Two players from Spalding Indoor Bowls Club were involved at the finals stages of the national Champion of Champion singles event at Hayling Island last weekend.
South Holland aces Graham Smith and Rebecca Simpson won their respective club singles last year and played further qualifying matches this season to reach the last 16 stage at the Warner’s Leisure Resort event.
Spalding stalwart Smith faced a tough opponent in Adam Hirons (Charnwood), while Simpson was drawn against Lesley Crutchley (South Hams).
Despite Smith starting well, Hirons had all the answers early on and raced into a 9-1 lead. The Spalding ace did hit back well, but Hirons held his nerve to take a 21-16 victory.
Simpson, meanwhile, had a similarly close opening match, with the lead changing hands numerous times.
But she held on to win 21-18 and move into the quarter finals, where she faced previous winner Katherine Rednall (Ipswich).
In a high quality match, Rednall proved slightly more consistent and won 21-9.
Simpson’s conquerer reached the final, but lost Rebecca Field (Norfolk). Paul Hartley (Hartlepool) won the men’s event.
- Spalding’s over-60s double rink team progressed into the last eight of the national Mason Trophy with a nail-biting victory over Carlton by just one shot.
The match was played with one rink at home and one away, with the home rink of Val Bowker, Sylvia Wade, Barbara Hurst and Gloria Haney leading the way after five ends, taking a 13-7 lead.
Carlton battled well and had kept in touch, with the score being 18-13 after 18 ends. Meanwhile, the away rink of Irene Blackman, Betty Deaton, Margaret Dark and Gill Needham faced a six-shot deficit at the halfway stage, but they fought back to narrowly lose 20-16.
At home, Haney’s set finished strongly to win 21-16 and record a one shot overall victory.
- Spalding IBC’s promising youngsters lost their quarter-final match against Ipswich in the under-25 national double rink. The match was played with one home rink and the other away – but Spalding never quite repeated the form they showed in previous rounds and lost 39-15 overall.
- Spalding’s Trudy Bates team lost their latest league match when they travelled to Scunthorpe.
Visitors Spalding lost on three of the five rinks and lost the aggregate by 102 shots to 89, leaving a points score line of 12-4 in Scunthorpe’s favour. Spalding’s best winning rink was Irene Blackman, Julie Hicks, Jenny Horner and Pearl O’Brien, who won 21-18.
- Spalding’s over-60s lost their latest Lincolnshire League match 98-65 (16-2 points) at Lincoln B.
The game was always going in the home team’s favour right from the first couple of ends, as the visitors found it difficult to master the speed and draw of the home rink. At ten ends Spalding were trailing by 20 shots and by the 15th they had fallen 73-45 down.
Spalding won on one rink, which was skipped by Chris Stagles. His team included Gerald Horner, John Bailey and Keith Woods. James Newby was the captain.
- Spalding’s friendly bowlers battled out a closely contested match with rivals Long Sutton IBC.
The game closed at three rinks all, with Spalding winning the aggregate by only nine shots. Of the three winning rinks for Spalding the match honours went to the team of Chris Broughton, Janet Earth and skip Roger Perkins, who turned out a creditable score of 28-9.
Roger Perkins was also Spalding’s captain on the day.
