Tony is the singles champion at Victoria

VICTORIA staged their competition finals over two days with members taking part experiencing good weather on Saturday and bad weather on Sunday.

The men’s championship singles played in atrocious weather turned out be a display of superb bowling, with Tony Bray edging out Colin Gazzard by one shot.

The men’s handicap four-wood singles, also played in bad weather conditions, saw Will Harrison get the better of Paul Leadbeater.

The men’s two-wood singles played on a sunny Saturday ended with a comfortable win for Mike Cooper against Tony Bray.

Derek Hurst skipped a winning rink in the fours final for the third year running, while Roger Rockett lost to Peter Wyatt in the non-winners final, but came good in the seniors’ final.

The unluckiest bowler in the club must be Colin Gazzard, who has appeared in the championship final seven times and won only once.

Several players appeared in more than one final and the pick of the bunch was Marysia Angove, who won all three of her finals. Newcomers Tiffany Ellis and Nathan Stocker both appeared in three finals and their highlight was when they defeated Sue and Mike Cooper in the mixed pairs which went to an extra end.

Sue Newman and Tiffany Ellis both won two out of three, while another new bowler, Peter Wyatt, won in both of his appearances. The ladies’ championship singles and two-wood singles have been held over until today (Thurs).

Results – men’s championship singles: Tony Bray beat Colin Gazzard 21-20; two-wood singles: Mike Cooper beat Tony Bray 22-14; four-wood handicap singles: Will Harrison beat Paul Leadbeater 29-16; seniors’ singles: Roger Rockett beat John Mingo-West 21-17; non-winners singles: Peter Wyatt beat Roger Rockett 21-17; two-wood pairs: Nathan Stocker & Mike Fletcher beat Terry Gilbert and Bryan Stock 22-17; triples: Terry Gilbert, Tony Barnes & Ken Harvey beat Lee Stocker, Allan Shattock & Mike Stocker 25-14; fours: Peter Wyatt, Keith Holland, Nick Sell & Derek Hurst beat Nathan Stocker, John Codrington, Malcolm Campbell & Mike Manning 24-20.

Ladies - handicap singles: Sue Cooper beat Ellen Newport 26-9; non-winners singles:

Marysia Angove beat Sue Lawrence; two-wood pairs: Marysia Angove & Sue Newman beat Fiona Waters & Margaret Hillman 20-8; four-wood pairs: Marysia Angove & Sue Harrison beat Tiffany Ellis & Sue Newman 20-18. triples: Tiffany Ellis, Sue Sokol & Sue Newman beat Jessie Donald, Doreen Owen & Anthea Holland; mixed pairs: Tiffany Ellis & Nathan Stocker beat Sue & Mike Cooper 19-18 (after an extra end).

Victoria Saxons are Division 1 champions of the Weston & District Over-60s Triples League.

The Saxons played their last two games knowing they had to win them both to become league champions.

The first was against Clevedon Promenade and Victoria won gaining 14 valuable points. The second match was again at home, this time to Portishead RBL, who needed to win to avoid relegation.

In the game against Clevedon Promenade, the triples skipped by Mike Manning, Bryan Stock and Mike Taylor ensured a victory and 14 points.

It was a closer game against Portishead RBL, but again the Saxons won three rinks skipped by Mike Stocker, Bryan Stock and Derek Hurst to achieve the points to ensure the trophy returns to Victoria.

However, Victoria Vikings played their last game at home against second division champions Clevedon and could only win on the one rink of Richard Jacobs, John Turton and George Frost. Nevertheless, they had had a good season and finished equal fourth in the Division 2.

Weston (Bath) invited Victoria to a hastily-arranged friendly, but did not enjoy any favours in the match losing heavily with just the one rink of Les Kelly, Ray Sparkes, Terry Gatehouse and Dave Sealey just winning by shots shots.

Victoria were outstanding in their mixed friendly against Cheltenham, winning the game handsomely and with just one losing rink.

Victoria Saxons 117 (14), Clevedon Promenade 87 (6): R Fenwick, A Barnes, M Manning 30-17; P Lunn, A Uccellini, M Stocker 13-17; T Gatehouse, J Newman, K Holland 14-15; J Smart, G Richards, M Campbell 13-16; M Fletcher, K Curtis, B Stock 26-11; H Whyte, A Bray, M Taylor 21-11.

