The Annual Wicklow BG Open will take place in the usual Ashford House venue on Saturday 12th September. The draw will take place at 10.00am for a 10.30am start.

Entry

Entry fee is €20 and rather than leaving you hit with a commission on Eventbrite or similar, we’re trying to keep it simple. All you have to do is to Revolut the €20 to Eileen (087 6760800). If you don’t have Revolut, no problem, just message Eileen and she can arrange a convenient payment mechanism for you. Eileen will also run side pools on the day for those who’d like to up the stakes a little.

The famous Shark Trophy will once again be awarded to the winner of the Main, the Paul Davitt Memorial Trophy will be awarded for the Consolation (this award was presented by Joe Dooley and Paul’s wife, Adrienne in memory of the man who founded both this tournament and also the presence of Backgammon in Wicklow). The last chance round will compete for the Wicklow Shield.

Prizes

Thanks to some generous local sponsorship we reckon that this tournament represents the best “entry fee to prizes ratio” in any BG tournament ever - even better than last year! Listen to this!

The prize funds will be worth:

* €1,300 for the Main

* ⁠€400 for the Consolation

* ⁠€150 for the Last Chance

Plus

* €50 if the person who beats you in Round 1 goes on to win the Main

* ⁠€100 spot prize if you’re the last name out of the draw

* ⁠indeed, based on your position in the draw, once again there’ll actually be a Spot Prize for EVERY participant - vouchers, booze, produce - all donated from Wicklow sources to welcome you to the Garden County!

With the main Wicklow Open, the Paul Davitt Trophy and the Wicklow Shield in which to compete, you are guaranteed at least three matches as well as a fun day out.

And on top of this, there will be the same very special first prize in the main event as we had last year. As well as the trophy, the winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to take part in the Kinsale Cup event. This tournament is being held next January and will feature some of the top players in the world competing for a sensational prize fund of over €24,000! And you can be part of it! Our prize will include full entry fees for the event and all official side events PLUS an accommodation package for three nights in the hotel covering all meals, snacks, drinks, etc. The whole thing is worth €800 and we will top our Wicklow Champion up with €200 cash to bring the total value of our first prize up to €1,000.

So it doesn’t matter what level of player you are (and we do hope that many of our new players will feel encouraged to take part) - you’re guaranteed to bring home a prize, so come and have a day of craic here in Wicklow!

Number of Participants

To allow the event run smoothly, numbers will be limited to a max of 64 on a first-come, first served basis - just get your entry fee to Eileen as soon as possible. If we don’t have 64 entries, it will be possible to enter on the day, but we have booked out in the last two years and expect to be running a waiting list again.

Finally, lots of accommodation options nearby (see below) and for people who might be staying overnight, we’ll do some sort of chouette or doubles tournament on the Friday evening as we have done in previous years.

Looking forward to welcoming you to Wicklow again this year!

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation options include:

Carriglen B&B: 800m away. Typically charge around €65 per person per night. Two twin rooms left for Friday night, but unfortunately booked out for Saturday night. Ph: 0404 40627

Mount Usher View B&B: 400m away. Currently have a small number of rooms available Friday and Saturday night. Ph: 0404 40543

Chester Beattys Inn: Only 100m away, currently has plenty of rooms for both Friday and Saturday evening, but last year they were booked out by August. Typically €210 for a double or twin room (including a lavish breakfast!), couldn’t give me a rate for a single resident, but if you can’t find a BG comrade to twin with, they said to contact them and they’ll arrange a rate with you. Ph: 0404 40206

Bridge Tavern: 5km away in Wicklow Town. Nice pub with lots of live music. Has rooms on Friday and Saturday.

If you fancy treating yourself, why not try Hunters Hotel which is only a mile away. Beautiful old coach house, lovely gardens, super food. A little pricier, but if you are interested, let me know and I can negotiate you a rate.

Beyond this, accommodation is pretty limited and players may prefer to stay somewhere closer to Dublin.

The 133 bus from Dublin and the 131 bus from Bray Dart station both stop right outside the Ashford House.