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National Championships 2023
Over the weekend of 3rd to 6th November teams representing eight of the member counties of the ECBA competed in the 29th Annual National Championships, at Potters.

Each county is represented by 6 Rinks all of whom play against their opposite number in each of the other counties, with an even spread of matches across the Saturday and Sunday.

Session 1 (Saturday) Hertfordshire hit the front early on, as they took all 6 points off Northumberland. Just behind were Durham, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, who all took 4 points off Essex, Norfolk, and Sunderland respectively.	Pts Hertfordshire 6 Durham 4 Cambridgeshire 4 Suffolk 4 Norfolk 2 Sunderland 2 Essex 2 Northumberland 0
Session 2 (Saturday) Hertfordshire stayed top, taking 4 points against Norfolk, while Cambridgeshire moved into second, dropping only 1 point to Essex. Suffolk were third as they took 4 points off Durham, while Sunderland did the same against Northumberland.	Pts Hertfordshire 10 Cambridgeshire 9 Suffolk 8 Sunderland 6 Norfolk 6 Durham 4 Essex 3 Northumberland 2
Session 3 (Saturday) Herts dropped just one point in the seesion, against Durham, and pulled out a 4 point lead over Cambridgeshire who lost out 2-4 to Sunderland. Essex got the better of Suffolk, 4-2, and it was a full house for Northumberland, against Norfolk, lifting them well off the bottom of the standings.	Pts Hertfordshire 15 Cambridgeshire 11 Sunderland 10 Suffolk 10 Northumberland 8 Durham 7 Essex 7 Norfolk 4
Session 4 (Saturday) A very good session for leaders Hertfordshire, who picked up maximum points against Sunderland, and the same for Durham against Northumberland. Essex came away from their matches against Norfolk having dropped just 1 point, and Suffolk just got the better of Cambridgeshire, winning 2 out of 3. That saw Hertfordshire move out to a 7 point lead over Suffolk, who were now back up to second, with Durham and Cambs only one point further back, and Essex another point adrift.	Pts Hertfordshire 21 Suffolk 14 Durham 13 Cambridgeshire 13 Essex 12 Sunderland 10 Northumberland 8 Norfolk 5
Session 5 (Saturday) Crunch time for the two leaders as they met one another. It would be vital for Suffolk to regain some ground, while Herts would probably settle for maintaining their lead, although a session win would be huge for them. As it was Suffolk came out on top, winning two and drawing one, closing the gap to 3 points. Cambridgeshire bettered Durham (2 wins to 1), to overtake them in the standings. Essex won 2 and lost 1 against Northumberland, while Norfolk had a great session against Sunderland, dropping just 1 point, and doubling their total points in one go.	Pts Hertfordshire 22 Suffolk 19 Cambridgeshire 17 Essex 16 Durham 15 Sunderland 11 Norfolk 10 Northumberland 10
Session 6 (Saturday) The standings tightened further as Cambridgeshire took 2 of the 3 games against Herts, and Suffolk did the same against Northumberland, leaving the top 3 covered by just 3 points and Hertfordshire's lead down to just one. Sunderland picked up 4 points against Essex, and Durham and Norfolk came away from their games with 3 points each.	Pts Hertfordshire 24 Suffolk 23 Cambridgeshire 21 Durham 18 Essex 18 Sunderland 15 Norfolk 13 Northumberland 12
Session 7 (Day 1 end of play) The day's final session saw things tighten even further. Suffolk dropped just 1 point against Norfolk, Cambridgeshire took a clean sweep of their games against Northumberland, and Hertfordshire won one, drew one, and lost one to Essex, while it was also a clean sweep for Durham over Sunderland. That now gave us a top three who were covered by a single point, with Durham only 4 points off the lead.	Pts Suffolk 28 Cambridgeshire 27 Hertfordshire 27 Durham 24 Essex 21 Sunderland 15 Norfolk 14 Northumberland 12
Session 8 (Sunday) Hertfordshire opened with a full house against Northumberland, but for thier closest contenders it was something of a disaster. Suffolk could only muster one point from their games against Sunderland, while Cambridgeshire only won one of theirs against Norfolk, although Durham did pick up 2 wins against Essex. That propelled Herts back to the top, 4 points clear of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with Durham one further back.	Pts Hertfordshire 33 Suffolk 29 Cambridgeshire 29 Durham 28 Essex 23 Sunderland 20 Norfolk 18 Northumberland 12
Session 9 (Sunday) Perhaps the closest session so far, with two match-ups where the points were shared 3 each, Sunderland v Northunmberland and Norfolk and Hertfordshire. Suffolk (4 points against Durham), and Cambridgeshire (4 points against Essex), edged just the tiniest bit closer to the leaders, who were now 3 points clear.	Pts Hertfordshire 36 Suffolk 33 Cambridgeshire 33 Durham 30 Essex 25 Sunderland 23 Norfolk 21 Northumberland 15
