FINALS NIGHT » 13th April 2011

Cup Final
On paper this year's final, between the teams that finished first and last in Division 1, didn't look like it was going to be much of a contest. And although the final result was pretty much as everyone will have predicted, the manner in which it came was not.

The first pair of games saw both Walpole teams start slowly, but each of them had eked out a lead going in to the last end. However Wenhaston won both of those last ends, picking up a total of 5 shots between them and both games finished with 6-5 victories for Walpole.

The second set of games saw yet another 6-5 win for Walpole, which would have set the match up nicely for the final set, if it had not been for a stunning 19-0 win for Walpole, which saw them carry a 22 shot lead into the break, effectively ending the game.

However that formidable lead did not deter Wenhaston from fighting for every shot in the last pair of games. One of the games ended in a 5-2 win for Walpole, just one shot per end, all of which swung back and forth between the two teams. While the other finally saw a game go the way of Wenhaston 6-4.

The match then, for the most part, was much closer that it would appear from the final result, 5 of the 6 games might have gone either way, but in the end the result of the Final turned on just a single game and Walpole took the trophy for the 4th consecutive year.

Heritage Plate
This match also seemed to have a firm favourite, Reydon were coming off a great 3rd place finish in the League, their best ever season, while Orford had been relegated.

The opening pair of games were shared, with a win apeice. An 8-4 to Reydon and a 9-6 to Orford, gave Orford a 1 shot lead. The second set of games were also shared. Reydon took their win by a score of 8-6, but Orford's 8-2 win was enough to stretch their lead to 5 shots overall, going in to the break.

Hard though Orford had fought to establish their lead, it was still relatively slender and could easily be wiped out on a single end. Indeed the first ends of both of the final set of games looked to be heading Reydon's way, by decent margins, but it didn't stay that way for long.

The decisive result was an 11-4 win for Orford, while the other game was a 5-5 draw. The final result, Orford 44 Reydon 32.

HERITAGE PAIRS » 27th March 2011

This year's entry of 48 teams was an increase on last year.

The 10 group winners and 6 best runners-up qualified for the Knockout Stages

Both of this year's finalists emerged from the same group, one which quite clearly from the outset looked to be the 'group of death' for this event.

Peter & Kay Masters, Kelsale A, had emerged as group winners, having been one of only 4 teams to get through the Round Robin stages with a perfect record. Their First Round game had seen them up against Walpole & Cookley D in which they had had to come back from a 3 shot first end deficit, to finally take a 6-5 win.

Their Quarter Final was an easier affair as they ran out to a 10-1 lead after 4 ends, finally finishing 10-4 up. Onto the Semi Final where they met team mates Kelsale D. This was another close fought one with the lead swinging back and forth. Kelsale A trailed 4-3 with 2 ends to go, but 2 shots on each of those last 2 ends saw them come home 7-4 winners.

James Rous & Jon Jordan, Walpole A, had taken a somewhat less straight forward route to the Knockout Stages, that that of their opponents. Not only had they failed to win their group, they had only managed 2 wins and a draw from their 4 games, leaving them to scrape through as the 15th of the 16 qualifiers.

Their First Round game against Middleton B was however quite convincing, the started with 5 shots on the first end and never looked back, finishing 13-2 up. Theie Quarter Final, on the other hand, was somewhat harder work. Five ends in and they trailed Riverside C 4-1, but they pulled it back to 4-4 2 ends later, to take the game to an extra end, finally winning 5-4.

And the Semi Final was another close affair. This time they were 4-2 ahead of Knodishall A with 2 ends to go, one end later they were one behind as the conceded 3 shots on the penultimate end. Once again, however they brought it back to all-square on the final end, this time winning it 6-5 on the extra end.

The Final then, which was a repeat of last year's final, was also a repeat of a Group game from earlier in the day which had seen Kelsale take an 8-7 win by taking 4 shots on the final end. This time, however, it was different story. Walpole took the lead from the first and never gave it up, although only 8 shots were scored over the 7 ends, 6 of those ends went Walpole's way and they finished 7-1 winners to retain their title.

HERITAGE MEN » 6th March 2011

We had a very respectable 50 entries this year. The 10 group winners and 6 best runners-up would qualify for the Knockout Stages.

Both of this year's finalists had come through to the Knockout Rounds as group winners, having won all of their games in the round robin phase.

Jon Jordan's First Round game against David Kerridge looked to be heading for a shock result as he slipped to a 4-0 deficit 3 ends in. However, 2 ends later he had the lead and he finally came home an 8-5 winner. And it was a similar story in the Quarter Final as his opponent Joe Mew took a 4-0 lead after 2 ends. This time it took Jon 3 further ends to get the lead, although he was behind again, 6-5 down with an end to go. The seventh end saw Jon do enough to take the game into an extra end, which he won to finish 7-6 up.

The Semi-Final saw him take on team mate James Rous as Walpole filled 3 of the final 4 places in the tournament. And true to form Jon got off the a slow start. He lost the first end by a shot, but was level again on the next, James took 3 on the third, but Jon matched that on the 4th end, James took 2 on the 5th, only for Jon to match that on the penultimate end. Finally it was Jon who broke the pattern, taking a single shot on the final end to lead the game for the first and only time, to win 7-6.

