Sunbury enjoyed some success in this week’s Middlesex county competitions. Anita beat the woman who Tracy lost to in the previous round and JenB beat Karen to progress to the quarter-finals of the Unbadged Singles. If both win their next games they will face each other in the semis! In the Women’s Triples there was a fine 19-16 win for Tracy, Jenny and JenB against a team from Bishop Duppas and next face a tricky visit to Ashford. Unfortunately, Karen, Nikki & Eileen lost out 21-20 at Cambridge Park.
Looking at our Club Competitions, the last-32 round of matches of the Open Handicap (the largest draw of all the competitions) was completed this week. Many thanks to everyone for getting their games in before the deadline and making life so easy for the Competitions Secretary! The last two matches are early contenders for this season’s longest with Cassie & Colin playing 28 ends and then Anita & Neil usurping this the following day with a staggering 31 ends, matching Dennis v AlanP in last season’s Men’s Handicap final. We’re all set for Saturday’s Presidents Plate with 30 confirmed players. This makes 10 triples with higher handicapped players due to be placed in different teams – the actual draw taking place on the day. It’ll be played as a swiss-system with a random first round then winners v winners and losers v losers. The top two teams will go forward to finals weekend. Please congregate from 10am with the first games starting 10:30am.
We then move into July and team matches resume; first up is an SML game on Sunday 7th with Sunbury hosting Bishop Duppas. Since our last game other teams have been climbing past us in the table .. let’s hope we can do some climbing of our own!
BobH finished the day as the only unbeaten player at Sunday’s Mixed 2-wood Singles competition. Played on a blazing hot day it was Bob and JenB who won through to finals weekend with semi-final wins against other group winners/runners-up Jenny and AlanP. It was good to see some notable wins for less experienced players and even a couple of draws in the 52 games played. The day went on a little longer than anticipated but was kept in control under the guidance of Gary. Thanks are also due to Nikki and Dennis for sorting out refreshments throughout the day. Lastly, thanks to all who participated, every match was played/marked in great spirit. 
Alison’s team remain unbeaten in the Friday Triples after pipping Eileen’s team on the final end in the latest round of games; Nikki’s team continued their good form with a comfortable win against Diane’s team; Alan’s team prop up the table after a battling loss against Karen’s team! The next games continue on Friday 28th.
This week’s team matches didn’t quite go Sunbury’s way .. losing both the midweek friendly to Teddington and Saturday’s SML match to last year’s champions Fordbridge Park. Rosie the dog didn’t seem to mind though!
It’s encouraging to see so many competition games being played but here’s a reminder that the first cut-off date is fast approaching .. 30th June for the last-32 of the Open Handicap. Do let me know of any issues and we’ll see what can be done.
Sunbury visited Ashford for an SML match on Sunday afternoon and the result was a little unusual. Sunbury won on only one of the four rinks but gained a higher overall shot count of 66-64, courtesy of some close losing games and a healthy score for the winning team of Tracy, Roger & Jen. This resulted in a 6-4 win for Ashford, but leaves Sunbury in a respectable 4th place in the league for now.
We conclude a run of five consecutive team friendlies on Saturday at Cambridge Park. The following day we visit Ashford in the SML .. both teams have won 2 out of 4 games thus far so there’s everything to play for. Realistically, it’s probably 2nd place as top team Hampton look to be unstoppable after resounding wins in their first four games, the latest being a 10-0 win at Bishop Duppas.
Rivalries will resume on Friday 7th when the Friday Triples league kicks off. It’s the same six captains from last year with Diane no doubt endeavouring to repeat last year’s success. Each team comprises 5-6 players – here’s how they line up.
Wednesday afternoon saw a glorious afternoon for bowls in the latest team friendly with Oatlands Park. They are renowned for being the best-dressed club around and they didn’t disappoint, upholding past traditions very well. The match itself ebbed and flowed and in the end it was our visitors who came out on top, winning on 2 of the 3 rinks and with an overall shot count of 48-38.