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http://www.cataloniapoolfestival.com/

Catalonia Pool Festival, Calle Muntanyals 5., La Pineda (2026)

11/06/2024

We did try so much but sometimes the people just do not care .

11/06/2024

Dear Friends and Supporters,
We regret to inform you that the festival will not be held this year.
Over the past 3-4 months, our attempts to communicate with the hotel have been met with silence. Despite numerous emails and phone calls, we received no response. Three weeks ago, they informed us that our emails had been lost in their spam folder. We requested room prices to share with you, but once again, we received no reply.
We know many of you were eagerly awaiting updates. Vincent Noel from AFEBAS, for example, reached out about arranging for 45-50 players to attend.
We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Nik Hammond for his tremendous work on our new website and logo, all done without charge. Unfortunately, his efforts have been in vain this year.
Today, the hotel finally contacted us to ask about room numbers but still did not provide pricing. Without this crucial information, we cannot move forward.
After much deliberation, we have decided to cancel the festival this year. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding.
On a good note, we have the wheels in motion for next Year in Malaga, 3 Hotels want us. A change is as good as a rest 🙂
We really tried people, but it become untenable with them. So sorry.. ###
Sincerely,
Ross and Pat...

12/03/2024

The good old days.

12/03/2024

Well, I have thought long and hard about how to put down my post on Joan leaving the festival.

All those years ago when I approached you on the idea of having a festival of pool in Spain. The Jersey pool event was always supported by players from all over, but it lacked the weather mainly, a few other things, but mainly the weather. So, when I pitched the idea to you and said I wanted just one more thing, and that was to bring Pat in as our other partner, I did not think that in 14/16 years we would be here today.

We started with the boot camp. Lol, it was bad. Teams playing each other more than once because we only had very few players attending, then going to the yacht club we could see the difference right there but that again was too small as the festival grew.

On to where we are now and over the years it’s just grown and grown, but we have kept it fun and friendly all these years.

Joan, I have taken you for granted all these years, and for that, I apologise. The work you did in organizing the festival each year was top-notch. Since the first year when I was on the top table, things changed with me not realising it, each year I was getting pushed back little by little until really, I was only there as a player doing well most years, and whatever I won and the same with you was divided by the three of us after the event. I honestly don’t know if Pat ever won any money to put into our pot or not?!

After one year when we had a top player attending the festival, just coming over and picking up the major prize money I said no more. I know you did not like that decision, but I think in the end you accepted it and the top players who attend our event do so with the understanding that they are there to drink, socialise, and be part of the event, not just attending to win prize money.

Our event has been built on all kinds of players and that’s why they come back year after year, will it be the same without you, no chance. It will never be the same again, but Pat and I will try to do the best we can, it’s going to be so, so, hard without your leadership at the helm.

I can’t forget about the boys, they are different class. Let’s start with the set up that no one sees; they are all there helping out and it’s not easy work with tables, slates, lights etc. The next day they are again up early to make everything perfect, from table levelling to just brushing the tables and taking in the entries. Each day they work long hours with very little payment to what they do but it’s the love of the game that we all play that keeps them going and I don’t think we will get a staff like that again.

Lastly, I can’t let this moment go by without mentioning Vicens, as I know how much he meant to you; losing him was a big factor in your decision to leave the festival. It was coming for a few years I know that now, and I should have seen that quicker. When I lost Mick; well, I can’t even now describe how I felt and each day I remember him in little ways, so I understand what you are going through.

We will be honouring Vicens at the new festival, not quite sure how at this time, but we will make everyone remember him fully there.

Love Ross

07/03/2024

Joan my friend
As I sit down to write this farewell message, I find myself overcome with emotions. Saying goodbye to someone as incredible as you is never easy, especially when you've been not just a partner, but also a cherished friend and like a brother to me.

Since the day we first met on our journey with the Festival, I knew instantly that you were a very special person and hoped you'd be in my life forever.

Your decision to part ways with us and the Festival is truly heart-wrenching for all of us. Your impact on everyone who has attended over the years is evident in their messages, reflecting just how much you've meant to them, especially to me and Ross.

While we're deeply saddened to see you leave, I understand and respect your reasons, brother. Your dedication, passion, and hard work have left an indelible mark on our team, and your absence will be deeply felt.

