Legacy of Lochinver resident lives on with memorial 8-ball pool tournament
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The memory of a Lochinver pool player was celebrated with the annual contesting of the Alan King Memorial Shield last night.
An "exciting" series of 8-ball pool matches took place in the Wayfarer's bar at the Culag Hotel in Lochinver, as both the semis and the final were contested over the best of five frames.
The first semi-final, played between previous shield winner John McCarthy and Fergus Mackay ended with Mackay on top, winning by three frames to one.
In the other semi, Jeanette McCarthy also secured a 3-1 win, getting the best of Daniel Hutchison to secure her place in the final.
After four frames, Fergus Mackay, who was noted to be on top form, won by two frames to secure his name on the shield for the first time.
This year, a full complement of 32 participants took part in the memorial competition – all from the local area.
The popular tournament, which is played on the same date each year in memory of Lochinver resident Alan King, was originally introduced in 2012 when his friends purchased a commemorative shield to mark his 70th birthday.
After he died in 2021, his friends elected to continue playing for the shield in his memory.
The competition was watched by his widow Helen.
Finalist Jeanette McCarthy said: "Alan loved the game and was always to be found playing in the Wayfarer's bar of the Culag hotel in Lochinver. Sadly he passed away in 2021 without managing to get his name on the shield, but the tournament goes on in his name.
"Our congratulations go to Fergus on a well earned win!"
Entrance money raised throughout the tournament will be donated to the Assynt Centre, as chosen by winner, Fergus Mackay, who also received a bottle of his choice donated by the owner of the Culag Hotel, Ken Whalen.
