final at the Annual British & World Marbles championship in Tinsley Green, Crawley (UK) and defeating the reigning champion, 1st MC Erzgebirge from Germany.
The Yorkshire Meds won two other trophies adding to the main championship trophy; the best lady player trophy and the best individual player trophy. All Trophies are staying in the British Isles this year and for the first time in the history of the tournament (since 1932) the main trophy is coming to Yorkshire.
It featured on a number of newspapers, tv programmes, radio programmes and live radio shows, including;
- "Top Stories" on the BBC News Web site on 22/03/08
- BBC Look North TV on 25/03/2008 and BBC Leeds Web site from 26/03/2008
- Yorkshire Evening Post on 26/03/2008
- SKY News Web site
Welcome to the Web home of the Yorkshire Meds Marbles team. This is about becoming a big kid again. We enjoy playing marbles as an indoor & outdoor activity. Yes, I hear you say, playing marbles - children & adults? eccentric, unusual, bizarre, typical British tradition? Yes that is correct and it can be fascinating (if you are into those sort of things or as British say "if it is your cup of tea!"). There is nothing like being a big kid at heart. There are hundreds of teams across Europe and the USA playing marbles and many of them are centred around leagues and tournaments.
Yorkshire Meds is made up of players young and old and spans across three generations (grand parents to grand-children), friends and neighbours! Yorkshire Meds is short for Yorkshire Mediterranean since the team is made up of people from Yorkshire, and people from the Mediterranean bay living in Yorkshire.
Our main logo pictures a marble as background, the White Rose from Yorkshire and the Hibiscus flower from the Mediterranean bay.
How Yorkshire Meds started?
In 2003, a friend and neighbour (Jackie), knowing my passion for marbles, gave me as a birthday present the 1991 book edited by House of Marbles, called "Marbles, the pocket book of marble collecting, history & games" . At the very end, this book had two pages on an international marble tournament in Tinsley Green that has been running since 1932. So researching the Internet, I found that the marbles championship has been running ever since. I just could not believe it. I contacted the organiser (Sam McCarthy-Fox) and Sam suggested that if I could put together a team of six players, I could register for the 2004 tournament. And this is how we got involved in the marble championships.
How it all started again: Not since I was a 11 to 13 year old kid playing marbles at Saint Joseph School in Algiers (that is around 1975!), have I come across marbles again until 2001 when we were on holiday in Devon. I discovered the House of marbles and factory. So of course we visited the place, bought a lot of marbles and re-ignited my interest in marbles. Since then (2001), We started to play at home (indoors) and had invented some simple marble games to play on our snooker table for the long rainy winter days (and nights). Then we found out that there was actually a marble tournament in Tinsley Green with such a historical dimension, we simply had to go and see.
The Annual World Marbles Championship in Tinsley Green
There are between 20 and 24 teams competing spanning from UK, Germany, Australia, USA and other countries too. On the day, the teams are competitive. However, it is all in a friendly atmosphere. Germany is well represented by at least four or five teams (and their fans); and for the past five to six years, German teams have been dominating the game, having at least two or three teams present in the semi-finals, and winning very frequently the cup. The tournament starts to be very competitive and heats up from the Quarter-finals onwards, this is where you start to see more or less the same teams year on year.
The Annual championships take place every Good Friday and they are a great fun day out for all, children and adults. There are outdoor activities for all as well as the main tournament events. It is free to attend. You can see some photos from the annual events below to give you an idea of what its like. In an age where children spend a lot of time in front of screens, it is always healthy to preserve some of the old outdoor traditions.
Photo on the left, this is the central ring at the 2005 Marble Championship. I took the photo from the Greyhounds pub (balcony). We can see the tournament main referee on central stage; Mol.
The 2008 Annual Championship in Tinsley Green
Please see headlines and top of this Web page - we are the winners in 2008. Other interesting things to mention this year: The mayor of Crawley unveiled a new plaque to mark the historical significance of the Greyhounds and Tinsley Green for the British & World marbles tournaments (see photos from the right for more details). There was also participation of the BBC Sportsround in the first round and they got knocked out by the Australian champions (The Bevers). The weather forecast was not promising at all, but it turned out much better than anticipated.
Please click on the photo on the right to see more photos of the tournament.
The 2007 Annual Championship in Tinsley Green
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day like all previous tournaments but we suffered a dent in our confidence. We got a "bye" in the first round (the other team did not turn up) and in the second round we met with the team that beat us the previous year and reigning champion (1st MC Erzgebirge). We lost in our first game played and although we practiced before coming, it was not enough and lost 25-17. The 2007 tournament saw an all German final.
During the tournament, Sam McCarthy-Fox received a well-deserved present for his long-standing contributions to the marbles game and this tournament. Other long standing contributors worth mentioning are Julia McCarthy-Fox and Mol the main referee.
Please click on the photo on the right to see more photos of the tournament.
The 2006 Annual Championship in Tinsley Green
Like in 2005, we made it to the quarter-final by beating the "Principality of Sealand" and "Simply Marbellous" but we lost to the German team who went on to win it (1st MC Erzgebirge). During the 2006 tournament it started to rain. Fortunately, it did not stay long and the organisers were well equipped to cover the main ring. Another great day.
Please click on the photo on the right to see more photos of the tournament.
The 2005 Annual Championship in Tinsley Green
The 2005 tournament was our second participation and by now we had a better understanding of the game and what to expect - we also practiced a bit in Leeds prior to turning up to the big day. Surprisingly, we went to the quarter-finals beating Royal Oak and Handcross Rebels but losing to the "Turners Hill Tollymen".
Please click on the photo on the right to see more photos of the tournament.
The 2004 Annual Championship in Tinsley Green
The 2004 tournament was our first participation. We lost in the first round against a German team (Saxonia II) but thoroughly enjoyed the day. When we arrived, we were not sure what to expect. Although we read a lot about the tournament, the way the game is played, we had never seen a marble ring before. We were used to the Mediterranean games (single hole). Since understanding the rules a bit better, we built an official ring in our back garden in Yorkshire (Leeds).
Please click on the photo on the right to see more photos of the tournament.
Activities
As a team, we have three main activities so far.
- We participate in the Annual British & World Marbles Championship, held every year on Easter Friday since 1932 in Tinsley Green (Crawley) in Surrey (south of London).
- At home, we use marbles games as a good excuse to invite friends and relatives around for a "marbles & barbecue" - of course Yorkshire weather permitting!
- We play and train in our back garden, since we have a full size - official marbles ring (see photo on the left) - and of course serious training takes place before going to tournaments (Yorkshire weather permitting).
- We have been looking at other potential tournaments in the USA, France or Czech republic.
Photo on the left - our marbles ring in Leeds
If you would like to get in touch with us, please email mourad@yorkshiremeds.co.uk
Last Update March 28th 2008: Webmaster