Dacorum bowls round-up: Including Friday Night delight for Kitcheners

Kitcheners had a great win, with C Starling, K Woodward, S Davies, S Halsey, P Burt and R Murray lifting the trophy.

Earlier in the week, the Kitcheners ladies played at Tring in the Watford and District League on Tuesday evening and the result was a resounding success to the home team.

Wednesday evening saw the Kitcheners men playing at home against Bovingdon in the County League; even the rain did not dampen their spirits and the final score saw Kitcheners winning 49 to 31, with the highest winning rink going to M Connell, S Davis, P Burt and R Murray.

Kitcheners hosted Redbourn on Saturday, with Joy Starling, Bill Hunt and Micky Woodman having the highest winning rink and Kitcheners winning overall.

Meanwhile, The Clive Redding Trophy was played on a great afternoon in the sun for players and supporters alike. The winners of the trophy this year were Debbie Whiting, Alan Doydge and Ken Woodward.

> Potten End

Potten End played host to clubs from Hertfordshire and surrounding counties in an Open Mixed Gala on Saturday.

In a closely contested series of games there was a five-way tie for the top spot. On a count-back of shot difference, the winners were Tring, who came from behind with a fine victory in the last game, closely followed by Flitwick and Barton le Clay in second and third respectively.

Earlier in the week, Potten End had a good win against Berkhamsted in the Dacorum Shield, winning on all rinks to score five points. This takes them into second spot, just 1.5 points behind Berkhamsted.

In a friendly against Harpenden, the Potten End men scored a convincing win by 109 shots to 81. The top rink went to Stephen Griffiths, Bob Anderson and Brian Cowland.

> Pitstone

Pitstone trio Derek Carter, Peter Corker and Linda Coker won the Holmer Green Masters Bowls competition for an unprecedented third year running.

To achieve this they outplayed teams including Holmer Green, Ivor, The Railway Club, Wendover, Farewell, Chinnor and many more.

To win this competition once is difficult enough as all teams have great competitors, but to win it three years on the trot really says something.

Derek, Peter and Linda all play bowls weekly for Beacon BC at The Memorial Hall on the Green in Pitstone. Linda is club captain and Peter is acting chairman, while Derek is able assistant to both.

Beacon play indoor short mat bowls and, although the club has a strong membership, it’s always on the lookout for new people.

The club won the league for season 2014-2015 and were runners-up in the John Robinson Trophy. The winning trio also play for the county.

> Hemel Hempstead

The Hemel men are progressing well in St Albans & District competitions, moving to the top of the triples league by beating Harpenden 39-25 on Friday.

Meanwhile, a superb win against Townsend saw Ken Lowe, Steve Harburn, Mark Woodcock, Roger Wakefield and Gary Eagles through to the final of the Gorhambury Fours Trophy.

In the County League, Hemel’s fine season continued with an excellent 55-36 victory over Owls, giving them the maximum six points.

The following day, a last-wood ‘miracle’ by skip Roger Wakefield saw Hemel draw 1-1 on rinks with Garston. Hemel lost the match 34-51 on shots, but secured a well-earned two points.

A trip to Wing for the weekend mixed match was fruitful for Hemel as they won 74-49. The top rink of Sheila Ratley, Danny Johnson and Steve Harburn made the victory possible with a resounding 28-8 win.

> Berkhamsted

A team of men from Berkhamsted won the top rink award in the Hertfordshire Inter-Divisional Championships at Stevenage.

The team of Steve Burrell, Paul Mackness, David Brown and Kevin Clarke were the highest scoring rink in the West Division’s win against the other three county divisions.

Meanwhile, an otherwise quiet week for Berkhamsted got off to a poor start as they lost 75-57 in a friendly match against Potten End.

However, things got better when a team of ladies – Carole Dunn, Anne Furlong and Jackie Cormack – beat a team from their own club to progress to the quarter-finals of the Watford & District Two-Wood Triples.

In the next match against Garston, after a shaky start, Berkhamsted ran out winners by 20 shots to 14 and are now through to the semi-finals.

> Tring

Tring beat Hazels 82-79 in a very close encounter which was not decided until the final end, with top rink going to John Bannister, Joe Kempster and Trish Hewetson.

Elsewhere, the Sid Gower Trophy proved to be a very close run affair and was won on the final end by the team of Dave Morris, Joe Kempster and Pete Routley.