Upcoming Club Competitions & Reports

Friday May 29th

The first two club competition matches were played today. Fortunately, the blistering heat had disappeared, to be replaced by a hot, but bearable, day.

First up was the Novices 1st Round match between Dave Ward and Sandra Gough. Sandra got off to a flying start and was 12-0 ahead after end 4. Dave came back with a pair and a single and Sandra replied with a 3 and a single, leaving the score at 16-3 in her favour after end 8. Scores of 3, 2 and 1 brought the scores closer at 16-9, with 11 ends played. Sandra closed out the match with two singles and a 3 to win 21-9.

On the next rink, Husband Alan played Neil Warley in Round 1 of the Handicap. Neil started with a 4 shot advantage and added another two in the first end. Alan came back with a pair, but Neil also scored a pair on end 3 for a lead of 8-2. Two singles from Alan and one from Neil and it was 9-4 in Neil's favour. He added another 3 shots over the next 2 ends and had a healthy 12-4 lead after 8 ends. Alan had to find something, and quickly, and a 2 and a 3 helped to reduce Neil's lead. A pair from Neil on end 11 left him with a 5 shot lead, but 3,2 and 4 from Alan doubled his score and put him in front for the first time in the match at 18-14. Three shots needed to win, but it was not all over. Neil scored 2 on end 15, Alan scored a single on end 16 and Neil scored another two on end 17 and it was very delicately balanced, with Alan leading by only 1 shot at 19-18. The game went right to the wire, with Alan scoring two singles to Neil's one over the next 3 ends and Alan scraped home 21-19. Alan will play Chris Emmett in Round 2.

Saturday May 30th

On a lovely sunny day, we had a good turnout and an enjoyable day for the annual Millenium Triples competition. There were 24 players in 2 qualifying groups of 4 Triples. There was a clear winner in each group, with both winning all 3 games.

In the Final, held over 6 ends, Laurie Mowatt, Lorraine Walters and Janet Townley won the first 2 ends, but were beaten in the remaining 4 ends by Jon Samuel, Ruth Copp and Jane Ward. Worthy winners, with 4 wins from 4 games on the day. (Photos above).

The trophy was presented by Wendy Cross, Club President.

Tuesday June 2nd

Jon Samuel played Keith Walters in the Handicap, on a wet, uninviting day. Receiving a 4 shot start,  Jon scored a single on the first end, but Keith retaliated with 2 shots on end 2, to take the lead. Jon then launched a 4 end winning run, to lead by 11-2. Three shots from Keith on end 8 reduced the deficit to 6 shots. Both players traded shots over the next 5 ends and the gap remained the same. Keith started to close the gap, winning 4 of the next 6 ends and scoring 7 shots to 2 from Jon. Keith was now only one shot behind. Jon rallied to win the following two ends, with a pair and a single to take him to two shots from victory.  Keith delayed the end with a 4 shot score on end 22 to level at 19-19. Jon sealed Keith's fate with two shots on end 23, to win 21-19. Jon will play Jim Bland in the next round

Meanwhile, Barrie Jones faced the formidable task of playing John Townley in the 91 Up. He won the first end 7-3, but John hit back, winning the next 2 ends 8-2 and 10-0, to lead 21-9. End 4 was a 5-5 draw, but John took command of the game with 4 successive wins and was leading 57-23 after end 8. Barrie held John to a draw on the next end, but it was only a temporary relief. John won 4 of the next 5 ends to gain a comfortable victory by 93-47. Jon will play Chris Emmett in the next round.

Wednesday June 3rd

Another wet and windy day saw John Townley play Sylvia Blackmore in the 2 Wood Singles. John got off to a flying start, taking only 6 ends to win the first set 9-1. The second set was more difficult for him. Sylvia put up a spirited resistance, taking the set to 10 ends. John was always in front, but Sylvia won 4 of the ends. However, John triumphed by 9-5 and won the match 2-0. He will play Damien Cleary in the next round. 

Friday June 5th

In the first round of the Women's Singles, former champion Elaine Robinson played Lorraine Walters. Elaine started well, scoring two shots on each of the first 2 ends. Lorraine then won the next 4 ends, all by a single shot, to level the score. Another two pairs from Elaine and she was 8-4 ahead. A single and a 3 from Lorraine was countered by two from Elaine and the score was 10-8 in Elaine's favour. Elaine slowly built on her lead with two singles, before Lorraine scored a pair. Elaine replied with 2 shots on end 15 and was 14-10 ahead. Lorraine now dominated the remainder of the match, winning 6 of the 7 remaining ends and stretching her lead to 7 shots at the finish. Final score Elaine 15, Lorraine 22. Lorraine will now play Marilyn Mowatt in the next round.