Victoria Saxons 113 (14), Portishead RBL 97 (6): P Lunn, A Uccellini, M Stocker 24-14; T Gatehouse, J Newman, K Holland 10-18; M Fletcher, K Curtis, B Stock 25-13; H Whyte, A Bray, M Taylor 11-15; J Smart, M Campbell, D Hurst 25-17; R Rockett, A Barnes, M Manning 18-20.

Victoria Vikings 94 (2), Clevedon 114 (18): R Hollier, J Griffiths, G Hodge 11-23; B Johnson, C York, D Avery 17-21; R Jacobs, J Turton, G Frost 21-11; L Kelly, J Mingo-West, E Sage 14-18; T Gilbert, G Thorne, D Jones 16-19; J Codrington, T Farmer, J Downing 15-23.

Victoria 69,Weston (Bath) (friendly): W Nicholls, A Waygood, J Kerr, K Curtis 20-26; L Kelly, R Sparkes, T Gatehouse, D Sealey 27-25; E Longworth, R Fenwick, A Uccellini 10 -25; A Guest, J Griffiths, J Mingo-West, M Fletcher 12-30.

Victoria 159, Cheltenham 102 (mixed friendly): C Sage, A Waygood, J Mingo-West, M Taylor 19-21; M Milliner, A Holland, S Cooper, D Jones 29-9; G Richards, R Sparkes, M Chudley, M Hillman 22-19; D Fairhurst, E Williams, A Barnes, M Manning 23-7; W Nicholls, J Griffiths, S Newman, P Leadbeater. 18-17; S Sokol, R Bailey, E Sage, J Newman 25-12; L Kelly, S Thynne, E Newport, G Frost 23-17.

Left to right: Victoria captain-Mike Manning, Tony Bray (singles winner), Colin Gazzard (runner-up).

DON Bailey took the coveted men’s singles title at St Andrews club finals weekend, in what was a fairly one-sided match, in which opponent Ken Uglow struggled with line and length.

The ladies final between Jackie Ware and Vicky Buick unfortunately had to be forfeited by Jackie, owing to a recurring back injury.

Thanks to the organisation of finals weekend and also the matches leading up to it by Frid Allen and Don Bailey, the well-supported finals were a great success.

Results – men’s non-winners: R Brereton 21, P Smart 14; over-65: B Forse 21, B Reeves 16; pairs: R Smith & G Cooper 26, R Brereton & A Horsburgh 21; over-65 pairs: M Simpson & B Reeves 23, T Yeeles & D Bailey 14; men’s two-wood: B Forse 21, A McMillan 5; handicap: B Forse 27, R Brereton 8; triples: A Horsburgh, G Guest, G Webber 18, T Lay, B Reeves, D Favis 17.

Ladies - Hope Shield: S Sinclair 21, J McMillan 17; two-wood: C Venn 20, R McMillan 9; pairs: S Sinclair & A Campbell 23, C Venn & M attenden 14; triples: P Uglow, B Goddard, J Pitman 15, J Forse, A Greenwood, M Favis 14.

Mixed pairs: A Campbell & G Wride 24, S Sinclair & B Forse 16; open championship: B Forse 21, S Davies 9. Dot Cross pairs: Frid Allen & Caroline Venn; two-wood triples: Pat Uglow, Brian Green & Jackie Ware.

St Andrews 88 (4), Portishead RBL 114 (16) (Over-60s League): K Parker, G Tofte, G Cooper 16-24; T Allen, T Yeeles, D Favis 12-21; R Smith, M Goddard, G Wride 21-20; K Rodgers, R Brereton, A Horsburgh 16-10; R Venn, R Gill, J Warren (c) 10-20; B Rogers, B May, G Webber 13-19.

CLARENCE entertained tourists Spreadeagle tourists, predominantly employees and former employees of Barclays Bank, who proved too strong for Clarence, winning on all rinks.

Best performance for Clarence was David Stott’s rink who fought back from a 5-20 deficit after 10 ends to lose by five. At the same time, Spreadeagle’s ladies played Clarence and Wessex ladies-again coming out victorious on both rinks.

Clarence men: J Kellaway, J Hicks, M Davies, M Clay 17-27; R Rossiter, M Peters, C Read, D Stott 21-26; T Ward, M Skyrme, J Burgess, J Edwards 12-22; B Cheffers, R Cornwall, M Phillips, D Jackman 12-23.

Clarence/Wessex Ladies: M Goodwin, S Searle, B Hayes, L Oldham 11-23; V Edwards, N Peters, B Wallace, I Hicks 15-23.

