By LUKE VOOGT
Ocean Grove Snooker Club will celebrate decades of potting balls and mateship at its 40th anniversary this July.
Wallington bricklayer Jeff Itzatt has been part of the club for 34 of those years.
“That’s a fair bit more than half my life,” he said.
The 57-year-old hasn’t missed a season since 1983, and loves the social aspect of the club.
“There’s no malice after the game – although when you play you are out there to win,” he said.
“We’ve got a cross-section of every occupation.”
The club has 14 tables at homes around Ocean Grove and Wallington, with a home and away season, and has had several players in their nineties.
“I can’t see myself stopping,” Jeff said.
“We’ve had people play until they drop.”
Jeff’s team started as The Terrace Turkeys, whose “home ground” was his brother-in-law Phil Emery’s house.
“It’s a silly name but we didn’t know how long we would be playing,” he said.
The team moved to Jeff’s “man cave” in Wallington, when he built a house there in 1990.
“We’ve dropped The Terrace but we kept the turkeys,” he said.
Jeff is a life member of the club and has won four singles championships and four premierships.
But he’s no match for the club’s star, Roy Tan, who wins regularly in Geelong’s A Grade fixture.
Roy, Jeff said, doesn’t take part in singles or doubles competition, as he’d trounce the other players.
Ocean Grove Snooker Club is inviting players past and present to its 40th anniversary at McGlashan Estate, Wallington, on 10 July.
Entertainment includes Cam Henderson and Steve Kucine.
For more information or to book contact Gerry Sanderson on 0429 353 146 or at gez@bigpond.net.au.
