Eaton is Singles Champion

Mac Eaton (Nomads) dominated the final stages of the singles competition by bowling well throughout each of his quarter, semi and final groupings to be a worthy champion. But this having only narrowly qualifying from the preliminary group round.  

Of the forty players in the four preliminary groups, two ladies, Sue Morris (Lodge Farmers) and Angela Guest (C&G Show) progressed to the quarter finals with Guest topping her group, while a number ofj previous champions surprisingly didn’t make it through. In one group, debutant eight year old Zach Clewlow (Engineers) enjoyed himself although also eliminated, and didn’t disgrace himself with a good score against some experienced  players – one over 70 years older.

Quarter final group A saw Angela Guest make the semis along with the Jumbo Jet pair of Dave Marriott and Len Quartly. Group B had Glyn Morley (Lodge Farmers) make a 14 stack to top the group but only by two pins from Eaton to qualify along with Dave Orton (C&G Show). Phil Jones (Nomads) and Bert Clewlow (Engineers) made it out of low scoring group C together with Dennis Compton (Jumbo Jets). And in group D, Maurice Wroe easily qualified for the semis with a 15 stack, and was joined by Rob Quartly (Jumbo Jets) and Tim Jones (Lodge Farmers).

There were two semi final groups each of six players with the top two from each going to the final. In their group Mac Eaton again bowled well as did Dennis Compton as they shared the top qualifying spots with 42 pins each. In the other semi group, Jones and  Quartly also shared the top two spots but with 43 pins apiece.

After leg two of the final, Mac Eaton led the way but was only a narrow three pins ahead of Compton in fourth place. Compton and then Quartly both scored eight pins to put pressure on Eaton. His reply though was a 14 pin stack to open up an eight pin lead with only two legs remaining. That proved decisive as he matched his nearest rivals scoring in those legs, to finish as champion. Tim Jones, bowling last though, could have snatched the trophy from Eaton’s grasp, but found making the necessary, but unlikely, double stack of 18 pins well out of reach.

Final Scores: Eaton (Champion) 40; Quartly (R/U) 33; Compton 31; Jones 28.

Congratulations to father and son duo Len Quartly & Rob Quartly for winning this year’s Doubles Competition.

The pair won with a score of 77 in the final.  Keith Edwards & Neil Jay scored 72 and were declared runners-up.  The other finalists were Scott Few & Charlie Few and Mick Stanton & Dennis Compton.  Well played to all pairs.

Many thanks to all the 27 pairs who took part in the competition and for those supporters that stayed to watch the finals.

The full scores from all rounds of the competition can be found here.

The first round of the Doubles Competition was completed last night and we now advance to the finals night.  The 12 pairs that have qualified for the finals night are:

• From Group 1 – Dennis & Mick (JJS), James & Mac (Nom), Len & Rob (JJS), Darren & Dave (JJS).
• From Group 2 – Mav & The Kid (TB), Richard & Lynne (LF), Inmate & Sunshine (Eng), Jamie & Tim (LF).
• From Group 3 – Andy & Rachel (LF), Paul & Andy (LF), Keith & Neil (C&G), Andy & Paul (BB).

The detailed first round results are available to view here.

The finals night takes place on Mon 9^th December, 7:30pm @ Redditch Borough (the earlier start time was requested by captains at the most recent AGM to help with an earlier finish).  Please be aware of the earlier start and arrive in good time.

The draw for the semi-finals was completed this afternoon and can be viewed here.

The format of the finals night will be as follows:

• SF: Two groups of 6 pairs.  6 legs total (3 legs played on each alley – for fairness because of the difference between the alleys).  Highest scoring 2 pairs from each SF progress to the GF.
• GF: One group of 4 pairs.  A draw to determine playing order.  5 legs.  Played on alley 2 (the refurbished lane).  Highest scoring pair declared Doubles Champions 2024.
• In the event of a tie for the last qualifying position in a SF, or for the highest score in the GF, the pairs involved will have a single leg bowl off.  If pairs are still tied, they continue to bowl off until a winner is found.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the first round and good luck to all pairs in the finals.

The Doubles Competition 2024 starts next week (Dec 2nd & Dec 3rd).  Thank you everyone for entering.  There are 27 pairs split into three groups.  The first round draw was completed today and the groups are as follows:

Group 1 – Mon 2nd Dec @ Lodge Park

• TB (d)
• JJS (c)
• C&G (a)
• Nom (a)
• JJS (b)
• Eng (d)
• JJS (d)
• JJS (a)
• Nom (b)

Group 2 – Mon 2nd Dec @ Redditch Borough

• LF (b)
• TB (c)
• Eng (b)
• BB (a)
• LF (c)
• Eng (c)
• Nom (c)
• TB (a)
• TB (b)

Group 3 – Tues 3rd Dec @ South Redditch

• C&G (c)
• BB (c)
• Eng (a)
• LF (d)
• BB (b)
• LF (e)
• LF (f)
• LF (a)
• C&G (b)

All first round games start at 8pm.  Played over 5 legs.  The highest scoring 4 pairs from each group will progress (giving a 12 pair finals played on Mon 9th Dec at Redditch Borough).  In the event of a tie for the last qualifying position in a group then the pairs involved will have a single leg bowl off.

Full rules and details of the competition are available here.

Good luck all.  See you on the alley!

This season’s cup saw a 4-way final between Lodge Farmers, Engineers, Jumbo Jet Set and Nomads.  The format was matchplay and it led to a very closely contested game with only 2.5 points separating the top 3 teams.  Lodge Farmers came out on top with 24.5 points and were declared Summer Cup champions!

Commiserations to Engineers who came second with 22.5 points, only 2 points behind the winners.  Jumbo Jet Set finished third with 22 points, just half a point away from second place.  Nomads finished fourth with 11 points.  Full competition details and scores can be found here.

