September 5th: A fine, bright Saturday morning greeted our first two finalists, Mark Baxter and Steve Kirby, who contested the Wightman Cup, 2 bowl singles. Steve scored 4 shots from the first 3 ends and although Mark fought tenaciously, he could never get in front and Steve took his first singles title by 15 shots to 10.
Steve was back on the green in the afternoon, partnering Keith Puddephatt in the Pairs Championship. They, and their opposition of Paul Rudkin and John Stallwood, contested a memorable Final. Holding a 10 - 1 advantage after just 3 ends, things looked very promising for Steve and Keith, but by the half way point in the 18 end game, things were all square at 11 all. The last 9 ends could not have been tighter. John and Paul picked up 2 shots on the 18th end to level it once more at 19 - 19 and force an extra end which would decide the game and the Championship. With Steve and Keith holding shot on a full length jack, the match looked like going their way, but John had other ideas and ditched the Jack for a remarkable win.
Meanwhile, on Rink 3, Tony Liggins and Del Behenna contested the Tombs Plate final. This also turned out to be quite a game. Storming into a 14 - 0 lead after just 7 ends, Del had one hand firmly on the plate. Tony, however, was not beaten and played superbly to reduce the gap to just 2 shots, 13 - 15, after 14 ends. He continued to match everything that Del could throw at him and after 22 ends, it was he who took the honours by 21 shots to 18.
As if the Pairs and the Tombs Plate weren't enough to keep the healthy crowd of spectators entertained, another very close tussle was unfolding on Rink 2, where Eileen Peck, Roger Lawson and Mark Baxter played Gail and Clive Walters and Ray Rouse for the Len and Peggy Macey Trophy. It was a close game throughout and no surprise that, after the regulation 18 ends had been played, the score was 20 - 20. The deciding extra end looked like going to Eileen, Roger and Mark, but somehow Ray contrived to get the shot his team needed with the very last bowl of the game
So the Saturday sessions produced four excellent games of bowls and the weather could not have been better.
It was great to see so many people enjoying the sport.
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September 6th : Another fine morning for the 2nd day of Finals Weekend saw Steve Kirby and Paul Rudkin, two up and coming players, pitted against each other in the Samuels Cup. Both had tasted success the previous day. Steve started strongly with a full house of 4 on the opening end, but Paul had levelled things up after the 10th end. It was nip and tuck for the ensuing ends, but Paul finished on top with a 21 - 17 victory after 22 ends.
Another excellent final.
Over on Rink 6, Bill Pusey and Del Behenna faced a strong duo when they played Jeanette Allnutt and Tony Liggins for the two bowl Vincent Cup pairs over 21 ends. After 14 ends, only a single shot seperated them, but Jeanette and Tony took 7 shots from the next 4 ends to open up an unassailable lead and went on to win the trophy by 20 shots to 15.
The final afternoon session saw 3 more Finals contested. The Neighbour Cup mens triples championship was fought out between Paul Rudkin, Steve Kirby and Ray Rouse and Tony Burnell, Brian Davis and Del Behenna.
Brian was kindly substituting for the injured Graham Barlow. There were some very tight heads throughout the match but the stronger triple, who had already notched up four final wins between them this weekend, proved to be Paul, Steve and Ray. They took the Championship by 20 shots to 7.
On Rink 2, yet another extremely close game was unfolding.The Handicap Final saw Brendan McGinty in receipt of a 3 shot start from the more experienced Keith Puddephatt. Keith soon put the handicap to bed, taking 12 shots from the first 5 ends. Brendan tried hard to pull back the deficit, but when Keith picked up 4 shots on the 15th end to lead 20 - 11, it looked all over for the genial Irishman. Then the fun started. Notching a 4 of his own on the very next end, Brendan went on to level the score at 20 apiece. So the 20th end would decide the Champion and it was Keith who was very relieved to pick up the single shot to become Handicap Champion. Hard lines, Brendan, it was a great match!
The Blue Ribbon Mens Singles Championship saw Mark Baxter take on the in-form Tony Liggins. Nearly all of the 9 Finals contested this weekend were remakably close contests and this was no exception. Mark had the better of the early ends and had established an 8 shot lead after 13 ends, 15 - 7. But Tony had shown yesterday in the Tombs Plate final that he is well capable of overhauling a healthy lead. Although still 4 shots adrift, after 19 ends had been played, at 18 - 14, he scored the 7 shots he required to reach 21 and become Club Champion for 2026.
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Well done to everyone who contested our Competitions this season. Congratulations and Commiserations accordingly. Let's have even more contestants in 2027.
Never give up the desire to improve.
Winter well - Del Behenna, Competitions Secretary
