THE 2008 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Total County Championship entry = 285  :  32 Singles;  32 Pairs;  24 Triples;  16 Fours; 10 Mixed Fours; 13 U18 Singles

Of which the total ESMBA Nationals entry = 102 : 17 Singles ; 9 Pairs ;  9 Triples ; 5 Fours ; 4 Mixed Fours ; 4 U18 Singles

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The PAIRS - (Saturday December 1st 2007): The day started at 09.30. with a round robin in 8 groups of 4 giving all entrants a minimum of 3 games. The top 16 (group winners and runners up) then when straight into Round 2 (after a lunch break) which was the first of the knockout sessions from which the final 8 Pairs emerged to play in the Quarter Finals.

In these four games, Alan Banthorpe & Brian Foster (Hambleton) put out Matt Fenwick & Sue Sleightholme (BSA) by 10-7; Brian & Pat Jones (Knaresborough) failed for the second time in the day to beat Rose Haynes & Roger Green (Gt. Ouseburn) who went through 11-3; Simon Holtby (Easingwold) & Paul Williamson (Boroughbridge) knocked out two times winners, Richard Clark (Tollerton) & Dennis Jarvis (Raskelf) by 10-3, whilst in the remaining QF, Derek & Pat Beardsley (Knaresborough), who had despatched last years champions Geoff & Anne Whitehead (Tate & Lyle) in the previous round, overcame Richard Lochman (E. Cottingwith) & Ben Render (Crossgates) by 13-2.

Derek and Pat then went on to secure a place in the Final by winning their SF draw against Rose & Roger by 8-2 with an end in hand. Here they played Alan & Brian who had overcome Simon and Paul by 9-6 in the other SF. In the face of some very consistent and accurate play from Alan & Brian, Derek and Pat, who had remained undefeated all day, unfortunately lost their own consistency and finally conceded with the scores at 3-9 with one end remaining. Alan & Brian thus become this years Pairs Champions. (See Photogallery)

All games played were of 9 ends duration and the day finally finished ahead of schedule at 3.40. The Umpire was Clive Scholefield who was kept busy all day and the raffle was very well supported raising a magnificent £122 thus ensuring the day did not run at a loss.

To see who has accepted the invitation to represent us in the NESMBA Championships at Barnard Castle see Roll of NESMBA qualifiers

To see who has qualified to represent us in the ESMBA National Finals see Roll of National qualifiers 

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The FOURS - (Sunday December 2nd 2007): After a slight adjustment to the mat positions due to a leaking roof (!) the day started at 09.45 with all 16 Fours playing in an initial round robin of 4 groups of 4. The top 8 (group winners and runners up) then qualified for the Quarter Finals,  the results of which were.......

(1) Richard Lund, Matt & Freda Fenwick & John Coffey (BSA) beat Derek & Pat Beardsley & Pat & Brian Jones (Knaresborough) by 9-6

(2) Barry & Joan Crossland & Graham & Linda Sherburn (Flixton) beat Simon Holtby (Easingwold) & Jo Hearld & Jim & Jean Weatherall (Knaresborough) by 10-1

(3) Geoff & Ann Whitehead & Geoff Dye (T&L) & Roger Green (Gt. Ouseburn) beat David & Jo Newsome (N. Duffield) & Ben Render (Crossgates) & Richard Lochman (E. Cottingwith)

(4) Alan Russell, Hilda Thomas, Pam Bradley & Steve Coupland (Helmsley) beat Rose Haynes (Gt. Ouseburn), Jean & Ken Calvert and Gary Burnham (Boroughbridge) by 8-1

In the Semis, Geoff's four knocked out Richards four by 8-5 whilst the Flixton four were beaten by the Helmsley team by 11-1.

The Final was well played and full of interest with the very first end being killed by Alan who then took the replayed end by a single shot. At 3-3 Geoff picked up a 5 after Alan just failed to turn his side wood in for shot. The Helmsley four continued to battle away but on the final end found themselves 10-5 down but lying 4 shots with 2 woods to come. With possible disaster staring him in the face, Geoff remained cool, drawing in a second wood thus leaving Alan no chance of forcing an extra end with his last wood. The two Geoffs, Ann & Roger thus became this years Fours Champions. (See PhotoGallery)

All games played were of 8 ends duration and the day finally finished a little later than planned (due mainly to an additional "coffee" break taken between session 2 and 3) at 4.35. The Umpire was again Clive Scholefield who had another busy day and the raffle raised an additional £106 thus ensuring the day did not run at a loss.