Tuesday June 9th

Two matches were played today. In the first Heather Fay, newly joined this year, played Jenny Ward in the first round of the Women's Singles. Heather started well, scoring singles on each of the first 2 ends, but Jenny struck back with scores of 2, 1 and 3 on the next three, to lead 6-2. A 3 and a 2 from Heather beat the two from Jenny, leaving Jenny with a slender lead at 8-7. Four winning ends (1,1,2,1) increased Jenny's lead to 13-7 by end 12. End 13 went to Heather by a single shot, but Jenny replied with a double. Three shots from Heather on end 16 and she was only 3 shots behind, but Jenny dug deep and scored a 2 and a 4 to win by 21-12. Jenny will play Janet Townley in the next round.

The second match of the day was in the Seniors, between Sandra Gough and Margaret Bullock. Margaret started with the mat and scored singles on ends 1 and 2. Sandra replied with a pair on end 3, but Margaret then launched into a 7 end winning run and established a clear lead at 15-2. With only 5 ends to play, Sandra was in a very difficult position. She won the next 3 ends, to close the gap to 6-15, but it was now not possible to catch Margaret in time. The game finished after end 13, with Margaret the winner by 15-6. Margaret will now play the winner of the match between Keith Walters and David Skilleter.

Wednesday June 10th

Sadly, Ken Ellison has had to withdraw from the 2 Wood Singles. Barrie Jones now has a bye to the next round, where he will play Elaine Robinson. Ken has also given Jeff Harris a bye to round 2 of the Seniors, where he will play Dave Ward.

Now, to a match that has been played. Neil Warley played Sylvia Blackmore in the Seniors 1st Round, with Janet Townley marking. Neil had a really tough opponent in Sylvia and he found it hard to keep up with her. He scored two shots on end 2, but Sylvia was in unstoppable mode, winning 4 of the first 5 ends to lead 9-2. Neil was not going to surrender, though, and scored singles on the next 2 ends to creep closer. It was not to be his day, with Sylvia again taking charge and scoring two pairs and a 3 to Neil's pair. By end 11, Sylvia was leading 16-6 and Neil felt that he was not playing well enough to beat her, so he conceded the match, with 4 ends still to play. Sylvia will play Alan Gough in the next round. 

Friday June 12th

There were 4 Club matches today.

First to play were Martin Hedges, new to the club this season, against Scott Jennings. Scott is in his second season, but his was his first competition. They were playing in the Handicap, but with both players on 12, it was a scratch game. Martin started the game in tremendous form and it looked like he would sweep Scott aside. The first 7 ends went Martin's way and he built up a 14-0 lead. The momentum then swung to Scott, with 4 winning ends and a reduction of the deficit to 7 shots. Martin then regained control of the match and won the remaining 5 ends. The final score was Martin 21, Scott 7. Martin will play Sandra Gough in the next round.

On the rink next door, there was a titanic contest between Sylvia Blackmore (2) and Wendy Cross (0) in the Handicap competition. Wendy started very well and she had overcome the 2 shot advantage held by Sylvia and had an 8-2 lead after 4 ends. Sylvia came back with a single and a 3, to make it 6-8. Wendy had a very good end 7, with 4 shots and a 12-6 lead. Sylvia was not going to take this lying down and launched a 4 end winning run, to take the lead 14-12. The next two ends went to Wendy and the lead changed hands again (15-14). A single from Sylvia to level, then a pair from Wendy to lead again (17-15), before a 3 and a 2 from Sylvia swung the game in her favour once again (20-17). Wendy was now under intense pressure, with Sylvia only one shot from victory. Wendy scored a single on end 18, to stave off defeat, but Sylvia secured the victory with a single on end 19. A magnificent match between two very good players. It was a shame that there had to be a loser.

Next to pay were Marilyn and Laurie Mowatt in the Seniors. Ends 1 and 2 were shared, before Laurie scored 1,3,2,3 to lead 10-1. Six ends played and Marilyn needing to do a lot of catching up. She duly obliged on end 7 with a pair, followed by 3 singles. With the score at 10-6 in Laurie's favour, it was now more of a match. Laurie increased his lead with a pair on end 11 and was now 6 shots ahead with 4 ends to play. Three shots and a single brought her within two shots of Laurie, with two ends to play. Laurie sealed Marilyn's fate; scoring 3 shots on end 14 and he couldn't be caught. Laurie was the winner by 15-10 and now plays Jon Samuel in the next round.

