Tournament

BPR Tournament 2010

We are now taking entries for the 2010 BPR Tournament. The event will take place over the weekend of 12th & 13th June, at Biddenham Upper School, Biddenham Turn, Biddenham, Bedford, MK40 4AZ. For full details and an entry form please click here

BPR Tournament 2009

Last year the tournament was put back to July in order not to fall foul of the FA Rule not allowing 11-a-side football in June, that caused so much disappointment in 2008 when we had to cancel the event. Below you will find a link to all the results from this year's tournament that took place over the weekend of 4th & 5th July. With 90 teams due at the event, from 9 different County Football Associations, the weekend lived up to expectation and was undoubtedly our most successful tournament to date. Many thanks go to the organising committee, Steve Dadley, Charlie Hempstead, Craig Phillips, Paul Mason, Ellie Boyde and Helen Clark, whose dedication was the core upon which the success of the event was built. Many thanks also to all the volunteers, in excess of 50 over the weekend, who helped throughout the event.

I'd also like to make a special mention of the referees who officiated over the weekend. The matches came thick and fast, and many teams seemed to appreciate the speed in which matches were turned round, and flowed continuously, and much credit for this has to go to the referees.

We were also extremely pleased with the new location for the event, Biddenham Upper School. We had lots of space and good quality pitches, and the support from the school staff was first class, and look forward to working with them again next year. Last but not least, many thanks to St Gregory's Middle School who allowed us to use their playing fields for car parking.

Kevan Clark
Tournament Secretary

Team Manager's View

The pitches at Biddenham Upper School were well spaced out, giving all teams ample room to make bases for themselves, without having to encamp right on top of the next team. This contributed greatly to a very relaxed atmosphere. The pitches were very good; the playing surfaces having been well prepared to allow good passing football, and were clearly marked to avoid any confusion. The football was of a generally good standard, with many very exciting, evenly balanced games. All the games we were involved in, and those I also refereed, were played in a competitive but very sporting manner, bringing out the best in a large majority of the players.

Kevan Clark
Manager BPR U11 Bobcats

Venue, Location and General

This was our sixth annual tournament and our first at our new location. Staging a tournament involves an awful lot more than merely marking pitches and setting up goals. We have been continually learning year on year and striving to improve the occasion and experience. A new venue means starting a lot of this learning curve all over. Car parking for example, involves a lot of thought and labour working as a team to ensure the large volume of traffic can enter, be positioned (and exit) in a smooth timely manner. A long queue in hot weather will often mar ones experience before it has begun. I am informed that all the thought put in was worthwhile with this running smoothly and hopefully your first impression of us at our tournament was a good one.

Biddenham Upper School is an ideal location for a tournament as there is plenty of room for the two 7 a-side pitches and the five 11 a-side pitches we had in use, whilst still giving ample room for all spectators without anyone feeling crowded. Any event such as this is always more pleasurable in fine weather and once again we were very lucky.

We all enjoyed watching so many young players enjoying their day and especially their football.

Steve Dadley
Senior Tournament Committee Member

Committee View

One of the biggest concerns for an organizing committee is whether you will get enough support from volunteers to carry out all the jobs that need doing. We needn't have worried on that score! We had well over 50 Club Members volunteering, doing everything from putting up goals, picking up litter and marshalling the car park, to cooking burgers, selling refreshments and manning the bouncy castle. This level of commitment just goes to show the strength of the Club and really creates a feeling of belonging to something more than just a football team.

Charlie Hempstead
Club Secretary

Chairman's Message

This year we were particularly pleased to have teams from 9 separate County Football Associations represented at our annual summer football tournament, which is the biggest Club event that we organize and run. As such it is one of the only occasions we get to meet many of the people associated with our Club. This tournament is planned over several months, but despite working all Friday evening and arriving at 6 am Saturday, it is always an anxious last few minutes until the last of the goals are up and all the volunteers are in place ready for the first kick offs, this was particularly true this year as we were at a new venue.

The biggest pleasure over the weekend is receiving comments from participants or supporters in recognition of a well run event. The success of the tournament is down to sheer hard work and the great efforts of many people who freely give their time and in return get pleasure from seeing the enjoyment of the players. Despite the success we are already making notes of lessons to learn for next year, the first of which is bring some sunscreen!

Paul Mason
Club Chairman

2009 Tournament Results

To view all the results from the 2009 BPR Tournament, click here

What Our Visitors Had To Say

"From our perspective the tournament went very well, the new venue is an excellent facility, well done for getting it going again, and look forward to next year. Well done to you and all the team that has worked hard to organise and deliver over the 2 days."

"Just a quick line to say we had a very enjoyable day. I don't know about previous years as we have not previously entered your tournaments, but this one was excellent. A great venue, very well organised and with us getting to a final I know the boys enjoyed it, although the result could have been more favourable!. The parents enjoyed themselves and we will definitely enter next year. Thanks!"

"It was a nice change to play 11-a-side as all summer tournaments seem to be 6-side. But the good thing is not having to wait to long in between games. Other tournaments may play more games but sometimes have long waits in between. It was well organized and we thought the teams involved played to a high level. We would like to come back again next year. Many thanks"

"Great tournament! Venue - plenty of space for football, plenty of space for parking. Facilities - Refreshments were good quality and varied, plenty of toilet facilities and bins to dispose of rubbish. Information - Timely and well documented information, both before the event and during the event, the organisers and referees were well informed and happy to help/advise. Organisation - Well organised, plenty of officials, the timing of the games was excellent, no long delays between matches. The rubbish sacks were a great idea. Value For Money - Programme and parking (reasonable) plenty of football for the entry fee so yes this was good, and the medals and cups if you win adds to the sense of value. Will certainly register for next year, thanks for all your efforts at BPR"

"Thank you for such a lovely day. We look forward to coming again next year."

"I can only endorse the comments that you have received already. It was a well run tournament and plenty of space for all and I will be recommending it to anyone I speak to."

Looking Forward

We have held our tournament de-brief meeting and have noted down the comments we have received this year, and lessons learned over the weekend, in the hope we can make continual improvements. As many BPR teams participate in other Club's tournaments, we also ask our managers to fact find as they travel around: to compare prices; facilities offered; the amount of football offered, and we will take all this information into our planning sessions which will kick off in September for 2010.

We are pleased to be able to announce that the 2010 tournament will take place over the weekend of 12th & 13th June, once again at Biddenham Upper School. We look forward to seeing some familiar faces returning, and hopefully some new ones as well!
Thanks to all the teams that supported the 2009 Tournament!

Kevan Clark
Tournament Secretary

Previous Years Results

To view all the results from the 2007 BPR Tournament, click here
To view all the results from the 2006 BPR Tournament, click here
To view all the results from the 2004 BPR Tournament, click here