To see who has accepted the invitation to represent us in the NESMBA Championships at Barnard Castle see Roll of NESMBA qualifiers

To see who has qualified to represent us in the ESMBA National Finals see Roll of National qualifiers 

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The U18 SINGLES - (Saturday December 8th 2007): The original entry of 13 had reduced to 12 after one entrant withdrew in advance. However the original format of 2 round robins leading to Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and a Final remained unchanged. The morning did not get off to a good start as we were kept waiting for one entrant who never turned up. However the day eventually got underway at 9.45 and with 3 of the top bowlers turning 18 before next years Championship, competition for this years title was always going to be tough and well fought for. 

In the first round-robin (3x4), all players played continuously using 6 mats with those due to play against the missing player being awarded 2 points by default. Although all players were to progress into the second stage, everyone tried their hardest to master the mats and beat their opponents. As was expected, the top 4 players - Ben Render (Yorkshire U25 champion) and the 3 England U18 players (Gareth Townend, David Newsome and Alex Robinson) were all undefeated. The highlight was probably the match between Gareth and David which ended in a 6-6 draw thanks to a beautifully weighted last wood from David that just eased out Gareth's shot that was resting on the jack.

The second round robin (4x3) gave everybody a further 2 games after which the top 2 in each group went on to the Quarter-final round.  In this Alex's age and experience overcame 10 year old Charlotte Clark by 17-1; likewise, although of a similar age, Gareth's superior weight control put out Bruce Potter 11-3; Nathan Kotek and Edward Townend, both 12, had a good battle with Nathan just winning 8-6 but David was beaten 8-6 by Ben after his final running wood just failed to make contact and change the last end.  

The first Semi was a rerun of last years Final but this time Gareth took the honours over Alex by 11-8. In the other, Ben kept cool to pinch a 2 on the last end thus beating off an excellent challenge from Nathan by 9-8.

The Final, as we have come to expect, was an excellent contest with both players matching draw for draw with little resort to weight. By the last end, Gareth found himself requiring a 2 for a tie but a brave attempt with his last wood could only give him 1. So our Junior Champion for this season is Ben Render from Crossgates.  (See PhotoGallery)      

All games played were of 9 ends duration and the day finally finished 20 minutes later than planned (due to the late start) at 3.45pm.  The Umpire for the day was  Derek Williams.

In the subsidiary Target competition Ben also came out on top with an accumulated score (16 woods) of 69 with Gareth once again the runner up on 41.

To see who has qualified to represent us in the ESMBA National Finals see Roll of National qualifiers 

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The SINGLES - (Saturday January 5th 2008): All 32 entrants played 3 games in an initial round robin round (8 groups of 4 using 6 mats). The top 2 in each group then went through to the knockout stages which saw the final 16 players compete for a place in the Quarter Finals on 8 mats. There were defeats in this round for Ben Render 8-9; Arthur Jackson 6-10; Roger Green 8-10; Paul Williamson 5-9; Richard Lochman 9-10; Len Bradley 8-9; Joe Agustus 8-11 and Mick Ridge 3-12. 

In the Quarter Finals Rose Haynes found herself just beaten by Geoff Whitehead 10-11. Ken Calvert went down to David Newsome 3-14 whilst Dennis Jarvis was defeated by Gareth Townend 6-11. In the other QF, Richard Clark was defeated 8-11 by Alex Robinson. David who had only conceded 23 shots in his 5 games so far, then put paid to Geoff's hopes with another decisive 13-2 win whilst in the other Semi Final, Gareth and Alex had an exciting battle, with Gareth coming out on top by 9-7.

The Final was therefore fought out between Gareth, last years winner (who had recovered from losing his first game of the day) and David, last years Northern England Champion who was so far undefeated. The spectators were treated to some excellent woods and sound tactical play but it was Gareth eventually found himself 10-6 up with the last end to play. Gareth knew that he only had to draw the 4th wood to win but in fact did better than that giving David no choice but to drive into the head hoping to kill the end for a second chance. However, he hit the block leaving no chance for the hoped for 4 and leaving Gareth as our County Singles Champion for the second an initial round robin round (8 groups of 4 using 6 mats). The top 2 in each group then went through to the knockout stages which saw the final 16 players compete for a place in the Quarter Finals on 8 mats.. (See PhotoGallery)

All games played were of 10 ends duration and the day finally finished 10 minutes later than planned at 4.35. Umpiring duties were shared between Derek Williams and  Clive Scholefield and the raffle raised £85 thus ensuring the loss for the day was kept to the barest minimum.

