2026 Finals Results and Match Reports

Men's Singles

John Townley 21

Damien Cleary 16

Women's Singles

Lorraine Walters 21

Jane Ward  18

Handicap

Martin Hedges (12) 21

Damien Cleary (9) 12

2 Wood Singles

John Townley 2 (9-5) (9-6)

Jane Ward 1 (9-2)

Novices

Martin Hedges 21

Lorraine Walters 15

91Up

John Townley  97

Janet Townley 73

Senior Citizens

Alan Gough 15

Pete Leverett 10

Drawn Pairs

Graham Kennedy & Scott Jennings  19

Pete Leverett & Ruth Copp  11

2 Wood Pairs

John Townley & Janet Townley  20

Jane Ward & Jean Buckett  14

Plate

David Lloyd (4) 21

Scott Jennings (12)  20

Men's Singles

This was Damien Cleary's first Men's Singles Final, in his first season at the club. John Townley was playing for his first win, having been runner up last season. Damien started well, with singles on the first two ends, but John responded with three shots on end 3. Two more singles from Damien were matched by two shots from John, who then added two singles of his own. Damien scored another single on end 9, but John started to gain the upper hand, launching a four end winning run with 2,1,2,1, to establish a 13-5 lead after 13 ends. End 14 was another single from Damien, but he was unable to gain a foothold and John scored 4 singles, to be only 4 shots from victory. Damien's highly competitive nature now kicked in and he hit back with three shots on end 19, followed by successive singles on the next 2 ends. With 21 ends played, John was leading 17-11 and on the back foot. He scored a single, but Damien scored 2,2,1 to draw within two shots and give himself a good chance of turning the tables and gaining the victory. John also has a highly competitive nature and it asserted itself, allowing him to score a pair and a single, to bring this mighty contest to a conclusion. John was Men's Singles Champion by 21-16. Congratulations to John and commiserations to Damien. (Marker: Alan Gough)

Women's Singles

Lorraine Walters was playing in her first Final, against two time winner Jane Ward. A good start by Jane gave her a 3-0 lead after 2 ends, but Lorraine came back strongly, with a single, two pairs and a four to take a 9-3 lead. Two singles from Jane and a single from Lorraine narrowed the gap slightly, then Jane scored three shots on end 10 and it was close, at 10-8 in Lorraine's favour. She scored a single, but Jane followed it with two shots of her own and the deficit was down to one shot. A run of three winning ends (2,1,1) put Lorraine 5 shots clear, then both players scored singles. After 17 ends, the score was Lorraine 16, Jane 11. Jane launched a comeback, with 5 singles and a pair. Twenty three ends played and now Jane could win the match on the next end. It was not to be, however, as Lorraine dug really deep to score a pair, a single and a pair, for a 21-18 victory and her first Women's Champion's title. Congratulations to Lorraine and commiserations to Jane. (Marker: Elaine Robinson)

Drawn Pairs

The Drawn Pairs final featured former Men's Champion, Graham Kennedy, and first time entrant Scott Jennings against current Men's Champion Pete Leverett and Ruth Copp. The first 6 ends were very one sided, with Pete & Ruth building up a 7-1 lead. Graham & Scott recovered with three singles and a pair, to get within one shot. A single and a three pushed Pete & Ruth back into a fairly comfortable lead, but they never troubled the scoreboard again, as Graham & Scott won 6 successive ends (1,1,2,4,2,3), to win 19-11 at the end of the statutory 18 ends. Congratulations go to them.

91 Up

This was an all Townley affair, as Janet and John faced off across the green. John got a very good start with 8-2 on the first end. He won the next two ends 6-4, 7-3 before Janet held him to a draw on end 4. The score was John 26, Janet 14. Janet now took control for a while, with a 7-3, 9-1 and 6-4, plus a draw, with John winning one end 7-3. After 9 ends, the score was very close at 46-44 to John. A drawn 10th end was followed by a resurgence of John's early form. He won 7-3, 9-1, then the 13th and 14th ends were drawn. End 15 was 8-2 to Janet, but John now needed only 12 shots for victory. Two 9-1 wins were more than enough and John was 91 Up Champion by 97-73. (Marker: Sandra Gough)

Handicap

This was an all newcomers affair. Martin Hedges, with a 12 handicap, played Damien Cleary on 9. First blood went to Damien, with a single, but Martin scored three shots on end 3, for a 6-1 lead. A two and a four pushed Damien ahead, then the players swapped singles. At this point Martin started to dominate the game. He won the next 8 ends (1,3,1,3,1,2,1,1) and needed only one shot for victory. Damien delayed the issue with 3 shots on end 16 and a single on end 17, but Martin completed the task with a single on end 18. Martin was Handicap Champion by 21-12. Our congratulations go to him. (Marker: Jeff Harris)

