Suffolk Carpet Bowls Association

www.carpetbowls.org/suffolk

2010 ECBA Champion of Champions

Over the weekend of 12 and 13 June 2010 the ECBA Champion of Champions event took place at the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool.

Ten counties took part, Cambridgeshire, Durham, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Suffolk.

Suffolk were represented by all of their SCBA event winners:

Singles: John Varden (Old Felixstowe)
Pairs: Keith and Neil Jolly (Brockley)
Triples: Keith Armes, Jane and Richard Sago (Burstall)
Rinks: Don Allum, Heather, Trevor and Steven Cain (Great Blakenham)

John's first game in the singles was against South Tyneside and after a slow start he raced away to a convincing 16-3 win. He followed that with a far closer and hard earned 10-8 win against the Cambridgeshire single, who had won the recent Eastern Counties Champions event. John then had a relatively comfortable 12-7 win against North Tyneside. Next up was the Hertfordshire player, who like John had won his first three games. It was a close game that went to the last end, John found himself in trouble and the game was lost 8-5. However John then bounced back in spectacular fashion to beat his Durham opponent 16-2 in his final game on Saturday, his best performance of the day.

In the pairs Keith and Neil started badly in their first game against Norfolk, finding themselves behind early. However two four shot maximums on the final ends snatched an unlikely 12-7 win. The next game started better, but an early lead was clawed back and the Brockley pair just held on to beat the Northumberland pair 8-7. Their third game was more comfortable, as an early lead was maintained against Essex, winning 11-6. Hertfordshire were next, a tight scrappy game ending in a disappointing 8-6 defeat. However they ended the day well, finding their form to beat the Cambridgeshire pair 11-4.

The Burstall triple got their competition off to a fantastic start, picking up the carpet quickly to thrash an experienced Durham triple 15-2. Their next game against Norfolk proved to be more difficult, whilst the Burstall triple kept in touch they ended up losing 11-7. Their third game against the Eastern Counties champions Cambridgeshire was a tight affair. The game went to the last end and finished in a creditable 8-8 draw. Next up were another experienced triple from Northumberland, who just continued to edge away in the game, the Burstall triple losing 9-2. Unfortunately it got worse in the last game of the day with a heavy 20-2 defeat to a skilful Sunderland triple.

Like the triple, the Great Blakenham four got off to a great start. With all of them playing well, they inflicted a convincing 14-1 defeat on the Cambridgeshire rink. Their second game was a lot closer and they could consider themselves unfortunate to slip to a last end 8-7 loss against Essex. They reacted well to that defeat though to comfortably beat the Hertfordshire rink 14-3. Next up were their first northern opponents, a rink from Northumberland. An early lead was secured and maintained and they eased to an 11-4 win. It then got better in their last game of the day, in a one-sided encounter the Great Blakenham rink strolled to a 17-1 win over South Tyneside.

So with day one over, the Suffolk single, pair and four were all placed well, having each only lost one game of the five played. The triple had found the day difficult against more experienced opposition but had done well to get a win and a draw from their games. Overall Suffolk were also nicely placed in the team competition.

In the singles Sunday didn't start well for John as he slipped to a disappointing 9-4 defeat to the Norfolk bowler. However as he had done the day before, he reacted well to a loss. Hitting straight back with a win in his next game, beating his Essex opponent 11-5. He then put on another competent performance in his penultimate game to secure another win, this time against Northumberland, 12-5. John's final game was against Sunderland, and the winner would secure second place overall, with Hertfordshire having already won the singles event. John took an early lead, but was unable to hold onto it, losing on the final end 10-8.

Sunday started better for Keith and Neil. On a tricky carpet which they were able to master better than their North Tyneside opponents they did just enough to win 9-5. Next up were an experienced Durham pair, this turned out to be the Brockley pair's best performance of the weekend as they cruised to a comfortable 15-2 win which was never in doubt. Their penultimate game against South Tyneside was far tougher and the outcome was in doubt until the final bowl. However the Brockley pair were relieved to escape with a 7-5 win. This result secured them first place in the pairs event overall. With the pressure off, a high quality final game against Sunderland finished in a fair 6-6 draw.

