Carrom Association UK

There is a carrom competition planned to take place in Dortmund, Germany in July this year.
I don’t know if it is a natiional or an international affair. I will keep you informed.
However with the usual German efficiency, carrom is played and promoted across the country.
There are some very good web pages about carrom, but in German.
My schoolgirl German helps a bit, but it is a difficult language.
However one of our team speaks perfect German and I have asked him to find out as many details about the contest in July as he can.

Dortmund is a very pretty town, with castles, carrom and cakes. The Germans make delicious cakes. So lots of excuses for a visit. And good reasons to get carrom promoted more in the UK.

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If you would like to get involved in helping to promote carrom, in any way, please feel free to contact us.
What we really need is some famous, admired person to say they love the game.
Or better still, our own carrom equivilant of some sporting hero that everyone knows.
Just think back a few years.
Football was something you took your kids to on a Saturday afternoon.
Now, it’s a multi-million £ industry. We all know how much money, fame etc. footballers get. There’s even been a TV soap about footballers’ wives.
Snooker is another example, and as it probably originates from carrom is more relevant. Tournaments, national and international, are televised worldwide, with huge prizes. Then there’s all the trimmings and spin-offs. No pun intended.
Darts has been on the TV. DARTS!
Maybe the problem is that 2 really good carrom players can clear the board in under 3 minutes. They’d have to show the game in slow motion.
Don’t blink or you’ll miss the shot. That’s what I mean.

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Below is a picture of a board advertising those lovely brave lads and lasses in the London Fire Service.
They are heroes, everyone. It’s just a pity our Government doesn’t appreciate them.
Who will they call if their homes go up in flames, or worse still a loved one is trapped inside?
You can always find another place to live.
But these people go into blazing buildings, on a daily basis, at all hours of the day and night, risking their lives and for what?
It’s not for the money.
They’d make more working behind a desk from 9-5, Monday to Friday, in the City or Whitehall.
It can’t be the uniform and the sense of power they have over other people, as is the case with the army, police, even traffic wardens or community officers.
They are a breed apart.
I have nothing but admiration for the fire service, not only the London branch, but nationwide. No, correct that, worldwide. Some of my strongest and abiding memories of 9/11 are the firefighters of New York, their bravery and the tragedy of so many dying trying to save others, in buildings that collapsed in minutes.
This has nothing really to do with carrom apart from the picture of the board.
It gives me an excuse to show my appreciation of these wonderful, selfless people and to have a pop at our Government for being so stingy.
We never seem to have a problem financing bombs, No. 10’s drinks bill, wages for yet more penpushers and quasi police.
But how many fire stations have been closed in the last decade?
I don’t know the exact figure but even one is one too many.

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Some people call them carrom counters, some call them carrommen. Still others say carrom coins or carrom pieces.
It’s not important.
The important thing is that the counters, coins, call them what you will, should be between 3.02 cm. and 3.18 cm in diameter.
They should be between .70 and .90 cm thick and weigh from 5.25 to 5.50 grams.
There are 9 black and 9 white counters and 1 red counter which is called the queen.
When they are set up in the middle of the board the queen is always in the middle.

They are usually made from wood and they should not get scratched as this will slow them down.
Nowadays you can also buy carrom pieces made from resin.

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When I type snooker into Google search there are 20,200,00 sites.
When I type in carrom there are only 748,000 listings.
I’m no good at maths but that means snooker has X times more. I told you I can’t do maths.
Not bad for a game that started out from carrom.
Or so the story goes, and I believe it.
There is a carrom game played with cues. It is played a lot in the USA.

However they also play carrom without cues. The same game we play here in Britain.
Have a look at this site.
And when you think of it logically.
I am sure that way back in the mists of time when people started playing games it was far easier to get fairly flat stones than rounded ones.
Then maybe some one had the bright idea of cutting through a fairly narrow branch, and making wooden discs.
Much easier than trying to make something spherical, no?
Eventually with machines snooker balls could be manufactured cheaply enough and maybe because it was played in bars, pubs and clubs it became popular.
Most homes couldn’t accomodate a snooker table, plus all the extra space needed so the player can use a long cue.
As we all know carrom can be played anywhere.
One of the game’s most endearing qualities could be its downfall in the UK.
Lots of people play it at home.
Let’s meet up.

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I haven’t posted anything for a few days, as I am running out of ideas.
I need some feedback from all you carrom players in the UK.
I know you’re out there.
If any one anywhere in Great Britain is a keen carrom player and is looking to play a few games, please get in touch.
We are desperate for news or informatiion.
Send us photos and we’ll publish them.
Send us stories and we’ll publish them.
Even a few comments would encourage us.
Surely some-one somewhere wants to play or talk about carrom?

Where are you?

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Wishing you prosperity in Cantonese and as it is the Chinese New Year this weekend I am going to write a brief post about Xiang Qi, a Chinese game.
The pieces consist of the General, mandarins, elephants, horsemen, chariots, cannons and soldiers. It is similar to chess. Some can move one way, some another. The board has a river and a fortress I’m hopeless at chess. I don’t think I’d be much good at this game.
Have a look at this site. A very interesting site, about all sorts of games. you can learn more about Xiang Qi.
Because of China’s huge population Xiang Qi is the most popular game in the world.
I still prefer carrom, but I’d give it a go.

This year is the year of the pig in China, and if you want to read about it, here’s where to click.

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According to websters-online-dictionary carom (one r) means
Noun
1. A glancing rebound.
2. A shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other.
Verb
1. Rebound after hitting: “The car caromed off several lampposts”.
2. Make a carom, in billiards.
The word has been used in popular English literature since the 1850’s.

When you type in carrom it suggests you look up carom.

I don’t know what the correct spelling of the game is.

Some people spell it carrom or carom. Others spell it karum.

How important is the spelling?
As long as people understand, it’s not important, right?
Wrong.
As a retired English teacher, who insisted on correct spelling from my students, I cannot now admit that spelling is not important.
I prefer carrom, maybe because of the onomatopoeic sound from the double RR.
Also being a Scot, I do tend to roll my R’s.

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In the UK there are a few places where you can buy Carrom.
However here is a new place where you can try before you buy in London. Only on a Sunday though.
Carromcafe, Spitalfields Market
Speak to the people running the stall. They are keen to help and are well informed of anything happening on the carrom front.

Some local Indian grocery stores in and around London occasionally stock the odd carrom board or two.

Midlands

Details available soon

Surrey/ Sussex

Details available soon

Online places to buy

You can try any of these online retailers
UK Carrom Shop
Farscape games
OKCarrom-Ireland

If you know of any other places that sell carrom please just let us know and we’ll do our best to add it here.

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There is a Carrom Club in East London. Details on the following link.
East London Carrom Club
Give them a call and get involved.
I don’t have many details yet, but the young lady I spoke to was very polite and pleasant.

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