Junior SWC Final Round Results
The 3rd and Final round of the Junior State Wide Challenge was held on Sunday at the Longford Bowls Club. The North West were well out in front heading into the final round but were two players short of fielding a full side in the last round. Thankfully the true spirit of bowls shone through and the North were able to give the North West 2 players to ensure the games went ahead. It’s also appropriate to farewell three of our Junior players in Patrick Oldham, Lauren Banks & Josh Walker-Davis. All 3 have come a long way from when they first started playing bowls and will be out to make their mark on the open ranks in the coming future.
The morning games saw Triples & Pairs take place and it would be the South that would put in the dominant performance. In the Triples South B defeated North A 21-2 & South A defeated North West B 17-14. In the Pairs the clean sweep was completed with South A defeating North West A 20-16 & South B defeating North B 28-8. The other two results were split between the North & North West with the North West winning the Triples 17-10 and the North winning the Pairs 26-7.
The updated standings saw the North West still lead on 37.5 points, the South had now leap frogged the North into 2nd with 28.5 points and the North had 24 points. The South would need another dominant display in the afternoon to complete the miraculous comeback.
In the Fours the North West got their 2nd win of the day which was enough to assure them of the title with a 21-9 victory over the South. The North would take the spoils in the Fours with wins of 12-10 over the South & 14-11 over the North West. In the Singles it would be the South who would not losea game with a 21-10 victory over the North West & a 21-19 win over the North. The North did win one singles match, quite convincingly, 21-4 taking the last points on offer.
This left the final ladder looking like this;
40.5 – North West
34.5 – South
33 – North
The Overall SWC Ladder now looks like this;
176.5 – North
173 – North West
142.5 – South
The South made some ground on both of the Northern teams but it is the North who have claimed the Overall lead. It is worthwhile reminding you that the South will have the opportunity for bonus points in the four remaining rounds of the SWC (Open Men, Open Women, Senior Men, Senior Women) as they will have their 2nd team playing, so this could prove to be a very close finish indeed!
Well done to all the Juniors who played over the three rounds and a special congratulations to the North West for taking out the title!
By David Genford
