Austin Lockwood Saturday, September 2, 2023
Some months ago I posted an article congratulating Scotland on the best ever British performance in a European Team Championship... unfortunately (for Scotland, not for Wales!), that record didn't stand for very long. In the same tournament, Wales are now +4 with only two games remaining, which is guaranteed to exceed Scotland's score by at least three points.
The British Record table now looks like this:
| Final | Team | Score | +/- | Percent Score | Final Position | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 11th | Wales | 50.5 | +5 | 52% | No lower than 3rd | Ongoing | Ongoing | Ongoing |
| 11th | Scotland | 47.5 | -1 | 49.48% | Ongoing | Ongoing | Ongoing | Ongoing |
| 9th | England | 46 | -4 | 47.92% | 9th | Russia | Slovenia | Italy |
| 7th | England | 52 | -8 | 46.43% | 12th | Slovakia | Italy | Slovenia |
| 1st | Great Britain | 43 | -5 | 44.79% | 7th | Soviet Union | Germany | Austria |
| 10th | England | 42 | -12 | 43.75% | 13th | Germany | Slovenia | Italy |
| 5th | England | 52 | -16 | 43.33% | 10th | Germany | Lithuania | Czech Republic |
| 8th | England | 41 | -14 | 42.71 | 12th | Sweden | Italy | Russia |
| 6th | England | 60.5 | -23 | 42.01 | 12th | Germany | Lithuania | Czech Republic |
| 2nd | Great Britain | 42.5 | -11.5 | 39.35% | 8th | Soviet Union | Germany | Netherlands |
So, with two games to go, Wales are already the most successful British team ever in the European Team Championship, easily beating Great Britain's 7th place in the first final and England's 47.92% in the 9th.
Can Wales go on to challenge the giants of Germany or Italy and win a podium position?... The next ICCF Congress will be in Llandudno next August, and it would be wonderful for the team to be presented with medals on Welsh soil.... Watch this space!
Unfortunately Wales are now the only British team which can qualify for the 12th final.
