News & Updates

Irish Pool Intervarsity, Tipperary

by User Not Found | Feb 08, 2017

Irish Intervarsity Pool

Championship 2017

(left to right) Emirjeta, Ellen, Nik, Hamad and Deepesh.

Another fantastic 2016 for DBS clubs has carried on into 2017 with our men's pool team lining out for this years intervarsity tournament in Nenagh, Tipperary.

It was our first time to enter a team for the National Pool intervarsity, therefore the expectations were high for the pool captain Nik and his team. It was also our first time entering two girls in the team, Ellen and Emirjeta qualified to be in the team and we're one of the few girls to compete in the championship.

The tournament took place at Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh, Tipperary this year. DBS were drawn in a tough group with DIT C, ITB, NCI, NUIG and DCU.

The Intervarsity was held in the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

The registration for the competition started bright and early on Friday, 3rd February at 9:30am meaning that the guys had to leave at 7am to head to Tipperary.

The lads competed in individuals and team championships. We were against very experienced opponents from DkIT, TCD and AIT. Hamad, Raj, Ellen, Nik, Emirjeta were against skilled players, however Deepesh Tripathi managed to qualify for the top 64.

Straight after the individual competition was the team competition. Our guys competed with some of the best teams in the college. We managed a win for our first game against DCU 7-3 but we were unlucky against DIT, ITB, NUIG and NCI.

The last team game that the guys had to win was against NCI. Both teams needed to win the game to go through the shield. The competition was tough and competitive. Raj won the first match against NCI and then lost three games after and then managed to draw (5-5) with them. It was a sad finish for both teams who hoped to qualify to shield.

The whole competition was very competitive and our guys put their best foot forward and represented our college well. The early start and late finish on the games left the guys restless throughout the week but were happy to be able to attend at such prestigious event.

It must also be noted that none of the DBS players have ever played in an All-Ireland pool championship.

PLAYERS TESTIMONIALS

"Being at the Pool Intervarsity for a girl was a bit scary but good too because being around 170 guys and only having 5 girls brought tension but not just for us for the boys too as they obviously didn't like to lose "against a girl". The journey to and from was great, the experience was incredible being able to play for DBS and being a girl felt like there was equality in the game which was a good thing. When playing it was intense, we all played better in the end but unfortunately, didn't get anywhere. The nights were fun, we would all go to and play for fun against other colleges which was good practice and good as we got to know people and make friends.. We've got a game coming up with NCI and being at the Pool Intervarsity we got in contact with DIT and now we have a practice session with them. Overall it was great having to play against different colleges and watching how they played, I'm glad and very happy to of played for DBS."

- Emirjeta Doda

"Going to the intervarsity this year for my first time was nerve wrecking especially being one of the only 5 girls playing in a competition with nearly 200 guys. When you walk into the pool room for the first time it's definitely intimidating. I think when we walked in the room we all stopped for a minute taking it all in. Being a girl in this competition for me certainly brought a lot of an extra pressure to perform well so other girls start to join and level to playing field a little. But also because I felt like I had more people watching me to see if I played well just for being a girl. Starting with the individual competition was made more difficult then it should have been because we had to wait for what felt like hours before one of us played. We all sat down and watched really good players playing which let the nervous set in even worse. I think we should have been up and moving, distracting ourselves.
For the team in general we needed to clarify better which could have helped at the beginning. What I learned from the tournament was to start fresh with every match, to take a breath and just think about what I'm going to do before I go and start hitting balls. When you're playing pool you can't have one plan, it changes each time it's your go. I think for whoever playing on next years team needs to just relax and go for it. Have fun doing it. What I think would help next year would simply just to prepare better and for longer. Taking the practice a little more seriously so you could relax more at the competition knowing what to do. Players really need to play more strategically to keep up with the other colleges. Also from talking to others colleges, most of their players are playing a couple of times a week if not everyday for hours. Over all, for anyone who loves pool like I do, I would recommend practicing hard and getting on the team for next year because the weekend to Nenagh is a great experience to be apart of."

- Ellen Nolan

"I had a great weekend playing with best players In Ireland and learning from the top players of each university. It shows that our opponents put more time in practice and have more match experience. In was ready for the singles, but wasn’t expecting to play a player which eventually won the singles tournament. I won 1 out of the 3 frames and I was proud of my result. We did well in the teams, we beat DCU and the whole team didn’t expect that, lost 1 and drew the 3rd. I want to thank the whole team who tried their best in the team competitions and hope we do better in the upcoming completion."

- Hamad Janahi

MEET THE TEAM

Overall, it was a great experience for our pool team playing against the best colleges in Ireland and networking in the event.
The guys willl be having another competition with NCI on Friday. The team will consist of Ellen, Raj, Deepesh, Hamad and Emirjeta.

If you are interested in joining the pool team contact the captain Nik at [email protected]

JOIN US IN BUSKERS!

Pool practice in Buskers are still continuing every Monday. Only €2!
See the guys in action and learn some tips and tricks from the guys too!

GET ACTIVE! GET INVOLVED!

Contact Student Services for more information

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