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Presidents Cup

21 players took part in the re-arranged President’s Cup on Sunday 21st August, a reasonable turnout considering several members are away on holiday and we were clashing with the finals of the Southport Flower Show competition at Promenade Bowling Club.
In the top half of the draw, Club Chairman Chris Harding looked intent on claiming the cup, enjoying good wins against Eileen Curtis (21-13) and Norman Parry (21-15). This was followed by a surprisingly comfortable win against Margaret Langley in the quarter-final. Using his favourite corner marks, Chris reached the semi-final, winning 21-6. In the last four, Chris’s opponent was new member Sue Andersen, who had survived a tough 1st Round game with Richard Rawcliffe to win on the final end 21-20. This was followed by another close game with Jim Blundell but it was Sue who won 21-17 to set up a semi-final clash with Chris. Conceding a handicap of 6, Chris needed to get off to a good start but Sue continued to lead well and Chris was unable to get on the marks he had played so well in the previous rounds. In the end, Sue’s consistently good bowling enabled her to secure a 21-7 win, to reach the final playing in only her second Hesketh Arms competition.
The bottom half of the draw saw John Stennett reach the semi-final with wins against Leo Tobin (21-16) and Barry Coates (21-11). His opponent in the last four was Pat Higgins who had reached that stage with wins against the captain of the Hesketh Harriers, Alan Kelly (21-14) and Falcons team-mate Joe Parker (21-16). This semi-final pairing ensured that there would be another first-time finalist in a Hesketh Arms club handicap and it was Pat who was to reach the final with a winning margin of 21-14.
In the final, Pat got off to a decent start, winning 5 of the first 8 ends to lead 10-9. However, in the second half of the game, Sue regained the form she had been showing all afternoon, winning 8 out of the next 9 ends, including four 2s to secure a 21-11 win and claim The President’s Cup. Congratulations to Sue Andersen on overcoming some experienced opponents on the way to her success, having only recently joined the Club.
Many thanks to all those members who have supported the Club’s competitions in 2011.

The final Club event of the season will be a Round Robin to take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 29th August, starting at 2.00pm. All members welcome.

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Burscough League Third Division Cup Final

Hesketh Arms v Hoole Village Hall
Burscough League Third Division Cup Final
Friday 19 August 2011

The two previous league meetings between these clubs earlier in the season had produce a resounding 8-2 win for Hoole at the Hesketh and an unexpected 6-4 win for the Hesketh in the return fixture.  However with the Hesketh finishing 24 points adrift of Hoole at the end of the season Hoole were the clear favourites.
Hoole went out with a strong first four picking up three winners and a 30 point aggregate lead.  Norman Parry had an excellent win and John Duckworth, Leo Tobin and Mark Lloyd had to play well to pick up as many chalks as they did.
In the middle four the tide began to turn with wins for Bill Bloor, Mark Rowlinson and Tom James and a very creditable score from Andy Kissack all helping to reduce the aggregate deficit to 13
With the scores tied at 4-4 the comeback was completed with Neil Coulton and Kevin Leddy building on the foundations laid down by the rest of the team, picking up a win each and securing an aggregate win of 16 points.  This meant that the overall score was Hesketh Arms 9 points, Hoole Village Hall A 4 points.
Thanks must go to :-
Alan Wright at Mere Brow for providing the venue and ensuring everything was available for the match to proceed.
The Burscough League for organising the competition which was a much better option that having blank weeks in the diary.
Hoole Village Hall A for contributing to an excellent final and congratulations to them on achieving promotion.

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BURSCOUGH CUP

This Friday sees the Club’s Burscough League team take on Hoole Village Hall ‘A’ in the final of the 3rd Division Supplementary Cup.
The game is to take place at Mere Brow Bowling Club, starting at 7.00pm and support from Club members would be very welcome

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The Championship Cup

On Sunday 14th August, 30 players took part in the Club’s latest competition, The Championship Cup. This was a pleasing turnout considering the weather conditions an hour or so before the start.

Jim Finnimore "WINNER" The Championship Cup 2011
Mark Rowlinson "Runner Up" The Championship Cup 2011

In the top half of the draw, Mark Rowlinson came through close encounters with Leo Tobin (21-18) and Alan Bond (21-16) to reach the quarter-finals. These were impressive wins as Mark was conceding a handicap of four against each opponent. In the quarter-final, Mark faced the experienced Hesketh Arms player, Margaret Langley, but continued his good form to win through to the semi-final. His semi-final opponent was the winner of this season’s Coronation Cup, Mike Dunlop. Mike had reached the semi-final with wins against John McGurk (21-19), Richard Rawcliffe (21-11) and John Stennett (21-10). In the semi-final, Mike started well but it was Mark who eventually went through to the final with a 21-16 win.

In the bottom half of the draw, Jim Finnimore was in fine form and cruised through to the semi-final where his opponent was George Hitchmough, who had survived a close 1st Round match against one of the Club’s new members Barry Coates, just edging home 21-20. Jim continued to play well in the semi-final, using a round peg mark on the far side of the green and it was Jim who reached the final with a 21-11 success.

Jim carried his good form into the final against Mark, winning 8 of the first 9 ends to establish a 12-4 lead. This start was to prove decisive and despite Mark threatening to get back in the game with a couple of 2s, it was to be Jim’s day, winning one end by beating a 6″ bowl with a side toucher. Having played well throughout the afternoon and having come close in other competitions, Jim was a worthy winner of The Championship Cup, the final score being 21-9.

It was pleasing to see several new members taking part in this event. However, special mention must go to Jim Halsall for reaching the quarter-finals in his first competition, enjoying good wins against experienced opponents.

The final competition of the season, The President’s Cup, will be held next Sunday 21st August, starting at 1.00pm

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OPEN DAY 2011

On Saturday 6th August, the Club held an “Open Day” competition for members and guests who don’t play in regular league matches or competitions.
The afternoon took the format of a round robin of singles matches, ensuring that everyone was able to play several games.
The runner-up with 3 wins out of his 4 games and an aggregate of +15 was Jim Halsall but the winner, with a slightly better aggregate of +18 was Barry Coates, who also won 3 out of his 4 games.
A trophy for this competition will be presented on a date to be announced.
The Club hope to run a similiar event early next season – please look out for further details on this website
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LV PAIRS

LV PAIRS
Congratulations to the “Falcons” pairing of Pat Higgins and Joe Parker on reaching the semi-finals of the annual LV League Pairs competition, the finals of which were held at Banks St.Stephen’s last Sunday.
Pat and Joe lost in the semi-final to Neil Gregson and Eddie Harding, having reached that stage by beating former winners Brian Coleman and Bob Tweddell 21-20 in their quarter-final.
The final was won by John Berry and John Cragg of Mere Brow.