TOP skittles team, the Wiltshire Moonrakers, have revealed the secrets of their success: they have a small wager amongst themselves. The strategy certainly worked, as the team from Melksham, snatched victory in a weekend skittles tournament by just three pins.
The Moonrakers were competing in the recent Serious About Skittles Tournament series against ten other teams. Teams had travelled from Wales, Avon, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Avon and Somerset for the competition held in Torquay.
Captain Elaine Lewis said the betting within the team sharpened up the form and led them to victory with 415 points over Birdy’s Lot B from Acton Turville in Gloucestershire, winning all their matches along the way.
“In loyal support of the Moonrakers was Ted, the team’s beloved mascot who goes to all their matches and even sits on a special seat in his little farmer’s smock and holding his rake,” says the team’s press officer, Jane Blanchard. “The team has been getting together especially to play in the Serious About weekend tournaments, since 2000. Ted’s encouragement has resulted in two previous wins, in 2019 and 2022, the latter resulting in a nail-biting final, which they won by just one pin.”
Elaine said, “We won in 2019, which was Serious About Events’ 25th anniversary year, and now we’ve won again in their 30th anniversary year. Our finals seem to be a bit nail-biting, so we think we’ll continue with the betting.”
