Legacy of the Paddle
- 2025 -
Harry delivering unto Brock
This outcome felt inevitable. For far too long, we bore witness as Brock meticulously readied his shanks before every swing. At last, a final chance was graciously bestowed—a fleeting path to redemption through Beyblade battle—only to be viciously denied by Ben M.
- 2024 -
Roy delivering unto Harry
With a mere 0.5 Nm added, the trial reached its end—and Harry’s fate was sealed, the paddle splintering with a sharp report that echoed through the cold, silent room. Should he have tested the torsional stiffness of the refined paddles? Perhaps not. There would be no second chance.
- 2023 -
Tom delivering unto Roy
It was never spoken, yet the room seemed to know—after minutes of Tom wrestling to find the words and reasoning to select an innocent to deliver—that someone would have to step forward, or be pushed forward. Falling asleep during a banger, it was Roy. It was always going to be Roy.
- 2022 -
Sam delivering unto Tom
Sam’s list of reasons was long, but his patience was not. Losing the blurry birdie, sporting Speed Dealers, and overusing the phrase “boys will be boys”—a perfect storm, and Tom was caught right in it.
- 2020 -
Harry delivering unto Sam
Two short nights each year, a handful of lifelong companions gather, having journeyed from every corner, to catch up, to reunite, to feel whole. Sam slips away to purchase his grog.
- 2019 -
Ben.S delivering unto Ben.M
The parking lot seemed dirtier than usual. Was it the wind? A different crew on shift this year? Neither thought crossed Ben M.’s mind as he dropped—no, threw—the merchandise to meet it, smirking all the while.
- 2018 -
Aaron delivering unto Ben.S
A lifetime of athletic excellence seemed nowhere in evidence as Ben’s beer hit the ground, lightly nudged by a now-unknown bystander. But what truly fell—was it the cold, refreshing beer, or our respect for his abilities and awareness.
- 2017 -
Rejfek delivering unto Aaron
Four years the tour had been maneuvering every angle to prove to Dean and the Tenterfield board that we were respectable, capable, and aware of our surroundings. How much damage did Aaron’s shoe do in the puddle the first time? How much the second? The answer was obvious, the decision easy.
- 2016 -
Tom delivering unto Rejfek
If a paddle was what it took to stop 384 from becoming 385 road fatalities in NSW in 2016, then Tom was more than happy to deliver. Was the speeding fine Ben received enough? Better to be on the safe side.
- 2015 -
Stringers delivering unto Tom
The lowest of acts—the first act. Perhaps it was how he was raised, perhaps the horse he rode in on; either way, Tom was unmoved by Stringers claims of first bed. Stringers could have kept silent, or changed rooms to remove himself from Toms reign, but what of the next victim? No—he chose instead to forge a path, to bring those who had wronged to justice. He was the judge and the jury—and the first to deliver.