Suffolk Carpet Bowls Association

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» 2017 CHAIRMAN'S TRIPLES

We were full to capacity with 45 teams on the 9 mats that we squeezed into the Centre.

The group winners and 7 best runners-up would go through to the Knockout Stages.

Group 1
Only one point separated the top 4 teams in the group but it was The Try Hards and Somersham with 5 points each that squeezed through.

Group 2
Me Her Him
won all of their games to win the group while PJ's were second with two wins and a draw.

Group 3
Team Thatch
topped the group with maximum points and Sadways were second with just one loss.

Group 4
Hoggards One won, finishing with 3 wins and a loss. Bicycle Repair Men only won twice and lost the other two but they picked up enough shots on the last end of their last game to qualify as the 7th best runners-up.

Group 5
A Team Has No Name
were undefeated, dropping just one point. None of the 3 teams who finished on 4 points did enough to get through.

Group 6
Los Pollos Hermanos
lost their last game but had already done enough to win the group. Owl and the Pussycats and Elmo both finished on 5 points but Owl won out on shots.

Group 7
2 Davenham
won all four games comfortably while The Good, Bad & Chairman lost one game.

Group 8
Hunters Gatherers
finished on 6 points. The rest of the points were shared pretty evenly among the other 4 teams which meant that none of them got through.

Group 9
Back Again
won all their games while Boys on their Own were just the best of the 3 teams who won 2 and lost 2.

First Round
A Team Has No Name
were 4-0 up over PJ's after just one end and came home to an 11-4 win.

Los Pollos Hermanos led from the start to beat Sadways 8-1.

Bicycle Repair Men and 2 Davenham went into their last end 3-3, and it was the RepairMen who took one for the win.

Hunters Gatherers took 4 on the first end and ran away to a 15-2 win over Owl and the Pussycats.

Back Again came from behind against The Good, Bad & Chairman to take a 6-3 win.

Boys on their Own took all 6 from The Try Hards on the second end and were never challenged as they won 13-2.

Me Him Her were 4-1 down to Somersham with 3 ends to go but somehow picked up 7 one the last 3 ends to win 8-4.

It was only 4-2 to Team Thatch against Hoggards One after 5 ends but Thatch took 4 on the penultimate end to virtually end the match which they won 8-5.

Quarter Finals
Team Thatch
only managed to win a single end as they lost out to A Team Has No Name 10-3.

Los Pollos Hermanos dropped a 3 to Me Her Him midway through their game which proved crucial. They had the game won on the final end until it was snatched away with the final wood for Me Her Him to win 5-3.

There was never more than a shot between Bicycle Repair Men and Hunters Gatherers but it was the Repair Men who snuck in again to win 5-4.

Boys on their Own won the first 3 ends to get a 5-0 lead over Back Again which held them in good stead to a 7-3 win.

Semi-Finals
It was close between the Bicycle Repair Men and Boys in their Own, at 4 ends it was 3-3 but 2 good ends for the Repair Men saw them leap ahead and win the game 8-5.

Me Her Him edged away from A Team Has No Name early on but it needed the very final wood of the game to take shot and rescue what was a losing position to win 5-2.

Final
Me Her Him v Bicycle Repair Men

End 1 – Andy's final wood saved 3 shots to restrict Me Her Him to just 1
End 2 – No one much troubled the jack until Andy's last wood, but even that moved the jack to remain just a 2 shot count to the Repair Men who led 2-1.
End 3 - Me Her Him start better and this time Andy is too eager, misses with his last wood and Don gets in for a fourth, 5-2.
End 4 – Roy gets the jack loose and with the next wood the Repair Men put a bit too much on and take the jack off, 7-2.
End 5 – Andy goes from several down to one and then two up, 7-4, maybe it's not yet over.
End 6 – Or maybe it is, Don goes from one down to two up with his last. 9-4
Final End – Jenny's first wood is on the jack and her second is just behind. Me Her Him end up taking another 4 to win 13-4.

Winners: Jenny Green, Roy Lonsborough & Don Allum

You can find the full results here.

