Suffolk Carpet Bowls Association

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» 2023 CHAIRMAN'S TRIPLES

This year saw an unprecedentedly high entry, and although we introduced a 9th carpet to accommodate 45 teams, there were still another 5 that missed the cut.

There would be 9 group winners and the 7 best runners-up qualifying for the knockout rounds.

Group 1
Three teams ended up on 6 points, Graham’s Girls, with 32 points took the win, just one shot ahead of BLT, while Hunters B could only must 23 shots.

Group 2
Hit and Hope
won the group easily with 4 wins, while Hunters A’s 4 points and 28 shots was enough for them to squeeze through.

Group 3
C P K United
won all their games (although three were very close), Haverhill Utd lost just the once to qualify comfortably.

Group 4
Littleport
, with 3 wins out of 4, won the group, but although the 3 teams behind them were all tied on 4 points, none of them had enough shots to make it through as a qualifier.

Group 5
In the end, the difference between Keeeeep Bowling and Trio of Tri-ers, for first and second, was the result of their game, which had gone to Keeeeep Bowling 5-4. Both teams qualified comfortably.

Group 6
Probably the closest group of the lot, with the top two teams both finishing on 5 points. Here We Go Again nicked first place by a couple of shots over Timperleys Trio.

Group 7
Cops and Washers'
3 wins was enough for them to win the group, no one else did better that 4 points, and none did enough to make it through.

Group 8
The Repair Men
won all their games, with 3 Bonnie Lassies being the next best on just 4 points, but they had sufficient shots to make it through.

Group 9
Comfortable winners were Norfolk n’Chance, with maximum points, while Good Hobby’s 2 wins and a draw saw them safely through.

Knockout Rounds
Round 1
3 Bonnie Lassies
took 2 on the last end against Cops & Washers, to force an extra end, which they then proceeded to win. The Repair Men made short work of Good Hobby, winning 14-0 with 2 ends still to go. Norfolk n’ Chance were 5 up after 2 ends against BLT, and went on to win 11-4. Hunters A got their noses in front of Graham’s Girls after 3 ends, and were never in danger after that, winning 9-3. Hit and Hope came from 2-5 down with 3 ends to go, to beat Haverhill Utd on an extra end, 6-5. Timpley’s Trio ran away to a very comfortable 14-1 win over C P K United. All square at 3-3 after 4 ends, between Littleport and Trio of Tri-ers, the rest of the ends belonged to Trio, who finished comfortably ahead, 10-3. And finally, Here We Go Again grabbed an early lead against Keeeeep Bowling, and held on to win 7-5.

Quarter Finals
Norfolk n’Chance
were ahead of 3 Bonnie Lassies from end 1, going on to win 12-4. Hunters A crept away from The Repair Men to win 7-3. With 2 ends to go Timperley’s Trio and Here We Go Again were tied 4 all, but the last couple of ends belonged to Timperley’s, who finished 9-4 winners. And the game between Hit and Hope and Trio of Tri-ers saw Hit and Hope ahead most of the game, before Trio came back to force an extra end, which they won, taking the game 9-7.

Semi-Finals
The battle of the trios saw Trio of Tri-ers grab the advantage 5 ends in with a 3, breathing Trimperley’s Trio 7-4. And a combined 9 shots on ends 2 and 3 for Norfolk n’Chance disposed of Hunters A, the final score 11-6.

Final
Norfolk n’Chance
v Trio of Tri-ers
It was a match which hinged on just a single end, with Trio 2-1 up after 3 ends, Norfolk came in with a huge 5 on end 4 that all but finished the game there and then. Two brilliant woods from Adam on end 6, gave Trio some small hope, but going in 3 shots down, their chances were slim, and so it proved, as Norfolk took one on the last end, to win the game 8-4.

Many thanks to everyone who entered, and no doubt everyone will be getting their entries in earlier next year.


