Hawca gives us an update on Blood Bowl in Wales.
	Over the last four years Blood Bowl in Wales has come on leaps and bounds.  It all began with my birthday trip away to “The Blood Bowl” at GW Nottingham in 2009. I bought a new team ready for this, painted my Humans and convinced a friend to join me with his Necros. It was there that I saw this guy selling block dice, coloured block dice. I needed to get me some of these, and that is where I joined the NAF.
This was to be the start of something big, not only for my Blood Bowl hobby but also Welsh Blood Bowl. My game 6 opponent, who would spend the whole time talking to me about a league I was thinking of setting up back in Wales, was Lycos. He gave me his email and offered his help. Little did I know that the path my Blood Bowl hobby would take would see a country gain its own RTO and national team. On the return to Wales we set about creating a Blood Bowl league, and shortly after a tournament that would be called the Casnewydd Cup (Newport Cup). This event was mainly local Blood Bowlers with just one visiting from outside the local area by the name of Gumbo. With 14 coaches looking to lift the title it was a great first event. With the fever in my veins I set about looking at where I would play next and it wasn't long before I made it to London to visit Gumbo and play in the Pearly Kings and Queens. Unfortunately back home the league was struggling with losing our venue, this led to losing a few league coaches. For almost two years Blood Bowl in Wales was very weak on the league front, however the tournament Blood Bowl would get stronger. Seeing the second showing of the Casnewydd cup hit a record number of coaches at 34, it was a Welshman, Cracol that would take the title with a flawless 6-0-0 weekend.

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It was to be a good year for Welsh Blood Bowl as a national team was to be set up for the World Cup and we started making our name out there. Getting the chance to play Blood Bowlers from around the world and play on a global stage was an amazing opportunity for everyone lucky enough to attend.

Tweets by @NafWales ;

  Moving forward, 2012 was to be a big year for Welsh Blood Bowl. Lycos called me one Sunday afternoon and told me he felt that it was time that Wales had its own RTO, and asked if I would take on this role. I was speechless with this, as for me it was a chance to give something back to a hobby that has given me so much enjoyment, and so many friends across not only the UK but the world.

  While I am still learning the role and responsibilities that go with it, it's nice to know that if the Welsh guys and those from across the bridge in Bristol need anything, dice, results or name changes, I'm just a phone call away.  This also gave me a chance to help out in other events, from handing out new dice at the NAF Championship to helping out with Bristol’s Gert Bowl because Monkeykungfu had an operation weeks before his event.

  While this brought on more challenges, I had a clear mission that I wanted to try to build on the foundation set by others and get the Welsh to the Euro Bowl.  Denmark 2012, to be held in Copenhagen, was our target. This was not an easy task with so few known Welsh coaches, but with the help of my good friend DaPiranha we got there in the end.

  I started this by renaming the Casnewydd cup as The Welsh Open, with the thinking not only can our English neighbours pronounce this but it’s a way of getting the Welsh profile on the NAF circuit. I had also made some good connections from visiting other tournaments like the Spiky Club Open, Strongbowl, Rocketbowl and of course the NAF Championship. When entrants to the Eurobowl were needed, I put the call out and was rewarded with responses from players all over the UK.

The Welsh not only made it to their first Eurobowl in Copenhagen but we would see something that made the weekend for all of us, the results after Round 1 would see us top of the pile. With Facebookers and tweeters back home following our progress we took the only direction possible and started a steady fall from grace!

   Being the rookies and a young nation in Blood Bowl terms we weren’t aiming for the sky (been there round 1 after all) but just to put Welsh Blood Bowl on the map, and we did that. While in Copenhagen we even managed a Sunday morning game against the Scots. Wales would pick up a victory there and bragging rights before finishing the tournament in 10th place from 14. I was left a proud captain, with the Team proud to have played on the biggest stage, against some of the very best Blood Bowl coaches on the planet.

Since the Eurobowl we have joined with Bristol Blood Bowl league (BUBBA) and run a small league alongside them, with visits across the bridge for extra games.  The Welsh Open has continued to be a fixture in Welsh Blood Bowl and a key part of the UK NAF gaming year. Seeing people from all over the UK come to visit with strong support from Bristol and Swindon, but the Welsh Open still awaits its first European coach.  Who knows you may get a prize if you’re the first. 

2013 brings a new league, a very successful 4th Welsh Tournament on 2nd Feb (see video below) and a new challenge as we have the Eurobowl in Austria to build for.

To follow the adventures of Team Wales and Welsh BloodBowl in general, follow us on Twitter!

  Andy McDonald (Hawca)