To see who has accepted the invitation to represent us in the NESMBA Championships at Barnard Castle see Roll of NESMBA qualifiers

To see who has qualified to represent us in the ESMBA National Finals see Roll of National qualifiers 

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The TRIPLES - (Sunday January 6th 2008): An entry of 24 meant that all players were organised into 6 groups of 4 thus giving everyone a minimum of 3 games. The group winners and runners up were then joined by the next best four entries and these final 16 played in the first knockout round. In this there were defeats for the young triple skipped by James Lambert - beaten 1-17 by the eventual winners; Richard Lund 8-9; Paul Williamson 7-10; Barry Crossland 6-8; Barbara Pickles 3-14; Phil Elgie 3-10; Richard Clark 4-5 and Len Bradley 7-8.

In the Quarter Finals, the Newsome family went down 3-10 to Roger Green, Keith Smallwood and Jean Calvert; Jo Agustus, Trevor Hanlon and Janet Crosby were decisively overcome by Ben Render, Jayne Rudd and Richard Lochman 14-2; Alan Banthorpe, Derek Williams and Danny Brown had looked in great form having only conceded 13 shots in their first four games but met their match against David & Sheila Loraine and Linda Sherburn who won 8-2 and Gareth & Jacinta Townend and Rose Haynes could not quite match Geoff & Anne Whitehead and Geoff Dye losing by two shots 6-8. In the Semi Finals, Rogers three were no match against David's trios consistency and accuracy losing out 6-8 whilst Ben's undefeated run came to an end against Geoff's team who won 8-4.

In the Final, Geoffs three generally outdrew that of Davids three who had little chance of conjuring up the 6 required on the final end (to force a draw) losing out with the score at 10-5. The two Geoffs and Anne therefore add the Triples title to the Fours they won in December. (See PhotoGallery)   

All games played were of 8 ends duration and the day finally finished 15 minutes earlier than planned at 4.45. Umpiring duties were performed by  Clive Scholefield and the raffle raised £110 thus ensuring the day was run at a small profit.

To see who has accepted the invitation to represent us in the NESMBA Championships at Barnard Castle see Roll of NESMBA qualifiers

To see who has qualified to represent us in the ESMBA National Finals see Roll of National qualifiers 

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The MIXED FOURS - (Saturday January 19th 2008): For the inaugural holding of this new discipline in the County Championships, 10 hopeful entries assembled at the Bubwith Leisure Centre for a 9am start. The teams were placed into 2 groups of 5 thus guaranteeing everyone 4 games. By using 6 mats, the organisers were also able to ensure that everybody had to play all their games on a different mat, adding to the overall challenge of the day.

At the end of the round robin stage, Group 1 produced two clear winners both with 6 points (3 wins out of 4). Barry Simmonite (Hambleton), Keith & Jean Smallwood and Audrey Craven (Gt. Ouseburn) topped the group with +22 shots. This included a surprise 14-0 defeat of Derek Beardsley's Knaresborough four who just could not settle to the mat this game was played on. Runners up were the Hambleton four of John Clifton, Arthur Morely, Lucy Hubbard and Margaret Manfield on +14 shots. Group 2 was a much tighter affair with all 5 teams ending on 4 points having won 2 of their 4 games each and only 11 shots separating first from last. However by a narrow margin Rose Haynes, Roger Green (Gt. Ouseburn) and Gareth & Jacinta Townend (N. Duffield) came top with +6 shots whilst Len & Pam Bradley, Hilda Thomas and Geoff Clark from Helmsley were runners up on +2.

In the Semis, Len's four brought Barry's teams day to an end by 13-2 whilst Rose's team did the same to John Clifton's four by 10-4.

In the Final it was Rose versus Len for the 2nd time in the day. Not only were they fighting to become our first County Mixed Fours Champions but also for a chance to go to the National Finals (as this year we only had a single place on offer). Their first game in the round robin had gone to Rose by 14-2 but the Helmsley four changed up a gear to turn things around, eventually winning by a comfortable 9-4. The first names on the new Mixed Fours Trophy will thus belong to Len's  Helmsley four. (See PhotoGallery)  

All games played were of 8 ends duration and the day finished 45 minutes later than planned at 4.40. Umpiring duties were performed by  Clive Scholefield and an impromtu raffle organised by John & Eileen Bunting raised £43 thus ensuring the day was run at a small profit.

To see who has qualified to represent us in the ESMBA National Finals see Roll of National qualifiers