Winners
Norfolk n'Chance


Runners-Up
Trio of Tri-ers
» 2023 FAB FOURS

Group 1
Pick n Mix
topped the group, winning 3 of their 4 games, while Maybe We Can finished just behind, with 2 wins and a loss, to take the runner-up spot.

Group 2
Comfortable winner of the group were The Repair Men, who were the only team in any group to win all of their group games, while The Also Rans lost just once to be equally comfortable runners-up.

Group 3
The top two teams in the group both won three and lost one game, and finished just 3 shots apart. Marginally the better of the two were Collaboration, on 31 shots, while Brockmen and Robin scored 28 shots.

Group 4
And there wasn't much to seperate the teams here either. Two teams finished on 4 points, one behind of Cops 'n' Washers who qualified in second place and who were, in turn, just one point behind group winners Family Four.

Knockout Stages
Quarter Finals
Family Four
and The Also Rans only scored 4 equally shared shots between then in the first 4 ends, but the game ended witha flurry. The Also Rans picked up 3 in what would turn out to be the penultimate end, as the clock ran out to leave them an end short, only for Family Four to conjure up 4 shots to win the game 6-5.

The Repair Men ticked off one shot per end for the first 5 ends against Cops n Washers, but just as CnW succeeded in getting off the mark, the whistle was blown, with the score at 5-2, sending The Repair Men through.

Although Brockmen & Robin were first off the mark, Pick n Mix were ahead on the second end, and stayed ahead thereafter, going through with a 7-2 win.

Collaboration were in front against Maybe We Can after one end, and stayed there, never looking as if they would be challenged, taking a 7-1 victory.

Semi-Finals
The Repair Men
just took the first couple of ends against Pick n Mix, but gradually gathered momentum, so that with only 2 ends to go they were 10-0 up, and seemingly had the game sewn up, but for Pick n Mix putting themselves back in the running with a 5 on the penultimate end. Getting another 5 was always going to be unlikely, and so it proved, with The Repair Man taking 1 on the last, to make their 3rd consecutive Fab Fours final.

Collaboration won the first 4 ends against Family Four, giving themselves a nice 6-0 lead, and although Family Four pulled 3 back in the next 2 ends, time ran out with an end still to play, sending Collaboration to the final with a 6-3 win.

Final
The Repair Men
(Andy Pooley, Mick Watkins, Tony Stephenson & Paul Daniels) v Collaboration (Sam Runnacles, Ally Hobbs and Karen & Tim Franks)

Collaboration started much the better of the two teams, and with 2 ends down, had a 4-0 lead, but The Repair Men finally got going on the next end. They picked up one on the 3rd end, followed by a 2, and then another 2 to go 5-4 ahead. The 6th end saw Collaboration stop the opposition's momentum, squaring the game at 5 all, with one end to play.

The Repair Men had the all important last wood, but as it happens, they didn't need to use it, as they hung on to the one shots they were holding, despite the opposition's best efforts.


Winners
The Repair Men


Runners-Up
Collaboration
» 2023 GRAHAM'S HARTEST TRIPLES

After a multi-year break, the Hartest Triples made a return, raising funds for the Royal Free Charity, who are carrying our research into the heart condition amyliodosis, from which a previous winner, Graham Davey, sadly passed away.

There were 30 teams taking part, from across the Eastern Counties, with 16 teams qualifying for the knockout stages.

Group 1
BBB
won all 4 of their games, to ease their way to the group win. Claydon/Barking lost just the once, and were comfortable runners-up, while Elmsett B, with 4 points and 26 shots, had done enough to make it through as one of the best 3rd placed teams.

Group 2
Reepham Robins B
were undefeated, dropping just a point on their way to the group win. They finished comfortably ahead of Hunters B, who finished on 4 points, as did Elmsett A, who did enough to also qualify.

Group 3
Hundon A
went undefeated, dropping just one point, to win the group, while Ellesmere won2 and drew 2, to finish runners-up, while Reepham Robins A were through on 5 points.