Winners and Runners-Up Photographs

» 2017 MARION'S FAB FOURS

A full entry of 40 teams turned out for this year's Fab Fours. As usual it was 8 groups of 5 with the top 2 going into the Knockout Rounds

Group Stage
Cock & Balls
and Elmo Crew both qualified from Group 1 with 6 point while Group 2 saw Cock Fours and Team Thatch evenly matched, the game between the two of them was drawn and each team won all their other matches.

Only shots separated the top two in Group 3 as well with Jack Smackers and Don Allum each finishing on 6 points and Motley Crew were clear winners of Group 4 with Maet Snoiram edging out Barclay on shots, both had finished on 5 points.

Group 5 saw 3 teams finish on 5 points, Lavenham and Walton Wallies made it through, Is Ken-doo didn't doo. The Neil Tuckey Experience won all their games in an extremely tough Group 6 while Smacker Jacks lost just once.

Snow White & 3 Dwarfs dwarfed their opposition by winning all 4 of their games in Group 7 and Mixed Bunch although they only picked up 4 points made it though as the best of the rest and finally in Group 8 The Skip Ain't 'Appy, ought to have been because they won all their games, while the Awesome Foursome were awesome in 3 of their games, which was good enough.

Knockout Stages
Team Thatch
, from Hertfordshire, made it all the way to the final courtesy of wins over The Skip Ain't 'Appy, picking up 4 on the penultimate end to win 7-4, a much more convincing 10-1 win over Mixed Up and a 6-2 Semi-Final win over Motley Crew.

Barking's Snow White and 3 Dwarfs eased their way to an 8-1 win over Elmo Crew before nearly squandering a comfortable lead against The Neil Tuckey Experience (6-5). In the Semi-Final they came up against Maet Snoiram (read it backwards) who had put in an outstanding effort to get so far. It was close at the halfway point, but the dwarves ran away with it in the end to win 14-2.

The Final
Team Thatch
v Snow White and 3 Dwarfs
Of the 6 ends played Team Thatch won 4 of them, picking up 5 shots. End 3 which was the second and last end that The Dwarfs won saw them pick up just one, but as you may have guessed that wasn't the whole story, there's still one end to account for, the first.

With everyone but the skips having bowled Team Thatch were holding 3, with the woods sitting nicely in front of the jack. With his first wood Snow White got into the opposition woods and reduced the count to one or two, with his second he fired in to the lot of them, pinged all the of his opponents closest woods out, held 4 or 5 and with his last Pete could do nothing more than make sure it was a 5.

So 5 on the first end and after that it was just a question of desperately hanging on to their lead which, as you will have figured out, they managed to do, preventing Team Thatch from getting a second on the last end to take it to a decider.

Many thanks to everyone who joined us and in particularly to Marion was kind enough to stay on and present the prizes.

» 2017 GRAHAM'S HARTEST TRIPLES

There was a full 40 team line-up for this year's Hartest Triples, held in honour of the late Graham Robinson

Group 1
Essex Friends
romped home to the group win with 4 victories, leaving the other teams to scramble for second place which could have gone to any one of 3 teams. In the end it was Witnesham who made it through with 2 wins.

Group 2
Reepham Robins B
and Nayland A both won 3 times and lost once with Reepham taking the group win on shots.

Group 3
Brockdish
won the group with 6 points from their 3 wins. Behind them the remaining four teams were separated by just one point with Brockley/Ketton B sneaking second place on 4 points courtesy of their slightly superior shots.

Group 4
Cockfield B
came through to win the group with 3 wins and a draw while second place went to Barking B with 3 wins and a loss.

Group 5
In a closely fought group it was Good-Bad-Ugly who came out on top with 6 points and 34 shots, 6 shots better than runners-up Old Felixstowe B.

Group 6
Team Thatch
won the group with 4 comfortable victories and maximum points. Second place went to Kelsale who lost once and won their 3 other games.

Group 7
Everything was decided on the last game with Cockfield C and Occold both winning 3 games and Cockfield's better shots giving them first place.

Group 8
Kenninghall
topped the group with 4 good wins while second place would be decided by whoever won the final group game between Hundon A and Walton. It was the latter who won and went through.

First Round
Barking B
picked up 4 on the last end to beat Brockdish 8-3.

Cockfield B took one with the final wood to beat Brockley/Ketton B 5-4.

