The latest in club tournament was held on Saturday July 25th. Club members were competing for the Windmill trophy which is sponsored by On Site Computer Services of University Avenue West and by the Cobourg Short Mat Bowling Club.

Ten triples teams played three eight end games. In the first round there were some very high scores with three teams, those skipped by Dianne Lauder, Jo Carleton and Roy Thorneycroft all scoring the maximum points. In the second round Roy Thorneycroft’s team suffered a complete reversal of their first round game with a 20-3 loss against Dianne Lauder’s team. That meant that after two rounds the team of Dianne, Bob Tough and Barbara Covert had a huge total of 24+11. Jo Carleton’s team recorded another high scoring win and they also had 24 points. The two teams met in the final round and in a much closer affair Dianne’s team ran out 9-6 winners to take the trophy. 

The only other team to win all three games was  Eve Gorringe's.  Her team was involved in very close games throughout the day and as a result they accumulated a low points total of 23. But with a perfect record that was good enough to take second place.

The full result is on the results page and photos on the photos page.

When the entries were coming in for the club’s latest tournament held on July 15th it was clear that it was going to be a quality field as the teams included a number of Ontario champions and an ex Team USA player. The favourites were the Steffen brothers from Oshawa, playing on this occasion with their mother, Marilyn. Rob Steffen, who was skipping, was the Ontario singles and pairs champion last year. However, there are no certainties in lawn bowling and despite winning all their games the Steffens lost out to another highly favoured team of Rick Tompkins, Steve Nelson and Al Handlechner from Bobcaygeon. The Cobourg club had its own Ontario champion, Martin Foxhall, playing with Ralph Stoffers and rookie Ken Wren but low scoring games kept them out of the prize money.

The tournament was an open triples and it was sponsored by Sharyl Ann and Dan Milligan in memory of their parents Ron and Trudy Milligan who were stalwarts of the club for many years. Each team played three twelve end games and with the sun shining all day and with the greens running fast and true there were some high scores with Bob Reynolds team from Peterborough scoring 18+10 in the first round. That score was almost matched by the Cobourg team of Bill Arthur, David Brister and Louisa Arthur with a score of 18+7 and they were the top teams going into the second round and played one another in game two. In a tight game Bob Reynolds team won and that meant they played the Steffen team in round three. At that point Reynolds, Steffen and Tompkins were the three leading teams but the final round results reversed that order with the Steffen team beating Reynolds in a low scoring game which allowed Tompkins to take the trophy with an 18-8 win and finish two points ahead of the Steffens. That meant the Reynolds team finished  third. Bill Arthur’s Cobourg team also finished strongly with another win by 13-9 to take fourth place. That result was a small consolation for Bill Arthur and David Brister who, playing with Port Hope’s Stan Zuly, had lost the District Seniors play downs by one point the previous day.

The full result and photos are on the respective pages.

Finally, I can’t finish this report without noting Ken Wren’s performance in jitneys this week with four wins. Well done Ken.


 

Following their success in the Ontario junior championships Ben and Baylee van Steijn are preparing for the Nationals in Saskatoon from August 3rd to August 6th. However, it's not all about training and playing to get ready for this event. Their performance has resulted in a flurry of local publicity and recognition.

The Town of Cobourg recognises Ontario champions by presenting them with a plaque to mark their achievement. Ben will receive one as the Ontario gold medal winner and Baylee will receive one as the 2014 junior Ontario bowler of the year. They will be presented with their awards in the council chambers of Victoria Hall on September 14th prior to the regular council meeting.

Their achievements have already been reported in Northumberland Today and Northumberland News has today interviewed them and taken photos for their regular "Sporting People" spot. This will probably be published in early August.

Also today CHEX TV interviewed them and taped a feature which should air in the Sports report on Monday July 20th. This will also feature an interview with their coach Sharyl Ann Milligan. Below is a slide show of photos taken during that interview.

The open ladies triples tournament for the Wicks trophy is the longest standing tournament that the club runs. On Thursday July 9th the tournament, sponsored by Mrs Catharine Wicks and her family was held for the 27th time. This is also an excellent social occasion with the Cobourg ladies providing an excellent lunch and the club’s men running the kitchen. 

Three teams from Pickering, two from Oshawa and two from Peterborough provided very strong opposition for the five Cobourg teams. The format for the tournament was two games of fourteen ends and with twelve teams there would be three teams with two wins meaning that the accumulated points would determine the standings. To stand any chance of success it was essential to get as many points as possible in the first game.

The favourite for the tournament was the Peterborough team of Anna Panton, Elaine Welch and Jan Young and they got off to a flying start scoring the maximum points possible of 21. However the other Peterborough team skipped by Pat Gallimore equalled that score and that meant they were drawn against each other in the second round. The next two highest scorers were the two Oshawa teams skipped by Suzie Palmer and Sharron Morrison which meant another inter club game in the second round.

Eve Gorringe’s team was the only Cobourg winner in the first round and their 13-9 score gave them a chance of the trophy should the Peterborough and Oshawa match-ups produce low scores. However that did not happen as Panton’s team won 18-12 and Morrison’s 17-11. Those results confirmed Panton and Morrison as first and second. Eve’s team did win their final game by 15-11 to finish undefeated and in third place.

Thanks to all those who made this such a good day for the visiting and home teams. Special thanks to Gerry Childs for the way in which he dealt with Roy Thorneycroft’s illness. Although Roy was taken to hospital for precautionary checks he was back home that evening and I understand he has fully recovered.

 

What a great Canada Day tournament. Congratulations to all involved for making it a fun day. I particularly hope that the new bowlers who were playing their first tournament enjoyed it. By conforming to the red and white dress code and dressing the club in flags we created a spectacle to fit in with the rest of Victoria Park and attracted many visitors hanging on the fence all day long to watch and photograph the unique and colourful scene.

Sixteen triples teams competed for the trophy sponsored by Thomas Buick GMC and we played three ten end games. For several years now the tournament has been played in fine, sunny weather but the heavy rain of the previous day and the forecast for showers was a cause for concern. Fortunately the greens drained well, the showers mainly stayed away and the conditions actually turned out to be ideal for lawn bowling. 

The winning team, skipped by Dave Carleton, with Pat Andersen at Vice and Arnold Bowman at Lead, got off to a flying start with a 14-4 win. The other big winners in the first round were the teams skipped by David Brister (13-4); Bob Tough (13-5) and Cash Eddy (13-9). Those top four teams competed against each other in the second round with Dave Carleton beating David Brister and Bob Tough beating Cash Eddy to set up the top game of Dave versus Bob in the final round which Dave won 10-6.

 Whilst those teams were battling it out for the trophy the team skipped by Bill Arthur (with Judy Hickey at Vice and Wendy Wren at Lead) was maintaining steady progress by winning their first two games but they were never really in contention to win because all their games were tight and low scoring. However they were the only other team to go undefeated throughout the day and claimed second place with 26 points, seven behind Dave Carleton.

The full result is on the results page and there are a number of photos on the photos page.

The Executive Committee decided that the club proceeds from the 50/50 draw would go to Ben and Baylee van Steijn to help with their trip to the Canadian National junior championships. Thank you to those who contributed so generously and to those who also made personal donations.

And finally, congratulations to Bonnie Sheridan who won the opening spider!