The final match of the day was another Seniors game between Keith Walters and David Skilleter. David scored a single on the first end, then Keith scored 3 shots on end 2. David replied with a single on end 3 to keep it tight. Keith had other ideas though and won the next 4 ends (1,2,4,1) and led 11-2 after end 7. Only 5 more ends were played, with Keith scoring 6 shots to David's two and winning by 17-4. Keith will play Margaret Bullock in the next round.

Tuesday June 16th

Four matches today, starting with the Novices match between Damien Cleary, who joined us this season, and Scott Jennings, a member since last year. This was a very tough day for Scott, as Damien dominated the match. Damien started with two shots on each of the first two ends, but Scott came back with a pair and a single, to make it 3-4. Damien then found his rhythm and won the next 6 ends, to build up an imposing lead, by 16-3. Scott scored singles on ends 11 and 12, but after Damien added another shot on end 13, Scott decided that it was not to be his day and called a halt to proceedings. Damien will play Roger Horton in the next round.

Next up was Ruth Copp against Wendy Cross in the Women's Singles. Ruth started well, winning the first 2 ends and leading 4-0. Wendy scored successive pairs to level the score. The following 2 ends were shared, two apiece, then Ruth scored two singles to go ahead once more. The game then swung in Wendy's favour, with Ruth winning only two of the remaining 8 ends. Wendy scored steadily and led 13-11 after 14 ends. A late flourish, with successive scores of 4 shots, secured the victory for Wendy 21-11. Wendy will play Margaret Bullock in the next round.

Our next match was between Keith Walters and Ali Uygur in the Novices. Keith went into a 5-0 lead after 2 ends, but Ali won 3 of the next 4 ends to trail by 1 shot. Keith then scored a pair on each of the next 3 ends and Ali scored a single on end 10. He now trailed 6-13. With Keith adding another 4 shots over the next 3 ends, Ali decided to call it a day and conceded the match with Keith leading 17-6. Keith will play Jeff Harris in the next round.

The final match of the day was a cracker, which I had the pleasure to mark. Damien Cleary, who had played at midday, faced David Lloyd in the Handicap. Damien had a 5 shot start, which was nearly cancelled when David scored 4 on the first end. This seemed to shock Damien into action, because he scored 1,2,2,2 on the next 4 ends to lead 12-4. Two shots from David on end 6 and 2 from Damien on end 7 and the gap remained the same. Both players scored two singles over the next 4 ends and nothing had changed. Two shots from David were cancelled by two singles from Damien and we were on end 14, with Damien leading 18-10. David strung three winning ends together and narrowed the gap to 4 shots, but Damien got the better of the last 5 ends, winning 3 of them. The final score was 21-16 to Damien, but it was a game of very high quality, with little to choose between the players. Damien will now play Jenny Ward in the next round.

Wednesday June 17th

Only one club avid brought the run to an end on end 6 with a pair, before Janet scored a pair of her own. Now it was David's turn to take the reins and he scored 5 shots in a 4 end winning run. After 11 ends, the match was poised at 9-7 to Janet. She scored a single on end 12, then David scored singles on ends 13 and 14. With only one end to play, Janet led by one shot and it was anyone's game. Janet sealed the deal with a single on the last end and proceeds to the next round, where she will play Chris Emmett.

Thursday June 18th

There were 4 club competition matches today, the first of them between John Townley and Wendy Cross in the Senior Citizens. Wendy had the best of starts, with 4 shots on the first end. John ate into her lead with singles on ends 2,3 and 4. Over to Wendy and a single and a pair gave her a 7-3 lead. John now took control and won the next 4 ends (1,1,1,2) and led for the first time in the match (8-7). The momentum swung yet again and Wendy scored 2,2,1, for a 12-8 lead. Despite a pair and a single, the ends ran out for John and he lost 11-12. Wendy will play Pete Leverett in the next round.

Next up was Linda Jennings v Janet Townley in the Handicap. This was another very tight finish and a great match. Janet was giving Linda a 9 shot start and she set out immediately to peg it back. Janet scored 7 shots in the first 4 ends, before Linda scored a single on end 5. A single apiece on ends 6 and 7 and the score was Linda 11, Janet 8. Another single from Janet was beaten by 3 shots on end 9 from Linda, opening a 5 shot lead. The next 4 ends were fairly even, with Janet reducing the deficit by 1 shot. On end 14 Linda scored 3, but Janet replied with 3 shots on end 15. She followed this with two singles and a three, to finally take the lead at 20-19. A nail biting finish was in store. Linda scored a single on end 19 to make it 20-20. but Janet finally breached the finishing tape with 4 shots on end 20. Janet will face Lorraine Walters in the next round.

