Moor Allerton Bowling Club

This afternoon we had the final stages of the John Stancliffe Pairs Merit Trophy, the earlier rounds of which had been played over the last couple of months.

Firstly, the semi finals were played and the results were as follows;

Paul Shafar/Linda Greenland 21 John Alper/Tim Milner 20.
Rodney Cundle/Sue Cundle 21 Anne M Miller/Laurence Saffer 9.

After a break for tea and refreshments, the final was held in front of just over 20 people and it was another tense encounter, the final score being;

Rodney Cundle/Sue Cundle 21 Paul Shafar/Linda Greenland 18.

Thank you to competition sponsors Ian and Sue Lee.

JA

(Photo credits - Ian Franklin and John Alper)

Today we played for the Harry Jackson Memorial Trophy, a pairs knockout with all matches over 9 ends.

We had 32 members competing and others watching, which created a wonderful atmosphere at the club.

After a series of competitive and often tight matches, we reached the final in which John Alper and Brian Gold beat Susan Goodman and Sue Lee by just one point.

Thank you to competition sponsors, Peter and Leila Williams (seen here presenting the trophies), who also provided us with extra cakes to enjoy.

JA

(Photo credits - Ian Franklin 📸)

Happy centenary to us!

Today we marked our existence as a club for 100 years with a fun filled day of bowls, food and cameraderie. We had about 100 attendees, which we think is a club record.

The day began with a welcoming speech from President, Paul Shafar followed by some opening remarks from Club Captain, Mike Gould.

We then had two fun competitions with over 40 members taking part. “Circling the Jack” was won by new member, Sally Saffer and then “Hitting the Jack” was won by fellow new member (and Sally’s husband), Laurence Saffer.

After the fun came the main competition, the John Stancliffe Centenary Cup, a pairs knockout with 32 members competing. The competition was named in memory of John Stancliffe, a former president and captain of various teams, who sadly passed last year. We were delighted that his wife Irene, still a very accurate bowler, was with us to present the trophies.

We broke for a delicious tea after the first round, during which we heard three wonderfully informative, passionate and emotional speeches from:

Long standing member and former President, Keith Harbage, who outlined how the club had changed and grown during his 18 years as a member.
New member, Laurence Saffer, who described how welcome he has been made to feel in his first year at the club.
And the ever popular Etta Cohen, who explained what the club meant to her and how to her, it’s not just a club, but a community, which resonated with us all.

After tea the John Stancliffe Centenary Cup was played to its conclusion with the final seeing Tim Milner and Howard Barnett beating George Ramsden and Howard Hyams.

Finally, to mark our Centenary, Mike Gould chose St Gemma’s Hospice as the captain’s charity for the season. We presented a cheque for £2,600 which represented sponsorship monies raised from Mike’s skydive (yes, he did a skydive!), back in March. A further cheque will be sent later in the year with the proceeds of today’s raffle and with monies raised throughout the season from an extra 50p charged to members for each cup of tea and coffee.

All in all, a perfect day!

JA

This afternoon we played for the Arthur Holliday Memorial Trophy, a singles round robin with all matches played over 9 ends.

We had 20 entrants and after everyone had played three games, the top four progressed to the semi finals, one of which needed a “sudden death end” to resolve it, after the original match was tied.

The losing semi finalists were Laurence Saffer (a new member this year) and current club captain, Mike Gould.

The final was then contested between two former club captains, with Ian Franklin defeating John Alper to win the competition.

The trophies were presented by Etta Cohen, in the absence of competition sponsors Stephen and Shelley Lee, who sadly couldn’t join us today.

JA

(Photo credits - Sue Lee 📸)

Today we had our annual trip to Skipton, where we played a pairs round robin competition, with 32 members competing on a beautiful sunny day.

The green was very fast, which led to some interesting and challenging bowling and after all the entrants had played three games of 9 ends each, the top four progressed to the semi finals.

The winners of these then played out the final over 11 ends, with Blair Ross and Carol Gold beating Sue Cundle and Marcia Goldstone 9-7.

The trophies were presented by one of last year’s winning pair, Mike Devere.

Thank you to competition sponsor, Henry Stone.

JA

This afternoon we played for the Presidents Cup, a pairs round robin competition, with all matches played over 9 ends.

We had 24 entrants and after all the pairs had played three games, the two top points scorers progressed to the final, in which John Alper and Carol Gould beat Peter Williams and Margaret Mason.

Thank you to competition sponsors, Howard and Karen Serr.

JA

(Photo credits - Ian Franklin)

Last night we played our only evening competition of the season, the Challenge Trophy, a singles knockout with 20 entrants and all matches played over 12 ends.

After a series of hard fought and compelling matches, we reached the final in which Gary Enkin came from 10-1 behind to beat Etta Cohen in the final end. A tremendous climax to an enjoyable evening.

Thank you to competition sponsor, Geoff West, seen here presenting the trophies.

JA

After yesterday’s two singles finals, this afternoon we enjoyed the climax of the Scurrah Cup, the club’s oldest pairs competition.

In a thrilling match, Steve Jones and Sue Cundle recovered from a deficit of 8-16 to win the final by the narrowest of margins, 21-20 against Gary Enkin and Irene Stancliffe.

The trophies were presented by competition sponsor, John Alper.

JA

(Photo credits - Peter Williams)

Today we had the first of our two June finals days for knockout competitions that have been running since the start of the season.

In the final of the Audrey Holdsworth Trophy (for members who haven’t previously won a club singles competition), Andy White triumphed 21-14 against George Ramsden. The trophies were presented by competition sponsor (and last year’s winner) Gary Enkin.

And in the Fred Dimock Trophy (open to all members) the final was won by John Alper 21-10 against Mike Gould. Competition sponsors were Michael and Jackie Hyman and similarly, they presented the trophies.

Thank you to about 30 members who came along on a (thankfully) dry day to support the finalists.

Tomorrow we turn our attention to pairs with the final of the Scurrah Cup.

JA

(Photo credits - Peter Williams and John Alper).

This afternoon we played for the William S Crocket Rose Bowl, a pairs knockout competition with all matches played over 11 ends.

We had 24 entrants enjoying the last day of decent weather before the rain that is forecast for the next week.

After some good matches including several that went to the last end (and one that required a “sudden death play off”), the competition concluded with Ian Franklin and Susan Goodman beating John Alper and Stan Cundle 11-6 in the final.

Thank you to Brian and Carol Gold for sponsoring the event.

(Photos credit - Peter Williams)

JA