Good-Bad Ugly went from 3-1 down to 8-3 up in 3 ends to beat Kelsale.

Team Thatch got an early 7-0 lead and went on to beat Old Felixstowe B 10-4.

Cockfield C led Walton from the start, winning 10-4.

Kenninghall didn't get a look in until the last couple of ends by which time it was too late as Occold beat them 10-2.

Essex Friends led Nayland A 3-2 with 2 ends to go but finished with a couple of threes for a 9-2 win.

Reepham Robins B didn't let Witnesham get even a sniff of a shot as they steam rollered their way to a 15-0 win.

Quarter Finals
Good-Bad-Ugly
won the first 3 ends against Barking B and never looked back, winning 8-2.

The match between Cockfield B and Team Thatch was a cracker with the teams 5-5 playing the last end, the first 2 woods from the skips each drew shot. The last wood from Cockfield was a perfectly played plant which took shot and left the opposition nothing and that was what they got. 6-5 to Cockfield.

Reepham Robins B and Occold were all square with an end to go. And that was end was one of those all or nothing affairs which went to Occold, although the final score of 9-4 slightly flattered them.

Essex Friends began with 4 shots on the first end against Cockfield C and by the end the margin was just the same as the remaining 6 ends were shared. The final score was 7-4.

Semi-Finals
Three on the first end for Essex Friends was a good start against Occold. By the 5th end they had extended the lead to 7-1 and were 5 up going into the last end so they were happy to drop a 4 on the last and still win 7-6.

It was nip and tuck between Good-Bad-Ugly and Cockfield B. Going into what would be the last end Good-Bad were 5-4 up, however as the whistle blew to end the game at 6 ends Cockfield had not one but two shots and were able to grab the win at the last, 6-5.

Final
Essex Friends v Cockfield

End 1 – Essex have the better start. Holding several shots already, Don shuts the end down and Pete can't get close enough to reduce the count which turns out to be a 5!
End 2 – It's a little looser this time. Cockfield are holding nicely, Essex fail to move a wide open jack and Cockfield take 3 back to trail 5-3. Game on again.
End 3 – Val nails the jack just like she did the last time they played in this direction. This time the jack is moved but it's still one to Essex. 6-3.
End 4 – This time it's Cockfield's turn to have the better start and once again there's a wide open head which both skips miss. Cockfield take 3 and level the game 6-6.
End 5 – As we know by now Essex will get the better start. They hold 3 as the skips come to bowl. Pete manages to cut it down to one and Essex lead 7-6.
End 6 – As usual Cockfield are holding, but only just. Although the jack moves it goes to another one of their's and it's all square again at 7-7.
Final End – Once again this is Val's end, her first is good, her second better. A gap opens and closes and Pete has to bowl his first wood 4 down and with only one option. He draws and cuts the count down but he isn't holding. He can't alter anything with his last and Essex Friends take 2 and win 9-7.

We would like to thank everyone who entered and helped contribute to a profit of £430 for this year's chosen charity, the Air Ambulance.

» 2017 RANDOM TRIPLES

Once again this year saw a full entry of 96 players and although several people dropped out in the days running up to the event, there were plenty of reserves on hand to fill in.

As usual everyone would play 5 games, each time with different players, against different players and on different mats.

Round 1
Off to the best start were Neil Jolly, Elaine Knightsbridge and Jane Coulon who picked up 14 shots in their first game.

Three shots behind them were a couple of blocks comprised of Peter Fellingham, Alan Smith, Marion Bull, John Brace, Sue Davey and Glyn Catchpole.

Round 2
Twenty three players won for a second time and in contrast to the first round the majority of the games were close with only one team managing to reach double figures. Unsurprisingly two from that team were now in the top three.

Leading the way on 25 shots was Neil Jolly and five shots behind were Glyn Catchpole and Sam Runnacles. Two shots further back on 18 was Alan Smith and on 17 shots were Marion Bull, Vivian Grant, Colin Barnes and John Brace.

Round 3
Remarkably none of the top 9 won their third games and only 7 people picked up a third win.