Lorraine Walters and Chris Emmett were next to play in the Novices competition. Chris scored a single on the first end, but was then forced to take a back seat as Lorraine won 7 successive ends. to lead 9-1. It wasn't over yet though. Chris scored 3,2,2 to get within a shot of Lorraine. She recovered well, to win 5 of the next 6 ends and pile on another 7 shots. Chris was once again in trouble, 9-16 down. He scored successive singles to edge closer, but Lorraine cancelled them with a pair on end 20. Chris won 3 of the last 5 ends, but with both players scoring 3 shots, Lorraine had the shots she needed to win 21-14. Stuart Earl awaits Lorraine in the next round.

The final match of the day was the Drawn Pairs match between John Townley & David Skilleter and Keith Walters & Margaret Bullock. Keith and Margaret had a dream start, scoring 4 shots on each of the first two ends. John and David scored 2 shots on end 3 and K & M replied with a single. Successive 3 counts from J & D left the score at 9-8 to K & M. K & M then launched a 4 end winning run, with 2,1,1,2 to open a 7 shot lead. J & D replied with 2,2,1 and the scores were poised at 15-13 to K & M. K & M added two more shots on end 14. With the result still in anyone's hands, David left the green to get his water bottle. On his return, he fell and injured his ankle. As the other players were unable to move him, an ambulance was summoned, but David's son arrived before it came and helped to get David into a wheelchair and into his car. David's son took him to the Royal Berks Hospital for treatment. The match was, therefore, conceded by John. Keith and Margaret will play Wendy Cross and Tony Reid in the next round.

Friday June 19th

Three more club matches were played today, starting with a Men's singles game between Chris Emmett and Dave Ward. Chris started well, with three shots on the first end. A single from Dave was followed by a single from Chris, then another single from Dave and Chris led 4-2. Chris then scored 3 and 2 to increase his lead, before Dave hit back with two pairs, to narrow the gap to 6-9. The next two ends went to Chris, both by a pair and Dave was faced with a tough task at 6-13. He rose to the challenge, scoring 1,2,1 over the next three ends and it was now 13-10 to Chris. This was the end of any serious challenge and Chris won 5 of the final 6 ends, scoring 8 shots to Dave's single reply. Chris won the match 21-11 and goes on to meet Neil Warley in the next round.

Next to play were Keith Walters and Jeff Harris in the Men's Singles. A good start from Jeff put him 6-1 ahead after 4 ends. Keith then took control for the next 6 ends, scoring 1,1,2,1,1,1 and going 8-6 ahead. Now it was Jeff's turn and he launched a nine end winning run, adding 11 shots to his score. He was now 17-8 ahead and only 4 shots from victory. Keith was not ready to concede, outscoring Jeff by 5 shots to 3, with both players winning 3 of the next 6 ends. Despite this, Keith was now in a very perilous position. Jeff needed only one shot to win. Three shots on end 26 showed that Keith had not lost his fighting spirit, but Jeff sealed his fate with a single on end 27, winning 21-16. This was a gruelling marathon, with both players performing well, but Jeff won the prize of a second round tie against Alan Gough.

The final match of the day was between Sylvia Blackmore and Sandra Gough in the Women's Singles. Sylvia started with 3 shots on the first end, but Sandra scored two shots on end 2. Four winning ends and 6 shots scored gave Sylvia a healthy lead, but Sandra replied with a 4 end winning run of her own to lead 10-9. Two pairs from Sylvia gave her back the lead at 13-10, but Sandra scored two shots on end 13 to narrow the gap to one shot. Sylvia scored another single, but Sandra scored a single and two pairs. She now held a 17-14 lead after 17 ends.Two shots from Sylvia on end 18 and there was only one shot in it again. Sandra added 2 singles and she was tantalisingly close to victory at 19-16. Sylvia dug deep, scoring a single on end 21 and four shots on end 22, to win 21-19. Well fought Sandra and Sylvia. A very entertaining game. Sylvia will play Jane Ward in the next round.

Monday June 22nd

There were two matches in the 91 Up today. The first was between John Townley and Chris Emmett, who was making his first foray into this event. After drawing the first end, John won end 2 by 6-4 and Chris won end 3 by 7-3. The score was now 16-14 in Chris's favour. John then recorded a 5 end winning streak, to lead 52-28. Chris hit back with 9-1 on end 9, but John replied with the same score on end 10. With John winning 3 of the next 4 ends and one drawn, he was in sight of his target at 86-54. Chris offered one more end of resistance, winning end 15 by 6-4, but John won the 16th end 6-4 for a 96-64 victory. Congratulations to John and commiserations to Chris for a very worthy first attempt against a very good player. John will play the winner of the match between Wendy Cross and Elaine Robinson.

