Total County Championship entry = 340  :  32 Singles  30 Pairs  32 Triples  18 Fours 16 Mixed Fours 16 U18 Singles

Of which the total ESMBA Nationals entry = 138 : 16 Singles  11 Pairs  10 Triples  6 Fours  9 Mixed Fours  10 U18 Singles

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The PAIRS - (Saturday December 5th 2009): After 3 rounds consisting of two round robins (10x3 and 8x3) and a knockout, the entry of 30 was reduced to the final 8 Pairs for the QFinals. At this stage none of the Champions from the 6 previous years had survived (with the exception of Richard Clark - a Pairs winner in 2004 & 2006).

In these, Richard and his wife Elaine were then eliminated (3-10) by Arthur Jackson/Harry Welch whilst Francis Boatman/Nathan Kotek put out Mick & Anne Ridge (9-5). Gordon Raggett/David Herbert fell to Richard Lochman/Ben Render (6-8) and Bronagh Malone/Trevor Hanlon overcame Jill Newsome/Jane Rudd (9-7). After the subsequent SFinal, it was Bronagh & Trevor (8-7 winners over Arthur/Harry)  who faced up to Francis & Nathan (9-5 winners over Richard/Ben) in the Final.

This was a fascinating game enjoyed by about 25 spectators who had remained to see the final outcome. Both Francis and Nathan generally outdrew their opposition, leaving Bronagh often in a position where running woods or pinpoint draws were required to salvage or claim the end. In the penultimate end, Bronagh levelled the score with a perfectly executed running shot to remove the two oppositions shot woods and claim the winner and then the Irish duo went on to win the final end and claim the Pairs title by a single shot (8-7). (See PhotoGallery)

All round robin games played were of 10 ends duration but this was reduced to 9 ends for the knockouts and the day finally finished at 5.00 - about 30 minutes later than scheduled. The Umpire for the day was Arthur Rathmell and the raffle was very well supported, raising £104.

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

To see this years table of competition successes see Order of Merit   

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The FOURS - (Sunday December 6th 2009): The 18 entrants were reduced to the final 8 after a single round robin (6x3) and a knockout round and the QFinal results were as follows.

Nathan Kotek, Matthew Barnsley and Charlotte & James Clark overcame Barry & Joan Crossland and Graham & Linda Sherburn 7-5.

Gordon Raggett, Francis & Nigel Boatman and Jacinta Townend put out Richard Lund, Matt Fenwick, George McDowell and Colin Stevens 12-6.

David & Jo Newsome, Ben Render and Richard Lochman outplayed Gareth Townend, Roger Green, Dennis Jarvis and Simon Holtby 11-6.

Arthur Jackson, Jean & Jim Wetherill and Jo Hearld just squeezed out Len & Pam Bradley, Geoff Clark and Hilda Thomas 8-7 after an extra end.

The SFinals saw David overcome Gordon by 12-3 and Nathan eliminated Arthur 10-9 so the Final therefore saw David and Co. (last years winners) against Nathan's young team whose average age was just 14. On form, the result should have been a foregone conclusion. David was undefeated and had so far accumulated an overall shot difference of +42 in the previous 5 games, whilst in contrast Nathan had had some narrow wins and one defeat to accumulate a shot difference so far of just +7.

It looked bad from the start for Nathan who dropped a five on the very first end. Against such a strong team this could have been a mortal blow but Nathan kept his head and after a single on the next end his team pulled back the five on end three to go 6-5 up. Two more singles now saw the favourites under pressure at 5-8 down. However their experience did not let them down and five shots off the next two ends saw them 10-8 up with one end remaining. Keeping their composure Nathan's team now drew in 4 close woods and it took a pressure shot from Ben to draw in the shot which stayed in place until their were just 2 woods remaining. David knew the head was vulnerable to attack and that a good final wood from Nathan would remove Ben's wood to claim the 3 shots necessary for victory. He therefore chose a risky final shot to try and plug Nathan's path and cut down his chances. However the best laid plans do not always work out and David found his own final wood moving the jack to the opposition for the 3 shots necessary for their victory. Predictably, a very relieved Nathan declined to bowl his last wood.

This was a very well deserved victory for the youngest team to enter the competition who all played with a lot of maturity throughout the day and demonstrated the power of persistence and never giving up. (See PhotoGallery) 

All games played were of 8 ends duration and the day finally finished at 5.25 - about 60 minutes later than scheduled. The Umpire for the day was Noel Clark and the raffle was very well supported, raising £133.

