National Pairs Champions of Champions

June 2008- Emerald Isle BC

Report & photos by Rick Wills.

Emerald Isle was the venue for the 2008 National Pairs Champion of Champions tournament, which featured mens and ladies pairs champions from clubs from the Costa Blanca and Almeria. Sadly, there were no entries this year from the Costa del Sol. There were 14 mens pairs entered, but the ladies field was depleted late on due to illness, which whittled it down to 10 teams and meant that one group was smaller than the other. There were 2 groups, the winners of which would meet in the final on day 4 of the event.

The mens group A was decided before the last game was played, when Jackie Breslin and Tony McKenna (Albir) kept up their unbeaten run to win the 5th group match on an extra end. Alan Philips and Derek Eldon (Benitachell) finished in 2nd place having won 4 games. Tony Pilling and Danny Buchanan ( La Siesta) also won 5 of their 6 games to top group B, with John Haigh and the relatively inexperienced John Goldspink (San Luis) doing well to win 4 and finish second.

The ladies were altogether much tighter, with everything dependant on the results of the last games in each group. There were 4 teams in group A and after playing 2 games each, every one of them had won one and lost one. Carol Meare amd Chris Evans (Benitachell) won through eventually, just bettering Wendy Oxley and Rowena Good (Monte Mar) on shot difference.

The 6 teams in group B produced an equally tense situation going into the last of the group matches, when any one of 3 teams could have gone through. Two of them met and it was Pearl Houghton and Ann Rudkin (Quesada) who defeated Ann Eagle and Sabrina Marks (San Miguel) to put them out of the running. The third contenders were Enid Chapman and Val Sherry (San Luis), who actually lost their last game but still went through by virtue of a better shot difference than Pearl and Ann.

The finals produced some great bowling and followed a similar pattern. In the mens final, it was deadlocked at 6 apiece after 6 ends. At that stage it was impossible to predict a winner, but Jackie and Tony (the younger) pulled out a really strong second half to draw away from Tony (the slightly older) and Danny, who eventually conceded after 16 ends with the score at 20 – 8 against them. The scoreline was a little harsh on them, as they had fully played their part in a high quality encounter, but full marks to Jackie and Tony who just a couple of weeks ago won the Spanish National Championships.

The ladies was similarly close to begin with, as Enid and Val just led 6 – 4 after 6 ends. As in the mens final, the shape of the game changed from there on, with Val and Enid on top form while Carol and Chris struggled to find their length, allowing their opponents to build up a healthy lead. This game was also conceded after the 16th end, with Val and Enid 21 – 8 ahead.

The Asst. Director of Bowls in Spain, Brian Pocock, presented the trophies and thanked the Emerald Isle for hosting the event so well, also praising all the players who took part, for the standard of play and camaraderie they had displayed throughout the tournament.

Jackie Breslin added his thanks to the host club and to event organiser June Jones (who received a lovely bouquet of flowers), aided by her able statistician Keith. Jackie also thanked the umpires and the spectators for helping make the event a successful and enjoyable one for all concerned.
 

Photo L to R: Jackie Breslin, Brian Pocock & Tony McKenna.

Photo L to R: Tony Pilling, Brian Pocock & Danny Buchanan.

Photo L to R: Enid Chapman, Brian Pocock & Val Sherry.

Photo L to R: Carol Meare, Brian Pocock & Chris Evans. 

Photo L to R: June Jones & Brian Pocock.