Second match of the day was between Alan Gough and Jean Buckett. End 1 went to Jean, with end 2 drawn. Alan then won 3 ends to lead 29-21. End 6 was a draw and Jean won end 7, leaving the match neatly poised at 38-32 in Alan's favour. Five of the next six ends went to Alan and he was in the lead 83-47 and sensing the winning line. Jean was not yet ready to give up and she won the next 2 ends, both by 7-3. Alan was now only two shots from success and won the 16th end 7-3, for a 96-64 victory. Commiserations to Jean, who put up a very good fight in very challenging conditions. Alan will now play the winner of the match between Jim Bland and Sue Reid.

Tuesday June 23rd

The weather was excruciatingly hot and the green was very bumpy, but it was not going to prevent Sandra Gough and Janet Townley from playing their 91 Up match. Honours were even on end 1, then Janet won ends 2 & 3. With Sandra winning end 4, the score was close, at 21-19 in Janet's favour. Janet was unstoppable from that point and Sandra was unable to cope with Janet's consistency and the heat. Janet scored consistently and built up a good lead, with Sandra doing her best to get back into the game. The task proved too much and Janet won the game 97-53 after 15 ends. Commiserations to Sandra and congratulations to Janet. Janet will play the winner of the match between Jane Ward and Ali Uygur.

Thursday June 25th

Only one match played today: the Drawn Pairs match between David Lloyd & Alan Gough and  Laurie Mowatt & Janet Townley. Originally planned for 2pm, it was moved to 4.30pm, then 6pm in the hope that it would be cooler. Although cooler than in the day, it was still very hot and energy sapping. The green is suffering with the very hot weather, making bowling a challenge, Despite all this, we soldiered on. Laurie & Janet won the toss and put up the first jack.

They started well, winning the first two ends, with a pair on each. David & Alan clawed back the lead on end 3, with 5 shots scored, to take the lead. A single apiece on ends 4 and 5, before a long run of winning ends for L & J. They won 5 ends and added 6 shots to their total and led 11-6. L & J added a single on end 12, but D & A replied with a pair on end 13, reducing the deficit to 3 shots. End 14 went to L & J by a single, then ends 15 and 16 went to D & A by the same margin. They now trailed 11-13, with two ends to play. Three shots from L & J made it very difficult for D & A to win. They needed 6 shots on the final end, but managed only 3. The final score was Laurie & Janet 16, David & Alan 14. Laurie & Janet will now play Neil Warley and Marilyn Mowatt in the next round. This was a very tight game, with a lot of measuring required to decide the score.

A particular mention must go to Laurie, who played the game of his life in contributing to the win.

Friday

June 26th

The first match today was between Alan Gough and Chris Emmett. Alan was giving Chris a two shot start, so he needed to get on the scoreboard quickly. He did so, with 3 on end one and 4 on end 3, to lead 7-2. Chris scored singles on ends 3 and 4, but Alan increased his lead with 3 shots on each of ends 5 and 6. He now had a very healthy 13-4 lead. Chris wasn't done yet and won the next two ends with 3 and 1. At 13-8 Alan could see his lead slipping away and drew on his experience to take the final 6 ends (1,2,2,1, 1, 4) for a 24-8 victory. Alan will play Lorraine Walters or Janet Townley. Thanks to Sandra Gough for marking, on a very hot day.

Jean Buckett and Graham Kennedy played their Seniors match. Graham started well, winning the first 2 ends to lead 4-0. Jean replied with 2 singles, then Graham scored 3 shots on each of the next 2 ends. With 6 ends played, Graham was leading by 10-2. A pair and a single from Jean reduced the gap, but Graham added two shots to his score on end 9 and it was 12-5. Jean wasn't beaten yet and won the next 2 ends (2,1). With four ends to play and Jean only 4 shots behind, it was still anyone's game. Both players scored two shots over the next 2 ends and we still had a game on our hands. However, Jean was running out of ends and her single on end 14 was beaten by two shots from Graham on the final end. He was the winner, 16-11, and will play Jenny Ward in the next round. 

The final match of the day did not take place, with Sue Reid conceding the 91 Up game against Jim Bland. Jim will play Alan Gough in the next round.