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   

To see this years table of competition successes see Order of Merit 

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The MIXED FOURS - (Saturday December 12th 2009): This year saw a record entry of 16 Mixed Fours take part and all teams were placed into groups of four for three initial games played on a round-robin basis. By using 8 mats, these three games were played continuously without a break with the group winners and runners up going through to the Quarter Finals.  In these four games ........

Simon Holtby, Colin McKay, Jean Smallwood and Jean Calvert brought the hopes of Derek & Pat Beardsley and Bryan & Pat Jones to an end by 9-2;

Ben Render, Bronagh Malone, Jayne Rudd and Richard Lochman were never under pressure and finally beat Jim & Jean Weatherill, Jo Hearld and Phil Elgie (8-4);

Geoff & Anne Whitehead, Geoff Dye and Lynda Tranmar played Jenny Toase, Pam Walker, Dennis Mather and David Brown and after conceding a 5 early on, the latter four then picked up a 7 on the 6th end to give themselves a chance but were finally squeezed out by 9-10.

David, Jo & Jill Newsome and Marlene Jackson (last years Champions) fought back from 0-5 down to beat Dennis Jarvis, Maureen Lilliman, George Daniel and Sue Pitham (11-5).

In the first Semi-Final, Ben's Four put out Simons team (9-4) after a brave battle. In the other, last years Champions recovered from 1-7 down to give themselves a chance in the final end  but Geoff's team kept cool and scored a 2 to win 6-9.

The Final thus saw Geoff face up to Ben - both teams having won all 5 of their games thus far. As expected this was a very competitive and well fought game with Ben (last years runner-up) and Geoff (going for a unique record) both desperately wanting a win. At the halfway stage the scores were level at 4-4 but when Geoff then picked up a 3 followed by a 1, Ben was left requiring a 4 to force an extra end - a task that proved impossible. Geoff can now add the Mixed Fours title to the Singles he won last year, the Triples and Fours won in 2008  (also with Geoff Dye and Anne) and the Pairs (with Anne) in 2007. This is a record that can never be beaten but at some point in the future could be equalled. Commiserations to Ben who must again settle for the runners-up slot. (see PhotoGallery)

All games played were of 8 ends duration and the day finally finished at 5.00 - about 60 minutes later than scheduled. The Umpire for the day was Derek Williams and the raffle was very well supported, raising £97.

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

To see this years table of competition successes see Order of Merit 

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The SINGLES - (Saturday February 20th 2010): The competition was rearranged from Jan 9 due to snow/ice. There were 32 entrants of which half had entered the ESMBA Nationals. All games were of 10 ends.

ROUND 1 - 8 round robin groups of 4. Early fallers included last years runner-up Jo Newsome and 2004 Champion Rose Haynes. 

ROUND 2 - (Top 16 - Round 1 group winners/runners-up). Ken Calvert, Matt Fenwick and Richard Lund went out by a single shot as did 2006 Champion Simon Holtby.

Q Finals - Arthur Jackson was 5-5 to Roger Green, then he dropped a 4 on the penultimate end to lose 5-9 (last end no score); last years Champion Geoff Whitehead picked up a 4 on the third end to lead 5-3 but then David Newsome won the last 7 ends to go through 13-5; Bronagh Malone put out Crossgates club colleague Ben Render 10-6 and Nathan Kotek beat Gareth Townend (Champion in 2007 & 2008) 10-5 after picking up a 4 in the penultimate end when the scores were 5-5.

S Finals - In the first, Nathan generally outdrew Roger but carelessly let him score two 4's on the way to a 11-9 victory whilst in the second, David only allowed Bronagh to score on 3 ends and with two 4's along the way eventually won 14-5.

The Final was thus between 18 year old David (last years U18 County and National Champion) and 15 year old Nathan (this years County Fours and U18 Champion). David won the first two ends but then Nathan took the next four to lead 7-3. David replied with a 2 and a 1 but it was Nathan who went into the last end with a 2 shot advantage. With Nathan sitting on the jack for the match, it looked like the end of the line for David who had the last wood. However David conjured up a great shot and with very controlled weight pushed Nathan's wood away to lay two shots thus forcing an extra end. However it was the younger player, who has been having a great season, who scored a 2 to win 10-8 and become this years Champion - the first player to hold both the Junior and Senior Singles title at the same time. (See PhotoGallery) After a string of successes in various competitions this year both players are now top of this years Order of Merit. 

All games played were of 10 ends duration and the day finally finished at 5.00 - about 30 minutes later than scheduled. The Umpire for the day was Derek Williams. There was no raffle.