Wins on Roger Burrough’s and David Stott’s rink were insufficient to overcome the massive deficit left by the other four against Winscombe.

Clarence Blues 87 (4), Winscombe 121 (16) (Over-60s Triples): L Lakey, D Thomson, H Sparks 11-16; R Rossiter, D Grier, D Stott 19-15; R Flicker, M Clay, R Burrough 22-19; T Ward, J Rogers, P Tubb 6-24; C Read, T Mannion, R Crawford 12-22; A Bishop, I Phipps, G Barlow 6-25.

Like their higher-division brethren the Blues, the Golds suffered a heavy defeat against Nailsea, the only winning rink being that of Maurice Phillips.

Clarence Golds 63 (2), Nailsea 121 (18) (Over-60s Triples League): M Peters, A Taylor, B Hanks 6-20; J Larvin, J Hicks, J Hayes 9-27; B Difford, M Scoins, B Duffy 10-23; C Tippett, B Cheffers, D Jackman 15-19; J Kellaway, R Cornwall, J Edwards 8-23; L Lewis, M Davies, M Phillips 15-9.

Clarence ran out victors over tourists Plumstead Radical (Kent). The outstanding rink for Clarence was that skipped by Joan Duffy.

Clarence Park 110, Plumstead Radical 85: J Atkins, Shirley Searle, J Hayes, T Mannion 8-17; Elaine Stott, J Kellaway, C Tippett, G Aldridge 15-13; J Loveridge, A Taylor, M Skyrme, Joan Duffy 25-9; L Lewis, R Cornwall, Jo Mannion, C Read 20-15;Brenda Hayes, A Bishop, I Phipps, M Phillips 11-16; Verlie Edwards, B Difford, M Davies, B Duffy 21-15.

ALTHOUGH Ashcombe Templars finished bottom of the league, they succeeded in giving a good game to all opponents and actually won three games.

The Templars comprises players not selected for the first two teams plus newcomers. For new members it is an excellent training ground, proved by the five players promoted to the second team last year.

In the last of the mixed tourist games, Ashcombe were soundly beaten by Plumstead, losing on five of the six rinks played.

Ashcombe 93, Plumstead 138: M Tripp, S Davies, J Main, DA Williams 13-23; L Owens, R Tasker, T Morgan, S Ford 11-24; A Cox, D Freestone, A Freke, M Williams 21-22; B Golding, J Mathews, S Hopkins, J Whitlow 9-31; G Tucker, M Sell, L Paterson, J Whitton 15-20; M Palmer, J Marlow, M Tasker, J Hornett 24-18.

IN the penultimate week of the season, Winscombe enjoyed two good wins.

They defeated the tourists from Barclays Bank by three shots and finished off their season in Division 1 of the Weston & District Over-60s Triples League in fine style, winning their last three matches and picking up 46 points to finish in third place after languishing in the relegation zone. In their last game they ran out winners at Clarence by 47 shots.

It was also Winscombe finals weekend. In the men’s singles championship, Tony Watts overcame Mike Adams, while the ladies’ champion is Wendy Weller, who secured victory over Sarah Lowman.

The men’s pairs was again won by Graham Neville and Robin Lowman, who beat Roy Fisher and David Peakall. The ladies; pairs champions this year are Rowena Keane and Pam Heal, who won against Wendy Weller and Diane Sapsford.

In the ladies’ Jubilee Trophy, June Rush and Lyn Dyer were winners.

In the men’s two-wood, Tony Dudley beat Malcom Dorrington and the veterans’ was won by Mike Adams, who beat Graham Neville. The Fred Anthony Novices Trophy was won by Paul Hopes, who won a tight game against Peter John.

In the men’s handicap singles, Reg Birmingham beat Mike Nash and the triples championship was won by Tony Dudley, Nic Hansford and Tony Watts, who beat Paul Fredersdorff, Mike Nash and Ken Whatling. The mixed pairs was won by Trixie Miles and Bob Kibble, who beat Robin and Sarah Lowman.

Winscombe 83, Spreadeagle Tourists 80: J Sprouting, M Hunt, G Neville, R Birmingham 26-17; R Lowman, G Hill, L Collier, A Dudley 20-23; K Whatling, R Knight, M Nash, P Fredersdorff 19-19; D Beaverstock, R Fisher, W Ainsworth, A Watts 18-21.

