The Event and Venue
Affectionately known as “Warwick”, the PAGB Inter-Club PDI Championship is held each year. Until 2023, the venue was Warwick University, which is actually in Coventry! However, for the event in 2024, we were treated to a new venue at the Warwick School, a leading independent day and boarding school for boys. Warwick school dates back to its founding in the year 914 AD, when Æthelflæd (The “Lady of Mercia” and King Alfred the Great’s daughter) built a fortification at Warwick to defend Mercia from the Vikings! Fortunately, the school has been re-built since then and now boasts a beautiful modern events hall, “Warwick Hall”. With the school holidays only just beginning, the competition date had to be moved to a week later than it had been traditionally held, but the weather was as fabulous as it always has been…the sun always seems to shine for Warwick.
What’s it all about?
Well, every year, each of the UK’s 15 regional photographic federations nominates two of its top clubs to compete in this very prestigious event. Additionally, the top-placed 8 clubs from the previous year and the winners of the previous year’s runner-up event, known as “The Plate”, are pre-qualified to enter, theoretically making an entry from the top 39 clubs in the UK. This means it is a fantastic event, showcasing the very best that UK photographic clubs can provide and it’s a wonderful day out, whether your club is entered or not…easily justifying the early start and long journey, which is especially difficult for club members from Scotland and Northern Ireland, who usually have to make a whole weekend of it (if they can do it, so can we!!!).
Competing clubs begin with a bank of 40 images each, must enter 8 images into each of the first two rounds, then an aggregate score is calculated. The top scoring 8 clubs go through to contest the final (and automatically pre-qualify for next year) and the remaining clubs compete for the runner-up Plate.
The experience you get on the day is priceless, a little nerves for both your own images and that of your club mates, the disappointment when an image scores low and the excitement when they score high. The chance to mix with and meet with photographers of high quality from many clubs. This was the 4th time I have attended this event and look forward to attending a lot more. The knowledge you come away with as a photographer and an artist is, as I’ve said, priceless. Plus good company and a sense of belonging to something special you can not beat. Well done to everyone in our top little club, who defy the odds.
Eddie Leach, Oldham PS
Oldham PS’s history in this competition
(We first qualified to enter in 2021)
2021 The first event held after Covid, we entered but didn’t make the top 8 and the Plate competition was not run that year.
2022 We were joint winners of the Plate with Poulton-le-Fylde PS, allowing us to compete again in 2023.
2023 Frustratingly we were one mark outside the top 8 and failed to win the Plate, so failed to pre-qualify.
2024 We qualified to enter as one of the 2 clubs invited to represent the L&CPU, because we were the champion club at the L&CPU Annual Club Competitions.
This Year’s Event
Our first and second rounds added together left us in the top eight and qualifying for the final for the very first time. This year, due to tied marks, 10 clubs went forward to the final rather than the usual 8.
The pictures below show what we used, with our scores – you can click to enlarge them but no individual images are published here…however, they will mostly be very familiar to members anyway and most can be seen in larger format elsewhere on this website.
Round 1 (marks out of 15 in red)
Round 2 (marks out of 15 in red)
The Final
We reached our first ever final, which requires an entry of 20 images. Up to 10 images may be re-used from rounds 1 and 2…plus at least 10 new images chosen from the bank. There is also a limit of four images from any one worker and 5 nature images.
With an entry comprising mostly sport, insects and portraits, we ended up in a fabulous 5th place overall and have pre-qualified for next year! Well done everyone, including selectors Mike Lawrence and Christine Widdall.
Representatives of the top 10 clubs receiving their finalists’ medals (photo credit PAGB)
Four of our members celebrating outside the warwick hall (Photo Credit Gill Brett)
