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Superbowl Internal Championships

April 2010 - Superbowl BC

Upsets and Close Finishes a Feature of Superbowl’s Internal Championships!

Report & photo by Murray Johns.

As always, Superbowl staged its Internal Competitions at the end of the Winter Season which allows its Members the freedom to participate in Competitions along the Coast from October to April. Once again there was a large entry and there were many upsets and close finishes throughout.

Unfortunately we lost the first two days to heavy rain but, despite this, effective planning and scheduling ensured the Tournament finished on time. In addition to the Open and Handicap Singles events, there were the usual Pairs and Triples disciplines with a Fours being added on this occasion at the request of Club Members.

Drawn Fours :-

The two “better balanced” Teams ultimately reached the Final but, from 3-16 on the 5^th end in the Semi-Final, Denis’ Team certainly staged a memorable fight back and almost snatched 5 shots on the last end to take the game into an extra end.

Unfortunately the Final was very one-sided and, from 14-5 on the 10^th end, Craig’s Team was able to coast through to an emphatic 19-11 victory.

Drawn Triples :-

There were several strong combinations in this event and the Semi-Finals were far closer than the score lines suggest.

The Final will certainly be remembered by everyone present. After only 4 ends, Andy’s Team had established a 9-0 lead only to find themselves 10-11 down after 11. With the lead changing every end it finished all square after 18 ends with both Teams winning 9 ends. Time for an exciting “tie break”!

Michael gave the Mat away and was immediately under pressure as Maureen placed 3 Bowls close to the Jack. When he came to the Mat he had Bowls in close proximity to the well protected Jack but it needed a remarkable second Bowl to steal the shot and give his Team a “nail biting” victory in a game which nobody deserved to lose.

Drawn Pairs :-

As with the Triples Teams, there were several Pairs where experienced Skips were drawn with competent Leads and, at the Quarter Final stage, these dominated.

The game involving Mike and Pat was extremely close with 13 of the 18 ends being decided by one shot. The decisive end was the 16^th where Mike & Mary picked up 4 shots which, in the context of this quality encounter, was the “killer blow”. The other Semi-Final was also close with Paul & Maureen leading 9-4 after 8 ends. The game then ran way from them with Shirley & Jan winning 6 of the remaining 10 ends.

As with the Triples, the Pairs Final did not disappoint. Mike & Mary dominated the opening 8 ends and it was only thanks to some superb Bowling from Shirley that her Team remained in touch at 8-3. As Jan settled, so the game became a contest and by winning 7 of the next 10 ends, including a 4 on the 17^th end, it was 14-14 going into the last end. With each Pair holding shot with alarming regularity, it was Mike who ultimately drew shot to put pressure on Shirley’s last Bowl. Unfortunately, on this occasion, she could not repeat her heroics from earlier in the game and Mike & Mary emerged as Champions by 15-14.

Handicap Singles :-

Despite some very effective handicapping by the Club’s Committee, there were few upsets other than a notable performance from John Blackburn who defeated Andy Salmon 21-18 in the first round. This meant that three of the Semi-Finalists were “scratch Bowlers”, the exception being Mary Detheridge who was playing off +2.

Terry Barrett had won a Premier Singles Semi-Final earlier in the day and was unable to halt the progress of Mary Detheridge who dominated their game. The other game was exceptional and, with Alan having already beaten Pat Fisher and Michael Detheridge in the first two rounds, a close finish was always on the cards. He quickly established a 9-1 lead only to be pegged back to 9-10 by the 11^th end and regain the lead 15-14 on the 18^th. Paul then won the last 4 ends to win a quality game 21-15.

Could Mary repeat her performance in the Final? She more than held her own in the early exchanges, lead 11-8 after 12 ends and was holding 3 shots on the 13^th. It was here that Paul took control as he ran the Jack into the ditch to pick up 3 shots and square the game. He then proceeded to win 4 of the next 5 ends, including three counts of 3, to take the game 21-12. Mary was never able to match her opponent’s power but she did have the satisfaction of reaching three of the five Finals.

Premier Singles :-

This is the Club’s “blue riband” event and, unlike the Handicap Singles it did provide more than its fair share of upsets in the early rounds. Craig Lewis beat Alan Turner 21-15 in the first round before completing a comprehensive 21-6 win over the defending Champion, Paul Brown in the next. John Morgan gained three “big scalps” as he defeated Shirley Owen and Mary Detheridge before ending Craig’s dream in the Quarter Final, a 21-20 victory over 26 thrilling ends.

Following an excellent victory over Davie Hunter, Manuel took his form into the Semi-Final and held a 16-13 lead before Pat, with some exceptional draw Bowling, achieved a hard fought victory. Sadly for John he was unable to repeat his earlier exploits and Terry emerged a comfortable winner.

The Final, a repeat of the 2008 Final which saw Pat win, was a classic. Despite the difficult conditions, there was some quality Bowling which saw the lead change regularly and the score tied at 17-17 after 19 ends and 18-18 at 21 ends.

Terry then edged out Pat on the next two ends to take the coveted Champions Title 21-18 and avenge his earlier defeat. It completed a memorable Singles Tournament for Terry who had defeated many of the Club’s top Singles Bowlers in both the Handicap and Premier disciplines.

Before presenting the Championship Trophies to the Winners, Brian Judge ( Club President ) and Craig Lewis ( Club Captain ) thanked Murray and Marjorie Johns for their excellent organisation of the Tournament and total commitment throughout, to those who had Umpired and Marked and to the support Staff who had looked after competitors for the duration of a very successful event. 

*All of the photos marked so are taken with the Club’s Captain ( Craig Lewis on far left ) and the Club’s President ( Brian Judge on far right ) :-
 

*Handicap Singles Losing Finalist – Mary Detheridge

*Pairs Losing Finalists – Shirley Owen & Jan Brown.

Fours Champions - Paul Brown, Jan Brown, Carole Cornwell & Craig Lewis

Fours Losing Finalists - Alan Turner, Mary Detheridge, Shirley Owen, Brian Judge