TAVISTOCK Sir Francis Drake bowling Club Championships turned into a bit of a family occasion last weekend, with two brothers facing each other in one competition and two husband and wives opposing each other in another.
Brothers Wallace and Gordon Northey both won their way into the Muzzlewhite Trophy final, which is a trophy competition that previous winners cannot enter. Gordon finally emerged the victor and along with all other champions, will pick up his prize at the club annual dinner at Tavistock College on October 6.
Four of the club's other competitions were decided over the last weekend, with Malcolm Bloomer eliminating Der Saunders to becombe the men's Individual Champion and Rob Bowhay beating Richard Curtis to pick up the Handicap Trophy.
The " Mens Pairs" competition was won by the duo of Richard Curtis and Derek Bradford, who over-came Eric Stevens and Charlie Cummings in the final.
The two husband and wife teams met in the club Mixed Triples Championship which ended in a win for the team of Eric Stevens aided by Norman and Marlene Paramour, who had endured a tough game, to emerge winners over the team of, Walley Northey, supported by Mike and Marion Allen.
The mixed pairs final in which Freda Isaac and Richard Curtis met Rob Bowhay and Betty Browse, ended in a win for Freda and Richard.
The Monday Club Night fun competition which had run throughout the season, finally reached its conclusion this week when play was followed by a buffet and prize giving, during which Marion Allen picked up first prize, Wallace Northey, second and Victor Doidge third prize.
The coveted Wooden Spoon went to popular member George Blackburn who has won only one of his seven games, during the course of which some seventy shots were scored against him.
Thursday saw the men's League team lose their League Champions Quarter Final match against Mount Gould by a quarter of a point, the narrowest possible margin. Tavistock won two of the four rinks played but not by a big enough margin to take the match. Skip, Eric Stevens led his rink to a close 9-8 win and Ron Cooper skipped his rink to a 20-10 victory.
The Ladies Section played two matches during the week, winning one and losing the other. Wednesday's away match against Plymstock Bees ended in a 34-37 defeat despite skip Iris McEwan leading her team of Freda Isaac, Evonne Meneer and Jenny Tremaine, to an 18-14 win.
Thursday's re-arranged three rink home against "Elizabethan" ended in a 41-39 victory for the Tavistock team, who won both league rinks. The third rink of the match was a "friendly" rink which ended in a honourable 16-19 defeat for the Tavistock rink which was made up of: Joan Sully, Jane Eslick, Anne Doidge, all relatively new players and skipped by Dorice Hicks in her first match at that position.
Tavistock's journey to Paignton on Saturday was not in vain as they won the match by winning four of the six rinks played. wins were recorded by skips, Eric Stevens, Rob Bowhay, Mike Allen, and Norman Paramor, with only skips Malcolm Bloomer and John Smith, losing.