Reflecting on our time working together, I'm flooded with memories filled with laughter, challenges overcome, and milestones achieved. Your unwavering support, wisdom, and camaraderie have been invaluable, not only to me and Ross but to everyone fortunate enough to have crossed paths with you.

I'd like to extend a massive thank you to my boys, Aram, Jordi Perez, Xavier, Xavi, Paul Keenan, Laura, also all the people in the background who have helped and more importantly, a dear friend to us all, who we sadly lost shortly after last year's Festival, the Legend that was, our Vicens. The Festival would not have been possible without all of you.

Joan, working alongside you has been an absolute pleasure, not just because of your professional competence but also because of the warmth and positivity you bring to every interaction. Your dedication and hard work have been an inspiration to us all, and your departure marks the end of an era.

As you move forward, may you find fulfillment and success in all your pursuits. Remember that your talents and skills are boundless, and the world is your lobster. 😉

Though everyone will miss you dearly, your impact will continue to resonate long after your departure. Your legacy of excellence will serve as a guiding light for us as we navigate the challenges ahead. Without you and the boys, it will be 100 percent harder.

Please stay in touch, and don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need support or just want to catch up. Your friendship means the world to me, and I look forward to meeting up with you, having a few beers, some of them yellow shots that Vicens loved, even though he had me on them for breakfast 🙂 Let's celebrate our past successes together.

It's been a blast, my friend! Love you, Bestie.. ###

Pat...

06/03/2024

Catalonia Pool Festival 2010 – 2023. (ENG)
At the beginning of this year I let my partners know that I no longer wished to continue with the Festival for certain reasons that I would prefer not to go into here. It has been a miracle that we managed to blow out the candles eleven times since that first event in 2010, which, as Jenny rightly said, was a disaster.
My partners wanted to cancel that first Festival six weeks before it was due to open when I had spent almost two years working on it. I convinced them to continue with an “I want to run the best festival ever.” And so it was that following a long and winding road full of anecdotes we have got to where we are today.
I would like to thank everybody who has come to enjoy the Festival over the years. The opportunity to get to know so many of you has been, for me, the greatest treasure that I take away from it. That crazy idea of putting so many people from all over the world together in a hotel for a week, with the belief that they could do so without coming to blows, ended up working. I would like to thank the members of staff, who are all friends of mine, that come rain or shine have been at my side for the long haul in this adventure, putting in long days of work with heroic commitment purely for the sake of the Festival and its people. They too have decided not to continue.
I would also like to thank Pat and Ross for the road that we have travelled together. It has been a privilege for me to share it with two legends such as them: Pat is a big child who you can’t but love.
My grandmother used to say that when someone does the best they can, they are under no obligation to go further, and this is how I feel now: satisfied and proud of the work that we have done, having nurtured a project that had humble beginnings to one that received international recognition, placing my small country on the map of must-visit places in the present day Blackball scene. Now I am sad because the end was not as I had hoped: it came suddenly during the last Festival and now that I have got over the pain, I feel that I can look things in their face. I am leaving for dignity, coherence, and health. With each new wash I have been losing socks, but at our final Festival I lost a whole set of sheets: both my head and my doctor have called time.

So now what? My now ex-partners want to continue, and they have every right to do so. The hotel was already reserved, the dates have been set, and with the inertia from the last few years, I am sure that everything will go well. Forgoing any compensation for the work done, the only thing I have asked for is that they change the name. Out of respect for those who will not be there and those who are no longer with us yet contributed so much, I would like the Catalonia Pool Festival to remain as the legacy of all of the people who made it possible, enjoyed it, and helped us to make it better.
And so, what now for me? I am going to take a holiday, something unheard of for me during the Festival years. Now I can lick my wounds and recover my mental freshness without the never-ending cycle of the Festival, where as soon as you end one you start preparing for the next.
We will meet again at the tables. I trust that I will be able to prepare for the Worlds in Malta with a Seniors team that I am very much looking forward to playing with. When I only have to worry about playing pool, I am a happy man.
So, once again, thank you all for your support over the years. It has been an honour and a pleasure. Now the bus stops here.
Joan Marminyà