2 Wood Singles

In a meeting between last year's Women's Champion and this year's Men's Champion, both players had only half of the woods that they had in their other discipline, so every wood counted. Jane made hers count on the first 2 ends, scoring 3 shots in total. John struck back with a single on each of the next 2 ends, but that was his final contribution to the set. Jane added 4 singles and a pair to her total and the first set was hers by 9-2. John made a quicker start in the second set, scoring singles on the first 2 ends. Jane replied with two shots, then John scored two of his own. He added another two shots on end 5, to lead 6-2. A single and a pair put Jane closer, but John put the set to bed with a pair and a single. The second set was his: 9-5. One set all and all to play for. Once again, a good start for John and he scored two shots on each of the first 2 ends. Jane hit back with a pair and a single, then John scored successive singles to lead 6-3. A single from Jane was followed by a single from John and it was 7-4 to John. Jane scored a pair to get closer, but John scored two shots to reach the 9 shots required for a 2-1 win. Well done John and well played Jane. (Marker: Sandra Gough)

Senior Citizens

Last year's Men's Champion Pete Leverett faced Alan Gough, in his first final since 2024. Alan struck the first blow, with a single on the first end. Pete responded with two singles, then Alan scored a single and then leapt ahead with 4 shots in end 5. With one third of the ends played, Alan held a 6-2 lead. Pete was not to be subdued though and scored a pair, a single and his own 4 shot end to take the lead by 9-6 after 8 ends. With the match just over halfway, it was now down to Alan to catch up. Three singles were enough to level the scores, but Pete hit back with a single and gained the momentum, with only 3 ends to play. Alan's determination to win kept him in the game with 3 shots on end 13. He followed up with a pair and a single for a 15-10 win. In a tight game, both players won 6 of the first 12 ends, but Alan's stronger finish claimed the prize. Well done to him and commiserations to Pete. (Marker: Margaret Bullock)

Plate

New player Scott Jennings faced old hand David Lloyd in this competition, for those players who were eliminated in their first round of the Handicap competition. With an 8 shot lead, Scott was in a very good position to win and made it even stronger by scoring singles on each of the first 2 ends. David drew on his experience to claw back some of the deficit, with three pairs in a row. After 5 ends, Scott led 10-6. He added a single on end 6, but David scored three shots on the next end, to reduce the gap to 2 shots. Another single from Scott, then two shots from David and there was only one shot in it. Scott increased the pressure with a pair and a single, leaving himself 6 shots from victory after 11 ends. Once again, David applied himself and won 5 ends, to add 7 shots to his total and take the lead: 18-15. Now it was Scott who was under pressure and he responded well, with three shots and a single. After 18 ends, Scott was back in the lead once more, by one shot. David dug deep and came back at Scott again, scoring singles on ends 19 & 20. He was now one shot from victory, but Scott did not give up, scoring a single on end 21. With the scores at 20 - 20, it was a one end shoot out. Experience triumphed and David had the trophy: 21-20. Well done David and congratulations to Scott for a magnificent effort. (Marker: Wendy Cross)

2 Wood Pairs

Another Finals appearance for Jane Ward, John Townley and Janet Townley and a first this year for Jean Buckett. John & Janet started well, with singles on the first 2 ends. Jane & Jean chipped in with a single, but three shots and a single gave Janet & John a 6-1 lead. A single and a pair, in response, narrowed the lead to two shots, but Janet & John added three more shots on end 8, to lead 9-4, with just over a third of the 21 ends played. There was an exchange of singles on the next 2 ends, then Jane & Jean added a single and a pair. With their lead reduced to 2 shots, Janet & John replied with two singles, a pair and a three, to lead 17-8 with only 5 ends to play. Jane & Jean finished the match well, scoring a single, a pair and a 3 on the last 4 ends played, but 3 shots from Janet & John on end 18 meant that it was impossible for Jane & Jean to catch up and the game ended one end early. Well done Janet & John. Once more, commiserations to Jane and to her partner Jean.

Novices

In the final Final of the day, new Women's Champion, Lorraine Walters, played new Handicap Champion, Martin Hedges. The first 3 ends went to Martin and he held a 6-0 lead. Lorraine came back with a pair and a single, but Martin won the next 3 ends and added 4 shots to his total. After 8 ends, Martin had a 10-3 lead. Lorraine now took control and won 3 ends (2,2,1). After 11 ends she was only two shots behind. Martin increased his lead with two singles and a pair (14-8). A single from Lorraine was followed by 2 singles from Martin, then both players scored two singles and the score remained in Martin's favour by 18-12 after 22 ends. A single from Martin on end 23 left him 2 shots shy of victory, but Lorraine was not done yet. She scored a pair and a single, to close the gap to 4 shots, but Martin delivered the coup de grace with two shots on end 26. He was the 2026 Novices Champion by 21-15. Well done Martin. Your first season and two titles on your belt. Commiserations to Lorraine, who put up a brave fight. (Marker: Alan Gough)

Summary

A huge thank you to everyone who made this Finals weekend possible. First of all, to Roger Pitcher and his green team, who provided us with 4 good rinks, despite all of the problems they have encountered over the season. To Barrie Jones, Competitions Secretary, and all who helped and advised him along the way. To all those who played, during a very hot, trying summer. To all the markers, some of whom had marathons to deal with. To all who helped with setting up the green and those who served behind the bar. Finally, thanks to all who came and lent their support to what, I hope they will agree, was a weekend of bowling to a very high standard. If I have missed anyone out, my apologies, but you know that you did it.