Lyme Regis Bowls Club staged the finals of all their club competitions last weekend, writes Paul Moffitt.

Whilst the general overhead weather was reasonable the wind made it more suitable for sailing or kite flying rather than the noble sport of bowls!

Before the finals there were two league games and a friendly match contested.

The Ladies gained a very useful eight points at home to Blandford which helps to keep them clear of any relegation worries.

The Men’s A team managed to secure six points against strong competition from Dorchester A. Despite losing on two rinks, a fine win from Max Thorner’s rink enabled them to scrape home by a single shot.

A friendly trip to Budleigh Salterton produced a three shot win for Lyme and that result means that Lyme keep the trophy for the time being, but, the return match in a fortnight might well see the trophy heading back to Budleigh!

Results:

Dorset Ladies’ Div 1.

Lyme 62; Blandford 52.

J Moffitt, M Gillett, J Parsons, K Clissold 25-10; V Cozens, J Perry, J Kesterton, A Allman 18-24; H Dowling, D Courtenay-Smith, N Stephens, C Barber 19-18.

West Dorset Men Div 1.

Lyme ‘A’ 58; Dorchester ‘A’ 57.

M Knight, G Clode, D Pomeroy, B Parsons 13-16; G Broom, P Stephens, J Beadsley, M Thorner 27-11; J Irwin, J Moseley, D Perry, J Wells 18-30.

Friendly:

Lyme 96; Budleigh 93.

T Payne, C Clissold, T Poyner, E Skeemer 23-15; S Cox, J Moffitt, R Moody, Chas Barber 26-16; J Brown, K Gardiner, J Kesterton, P Moffitt 21-12; S Wood, R Carnan, R Edwards, K Clissold 11-22; Y Moody, A Brown, D Wood, Chris Barber 15-27.

Finals Day Results:

Due to the withdrawal of Clare Barber from two finals the following titles were won by walkovers: Angela Rattenbury took the Ladies 2-wood title and the Ladies Handicap Singles title went to Nola Stephens. Both ladies had overcome strong opposition in order to reach their respective finals and thoroughly deserve their wins.

Men’s 3-Set Singles:

Paul Pomeroy defeated Peter Eagles three sets to nil, winning 7-5; 9-3; 7-3. This score line does not reflect the immense battle which Peter gave Paul in this match. The first set could have gone either way, and it is probably true to say that if Peter’s opponent had been anyone other than Paul he may well have prevailed.

Mens 4-Wood Drawn Pairs:

Steve Pomeroy and Geoff Cozens 29; Charlie Barber and Reg Winterborne 18. Some inspired back end bowling from Geoff Cozens was undoubtedly a big influence on this game.

Ladies 4-Wood Drawn Pairs:

Ann Allman and Val Cozens 22; Judith Moffitt & Lesley Broom 12. The match up front was a pretty even contest between Judith and Val, but, on the day Ann out-bowled Lesley at the back.

Mens 2-Wood Singles:

Geoff Clode 16; John Eaton 13. One of the few occasions that we have not seen Paul Pomeroy contesting this final, having won it eight times in the last 11 years! Perhaps not so much Geoff winning, but more a case of John losing this game. The match was tied at 19 ends and then Geoff picked up a single on the 20th end to lead by a single shot going in to the final end. Given every chance to snatch a win John failed to take his chances and gifted two more shots to Geoff in a game which really could have gone either way, given how nervous both these players were going into this final.

Ladies’ Invitation:

Jan Parsons and Paul Moffitt 22; Diana Courtenay-Smith and Charlie Barber 10. Jan and Paul took their chances against strong opposition and in the end won quite comfortably.

The ‘Rocky’:

Bob Turpin 23; Reg Winterborne 14. Bob has now won this title for two years on the trot. Reg ,who has been bowling very consistently, didn’t seem to have the answer to Bob’s nagging consistency and finally capitulated in this competition which is only open to men who have reached the tender age of 70!

Married Couples:

Ann and Trevor Allman 32; Sue and Dave Wood 11. A competition often referred to as the ‘Divorce Stakes’, this competition tests the mettle of blissfully married couples to keep their calm. On the day Ann and Trevor proved too strong for Sue and Dave on what looked like quite tricky conditions.

2-Wood Mixed Drawn Pairs:

Reg Winterborne and Eric Skeemer 25; Jan Parsons and Geoff Clode 7. A win at the third attempt for Reg who, with partner Eric, showed no mercy in their comfortable defeat of Jan and Geoff.

Fillies:

Lesley Broom 21; Jan Parsons 20. This one went down to the wire with Jan leading by a single shot at 20-19 and having the mat. Somewhat prophetically, Jan shook hands with Lesley before the start of this end although, in reality, there could still be two ends to play. Lesley put her first two woods on the jack limiting Jan to a weighted shot to have any chance of a result. Despite a gallant effort from Jan, Lesley hung on to her two shots to pick up the title by the narrowest margin possible.

Men’s Handicapped Singles:

Paul Pomeroy 23; Barry Rattenbury 13. This was always going to be a battle, Skip Paul playing his number 3 Barry from the Championship League. For many ends this was a tied battle with no indication where the trophy might be heading. One small lack of concentration from Barry and he’s dropped a four! You don’t play Paul and drop a four and live to tell the tale. Paul saw his chance and gained in confidence with every end wrapping up what in the end was a comfortable win.

Ladies Championship Singles:

Val Cozens 21; Ann Allman 13. With new woods, which she hates, Val is transformed this season. She showed no mercy as she cruised to a 20-10 lead over Ann, but as so often is the case that last point didn’t come easily. Ann picked up a 2, then a single and seemed to be getting the upper hand. But Val kept her nerve and picked up the single she needed to make her Ladies Singles Champion, a title she has held in the past but not for a long time. Just goes to show you write anyone off at your peril.

Mens Championship Singles:

Charlie Barber 21; Don Meylan 14. This was another skip v number 3 confrontation and, again, it was the skip who prevailed. Charlie quickly slotted into his drawing game and for a while Don did not ‘turn up’ for this encounter. Charlie started to gain a comfortable lead whilst Don found it difficult to find either line or length, even his weighted shots were letting him down. He then found some resolve and got back to within 2 shots of Charlie, at which point I’m wondering if Charlie was thinking ‘here we go again!’. Charlie stuck to his guns and his drawing game, his undoubted forte, and went on to take the title with some ease. I trust I didn’t jeopardise Don’s chances by stating a few weeks ago that he was going to be hard to beat. Sorry Don!.

We owe a debt of gratitude to those who gave up their time to man the kitchen and the bar in order to meet our hunger and thirst requirements. As I write this I am looking out the window at pouring rain. The competitions finished less than two hours ago, weren’t we lucky. I trust the account of these matches is fairly accurate, it’s difficult to watch four games at once so a lot of the information comes second-hand. I even got to play in one final, when I would like to think the only game I was watching was my own!