Winscombe 123 (16), Clarence Blues 76 (4) (Weston Over-60s League): J Sprouting, R Wootten, M Adams 26-6; C Westlake, L Collier, T Ellis 19-22; K Whatling, M Nash, P Fredersdorff 15-19; R Lowman, G Coombe, R Birmingham 25-6; G Lloyd, W Ainsworth, G Neville 22-12; A Watts, M Hunter, A Dudley 16-11.

Winscombe floodlight finals: Nailsea A 15, St Andrews A 14; Wells A 18, Winscombe A 17;Wrington A 15, West Backwell A 19; Congresbury C 11, Winscombe B 15; Congresbury H 10, Ashcombe A 16; RBL Legion Men 25, Burnham 11; Congresbury D 12, Banwell A 13; St Andrews B 18, RBL Poppies 9.

Quarter-finals: West Backwell A 24, Wells A 15; Ashcombe A 20, Winscombe B 13; Nailsea A 9, St Andrews B 19; RBL Legion Men 15, Banwell A 13.

Semi-finals: St Andrews B 16, West Backwell A 8; RBL Legion Men 28, Ashcombe A 14.

The finals night was cancelled as the green was unplayable due to heavy rain. All four teams decided to share the trophies and prizes.

WITH the outdoor season coming to a close, Wedmore is now ready for the winter indoor season.

Free taster days will be run on the September 21 and 22 for potential new bowlers as well as members of other bowls clubs who would like to bowl indoors during the winter. Shoes and woods are provided.

For more information or to book, contact Brendon on 01934 743271 or Keith on 01934 733237.

The men’s triples day, comprising of three nine-end matches, was won after a hard-fought contest, by Roy Thurkettle, Dave Collins, and Bob Keen, pictured receiving the cup from president, Ron Barron.

The annual match for the City of Wells Cup, played in Wells, resulted in a win by just two shots for Wedmore 123-121. Gill Harvey’s team helped to ensure the Wedmore victory with a 28-19 win.

In another friendly match, Wedmore men visited Bridgwater Victoria and were beaten 80-92. The best performing team for Wedmore were led by the captain, Keith Burt, and scored a 19-12 victory.

CLARENCE ladies defeated Prattens 61-46 in the final of the Fear Plate played at Ashcombe in poor conditions.

C Cromey was substitute on rink two, following M Baker slipping off the mat and injuring her arm and leg.

Rink scores: M Davison, J Bishop, V Collicott, A Harris 18-19; J Colman, P Phillips, M Baker, M Noddings 18-16; S Scoins, J Mannion, V Jones, P Barnbrook 25-11.

Clarence Ladies 35, St Andrews 42 (friendly): S Ellis, C Cromey, V Senior, M Noddings 20-9; M Moore, P Fowler, M Davison, V Collicott 8-19; B Hayes, M Goodwin, J Mannion, J Bishop 7-14.

Clarence Ladies 45, West Backwell 56 (friendly): J Colman, P Fowler, M Baker 15-24; S Scoins, M Woods, J Mannion 6-20; S Searle, M Goodwin, V Jones 24-12.

WESSEX Ladies 37 (2), Fosseway 54 (8) (Mendip League): A Ward, E Deane, P Taylor 9-18; P Hanson, C Peart, M Williams 20-16; J Allard, M Davis, A Powell 8-20.

Wessex Ladies 39 (2), Isle of Wedmore 51 (8) (Wessex League): V Edwards, S Bishop, J Duffy, P Dunn 17-13; E Stott, P Hanson, A Ward, A Fewings 10-20; S Davies, M Milford, J Allard, P Taylor 12-18.

AS the season comes to an end, Victoria ladies finished second in the Weston & District Triples League.

Victoria Ladies 46, Clevedon 55 (friendly): D Owen, C Sage, R Bailey, A Holland 10-23; S Sokol, J Donald, E Newport, M Hillman 21-12; C Stevens, C Willetts, S Newman, S Cooper 15-20.

ASHCOMBE Ladies 61, Yatton 49 (friendly): M Main, B Groves, J Wilkinson, C Hedges 22-15; A Cox, S Bayntun, N Counsell, S Weaden 20-16; J Field, M Tucker, M Tasker, J Hughes 19-18.

Ashcombe Ladies 54, Portishead 56 (friendly): L Owens, J Field, B MacGregor, C Hedges 18-14; S Bayntun, M Tucker, L Paterson, S Hopkins 12-27; M Palmer, A Cox, N Counsell, J Wilkinson 24-15.