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 - (Saturday February 6th 2010): The competition was rearranged from Jan 10 due to snow/ice. This was the biggest entry so far in the Triples Championships with 32 entrants organised into 8 groups of 4. This gave everyone three games in the initial round robin stage (played on 8 mats over 6 sessions) with the top two in each group entering the KO stage. The final eight them contested the Quarter Finals in which.......

Rose Haynes, Gareth Townend and Roger Green put out Trevor Hanlon and Jo & Sandra Agustus 10-3

The Newsome family overcame fellow North Duffield bowlers, Rodger & Diane Ellis and Marlene Jackson 12-3

Ben Render, Jayne Rudd and Richard Lochman beat Gordon Raggett, Francis Boatman and Nathan Kotek 9-5

Arthur Jackson, Gordon Cripps and Margaret Watkinson just pipped Fred Banthorpe, Danny Brown and Derek Williams 7-6

In the first Semi Final, Rose scored a 4 on the first end and although Ben hit back straight away with a 5 on the next end that was to be his only end won and Rose eventually went into to the Final with a 13-5 win. In the other Semi, the Newsomes cruised through with a 9-2 defeat over Arthur.

The Final thus saw last years Champions Rose, Gareth and Roger (the only Triple undefeated during the day so far) up against David, Jo and Jill who had won in 2006. The first four ends were shared but with two ends to go Rose's trio looked set to retain their title having moved into a 7-3 lead. However David then trailed the jack for a 4 levelling the scores at 7-7 with an end to go. After David had put up a fine front blocker to protect a match winning single shot, Rose managed to find a way through to the jack but without the desired result. The Newsomes thus become this years Champions and their win now puts David and Jo at the top of this years Order of Merit. See also PhotoGallery.   

All games played were of 8 ends duration and the day finally finished at 5.00 - about 40 minutes later than scheduled. Umpiring duties were shared by Derek Williams and Roger Green and for the Semi Final and Final by Geoff Whitehead.  The very well supported raffle raised a magnificent £171.

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   

To see this years table of competition successes see Order of Merit 

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The U18 SINGLES - (Monday February 15th 2010): This competition had to be moved to half-term week to free up the original planned Saturday for the County Triples (cancelled due to snow/ice). This resulted in several "casualties" from the original 16 entries but these were soon filled with "willing" stand-ins from our county wide total of 23 Juniors. These ranged in age from four 16 year olds to six who were 12 or under. The two youngest to take part were 9 year old Daniel Baddeley from Great Ouseburn and Meggan Harrington from North Duffield who is still 8 years of age, both of whom had only started to bowl during the course of the season.

The contestants had been drawn into four random groups of 4 players for the initial round robin stage giving everyone 3 games. With such a wide age range, this of course resulted in some very tough games for the younger players but they all persevered without complaint and acquitted themselves with keenness and enthusiasm. The top 8 from the round robin went through into the first KO round (Quarter Finals) and in these, players from 4 different clubs were represented.

Nathan Kotek (N Duffield) beat Ryan Mckee (Crossgates) 10-4;

Charlotte Clark (N Duffield) beat Jonathan Taylor (Tollerton) 8-5;

Edward Townend (N Duffield) beat Matthew Barnsley (Riccall) 9-6 and

Matthew Jackson (Tollerton) beat James Clark (N Duffield) 10-8.     

The Semi-Finals that followed saw a tussle between Nathan and Edward (both England U21 players) in which Nathan came out on top by 8-4 and an excellent close tie between Charlotte and Matthew. The game was close throughout witnessed by the fact that the scores on the first six ends all required the Umpire to sort out close measures. Finally the scores were tied at 8-8 thus requiring an extra end. It looked as if Matthew was going to secure victory when Charlotte drew in a superb final wood to pinch the shot.

13 year old Charlotte now found herself up against 15 year old Nathan. Both had been in the team that had already won this years County Fours Championships before Christmas. Charlotte played well but Nathan, who has played Singles for most of the season in the County B team was just too good and became this year Junior Champion by 11-4.

Target Competition - As usual all players were also able to have several goes on the "target" mat with their scores being accumulated to a grand total. In this Nathan found himself in 2nd place (34 points) to 11 year old Daniel Johnson who clocked up the winning total of 38 points.   

This concluded a great days bowling from a great group of young players many of whom will no doubt be progressing over the next few years to many successes. They are a credit to their clubs and to the parents and grandparents who support them throughout the season. All games were of 9 ends duration and the Umpire for the day was newly qualified Rose Haynes who was kept extremely busy throughout the day. 

See PhotoGallery        

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