Many thanks to everyone for playing and congratulations to Lodge Farmers!

This season’s Summer Cup draw has been completed.  Round 1 of the competition takes place on Mon 1^st July and the final on Mon 8^th July (matches to begin at 8pm as usual).

The round 1 draw is as follows:

Mon 1^st July @ Lodge Park:

• Jumbo Jet Set
• Engineers
• C&G Show

Mon 1^st July @ Redditch Borough:

• The Borough
• Nomads
• Lodge Farmers

The top two teams from each group progress to the final on Mon 8^th July at Redditch Borough.

The format is Match Play:

Points are awarded to each individual player for scoring more than their corresponding players from the opposing teams (eg: Player 1 from Team A is playing against Player 1 from Team B and Player 1 from Team C).  At the end of the game, the player with the highest pin score is awarded 3 points, second place is awarded 2 points and third place is awarded 1 point.  Points are shared for tied scores.  The match play points are then tallied for each team and the teams with the most match play points win.

Round 1 is played across 5 legs.  The final is played across 6 legs.  Teams in the final will also be split across alleys A & B to account for any alley differences.

Good luck to all teams!

LODGE FARMERS WIN TRIPLES COMPETITION 2024

Congratulations to Jamie, Tim and Glyn of Lodge Famers for winning this season’s Triples Competition.  They beat Rob, Richard and Mick of Jumbo Jets in the final.

All results from the competition can be viewed here.

Well played to all teams and thanks to all for your participation.

This season’s triples competition begins Tues 16^th April.

The round 1 games are played across all three venues so please check you have the correct venue.  Matches are 6 legs and start at 8pm.  The top three teams from each group shall progress to the finals night on Tues 23^rd April.

The round 1 draw has been completed and can be found below.  Further rules and details of the competition can be found here.

Good luck to all teams!

ROUND 1 DRAW & PLAYING ORDER:

Group A @ South Redditch:

1. JJS 2
2. C&G 2
3. JJS 1
4. C&G 3
5. LF 1
6. TB 2

Group B @ Lodge Park: 

1. LF 2
2. Nom 2
3. C&G 1
4. LF 3
5. Eng 1
6. Nom 4

Group C @ Redditch Borough:

1. BB 2
2. Eng 2
3. BB 1
4. Nom 1
5. Nom 3
6. TB 1

Rachel Morris Makes History – First Lady Singles Champion

The final group in the singles completion included three Lodge Farmers bowlers, Glyn Morley, and father & daughter Frank and Rachel Morris, and with Angela Guest (C&G Show) making up the quartet in a tense finale. After leg two, the trio of Farmers’ bowlers had each scored 14 pins with Guest just three pins adrift. There was still little between the leaders after leg three, although Rachel Morris and Morley had a single pin advantage over Frank Morris, with Guest remaining a further three pins behind. Leg four was to prove significant as Rachel Morris opened up a three-pin lead when each of the other finalists faltered. A steady seven pins with her last bowl then saw Rachel Morris finish with 34 pins leaving Frank Morris and Glyn Morley needing stacks of 11 or more if they were to win the singles trophy. But neither looked likely to make that score, with the result that Rachel Morris, who had also bowled well throughout the earlier rounds, was a worthy and first lady winner in the competition’s 18 years history.

In the earlier quarter final games, group A had Glyn Morley progress comfortably with 38 pins. The main excitement in the group though came in a three-way sudden death bowl off for the remaining two semi final spots between Angela Guest, Jim Child (Nomads) & Dave Marriott (Jumbo Jets) after each scored 30. And in the bowl off, seven pins was just enough for Guest & Child.

There were two contrasting last leg scores in QF group B. First Andy Clewlow (Engineers) looking odds on to qualify, failed to register a score and could only watch as others in the group beat his final pin total of 30. Alan Cummings (Nomads) though had no such problem making a last leg stack of 14 to top the group with 45 pins. Joining Cummings in the semi-finals were Frank Morris with 36 and Dave Orton (C&G Show) with 34.

After four legs in QF group C, just three pins separated Rachel Morris, Andy Gill-Smith (Bernie’s Bolts) and Mick Stanton & Rich Johnston (both Jumbo Jets) and the three qualifying spots looked likely to come from this quartet. Morris made certain by making a 14 last leg stack, while Gill-Smith edged ahead of Stanton leaving Johnston favourite for the third spot. But then James Marshal (Nomads), seemingly well out of contention, produced a great 15 stack to nip ahead of Johnston.

QF D was yet another group where, after leg four, just three pins separated four bowlers seeking one of the three semi-final spots. Craig Ellis (Engineers) finally secured top spot with fellow Engineer, Maurice Wroe and Richard Long (Lodge Farmers) just edging out Rob Quartly (Jumbo Jets).

After the completing the SF group A game, three players, Jim Child, Glyn Morley and Frank Morris had tied in top spot with 34 pins each. A sudden death bowl off was then required to decide which two would go through to the final. Bowling first, Child could make only four pins, which Morley scraped past with a five to book his final’s spot, before Morris made certain of his appearance in the final with seven pins.

SF group B was a high scoring game with the two ladies, Guest and Morris bowling well; scoring 42 and 40 pins respectively to reach the final; and leave the four men in the group trailing in their wake. For Marshal and Cummings, there was not to be last leg rescue stacks as each had produced in the quarter finals, while Gill-Smith and Orton were left to rue missed chances.

Congratulations to Rachel Morris for winning the 2024 Singles Competition!

Rachel is the first female winner of the competition since its formation in 2006. She defeated Frank Morris, Glyn Morley and Angela Guest in the final.

Many thanks to all participants in this year’s competition.

Full details of the competition and all the scoreboards can be found here.