time were that a new Tapp was emerging – the same confidence, but this time with a renewed vigour and thirst for success. Critics look favourably on Posh’s work, citing him as ‘one of the game’s most underrated folk heroes’. Reports were confirmed as Tapp made a number of impromptu festival appearances across the summer and began racing with a new intensity. A minor blip at 2009’s V Festival which saw him officially cautioned by festival organisers for continued indecent exposure, meant he was unable to capitalise on his new-found form and suffered one too many embarrassing losses at the hands of nemesis Cartwright. It would be two singular moments in time though that would come to define Luke William Tapp’s slinging career. Bratislava in 2009 and Nantwich in 2010. The latter reads for a woeful story; the painful summit of an eight year journey in which Tapp was never quite able to develop the career defining foundation on which to build the legacy he fought so hard to attain. The pre-tournament hype around Nantwich was unprecedented. Out of favour ex-champion Chandler was touted by social commentators as favourite (a title Tapp felt should have been afforded to himself) and

Friends and family close to Tapp would often talk of his closet admiration for Cartwright – and often pondered if, from an earlier age he’d been mentored by the reigning champion, he’d have made it to the elite level of slingers. A failed challenge for the Drinking Committee chair in 2004 plus a let off from an unsavoury incident outside a North London pub 2 years later saw Tapp begin to fall begin his competitive set. It wasn’t under the competition went international that his will and drive to success took another turn – and one critics would later define as one ultimately for the worst Yet it was on home soil that Tapp first began to feel the pressure of high level competition. At a Peterborough invitational in 2006, he cried foul play when former champion James Chandler pipped him to take first place. First, wild demands of the integrity of the judges before calls for an independent body to be summoned to affirm the validity of the stopwatches used. As the slinging scene was beginning to take shape around him, Tapp was already tearing down walls and distancing himself from eventual glory. Later in 2008, he was taken under the care and guidance of fan favourite David ‘Posh’ Wilson. Rumours from the camp at the

Obituaries

Luke Tapp’s Slinging Career The second half of the sport’s greatest rivalry and affectionately known as ‘the hardest trier in the business’

he hearts of those that admired him will tell a different story to the history books. Tapp, raised in Warwickshire before leaving for university in mid Wales aged

18, always aimed for the stars whilst wearing his heart on his sleeve. Despite never becoming an official champion, he will remain in hearts and minds as a people’s one Rare for someone who had never won silverware of his own, Tapp obsessed over his legacy and constantly sought reassurance of his status vs. top rival Philip Cartwright. The tempestuous relationship between the two often boiled over in pre-match weigh ins – Tapp keen to pursue the mind-game route, taunting Cartwright with the failures of former England football manager Kevin Keegan. Cartwright though almost always saved his best for the ring, delivering a number of knockout blows and subsequent blots in Tapp’s notebook across the years.

T the game’s top names, Wilson, Cartwright & Antoszkiw seemed out of sorts in the lead up. For all Tapp’s pre match bravado, he was blown away in the first round by a jaw-dropping display from the tournament’s eventual winner James Chandler. Tapp’s reaction to the loss harked back to 2006 in Peterborough – this time citing a new Irish referee as the unlikely pantomime villain. But it will forever be Bratislava (dubbed Tappislava) one year earlier that will haunt Luke Tapp until his final days. Desperate and without a glimmer of silverware in years – Tapp remains accused of smuggling a non-certified glass thought to be 20% smaller than the sanctioned pint, into the country which he then used to ‘win’ the Champions League tournament. A callous act, pre-meditated and planned for months ahead of the trip that is still missing an admission and apology. Further complications in the citing process initiated by Philip Cartwright, have made Tapp’s position untenable to the extent that he will sail these shores for pastures new to setup and part-fund a new Middle Eastern league operating out of Dubai. The public may never get their apology and Tapp will maintain his Bratislava crown – but in the eyes of the those who love him and hate him, he will be remembered as one of the sport’s biggest personalities. His duals over the years with Cartwright have added an unpredictable sparkle to proceedings and his outbursts inside the ring and out have always provided fodder for even the most disapproving of critics. His slinging career is survived by mentor David Wilson, and apprentice of 4 years Gavin Thomas. James Chandler Luke William Tapp, solicitor and drinker, first slung September 2002; retired April 2012

The Guardian | Tuesday 10 April 2012