06/03/2024

Catalonia Pool Festival 2010 – 2023. (FRA)
Au début de cette année, j'ai fait savoir à mes partenaires que je ne souhaitais plus poursuivre le Festival pour certaines raisons que je préférerais ne pas aborder ici. C'est un miracle que nous soyons parvenus à souffler les bougies onze fois depuis ce premier événement en 2010, qui, comme Jenny l'a dit à juste titre, était un désastre.
Mes partenaires voulaient annuler ce premier Festival six semaines avant son ouverture alors que j'avais passé près de deux ans à y travailler. Je les ai convaincus de continuer avec un «Je veux organiser le meilleur festival de tous les temps». C’est ainsi qu’après un chemin long et sinueux, rempli d’anecdotes, nous sommes arrivés là où nous en sommes aujourd’hui.
Je tiens à remercier tous ceux qui sont venus profiter du Festival au fil des années. L’opportunité de connaître un si grand nombre d’entre vous a été, pour moi, le plus grand trésor que j’en retire. Cette idée f***e de rassembler pendant une semaine autant de personnes du monde entier dans un hôtel, avec la conviction qu’ils pourraient le faire sans en venir aux mains, a fini par fonctionner. Je tiens à remercier les membres du personnel, qui sont tous mes amis, qui qu’il pleuve ou qu’il fasse beau ont été à mes côtés tout au long de cette aventure, consacrant de longues journées de travail avec un engagement héroïque au seul service du Festival et ses gens. Eux aussi ont décidé de ne pas continuer.
Je tiens également à remercier Pat et Ross pour le chemin que nous avons parcouru ensemble. Cela a été un privilège pour moi de le partager avec deux légendes comme elles: Pat est un grand enfant qu’il est impossible de ne pas aimer.
Ma grand-mère disait que quand quelqu'un fait de son mieux, il n'est pas obligé d'aller plus loin, et c'est ce que je ressens maintenant: satisfaits et fiers du travail que nous avons accompli, après avoir nourri un projet qui a eu des débuts modestes et qui a reçu une reconnaissance internationale, plaçant mon petit pays sur la carte des lieux incontournables de la scène actuelle du Blackball. Maintenant, je suis triste parce que la fin n'a pas été comme je l'espérais : elle est arrivée soudainement lors du dernier Festival et maintenant que j'ai surmonté la douleur, et maintenant je me sens capable de regarder les choses en face. Je pars pour la dignité, la cohérence et la santé. À chaque nouveau lavage, je perds des chaussettes, mais lors de notre dernier Festival, j'ai perdu tout un jeu de draps: ma tête et mon médecin ont sonné le glas.
Et maintenant? Mes désormais ex-partenaires veulent continuer et ils ont parfaitement le droit de le faire. L'hôtel était déjà réservé, les dates sont fixées, et avec l'inertie de ces dernières années, je suis sûr que tout se passera bien. Renonçant à toute compensation pour le travail effectué, la seule chose que j'ai demandé, c'est qu'ils changent de nom. Par respect pour ceux qui ne seront pas là et pour ceux qui ne sont plus parmi nous et qui ont tant contribué, je voudrais que la Catalonia Pool Festival reste l'héritage de tous ceux qui l'ont rendu possible, l'ont apprécié et ont aidé nous pour l'améliorer.
Et alors, et maintenant pour moi? Je vais prendre des vacances, chose inédite pour moi pendant les années du Festival. Maintenant, je peux panser mes blessures et retrouver ma fraîcheur mentale sans le cycle sans fin du Festival, où dès qu'on en termine un, on commence à préparer le suivant.
Nous nous reverrons aux tables. J'espère que je pourrai me préparer pour les Mondiaux à Malte avec une équipe de Sèniors avec laquelle j'ai très hâte de jouer. Quand je n'ai rien d'autre à m'inquiéter que de jouer au billard, je suis un homme heureux.
Alors, encore une fois, merci à tous pour votre soutien au fil des années. Cela a été un honneur et un plaisir. Maintenant, le bus s'arrête ici.
Joan Marminyà

