Women’s Singles Championship

The Women’s Singles Championship began on Sunday 26th February with sectional play. With 18 players participating, numbers were slightly higher than last year’s 15 entries.

Round 1 commenced at 9.30am in warm conditions and on a perfectly running A Green. This round had some close scores with four of the six sections having a final score difference of four shots or less.

Round 2 followed with the third player of each section playing the loser of Round 1 in each section. Again, there were some very good bowls and tight ends.

Round 3 was played after the lunch break with several spectators watching the round as well as watching the men playing in their Singles knockouts on B Green. All players welcomed the arrival of the sea breeze, making playing conditions more comfortable. Great bowling was witnessed in Round 3 with two sections having to play 26 and 29 ends to decide on a winner.

At the end of play we had six section winners going through to the next round. Section 1 and 2 winners, Kath Harris and Kaye Martin, went straight through to Semi Final 1 with the remaining four section winners – Lee Leach v Liz McTaggart and Liz Marshall v Charmain Harris – playing an alignment round.

On Wednesday 1st March the first game of the alignment round was played between Liz McTaggart and Lee Leach. Liz won the toss and got off to a good start scoring 2 shots on the first end and Lee scored 2 on the next end. The score was equal until the 9th end when Liz found her length and weight and proved to be unstoppable. A combination of concentration and determination saw Liz dominate the scorecard with a final score of 21/8. Congratulations Liz.

The second game of the alignment round was played on Friday 3rd March between Liz Marshall and Charmain Harris. Charmain started well winning the first 2 ends and shared the mat until the 6th end when Charmain pulled out all that was needed to win the next four ends. Then Liz won the mat and dominated for three ends making the score 6-12 after the 13th end. Over the next eight ends both Liz and Charmain won four ends each resulting in a score of 11-18 on the 21st end. Charmain powered ahead and completed the game confidently to the 24th end with a final score of 12-21. Great bowling ladies and congratulations Charmain.

The finals of the Women’s Singles Championship was played in perfect conditions on Sunday 12th March, alongside the Men’s finals and in front of a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd.

In the first semifinal, Kaye Martin dominated the game with brilliant draw bowls and upshots, not giving Kath Harris any opportunity to score. The game continued this way until the 13th end, when Kaye trailed the jack to give Kath her only 2 shots in the game.

In the second semifinal, Liz McTaggart and Charmain Harris had a very close game. With scores even at 14-14 on the 17th end it looked like anyone’s game. However, Charmain pulled away picking up seven shots over the next four ends to win 21-14.

The final between Kaye Martin and Charmain Harris saw Kaye get off to a strong start, picking up seven shots in the first three ends. Charmain won an occasional end with a four on the 13th end keeping her in touch at 8-15. Kaye once again pulled ahead, winning the next three ends to be 19-8 up and looking to be guaranteed the championship. However, Charmain once again knuckled down winning five of the next six ends with just one shot to challenge at 13-21. Kaye’s outstanding draw bowling continued and saw her win the game 25-13.