A quiet Sunday afternoon was disturbed by all manner of strange beings descending upon Rugby Thornfield as the club held its Halloween Gala. Twelve teams shambled up and down the green hoping to become the spooktacular champions.
The first round saw two sides register perfect scores, “Wasps” and “1+3” leading the way. “Speckled Hen” were one point behind with “3 plus 1” a further point back. Heading into the half-time break “Speckled Hen”, “3 plus 1” and “1+3” were four points clear of “Wasps” and “DR-sum-4-sum” with “Hooly Goolys” completing the top five. “3 plus 1” led “1+3” by a point after three rounds had been played. “Speckled Hen” and “DR-sum-4-sum” were in joint third and “Hooly Goolys” still fifth. After a fun afternoon “3 plus 1” (Mandy Dahlgren, Pat Schofield, Pat Dahlgren and Colin Knapp) remained top on 28 points, “1+3” second on 23 points, “Pumpkin Patch” and “DR-sum-4-sum” joint third with 19 points and in joint fifth on 17 points were “Speckled Hen” and “Hooly Goolys”. Oliver Fowler made his international début as part of the twelve strong England team that took part in the British Isles Indoor Bowls Council's Under 18s Mixed Championship held at Ballybrakes IBC, Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and Ireland fielded teams while England, Scotland and Wales fielded two teams. Each team consisted of five players plus a reserve which would compete in Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours. Oliver was part of the second England team and competed in the Pairs and Fours.
The pairs would be played over two sets of nine ends with a one end tie break if needed. Yeovil's Shannon Crouch was his pairs partner. Their first game was against the Channel Islands (Chloe Greecham and Jared Brown) who got off to a good start, 5-0 up after two ends. A fourth end five helped the English pair take the lead but the Channel Islanders retook the lead with two ends to go and took the first set 10-8. Greecham and Brown again started well in the second set, heading into the final end leading by two. That left Crouch and Fowler needed three shots to force a tie break, unfortunately they dropped a shot to lose the second set 6-9. That defeat meant that their remaining two games would decide their final position between fifth and eighth. Their next game was against the Scotland First team, Bradley Buchan and Darren Weir. This game would determine if their final game was the fifth/sixth play-off or seventh/eighth. The two Scots started well and took the first set 9-4. Crouch and Fowler took first blood in the second set but dropped a second end four. They recovered well to lead 11-4 with three ends left to play. A double and treble brought the deficit down to two but the English duo held their nerve to take the second set 12-9 and force the tie break. Crouch and Fowler continued their good form to win the tie break. Their opponents in the fifth/sixth play-off would be the other Scottish team, Kimberley Dodds and Alastair Nimmo. A steady start helped Crouch and Fowler reach six ends leading 9-3, Scotland hit back with a pair of doubles but the English duo held on to win 9-8. Scotland hit the ground running in the second set, 6-2 after three ends became 11-2 after six. Both sides increased their scores by three, Scotland taking the set 14-5. The Scots also took the tie break, leaving Crouch and Fowler sixth. The team for the fours consisted of Imogen Jenner (Swale), Shannon Crouch (Yeovil), Oliver Fowler and Jack Groves (Watchet). These games would be two sets of six ends with a tie break if needed. Their first game was against the second Scottish four of Kimberley Dodds, Megan Kivlin, Carrie McLean and Jack McNab. The Scots opened with a four but the English replied with a double and single. A treble and single left Fowler and co five adrift with one end left, Scotland took the first set 8-5. The tables were turned in the second set, England opened with a four and Scotland responded with a double. England hit a pair of singles and a pair of fours to take the set 14-2 and force a tie break. The Scottish broke English hearts to take the tie break, relegating them to the lower half play-offs. The Aaron Colman, Shauna O'Neill, Michael Hadley and Sam Barkley representing Ireland were their opponents to decide if they'd be playing for fifth/sixth place or seventh/eighth. Fowler and co dominated the first set, limiting the Irish to one shot on the way to a 10-1 win. Midway through the second set the scores were tied 3-3 but the Irish hit a brace of twos to lead by four heading into the last end. To avoid a tie break the English team needed to score four or more but they could only get three. The English had the last laugh by taking the tie break. The battle for fifth place saw Fowler and co take on the first Scottish team (Carla Banks, Bradley Buchan, Graeme McLean and Jak Miller). A third end treble gave the Scots a 5-3 lead but Fowler and co cut that down to one with the last end to play, the Scots hit two to win 7-4. A six on the second end for the Scottish team left the English chasing the game, a fifth end five helped cut the deficit but the Scots took the second set 13-6, leaving Fowler and co in sixth place. Each place was awarded a certain number of points and the points for the team (or teams in the case of England, Scotland and Wales) totalled and divided by four (eight for the sides fielding two teams) to determine where each nation finished. With an average of 7 points England won the gold medal, Scotland took silver with an average of 5.5, Ireland bronze with 3.75, Channel Islands fourth with 3.5 and Wales fifth on 3.38 points. Saturday 21st November 2015 7:15pm
Entertainment Night in aid of the Cardiac Rehab Unit at St Cross Hospital. Featuring: Gary Haigh (Magician) Neil Warner (Comedian) Gemma Louise Doyle (International Vocal Artist) Tickets are £7 each and available from Colin Hall or Mike Taylor (Take Heart - 01788 568150) Ticket price and tombola on the night. Entries for this seasons club competitions need to be in no later than 24th October 2015.
Entry forms are available on the notice board (roughly level with rink 3). On Saturday 24th October at 7:15pm the club is holding a quiz night to help raise funds for club competitions.
Cost is £4 per person with a maximum of 6 per team. We had a good season in 2014/15 with some good & bad results but don't forget we also had some great results. It's given me a great foundation for the future of the team.
I believe we could go a long way in the Over 60's Double Rink but I need all the over 60s to make themselves available to achieve great results. We have lost 2 players this season from our under 25s team, I know we have some great under 25s players to replace them & believe we will win this title soon. In the Wessex League this season we need to start the same way we did last season, looking for full points in our first 3 games. We did well last season but need to do better this year as Welford is now playing in this league and are another strong team we need to beat. It's not just about qualifying we need to win our area and not rely on runners up position. We have a hard game to start with in the Top Club, Welford Again. We lost to them last season but it was a close game. I will be making changes from last years team & movements. Our first round in the Denny Cup is against Coventry this year & we need to come out of the blocks running with no slip ups this year. Some great games last season in the Denny Plate but we need to have a good run in the Denny Cup. We did very well last year in the Egham Trophy and put up a great fight against City of Ely, let's do better this year as this competition is in our sights & we have a great chance to go all the way. In the EBYDS Thomas Ward has qualified for the National finals in October & I wish him all the best. We will need to start training ASAP as new skills are out for this season. I will need you all to enter this year as we are short of players as Church Gresley & Leicester are running their own EBYDS this year. The Warwick Trophy is back this year with 7 or 8 games to play, please read the rules. I have put up a list of players that I think should be considered, this is a stepping stone for bowlers that want to be considered for the Denny Cup & Wessex teams. If you don't want to be considered for the Denny Cup or Wessex team please cross your name off the list, as I only want to pick bowlers who want to play in these competitions next season. On October 10th & 11th Oliver Fowler has his first England Under 18s game, I wish him all the best & every success & have a great weekend. Darren Ward Team Manager |
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