06/03/2024

Catalonia Pool Festival 2010-2023. (CAT)
A primers d’any vaig dir als meus socis que no volia continuar, no crec necessari explicar-ne els motius concrets. Ha estat un autèntic miracle haver bufat onze espelmes des d’aquell primer de 2010 que com bé va dir la Jenny, va ser una m***a.
Els meus socis volien cancel•lar aquell primer festival un mes i mig abans, quan jo ja feia gairebé dos anys que hi treballava, els vaig convèncer de continuar amb un “I want to run the best festival ever”. I així, després d’un tortuós camí farcit d’anècdotes hem arribat fins avui.
Vull donar les gràcies a tota la gent que ha vingut a gaudir del festival durant tots aquests anys, l’oportunitat de conèixer-us a molts de vosaltres ha estat, per a mi, el tresor més gran que el festival m’ha donat. Aquella bogeria de posar gent de tot el món dins un Hotel una setmana i que no es matessin ha acabat funcionant. Vull agrair també als membres del staff, que són els meus amics, que em seguissin en aquesta aventura i m’acompanyessin a sol i serena. Durant jornades inacabables amb un compromís èpic pel bé del festival i de la seva gent. Ells també han decidit no continuar.
Agraeixo també a en Pat i en Ross el camí viscut plegats, ha estat un privilegi per a mi compartir-lo amb dues llegendes com ells. Pat és un nen gran que només et pots estimar.
La meva àvia deia que qui fa tot el que pot no està obligat a més, així és com em sento jo ara, satisfet i orgullós per la feina feta, haver fet créixer un projecte que va començar de forma humil i acabar situant-lo a un nivell global, posant el meu petit país al mapa dels llocs imprescindibles del Blackball en l’actualitat. Alhora estic trist perquè aquest final no era previst, va arribar de manera sobtada durant el darrer festival i un cop superat el dol, ara em veig amb forces de parlar-ne. Me’n vaig per dignitat, per coherència i per salut, a cada bugada he anat perdent un mitjó, però en aquest darrer festival he perdut molts llençols, el meu cap i el meu metge han dit que ja n’hi ha prou.

I ara què? Doncs els meus exsocis volen seguir i tenen dret de fer-ho, l’Hotel ja estava reservat, les dates també i amb la inèrcia dels últims anys segur que tot anirà molt bé. Només he demanat una cosa, renunciant a tota compensació per la feina feta i és que en canvíin el nom. M’agradaria que Catalonia Pool Festival quedés com a patrimoni de tota la gent que l’ha fet possible, que l’ha gaudit i que ens ha ajudat a millorar-lo, per respecte als que no hi serem i també als que ja no hi són i van fer molt pel festival.
I què farà en Joan ara? Vacances, una cosa inaudita per a mi en els anys de festival, ara toca llepar-me les ferides i recuperar la frescor mental sense l’etern bucle del festival, on quan n’acabes un ja has de començar a preparar el següent.
Ens veurem a les taules, confio a poder preparar el Mundial de Malta amb un equip sènior català que em fa molta il•lusió. Quan només m’he de preocupar de jugar a billar sóc un home feliç. Fins aquí hem arribat, amics, gràcies!
Joan Marminyà

27/11/2023

Ahir ens va deixar en Vicens Escobairó, una de les persones més estimades del nostre col•lectiu, després d’una dura batalla contra la malaltia. Vicens ha estat una peça clau des del primer festival fins al darrer, ja malalt, fent tot el possible per a l’èxit del mateix.
Molts el recordareu com una persona afable, alegre i jovial, amb ganes de broma i trobant solucions on hi havia problemes. Vicens ha estat una persona fonamental pel desenvolupament del Blackball a Catalunya, on se li té un afecte reverencial i on sempre ho ha donat tot. El seu carisma ha travessat fronteres i el buit que deixa als qui l’hem conegut ens és impossible d’omplir. El món és avui un lloc una mica pitjor sense ell.

Et recordarem amic, sempre ❤️

27/10/2023

La final del Main Open entre Daniel Orme i Lluís Cubero 😍

24/10/2023

La final senior d'enguany entre Sergio Mas i Sebastien Mus:

23/10/2023

Master final between Neil Toms vs Thierry Foucaut 🙂

Catalonia Pool Festival

11/06/2024

11/06/2024

12/03/2024

12/03/2024

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27/11/2023

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