English Tiddlywinks Association

Primarysources|date=October 2007

History

The English Tiddlywinks Association (ETwA) was founded in 1958. Its objectives are to promote the game of tiddlywinks and coordinate winking activities in England and the rest of the United Kingdom. Currently, ETwA concerns itself with the maintenance of the official rules of tiddlywinks, arranging of tiddlywinks tournaments, publishing of the journal Winking World and keeping global "winks" players in touch with what's going on.

ETwA Council

The governing body of ETwA, known as ETwA council, is elected each year at "ETwA congress", normally held during the National Pairs tournament in the springtime. It currently contains the positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer, Winking World Editor, Publicity Officer and Tournament Organiser. There is also a "rules sub-committee" consisting of roughly four ETwA members.

Winking World

The journal of the English Tiddlywinks Association is known as "Winking World", sometimes abbreviated to 'WW', and has been published roughly twice a year for many decades. Content largely consists of articles discussing the game and reports on recent tournaments. Responsibility for publication of the journal lies with the 'Wonking World Editor' a position held by a member of the ETwA council.

The journal has undergone numerous changes during its lifetime as technology has progressed and with changes in editorship. For instance, earlier editions mainly listed contact details for the various clubs in existence at the time, while more recent editions have tended to concentrate on tournament reports. Also, within the past few years, editions of Winking World have been available from the ETwA website.

Recent Tournaments

* London Open, 13 September 2008: won by Alan Harper.
* Wessex Trophy, 5-6 July 2008: won by the Saxon team.
* National Pairs, 26-27 April 2008: won by Patrick Barrie & Matthew Rose.
* National National Teams of Four, 2 March 2008: won by Richard Ackland, Stew Sage & Geoff Thorpe.
* Royal Match, 1 March 2008: won by Cambridge University 24-18.
* Cambridge Open, 26-27 January 2008: won by Patrick Barrie.
* National Handicapped Individual Pairs, 25 November 2007: won by Alan Dean.
* National Singles, 27-28 October 2007: won by Matthew Rose.
* World Pairs 34, 18 August 2007: Matt Fayers & Larry Kahn beat Dave Lockwood & Max Lockwood 25.5-9.5 (games scores 2*, 6, 6*, 5.5, 6).
* London Open, 14 July 2007: won by Steve Phillips & Charles Relle.

Forthcoming Tournaments

* National Singles: 25-26 October 2008 (Selwyn Diamond, Selwyn College, Cambridge)
* National Handicapped Individual Pairs: 7 December 2008 (Shrewsbury School, Shrewsbury)
* PartyGaming.com Lowestoft Unmoderated Handicapped Single Trio Trophy Team Blitz: 31 December 2008, 11:30pm for midnight start (trousers section, 1st Floor, TK Maxx, Lowestoft Arndale Centre)
* Cambridge Open: 7-8 February 2009 (Selwyn Diamond, Selwyn College, Cambridge)

Other Tournaments

The tournaments listed above happen on a regular basis at roughly the same time of year and with a similar format being used most years. There are also several other trophies that are contested on a much more sporadic basis, usually due to the title being contested only when somebody challenges the incumbent holder. These include:

*The Jubilee Trophy (ETwA Singles)
*The Silver Wink (Inter-University trophy, donated to the game by the Duke of Edinburgh following the Royal Match of 1958)
*The Golden Squidger (The Pairs challenge trophy)
*The Marchant Trophy (A tournament for teams of four, played over the years to different formats. Originally this was a challenge trophy for all-England champions, first presented by Marchant Games in February 1959)

External links

* [http://www.etwa.org/ Official website]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/20/AR2006012001986_pf.html Family's Game Is No Joke]