Thanks to Jeanette Higham for this report.
On Sunday 24th May the Welsh Ladies Individual Merit competition was held in glorious weather at Hawkesbury Bowling Club. This was the 40th year of the competition and we had an entry of 29 players, many of whom are players in a continuingly successful Welsh Ladies squad.
The day was hosted by President, Peter Higham. Members of the WCGBA management were prominent supporters and Simon Walker, Assistant Competitions Officer ran the contest with his usual aplomb.
In the first round there was a mixture of single figure defeats and close ties. Linda Williams had a 21-6 win over Sian Ollerton whilst Emily Gowan held Amanda Nicholas at bay but lost 21-19 in the end. Tracey Over just missed out on victory in her game with Jane Bowler 21-18 and Carol Edwards played well against Jenny Hadwin but lost 21-17.
In the last 16 Linda Williams won her game 21-11 over Sarah Penlington and Jane Bowler won 21-12 over Kelsey Morgan Rowlands. The remaining games in this round were closer, but eventually Caroline David, Amanda Nicolas, Sarah Lowndes, Sian Maddock, Jess Lacey were to join the others in the quarter finals.
In her quarter final match, Linda had strong start. At 13-7 down, Caroline began to claw some points back and the score was 19-15 to Linda, before Linda clinched the game 21-15. As expected, the game between Amanda and Jane was a tight contest, with only a few points to separate them. Jane was on superb form and won 21-16. Sian Maddock and Sarah Lowndes also had a marathon with Sian winning 21-17. Jess Lacey had the best win over Jenny Hadwin 21-10.
In the Semi final between Jane and Linda, Jane won the toss and was the first player to double figures. She lead convincingly all the way to a 21-10 win and once again found herself in the Final. Jess and Sian’s game went right to the wire. Jess found it hard to get a foothold on the game and trailed a few chalks behind Sian for most of the way. It looked all done and dusted for Sian until Jess caught up only one step behind,19-18. Inspired playing from both competitors saw the game 20 across. They say the angels smile on the young, and Jess just pushed in front to win 21-20.
The Final had spectators admiring both youth and experience from Jane and Jess. Jane won the toss and took an instant grip on the game and was soon 10-5 up. Playing like a woman possessed, she showed what a life time in bowls competition really is. She played some stunning woods across the green, mastering the tricky corners where any miscalculation would see the bowl trickle off the green. Jane won the title for the fifth time 21-15.
Jane qualifies for the BCGBA Ladies Merit.
WCGBA President Peter Higham presents Jane with the Trophy:
