Santa Maria was the venue for this inaugural event which was generously sponsored by THE OLD GOLD COMPANY ( Buyers of Precious Metals ). The Company’s Representatives were on site throughout the Championships and they can be contacted at their Office in Constitution Square ( Fuengirola ), by Telephone ( 663 66 84 40 ) or by e-Mail : info@theoldgoldcompany.com.

The Championships started on Saturday, 9 May and, apart from a heavy shower on the first afternoon, the Tournament was completed on schedule in near perfect conditions. There was the added importance for all entrants as the last 4 in each of the Ladies and Gents disciplines are eligible to participate in the Finals of the Spanish National Championships which are to be held in Malaga from 8-19 September.

The Draw pitched several pre-Tournament favourites against each other in the early rounds of each discipline and this ensured quality Bowling from the outset which was greatly appreciated by those spectators who followed developments.

LADIES COMPETITION :-

FOURS :-

On paper, based on recent performances, the Team skipped by Susan Walker were the possible favourites but they were soundly beaten by Angie Knight, Marjorie Johns, Jan Brown & Mary Detheridge who went on to defeat Pam Cole’s Team in the Semi-final. In the other half of the Draw Pat Fisher, Shirley Owen, Carole Cornwell & Maureen Barrett had a close win over the Team skipped by Jan McManus to set up an “ALL Superbowl” Final.

Having been in control since the 11th end, Angie’s Team were holding game with Pat Fisher having one Bowl to deliver and what a Bowl it proved to be. The shot Bowl was removed and left Pat’s Team holding 5 and, with numerous short Bowls to play through, Angie could only reduce this to 3 leaving her opponents as Champions by 17-16.
TRIPLES :-

Both Semi-finals were close with Angie Knight, Marjorie Johns & Mary Detheridge defeating Susan Walker, Diane Chambers & Dorrien Ives 18-15 and Mary Hilton, Dorothy Pilmoor & Jenny Aldridge defeating Pam Cole, Geraldine Robinson & Christine Taylor 17-16. The Final proved to be a triumph for the Los Amigos Triple skipped by Mary. Their opponents bowled well but they had no answer to the consistency of the Champions who won 17-11.

PAIRS :-

Both Semi-finals were decided by one shot and it was the two Los Amigos Pairs who won through to contest the Final. Diane Chambers & Dorothy Pilmoor defeated Pam Cole & Geraldine Robinson 17-16 whilst, in the other match, Susan Walker & Dorrien Ives needed the relief of an extra end before beating Christine Taylor & Angela John 18-17. The Final was a high scoring affair with Susan & Dorrien comfortably beating their Club colleagues 28-21.

SINGLES :-

As expected, Susan Walker emerged from the top half of the Draw to contest a Semi-final with Dorothy Pilmoor which she won comfortably 21-13 but it was the lower half of the Draw which provided the drama with so many of the “big guns” being in there. Eventually it was Mary Hilton who came through winning a memorable Semi-final with Wendy Pemberton. Sadly, as often happens, the Final was something of an anti-climax and Susan ran out a comfortable winner.

GENTS COMPETITION :-

FOURS :-

The Semi-finals were both extremely one sided but the Final did not disappoint and it was just as tense and exiting as the Ladies’ Final. The Benavista Team of Neil Marshall, Malcolm Greenwood, Sandy Guthrie & Ken McBride looked to be in complete control at 11-3 after 8 ends. Michael Detheridge’s front end was struggling to make any impact until he produced a superb conversion shot to give his Team a 6 and the lift they needed.

From then on we had a match to savour and Manuel Bautista and Paul Brown found their confidence which gave Davie Hunter and Michael heads to build on.
They established a 17-12 lead only for Neil’s Team to respond and tie the game at 17-17 with some superb Bowling. The extra end was just as dramatic and it was Michael’s Team from Superbowl who emerged as Champions.
TRIPLES :-

There were two surprise Finalists in this discipline. Bill Eddleston, Charles Ottaway & Alan Bicknell from Belplaya defeated Tony Frowd’s more experienced Team from Superbowl 20-14 and Superbowl’s “Youth Team”, with an average age of 46, had a thrilling 16-15 win over Steve McManus, Bert Campbell & Bill Ogden. In the Final the Belplaya Triple struggled to make any impact and the young Superbowl Team of Craig Lewis, Mike Glithero & Andy Salmon ran out comfortable winners.

PAIRS :-

Having already beaten off two strong Pairs in the early rounds, Alan Turner & Andy Salmon took on Superbowl colleagues Terry Barrett & John Cornwell in the Semi-final with the latter winning a quality encounter 15-13. Similarly Derek Hilton & Garry Aldridge came through a tough lower half of the Draw and faced the Belplaya pairing of Bill Eddleston & Alan Bicknell which they managed to win 19-15.

The Final was always a struggle for Terry & John but a late rally brought them to within one shot with one end to play. Sadly for them, DJ and Garry took control of the head and ran out 21-16 winners.

SINGLES :-

The Gents Semi-finals and Finals mirrored those of the Ladies. Malcolm Greenwood defeated his Benavista colleague Ken McBride 21-8 in a match where the score does not reflect the quality of Ken’s bowling. In the other match Bill Eddleston completed an excellent personal performance in the Tournament when he defeated Tony Frowd 21-19. There were a nervy few ends for Bill as Tony mounted considerable pressure over the last few ends coming from 20-10 down. Sadly for Bill he could not maintain the form he had shown throughout the Championships and Malcolm ran out a comfortable winner in the Final.

PRESENTATIONS :-

Tony Winterton thanked The Old Gold Company for their generous contribution in sponsoring the Tournament, to Pamela & Brian Murch for their co-operation in staging the event and to Players, Umpires and Markers for making this first Provincial Championship one to remember. He wished all Finalists and Semi-finalists every success in the National Championship Finals in September.

Tournament Roll Of Honour

Ladies Fours Provincial Champions :-
Maureen Barrett, Carole Cornwell, Pat Fisher & Shirley Owen .

Ladies Triples Provincial Champions :-
Jenny Aldridge, Mary Hilton & Dorothy Pilmoor.

Ladies Pairs Finalists :-
Susan Walker, Dorrien Ives, Diane Chambers & Dorothy Pilmoor.

Ladies & Gents Singles Provincial Champions
Malcolm Greenwood & Susan Walker.

Gents Fours Provincial Champions :- Mike Detheridge, Davie Hunter, Paul Brown, Manuel Bautista.

Gents Triples Provincial Champions :-
Andy Salmon, Craig Lewis & Mike Glithero.

Gents Pairs Finalists :-
Garry Aldridge, Derek Hilton, Terry Barrett & John Cornwell.