The biggest win of the round was an 18-0, a result which gave us a new leader. John Whiting leapt up from 16th to 1st with 6 points and 32 shots. Six shots back in second was Sue Gilder who was 2 ahead of Peter Frost. Pam Reynard and James Jordan were one further back on 23 shots and the two remaining players who still hadn't dropped a point were Stephen Woodley and Brian Pryke who had 19 shots.

Round 4
The ranks of those with a perfect record were reduced to just 4 now, although a further 6 were on 7 points, still unbeaten and in with a chance.

John Whiting still led the way and with 46 shots was 10 clear of his nearest rival, Sue Gilder. Stephen Woodley was third on 33 shots and Pam Reynard was fourth on 30 shots.

Behind them, having dropped just 1 point each were Peter Fellingham, Neil Jolly, Sam Runnacles, Glyn Catchpole, John Brace and John Austin.

Round 5
History tells us that everything changes in the final round. And history turns out to be right.

Of the top 4 two were playing in the first half of the final session and two in the last half. John Whiting with a substantial shot advantage simply needed a win to be pretty much sure of taking overall victory, but unfortunately he lost on the last end of his game. For Stephen Woodley it was the same, a loss which meant that he too would finish on 8 points.

That left Sue Gilder and Pam Reynard as the only ones still left with perfect records, having won 4 out of 4.

However, despite a late comeback, Pam also lost, so it was all down to Sue. Going into the final end with a 4 shot lead and 3 down with an opposition wood still to come, she used her last wood to take second, secure the win and finishing as the only person on the day to win all 5 games.

The next 4 spots were taken by the players who had dropped just one point, Peter Fellingham (53 shots), Neil Jolly (52), Glyn Catchpole (46) and Sam Runnacles (43).

Final Standings

Pts

F

A
1st Sue Gilder

10

44

20
2nd Peter Fellingham

9

53

17
3rd Neil Jolly

9

52

24
4th Glyn Catchpole

9

46

24
5th Sam Runnacles

9

43

25

We would like to thank everyone who took part and look forward to seeing you all again next year.

» 2017 SUFFOLK CHARITY FOURS

Suffolk's annual Charity Fours event was held at Needham Market on Saturday 7th January.

This year attracted an entry of 40 teams with teams coming from Essex, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire as well as from across Suffolk.

As with last year, since there isn't enough time for any knockout rounds, all the teams were placed in one big group, with the winners being the team who had the best record from their 4 games.

Round 1
A totel of 19 teams won their first game with URC Felixstowe C leading the way with a 12-2 win. Close behind were Copdock & Washbrook A (10-3) and Kelsale and Elmstead Market (both 10-4).

Round 2
Eleven teams repeated their first round wins with URC Felixstowe A now taking their turn at the top. Their 15-6 win put them onto 4 points and 23 shots. Kelsale won 12-2 to put them one shot behind the leaders and one shot further back after an 11-8 win were Copdock & Washbrook A. Burstall won 11-7 to move onto 20 shots and URC Felixstowe C won 7-3 and were now on 19 shots.

Round 3
The third round saw all but 3 teams lose their perfect records. They were Kelsale (7-5 win) who were now on 6 points and 29 shots, Spades & Flowers (8-6 win) were on 6 points and 23 shots and Bentley (6-4 win) taking them to 6 points and 18 shots.

Behind them, and still in with a shout were Burstall, URC Felixstowe C, Knodishall B and Polstead who had each won two and lost one.

Round 4
In the end only one team finished with a perfect record, although 2 others remained unbeaten.

Spades & Flowers suffered a 7-4 defeat to lose their chance of overall victory.

A draw for Bentley in their final game meant that they also fell out of the running, but maintained their thrid place with 7 points and 25 shots.

Of the teams who had been on 5 points after the third round, the only ones to win were Polstead with a narrow 6-5 victory, which was enough to elevate them to 2nd place overall, finishing on 7 points and 29 shots.

But it was Kelsale who came home in first place as the only team to win all four games, finishing on 8 points and 40 shots.

We would like to thank everyone for their support for the event which raised more than £1000 for this year's chosen charity St Elizabeth Hospice.

We hope to see you all again next year.


Winners Kelsale with Nigel Donkin from St Elizabeth Hospice

2016 Tournament Reports