Twenty keenly contested finals marked the climax of Worthing Pavilion Bowling Club's indoor season!
First winner of the weekend was, appropriately, Vinnie Minter, the youngest finalist at 13. He took the men's two-wood singles title by 17 shots to nine when his opponent, Graham Morrey, conceded after 18 ends.
Chris Cheeseman and Linda Farley won the women's championship pairs by 17-4 with a dominant display in which they lost only three ends to Julie Woods and Ann Button.
The men's championship triples went to Colin Davey, Jamie Dunk and Simon Davey, who defeated Ray Leggett, Antony Bull and Gavin Beven 17-10. The winners were 12-2 up at halfway but saw their advantage cut to only three shots when they became stuck on 13 shots for four ends. Beven's trio were in full cry until the winners scored consecutive twos to clinch the match.
Diana Bartholomew claimed the silver kitty after a seesaw final against Helen Beale. Bartholomew won the first four ends, then lost five in a row to trail 7-4. The match was tied 7-7, 9-9 and 11-11 before she took the last four ends for a 16-11 victory.
Warwick Davis went 11-0 up, taking the first seven ends in the young at heart final, open to all players aged 70-plus. John McCormick responded with determination and after 23 ends trailed by only seven. Any hopes of a turnaround were thwarted when Davis scored the two shots he needed on the next end, winning 21-12.
After a quick lunch, he returned to the rink for the mixed pairs championship, in which he skipped Pat Edmonds against Sue Gubbins and John Frew. A formidable partnership on either the indoor or outdoor greens, Gubbins and Frew seized the early advantage and never relented, taking all but five of the 17 ends and winning 20-8.
McCormick was also soon back in action, with John Westlake in the open handicap Aussie pairs. They faced Tony Beale and Richard Krupa, who recovered from going 6-0 down to win the next four ends and lead 9-6. That was their high point, however, because Westlake and McCormick took all but two of the last 11 ends to win 21-13.
The women's two-wood title was won by Sue Manning, who traded shots with Rosemary Lewer in the early stages. A run of seven successful ends then put Manning in control and she finished with two more for a 16-7 triumph. Simon Davey registered his second title of the day in the open memorial, played over two sets. He took them both against Mark Strong, by 9-3 and 8-7, despite trailing 5-1 in the second. The concluding event of day one, the men's championship singles, drew an enthusiastic audience. Bill Murphy dropped a shot on the first end but that was a rare blemish in an almost flawless performance that proved too good for the luckless Gavin Beven. He conceded after 14 ends with Murphy leading 17-5. Day two featured the best final of the weekend, the men's championship pairs played over 18 ends and nearly three and a half hours. Neil Kerkhove and Warwick Davis seemed in control after 11 ends when they led Colin and Simon Davey 13-5. Then the Daveys showed why they will represent Worthing Pavilion at the English national finals this month, storming back to go 16-15 up on the 17th end. With all to play for, Kerkhove put two woods on the jack. Simon Davey hit a toucher in the back ditch but couldn't prevent his opponents scoring the two shots they needed for a 17-16 win. Linda Farley won her second final, playing number one in the mixed triples championship for Hayden Clarke and skip Andy Clarke. They were never behind against Leah Hawkins, Jamie Dunk and skip Mark Strong, who took only three ends and conceded after 14 when they trailed 17-13. The women's two-wood yardstick looked likely to be a tighter final, with Helen Beale and Sharon Pratt leading only 6-4 after nine ends. They then went into overdrive against Julie Woods and Ann Button, taking the next five ends to win 20-4. Tony Beale needed 24 ends to win the silver jack. He led Richard Berrett for the first time after six ends but could never relax, especially when he was pegged back to 19-15 after 22 ends. Two singles for Beale on the next two secured the title. The Warwick Davis Plate was won by Bryan Bodicoat, who had to give John Bartholomew one shot on handicap. A batch of twos and threes put Bodicoat in control and he took the match 22-7. Colin Davey was back in action soon after his titanic match in the championship pairs, this time to face Richard Williams in the open handicap singles. Davey conceded three shots on handicap and rarely threatened his lower-ranked opponent. Williams scored two threes at the death to clinch a 22-10 victory. The men's 100 Up final again featured Simon Davey, who shook off the disappointment of losing in the championship pairs. He led from the start against Alan Vidler but was pushed all the way, eventually securing the match by 102-98 on the 20th end. Julie Woods and Ann Button, beaten finalists in the championship pairs, contested the women's 100 Up. Woods won 100-70 after 17 ends, though Button had the consolation of scoring the game's only maximum. Geoff Carpenter and Ken Chapman made the most of their three-shot advantage in the open handicap drawn pairs. They defeated Dennis Dixon and Warwick Davis 20-15, despite dropping six on the 15th end, which cut the winners' lead to only one shot. The final event of a weekend superbly organised by Jamie Dunk and umpired by Bennie Bennett was the women's championship singles. Chris Cheeseman and Linda Farley, winners of the championship pairs, entertained an enthusiastic crowd for 20 ends, with Farley claiming a 21-14 victory.