Having had a tough Saturday, the Burstall triple were delighted to again get off to a winning start. In a close game against South Tyneside they battled well to record a 9-7 win. Unfortunately this was their only win of the day, despite them giving a 100% effort in every game. There was no shame in their 12-5 loss to the eventual winners Hertfordshire and they finished with closer 10-6 and 11-7 defeats to Essex and North Tyneside respectively.

The Great Blakenham four were involved in a difficult low scoring first game against Norfolk. Disappointingly they ended up on the wrong side of the final 6-5 scoreline. The low shot count continued in their next game against the Durham rink, but this time it was a positive outcome of a 7-3 win. Their penultimate game was no easier, against a strong Sunderland four. A tight game went to the final bowl, but ended in a 7-5 defeat. However not for the first time during the weekend Suffolk bowlers reacted superbly to a loss, the Great Blakenham four winning their final game 16-5 against North Tyneside.

Throughout the weekend there had been some great bowling by all of the bowlers from Suffolk.

John Varden had won six games from nine, finished third overall and in doing so had played some very consistent and skilful bowls.

The Burstall triple had a frustrating weekend, gaining two wins and a draw. However at no time did they give up and you couldn't fault their effort against some very experienced opposition.

The Great Blakenham four all played well across the weekend, finishing third, winning six from nine. They scored more and conceded less shots than all of the other rinks. Their losses were all tight and they could consider themselves unlucky not to win the event.

The Brockley pair had played consistently throughout the weekend and to lose only one game was a great achievement. They had not expected to win the event, but were delighted to be crowned pairs champions.

Finally the team event went right down to the last set of games. In a three horse race it was Sunderland who took the overall win, with Suffolk securing an excellent second place on shots from the consistent Hertfordshire.

Click here for the full results

2009 ECBA Champion of Champions

On the weekend of 13th-14 June, the Suffolk County Champions joined the rest of carpet bowls county champions, in Blackpool, for the ECBA Champion of Champions.

After their success in the Eastern version, the Suffolk teams went with good expectations. Playing nine games, over two days, the competition was going to be difficult, in what is recognised as the top club event in the country.

Colin Fellingham was the singles player, in maybe the hardest event. At the end of the first days’ play, Colin was in the fight, lying in joint second place, and it wasn’t until he was beaten by the eventual winner, on Sunday afternoon, that he was put out of the running. He finished in 7th position. A very close competition, that Colin did not disgrace himself in.

In the pairs, Andy Gilder and Mick Watkins represented Suffolk, with perhaps more expectation than most. There were some strong pairs there, and nobody would find it easy. At the end of the Saturday, they had only lost one game, but had drawn two. One of these being the only point that the Cambridgeshire pair had dropped. On the Sunday, after some very good games all round, Andy and Mick went into the last game knowing that any win would secure the championship. Unfortunately, they were beaten by the Sunderland pair and finished in third place, two points adrift.

The Daniels family, were our representatives in the triples, and showed the never-say-die attitude of all the Suffolk bowlers. At the end of play on the Saturday, they had won two, lost two, and drawn one, making 5 points and sitting mid table. They never lost another game, and by the end of play, their total was 13 points, and a finish of second place, one point behind the winners. A very credible performance.

Rita and Peter Runnacles, Jim Porter, and Don Allum, took part in the toughest competition, the rinks. This discipline always contains a large number of county bowlers, and plenty of determination. Although starting strongly, the Suffolk rink could not keep up with the Hertfordshire four, that more or less ran away with it, only losing when it didn’t really matter. They performed well and certainly never disgraced themselves, finishing in 6th place.

In the team event, Suffolk was in the mix, until the final games. It was won by a very strong Sunderland team, that contained all county bowlers. Seven of which once played for Durham. It must always be remembered that not all these counties use the open tournament as a way of picking their champions, so sometimes, it is not a level playing field, and our representatives must be congratulated on their manner and performance.

A very good weekend was enjoyed by all that went, and the Suffolk bowlers would like to offer a big thank-you to our supporters, namely Sheila, Sue, Shirley, Margaret and Jim.

Click here for the full results