Group 4
Hintlesham
topped the group on 6 points, while both Brockley B and Hitcham A were through on 2 wins and a draw.

Group 5
Two teams finished well ahead of the pack here, Brockley/Ketton C, who won all their games, and Cockfield B, who lost just once. The rest of the teams in the group took one win each.

Group 6
Claydon
were very comfortable winners of the group, with 4 wins, racking up the most shots of any team int he group stage (46), and conceding the least (8), while Withersfield A lost just once to comfortably qualify.

Knockout Stages
Round 1
BBB
needed 3 on the last end to grab a 6-5 win over Ellesmere.

Reepham Robins B trounced Hitcham A, who weren't even all owed a single shot, as they lost 16-0.

Hundon A came from 4 shots back to beat Reepham Robins B 8-5.

Withersfield A forced an extra end against Hintlesham, which they won, to take the game 7-5.

Elmsett B took an early lead over Brockley/Ketton C, and never gave it up, winning 6-2.

Elmsett A got a good start against Claydon, and fended off a comeback, to win 9-4.

Barking/Claydon were never in danger against Hunters B, winning 10-3 with an end to spare.

Quarter Finals
Having had a huge win in the previous round, Reepham Robins B suffered a similarly sized loss, as they fell to a 14-1 defeat against BBB.

Hundon A raced off to a 12-1 lead after 4 ends, against Cockfield B, who won the last 3 ends, but didn't come close to closing the deficit. The final result was 12-6 to Hundon.

Claydon/Barking were never behind against Elmsett B, pulling away to 9-1 shead with an end to go, at which time a halt was called.

There was just one shot per end in the game between Withersfield A and Elmsett A, but Withersfield won the first 5 of them, and the game.

Semi-Finals
At 4-1 up after 4 ends, it was looking good for Claydon/Barking, against Withersfield A, but Withersfield won those last 3 ends to take the game 5-4

And it was a very similar story between BBB and Hundon A. BBB held a 2 shot advantage with 2 ends to go, but Hundon also snatched the game 5-4.

Final
Hundon A
(Ellen Grube, Kevin Salmon & Nick Wood) v Withersfield A (Neil Tuckey, Stuart McNeil & Lisa Edmead)

Yet another 5-4 result!

Withersfield were off to the best start, taking the first 3 ends to lead 4-0, and still held that same margin with 2 ends to go, at 5-1. Hundon chipped 1 back on the penultimate end, but couldn't do any better than 2 on the last, to fall one shot short.

Many thanks to everyone who entered, helped out, and contributed to the final profit of £660, expecially Irene Robinson (the late Graham Robinson's mother), who was generous enough to contribute £240 to cover the cost of the hall for the day, meaning that every penny raised was pure profit.


Winners
Withersfield


Runners-Up
Hundon
» 2023 SUFFOLK LEAGUE V BURY LEAGUE

The annual East v West match saw the two sides winning 3 games each, with victory going to the West on shots, by 101 to 88.

» 2023 RANDOM TRIPLES

This year saw a return to the kind of numbers the event used to attract pre-Covid, with 90 players taking part.

A reminder of the format: every player gets 5 games, all on a different carpet, all with different team mates, and all with different opponents.

Round 1
The big winners in the first round of games were Andy Pooley, Jane Sago, and Pauline Smith, who won 14-0. Also getting into double figures were Angus Rogers, Carol Sainsbury, and Peter Dunnet, who won 10-1.

Round 2
Although all the teams from the previous rounds were split up, several of the same names remained at the top, on 2 wins.

Of the 21 players who had won twice, Jane Sago and Peter Dunnet were leading the way with 23 shots, while just behind were Pauline Smith and David Clemmet on 22, with Andy Pooley in fifth on 20 shots.

Round 3
By now we were down to just 10 players who had won all their games.

Leading the way with a very impressive 36 shots, was Peter Dunnet, with Jane Sago just 4 shots behind, and Pauline Godfrey rounding out the top 3 on 29 shots.

