The UK Women’s Online Championship 2026
For the last three years, the UKBGF has organised a national Women’s Championship online, held on Backgammon Hub, as a means to get more women into the active backgammon community in the UK, particularly in parts where there isn’t a thriving club scene like ours. Each year it’s grown and the most recent featured 73 players, including quite a few familiar names locally. Julia was the tournament director for the first two but has now passed the baton along, which means more time to focus play!
The 2026 championship started back in March, with everyone having three lives, and each fortnight all survivors play a 13-point match; anyone who’s lost three times is eliminated so the field gradually thins out until only two players are left. Matches that long involve both stamina and some pretty tricky cube decisions when the scores are very unbalanced! Julia started well with three early wins, but then got drawn against Michelle Sykes, her partner in the Intermediate Doubles League – clearly the coaching has worked well as Michelle clawed back from 5-12 down to win 13-12 in a thrilling finish. Then followed our very own Ruth, who suffered a blistering display of luck as Julia won 13-4.
The path ahead was certainly not easy as the next four opponents were all members of the UK Women’s international team, followed by another 13-12 nailbiter against Monika Kennedy. Round twelve was a bye – everyone else already having had one – and after that we were down to two – Julia, and Cecilia Rogers, the only UK woman to have achieved BMAB Master status, and both with two lives left. Both thought that three matches would be a lot to cram into busy schedules and agreed to play a single 13-pointer for the title.
The final is available on video here: UKBGF Women’s Championship 2026: The Final and has two expert commentators talking you through the match. Both players were at their best with “World Class” PRs and the match swung back and forth until the dice granted Julia a double-gammon to win 13-8, yielding a crystal cube trophy and the right to be called Champion. “Definitely the toughest tournament I’ve won in forty years of trying!” – with the added irony that Cecilia’s husband Chris is also Julia’s coach… clearly a very fruitful decision by her there!
What an achievement ! Congratulations to both but a special praise for Julia !
Julia is also the organizer of The Cambridge Open, part of the UKBGF Tour. The next event, who will mark the 10th anniversary, will take place on the 2nd-4th July. All the information can be found here: https://cambridgeopen.juliahayward.com/home/