Ollie Whyte's First Round game saw him take the lead from the first against Ken Drane, never relinquishing his advantage as he went on to win 7-2. His Quarter Final was much more decisive as he took an impressive 14-1 victory over Jim Lording.

Ollie's Semi-Final against Paul Daniels, the only non-Walpole player to have made it to this stage, was a good deal closer than the previous games. There was no more than a shot an end for the first 5, 3 of which went to Paul. But the penultimate end was the 6th which Ollie took with 2 shots to lead 4-3 going into the least which he also took to win 5-3.

The Final saw Ollie take an early lead winning 3 shots on the first end and another one on the second. However Jon came back strongly with 3 on the third end, after which Ollie seemed to be the one under pressure despite his good start. The game was level after 4 ends and Jon was 5-4 up after 5 ends. However Ollie was back all-square with one end to go. But it was an end which once again saw Ollie under pressure from the start and Jon did not need to bowl his last wood as he came through win 7-5, and take the title for the first time.

HERITAGE LADIES » 6th March 2011

There were a total of 32 entires for this year's Ladies' Singles. With 7 groups, the qualifiers were extended to include not only the winners and runners-up, but also the best 2 third placed players.

Both of this year's finalists came out of their respective groups as runners-up, having each won 3 of their 4 round robin games.

Val Game's First Round game was saw her up against group winner Glennis Nessling, who won the first 2 ends before Val took the lead on the third, after which she was never behind. In the Quarter Finals, against Jackie Kingston, Val led from the start and came home a comfortable 9-1 winner.

Her Semi-Final against team mate Eileen Adamson was must more closely fought. Although Val led from the start there was never more than a couple of shots in it up to the final end, at which point the Val led 4-3, however she took a decisive 3 shots on that final end to finally win 7-3.

Rita Daniels' first Knockout Round game saw her 8 shots up within the first 3 ends against Linda Seall. Although Linda won the next couple of ends, she never got any closer than 4 shots as Rita took the last 2 ends to win 11-4. The Quarter Final saw her off to another good start, taking all 4 shots of Anne Brown on the first end. However the lead was only 5-4 after 4 ends as Anne fought back. But Rita came back to take the final 3 ends, to win 10-4.

And it was another single club affair for Rita's Semi-Final as she took on reigning champion Kay Masters. Again Rita took an early lead, winning the first 2 ends, but a further 2 ends later it was all square at 3-3. However the fourth end was what clinched the game as Rita took 3 shots, which would be enough to take her to the final as the last 2 ends were shared with a shot apeice.

The Final saw Rita take command of the game early on, winning the first 3 ends in style and running out to an 8-0 lead. However Val was not yet finished and she certainly had the best of the final 4 ends, but that early lead was such that Rita could afford to defend, holding her nerve to find the second wood each time as Val peppered the jack with her woods. Although all 7 ends were played, the game was actually over with an end to go as Rita already had an unassailable lead, taking the title for the first time.

HERITAGE FOURS » 6th February 2011

The entries for this year's event were down to just 18 teams. So without enough to give us groups with equal numbers, the tournament was run as a single group, with each team getting 4 games. The top 8 teams then progressed to the knockout stages.

Walpole & Cookley came through the group stage with a perfect record. In their Quarter Final game they were drawn against another unbeaten team, Knodishall E. And it was Knodishall who held the lead going into the final end, 2 shots ahead, but Walpole did enough to draw level, take the game into an extra end and win by one shot.

Their Semi-Final was also closely fought, with just one shot taken by either team on each of the 6 ends. As it was Walpole were able to claim 4 of the ends, to take the game by a couple of shots.

Kelsale B, meanwhile, made their way through as the 6th best team, having won 3 and lost 1 game. By contrast to their final opponents, they breezed through their first 2 knockout games, beating club mates Kelsale A 13-3 and Riverside 12-4.

And as the Final began it looked as if Kelsale's good form was continuing. They took each of the first 4 ends to lead 5-0 going into the final 2 ends. It looked very much as if a shock result was on the cards. But the 5th end finally saw Walpole secure a couple of shots, which was followed by 5 on the final end to finish a remarkable comeback in order to take the title for the 3rd year in a row.

HERITAGE TEAM BOWL » 12th December 2010

With a few less entries from the clubs within the league, this year, we decided to open up the competition to clubs from outside the league. The response was such that we intend to do the same again next year.

With each triple, pair and single from each of the teams having played 4 games, the top 4 teams went through to the Knockout Stages.

HERITAGE CHARITY FOURS » 24th October 2010

There was another very good turnout for this year's event with a total of 45 teams entering, 17 of whom came from outside the league.

We would like to thank everyone who entered and helped us to raise £1000 for The Treehouse Appeal.

The 9 group winners and 7 best runners-up qualified for the knockout stages.

Shirley & Rita handing over the money raised for The Treehouse Appeal