Next best were Angus Rogers, Paul Cousins, and Jim Goodrich, on 27 shots, James Jordan was on 23, Richard Sago and Trevor Kidd had 22, and Sue Davey had 21 shots.

Round 4
A wave of drawn games meant that only 3 players had now won all their games.

Angus Rogers hit the front, on 36 shots, with Paul Cousins on 34, and Jim Goodrich on 33.

Behind them were 4 players who were still undefeated, but who had dropped one point, and were still in with a shout, they were Pauline Godfrey (33 shots), Don Poulter (31), James Jordan (29), and Rob Parnell (22).

Final Round
With Angus and Paul playing in the second half of games, Jim was the first to get his game played, and he picked up a dream result, and the highest score for any team on the day, winning 16-3, and leaving the other two something of a mountain to climb.

Unfortunately Angus couldn't continue his winning run, which left only Paul with a chance, but he'd need 15 shots, while conceding no more than 3. However, 2 ends into the game, it started to look likely, as they picked up 9 shots over just the first 2 ends. A couple of ends later and it was 11-3, and with one end to go, it was 14-3, Paul would need on shot on the last end, with the help of a team which included Jim's wife Sally, and that was exactly what they got, to win 15-3, and hand the overall win to Paul.

Jim Goodrich finished on 10 points, 49 shots for, and 18 against, while Paul Cousins had 10 points, 49 shots for, and 17 against.

Third place went to Don Poulter (9 points, 47 shots for 15 against), 4th was Pauline Godfrey (9/42/15), and 5th was James Jordan (9/40/14).

Overall, a great day's bowling, with as close a finish as you could hope for. Many thanks to everyone who entered, and we hope to see you all back agains next year.

You can find the final results here.


» 2023 SUFFOLK CHARITY FOURS

The return of the Suffolk Charity tournament after a long break, saw an initial entry of 40 teams, although that was reduced to 38 on the day, thanks to illness.

The event would be raising funds for Livability Icanho.

Owing to time constraints, there is no knockout stage, the winner is the team at the top of the standings once everyone has played their 4 games.

Round 1
17 teams started the day off with a win, three of whom had scored 11 shots, they were Littleport, Two Rivers, and Stanningfield, while two had scored 10 shots, Family Four, and Barking A.

Round 2
Only 7 teams finished the second round with maximum points. Of those teams, Claydon were well ahead on shots, with 28, they were followed by Reepham Robins A (20), Hundon (19), Littleport (18), Finchingfield B (17), and Family Four and Oxymorons (both 16).

Round 3
With 3 games played, there were now only 4 teams with a perfect record. Claydon were still out in front, with 37 shots from their 3 wins, Hundon were just 3 shots back, Littleport had 24 shots, and Family Four had 21.

Three other teams were still undefeated, on 2 wins and a draw, Barking A, Stanningfield, and Elmsett.

Final Round
The last round of games saw a total of 5 teams make it through the day undefeated.

Of those, two, Stanningfield and Elmsett, had won three and drawn one game, but were only going to be in with a chance of winning if all four teams ahead of them slipped up. In the end only one did, so there were three teams left who finished on 8 points.

Third place went to Family Four, they conceded the least number of shots of any team on the day, but scored only 31.

Hundon were in with a more realistic chance, and came into their last game knowing that they would need at least 13 shots, difficult but not impossible. And while they won their game, they fell some way short of the shots they needed, winning a very tight game 5-2.

That left Claydon, 8 shots clear at the top, they had to work for their wins, but their overall victory was really down to one very high scoring game, which they won 21-5.

Congratulations to Sam Runnacles, Ally Hobbs, and Tim & Karen Franks, on their win, and huge thanks to everyone who joined us on the day, and who donated draw prizes, for helping us to raise a total of £1159.50.

You can find the final results here.


Winners
Claydon


Runners-Up
Hundon

Richard Sago presents SCBA Charity Tournament cheque of £1159.50 to Jo Marshal and her team at Livability Icanho, Stowmarket.