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The weekend of 13th-16th
April 2007, saw the first ever T & D Carpet Bowls break,
at Seacroft Holiday Village in Hemsby.
THE EVENT
When we first announced
this holiday, at the end of last year, we had no idea what kind
of response we would get. In the end we need not have worried,
because the response was marvellous, with a total of 56 pairs
joining us for our inaugural event.
The bowls was played across
the 2 days, with everyone getting 5 games before the top 8 teams
from the Round Robin stage went forward to the Knockout Stages
on Sunday afternoon.
The entertainment for each
of the three evenings also went down well, including Saturday's
Race Night, which seemed to meet with everyone's approval, whether
or not they made a profit on the evening.
Our
Prize Draw produced a wonderful response from everyone, with
over £200 being raised for the benefit of Aldeburgh
Cottage Hospital.
THE BOWLS
The first round of
games saw 27 teams winning, with the field led by Roy &
Viola Thorpe and Freda Wright & Graham Robinson,
tied on 15 shots and third place held by Keith Cockings &
Arnold Basketter.
The second round of games saw
the number of unbeaten teams whittled down to 16 with Keith
Cockings & Arnold Basketter moving into the lead with
28 shots, followed by Elizabeth Johnson & Ivan Lawson
on 26 shots and Trevor & Anita Swann in 3rd with 25
shots.
At the end of the first day
everyone had played three games. By now the teams with a perfect
record had been severely depleted. Only 7 pairs were on the maximum
6 points, led by Elizabeth Johnson & Ivan Lawson,
who told us that they had never seen themselves at the top of
a leaderboard, on 33 shots, followed by Norman & Glenys
Ribbans on 31 and Freda Wright & Graham Robinson
in third on 30 shots. With the top 8 teams going through to the
knockout stages the unbeaten teams knew that they were in a strong
position to qualify, all they would have to do was win their
remaining games to guarantee going though.
With the fourth round of games
completed the ranks of those with a perfect record had been reduced
to a mere 4 teams, Elizabeth Johnson & Ian Lawson
were continuing to lead the way with 41 shots, closely followed
by Norman & Glenys Ribbans, just one shot behind and
Margaret & Geoff Holland one further shot back on
39, while in fourth place were Freda Wright & Graham Robinson
on 37 shots. Just behind the leading four were a pair of teams
who had dropped just 1 point, Shirley Brooks & Mary Tomkins
and Ned Tervit & Adi Rogers, followed by a raft of
10 teams, all on 6 points and all of whom were going to be fighting
it out for the last couple of qualifying spots.
The final round of games saw
half of the teams who previously had perfect records, trip up,
leaving just 2 with the maximum 10 points. Norman & Glenys
Ribbans headed the table with 52 shots to their name, just
ahead of Margaret & Geoff Holland with 50 shots. They
were followed by 3 teams on 9 points, Ned Tervit & Adi
Rogers, Shirley Brooks & Mary Tomkins and Freda
Wright & Graham Robinson. The final 3 qualifiers were
the best of those finishing on 8 points, Keith Cockings &
Arnold Basketter, Elizabeth Johnson & Ivan Lawson
and John & Sylvia Disley.
QUARTER FINALS
Into the Knockout stages and the first Quarter Final drew the
top team Norman & Glenys Ribbans against the final
qualifiers John & Sylvia Disley. Norman & Glenys
took 4 on the first end and although John & Sylvia pulled
back to just 5-3 down after 4 ends, the Ribbans' pulled away
to take a comfortable 15-3 win.
The second game saw Freda
Wright & Graham Robinson take 4 on the first end only
for their opponents Shirley Brooks & Mary Tomkins
to take the next 4 ends to lead 8-4 with just 2 ends to go. Freda
and Graham then took first 2 only the 6th end and then 3 on the
last end to take a last gasp victory, 9-8.
In the match between Keith
Cockings & Arnold Basketter and Ned Tervit & Adi
Rogers, Keith and Arnold took an early lead and held a 5-1
advantage with 4 ends down. Despite their best efforts Ned and
Adi could only get back to 4-5 as Keith and Arnold held onto
their lead to take the win.
There was another close game
in the final match between Elizabeth Johnson & Ivan Lawson
and Margaret & Geoff Holland as the Holland's went
into a 3-0 lead only for Elizabeth and Ian to come back and take
the game by a 6-4 margin.
SEMI-FINALS
The game between Norman
& Glenys Ribbans and Freda Wright & Graham Robinson
could have gone either way as it swung first towards one team
and then the other. In the end the Ribbans' took one shot on
each of the last 2 ends to take the win 7-6.
The outcome of the other Semi
was in little doubt after Keith Cockings & Arnold Basketter
took 5 on the 3rd end against Elizabeth Johnson & Ian
Lawson to go into a 7-2 lead which they never relinquished,
finishing up 10-4 winners.
FINAL
Although the quality
of the bowls on display was of a very high calibre all around,
it was clear that the finalists were the two best teams over
the course of the weekend.
The end results might make
it look as if it was a one horse race, but that was far from
the case. Although Keith Cockings & Arnold Basketter
took the lead with a couple of shots on the first end, Norman
& Glenys Ribbans had the lead after the completion of
the third end and did not allow their opponents any further shots
as they ran out 9-2 winners. Nonetheless Keith & Arnold were
never out of the game and had a chance to take it to an extra
end, but Norman & Glenys generally held the advantage on
each end which forced Keith & Arnold to chase the game.
In the end it was closer than
it might seem, but Norman & Glenys were undoubtedly worthy
winners after 2 days of very fine bowls.
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The full results of the weekend's
bowling can be found here. |
AND FINALLY
Although we were extremely pleased with all the very generous
comments which we received across the weekend, for the event,
we have to say that none of it would have been possible if not
for all those who came along to make the holiday such a success.
Whilst there were many people
there that we knew personally, there were many others that we
did not, until now. Many people who will not have known what
to expect from us, but were nevertheless prepared to come along
with us.
Still, it would be unfair to
single out any particular group of people for our thanks, so
we would just like to thank everyone once again for all your
support and we hope to see you all again soon.
tanddcarpetbowls@gmail.com
16th
April 2007 |
