BBC BROADCAST WEEKEND 12/13th OCTOBER (Terry Norwood at the desk)
Some gristle to chew on before the main course below:
- The first round of the BBC Mixed Pairs Championship was played on Sunday. The details appear below.
- Three second round matches of the Rookie Singles will be played next Wednesday October 16th at 12.30. These games will see Ian Duncan up against Russell Dunstan, Alex Christlo against Dave Cosgrove and Wal Markow playing Denis Lees. Bowl well all you youngsters!
- The Major Singles and the Major Pairs Championships will be staged in November and the entry schedules have now been posted on the notice board. So, come on fellows, get yourselves organised and list your names in these prestigious events.
- Also posted on the notice board is an entry form from the Robertson Bowling Club advertising its Annual Potato Triples competition. Unfortunately, this form only arrived a couple of days ago and the cutoff date for entry is tomorrow October 15th. Anyone interested will need to get to the BBC tomorrow to get an entry in. Otherwise, a direct contact with Robertson might be helpful.
- And now a message from coach Robin Staples; Robin is again offering a coaching clinic and here are the details of ‘Taking The Next Step’:
Ladies and Gentlemen, most new bowlers have about six lessons and unfortunately in these current times often much fewer and then thrown onto the rink never to see a coach again and to learn solely by application and watching. So the intent of this courses to offer an opportunity for bowlers who have been bowling for some months and wish to progress from leading to being second or skip and give some information on those roles. Of course anyone who feels that they might benefit are welcome, not just newer bowlers. The course runs for six weeks and covers items as listed in the poster on the notice board. To get things started I have shown Tuesday October 29th 2.30 to 4pm as the starting date as this suits me and allows a finish prior to the Christmas rush. However I am flexible and should this not be suitable then maybe we can find an alternative. The same applies to our lady bowlers some of whom have done this course before. Tuesdays are not good for them as they play in the morning. An even number is by far the best way to do this course but six is the maximum. Call 0434914467 if interested. Robin Staples.
Mixed Pairs Championship Round 1 (21 ends)
The two first round games of the Mixed Pairs were completed on Sunday before a small but appreciative gathering of followers. At roll-off time 10.30, the day was overcast and a very fluky, cold breeze made conditions fairly challenging for the bowlers. The sky did clear around 1pm but the breeze was still a nuisance in the latter stages of the matches.
On rink 9, Jim Neely and Gail Fraser took on Reta South and Bob Edwards in what was the battle of the giants. Jim and Gail made the more confident start winning three of the opening four ends and leading 6 – 1 on the scorecard. However, Reta and Bob dug in, moved the score to 5 – 7 after seven and then 9 – 10 after eleven. Gail and Jim then ran together four of the next five ends to lead by five shots and looked to have the game under control. They pushed on, and with two ends to play led by seven; a commanding position. Undaunted, Bob and Reta grabbed three on the twentieth end and this injected real interest into the last. As calm as you like, Jim got shots in the head, he and Gail moved protective bowls into place, they took two shots and came home 22 – 16 victors.
The winning duo, Gail and Jim!
On rink 10, Ian ‘mr cool’ Duncan and Elizabeth Shepherd battled against Graham ‘leaning tower’ Hunt and Elaine Jones. In a nerve settling opening, both teams won early ends and the score was 3 – 2. Ian and Elizabeth then pushed the score to 7 – 2 after five ends and by the tenth led 14 – 6. Ian was winning the battle of the leads and Elizabeth was firing her black bowls into the heads very effectively. Most of the ends were tight, but it was the Ian/Elizabeth combination that managed to get in closer. Entering the second half of the match Graham started to get the better of Ian as leads, but his bowls were targets for opposing skipper Elizabeth and she successfully took them out more often than not. Ian and Elizabeth then went on to dominate the back half of the match and came home comfortable victors at 29 – 11.
The victors on the mat, Elizabeth and Ian!
Saturday Social Bowls
Seventeen bowlers turned out for a roll on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. Three games of triples were organised, one with a swing lead bowler.
In the match on rink 8, Arnold ‘rosie’ Lenczuk, Alastair McGhee and Dugald Braithwaite tussled against Ian ‘mr cool’ Duncan, Chris ‘unflappable’ Forrester and the maestro Robin Staples. Despite scoring a decisive four shotter on the second end, team Braithwaite was matched by their opponents at 5 all after six ends. Dugald’s team then got the upper hand and things looked ominous at 14 – 7 after eleven ends. However, with a stunning six . . . yes six shotter on the next end and a single on the thirteenth, Robin’s team had squared the game. Stung into action, Dugald’s team then went on a scoring spree of six ends and it was game over. The final score was 27 – 16 in favour of team Braithwaite.
Don’t have the card for rink 9, but with Peter Flight as swing bowler, Barry ‘smerfel’ Werfel and Steve Day took on Richard Denman and Bob ‘wily’ Edwards. This battle went down to the wire and after twenty-one ends was all square at 18 all. On the play-off end, it was team Edwards that snaffled the winning shot (and the scorecard!!) and went to the club with bragging rights!
In the final match on rink 10, Grahame ‘dragon’ Denman, Terry Norwood and Mick ‘potters’ Flynn faced off against Bruce Yahl, Graham ‘hardnut’ Hartnup and Gordon ‘cobblers’ Lewis. Although they dropped the first three ends to singles, Mick’s team led 5 – 3 after six. With his lead and second floundering, it was Mick who was on the jack and had them rolling. It was then though, that team Lewis hit their straps winning seven of the next nine ends and taking a stranglehold on the game at 17 – 8. Not done, and finding better form, team Flynn started to win some ends to the extent that they had advanced to within four shots with two to play. In a tight, hard fought, nail-biting finish, Gordon’s team held on to win by a single shot. A good fightback, but not quite enough. 18 – 17 was the final score.