LATEST NEWS

Our first club competition of the year The Green Opening Cup was held on Sunday 7 April. Club President Terry Lawless officially opened the green demonstrating some excellent bowling prowess as usual!  28 participants then battled it out on a blustery though thankfully largely dry afternoon. After 2 round robin rounds the top 8 made it through to the quarter finals with the final being a family affair between father and son Richard and Scott Longley. An excellent contest ended with Richard winning through. Richard (on the right) is pictured being presented with the trophy by Kevin Lawton.

This was followed by the Charity Cup on Sunday 5 May. A beautiful, warm sunny day (I know!!!) saw 26 people take part over 3 round robin rounds with the best performers making it through to a knock out stage. After some excellent close games, Jane Lucas and Tim Lynch made it through. A superb final saw Tim's early lead being whittled away by Jane but Tim finally made it over the line to clinch victory.  The picture shows him being presented with the trophy by Chris Marsden (Tim on the left).  Well done to Tim and thank you to everyone who took part or came along to support the event raising an incredible £245 for Dr Kershaw's Hospice!

One would have expected glorious sunshine for the Graham Hill Memorial Trophy on Sunday 9 June but sadly it was rain on and off all afternoon.  Nevertheless we had an excellent turnout with 36 competitors taking part. Two games each to start off with and then into the quarter-finals with any non-bowlers given a few points start. There was in fact some excellent bowling from the non-bowlers  -  they are obviously gaining some ‘hidden’ skills by turning up each year for this competition - with Murray Hill and Mark Regan making in through to the final. After some excellent bowling by both, Mark was the winner. He is pictured being presented with the trophy by Isobel Hill and her team of helpers. All the proceeds from this competition are donated to the British Heart Foundation. Over £580 was raised so a big ‘thank you’ to all who took part.

On Sunday 14 July  we held the President's Cup.  28 entrants, a mixture of bowlers and non-bowlers  took part, including members of the Silver Band and Brass Monkeys. This was  a "secret" pairs competition with people being paired up on the day. In reasonable weather for this summer (it didn't rain much!) the 14 pairs played 3 round robin rounds with the top 4 making it through to the semi-finals. Some very tight and exciting games ended with Mike Mooney/Scott Longley and Wendy Kilbride/Cameron Mason getting through to the final in which Mike and Scott triumphed after a blistering start left their opponents reeling. Mike and Scott are pictured being presented with the trophy by Terry Lawless.

The Atherton Malone Trophy was held on Friday 9 August. There were 24 entrants, again a mixture of bowlers and non-bowlers. On a warm but windy evening 2 round robin rounds were played by everyone with some excellent performances especially from some of the "non-bowlers" - not sure this is the right description given the standard of play! The top 8 made it through to the knockout stages. David Deighton and Mel Chamberlain fell at the semi-final stage leaving Tim Lynch and Tim Rainey to contest the final. A close battle between the 2 Tims ended with Mr Lynch being victorious to add to his Charity Cup win earlier in the year. He is pictured being presented with the Atherton Malone Trophy by Marjorie Malone. Many thanks to all who entered and those who helped organise the competition, raffle and food (the pies were lovely).

Our penultimate competition of the year The Merit Cup took place on Sunday 8 September. On a drizzly day 24 competitors took part in a straight knock out. The drizzle created difficult conditions but all coped well with some excellent bowling. David Deighton (for the second competition in a row) and Mike Lucas got knocked out at the semi final stage by Cameron Mason and Chris Marsden respectively. Cam and Chris provided a superb spectacle of a final with a very tight contest until Chris eventually pulled away to seal a 21-14 win. Chris (on the left) is pictured being presented with the trophy by Chris O'Ryan and John Moulton with Cameron on the right.

Our remaining  competition this year is:

Friday 20 September - Floodlit Pairs