Session 10 (Sunday) Hertfordshire and Suffolk kept pace with one another, picking up 4 points each, against Durham and Essex, respectively. However Cambridgeshire fell back slightly, as they lost 2 of their 3 games to Sunderland. And Norfolk pulled a little bit further away from Northumberland as they won 2 out of 3.	Pts Hertfordshire 40 Suffolk 37 Cambridgeshire 35 Durham 32 Sunderland 27 Essex 27 Norfolk 25 Northumberland 17
Session 11 (Sunday) Hertfordshire took a clean-sweep of their games against Sunderland, and with Suffolk winning 2 of their games against Cambridgeshire, the lead at the top extended to 5 points. Essex and Norfolk took 3 points each from their encounter, and Northumberland had one of their best sessions as they won 2 out of 3 against Durham.	Pts Hertfordshire 46 Suffolk 41 Cambridgeshire 37 Durham 34 Essex 30 Norfolk 28 Sunderland 27 Northumberland 21
Session 12 (Sunday) Hertfordshire and Suffolk played one another with Suffolk needing to gain points , or it would be all but over. As it was, Suffolk took 2 wins, narrowing Hertfordshire's lead to 3 points. Cambridgeshire did the same against Durham, as did Norfolk over Sunderland. Meanwhile, it was a full house for Essex over Northumberland.	Pts Hertfordshire 48 Suffolk 45 Cambridgeshire 41 Essex 36 Durham 36 Norfolk 32 Sunderland 29 Northumberland 21
Session 13 (Sunday) Suffolk needed a big win over Northumberland to at least give themselves a chance, and while they didn't get all 6 points, they gained 5. Meanwhile Herts were taking on Cambridgeshire, where the points were shared evenly. Durham and Norfolk also finished 3 points each, and Sunderland took 5 off Essex. One session to go and it was now a definite 2 horse race, with Hertfordshire one vital point ahead of Suffolk.	Pts Hertfordshire 51 Suffolk 50 Cambridgeshire 44 Durham 39 Essex 37 Norfolk 35 Sunderland 34 Northumberland 22
Final Session Northumberland sadly ended the day with a session which saw them add no further points to their tally, leaving them on 22 points overall. Norfolk had been vying with Sunderland all day, but despite a much better showing on Sunday, which saw them add 21 points to the previous day's 14, they stayed 7th. Sunderland also had a much improved second day, their 23 points was equal third best, but Saturday had seen them on only 15, so they just missed out on 5th. Essex's points on Sunday were a little bit down on Saturday, and only missed out on 4th by a couple of points. Durham were another team to show a drop-off from Saturday to Sunday. They kept 4th placem but their challenge for a top 3 place, fell away. Cambridgeshire also dipped slightly on the second day, and had fallen out of contention with a session to go, but finished firmly in 3rd place. All of those positions barely shifted throughout the day, but at the top it was getting closer. Hertfordshire's lead had been 5 points with 3 sessions to go, but Suffolk kept edging closer, and they were one behind as they went into the final session. All Suffolk could do was to win all 3 games, the final outcome would rest entirely on Hertfordshire's results. And Suffolk did indeed win all three games, something which they had failed to do in any other session across the weekend. But they had to work hard for those wins against stern opposition from Norfolk. All of Hertfordshire's games were nailbiters too, but with 2 wins in the bag it all came down to that one last game, which swung back and forth, but it was Essex who came out on top, causing Herts to fall short by just a single point. It was easily the closest overall result since 2008 when the championship was Cambridgeshire and Suffolk were seperated by just 18 shots, and there were any number of results which contributed to Suffolk's win, but what really seperated the two teams were the results of the games when Suffolk and Hertfordshire went head-to-head. Of the 6 games, Suffolk won 4, there was one draw, and Herts won just the one. 9-3 in Suffolk's favour, but just that one point between them over the course of the whole weekend. Many thanks to all the players and supporters who helped make the weekend a success, to all those who helped out with running the event, especially Northumberland who help raise £630 through the draw. Sat Sun Total Suffolk 28 28 56 Hertfordshire 27 28 55 Cambridgeshire 27 23 50 Durham 24 17 41 Essex 21 18 39 Sunderland 15 23 38 Norfolk 14 21 35 Northumberland 12 10 22 The full set of results can be found here.