Saturday was a round of qualifiers that lasted from 11:00 AM - 7:30 PM. There were a few games I had not played - including a Wrestlemania LE. It was a great day, and I met a whole new breed of pinheads that LOVED the competitive side of the hobby. It was a welcoming atmosphere in a well organized competition.
Sunday was the inaugural "Greg Berry Cup" in honor of our great friend and colleague Greg Berry. I was concerned that there would not be enough kids interested, but they came from everywhere. I think there were 10-12 kids from all age groups. All of them enjoyed the fact that they were able to play all the games without waiting for the adults "hogging" the games.
Zack Foster narrowly won the Competition. It was a fitting result as Zack in the Son of Nikki and Grant Foster who were very close to Greg and his family. All the kids deserved an award just for participating and enjoying time outside of their console games and the internet ! The Berry family were in attendance on the Sunday and were very proud and pleased to have a small part of the weekend devoted to "kids playing pinball". It was a very special day for everyone involved.
Personally, I had a great time and met a lot of very keen and enthusiastic pinball players. I can't remember having so much enjoyment with people I hardly knew.
Special thanks to James and Luke who ran a brilliant competition over two days. That's to Marco for helping me with the games we brought in for the event.
We will be having the Kids Competition every year to coincide with this event. We need to get MORE kids involved and this is a great opportunity for them to participate. For those that have not been to one of these events, be sure to try it at least once. It has a different angle to our great hobby and pastime.
