The 1999 European Awele Tournament which took place in Cannes (South of France) as part of the 13th International Games Festival was a more relaxing affair to that which took place in 1998. For a start it all took place in one big marquee near the beach, instead of being in the famous conference centre of the Cannes Film Festival fame. The time of the year was also different, taking place in probably the hottest month of the year, July the height of the tourist season.
The games lasted for a week from 7th to 11th of July and did not start until 4 o’clock each afternoon. This left us with the whole morning and most of the afternoon to our own devices. Previously in 98 we did not have this luxury and made the most of it, spending most of the time on the beach. In the month of July by the Mediterranean Sea the temperature was sweltering and the best thing one could do to cool off was dip in the sea. We quickly got acquainted with the fishes as one can see quite easily in the clear Mediterranean Sea. A first was achieved Oware being played on Mediterranean beaches the tourists and locals looked on baffled.
Yes I almost forgot this is supposed to be about an Oware Tournament not a holiday guide. This year there weren’t as many competitors or games enthusiasts as in 98. There was no competition the beach won hands down, all you could see glancing at the beach was a see of people. The air conditioning in the giant marquee left a lot to be desired. Twelve competitors in all took part in the first European Awele/Oware Championship, five in the seniors and seven in the juniors.
In the junior tournament we were graced with the presence of Cecile Pirat, who produced an upset in the 1997 tournament by beating a Cape Verdean player into 3rd position. Accompanying us were Elison Davis Junior International Champion MSO Gold medallist and Wayne Bonti MSO Bronze medallist. We had intended them to enter the junior competition but they decided to baptise themselves in the seniors. So the competition was on Cecile Pirat the reluctant favourite, with the challengers hot on hear heals. After two days of intense competition in the sweltering heat Maxence Soumare a new comer clinched first position with Cecile Pirat having to settle for third whilst Mathieu Tironi another new comer placed second.
The senior competitions saw the return of Danildo da Cunha the 1998 Awele champion. Also featured was Professor Rezitski from Switzerland veteran Oware enthusiast the new pretender Xavier Blanvillian from France and as already mentioned our junior players from the UK. As usual for very small numbers everybody played each other (Round Robin). It was a very close competition with the Professor aiming to topple the Champ from his position but it wasn’t to be. Da Cunha held on to his title for the second year running although being beaten by Professor Rezitski in their match. Second position went to the Professor whilst Xavier Blanvillian came in 3rd. Our Gallant juniors Wayne Bonti and Elison Davis came in 4th and 5th respectively, they have many unpleasant stories to tell of the Professors grunts which they claim put them off beating him.
Well, the end had to come and we were not going to miss the marquee but certainly the beach swimming would be dearly missed. As for Awele we will always miss the playing flair of Danildo da Cunha the current European Awele Champion.
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