Top (left to right): Colin Cook, James Hogg, Andrew Jeffrey, David Oliver, Scott Kennedy, Brian Wyllie, Stuart Wyllie, John Stevenson, Paul Foster, Graham Robertson, Derek Oliver, Stevie Thomson

 

Bottom (left to right): Lessel Middler, Malcolm Higgenbotham, Jamie Higgins (captain), Bob McIntosh (ELIBC President), James Wilkie (SIBA President), Willie Wood MBE, Mark Johnston, Dougie Berwick, Terry Kirkwood (Picture Courtesy Of East Lothian Camera Shop)

 

East Lothian IBC gents side attempt to win the Scottish Premier League title for an amazing fifth consecutive year are officially alive and kicking again with a battling victory over B section rivals Blantyre when the teams clashed at Meadowmill stadium last Saturday. The top of the table clash with Blantyre gave East Lothian an obvious chance to move ahead of their opponents on shot difference and the home side prevailed as they held off a spirited comeback to triumph 83-73. “With home advantage and a strong line up were expected to win but Blantyre are a quality outfit and they proved that by staging a magnificent comeback and making us fight all the way to the finishing line”, summed up captain James Hogg. East Lothian had icon figure Paul Foster back in their line-up but it wasn’t the happiest of occasions for the recently crowned Scottish International Open champion as in company with Mark Johnston, captain James Hogg and Jamie Higgins the rink suffered a double figure defeat.  East Lothian also saw Graham Robertson narrowly lose but for the second consecutive week the valuable match points were rescued by goods wins for the rinks skipped by man of the match Alex Marshall MBE and Willie Wood MBE. The undoubted stars of the show for East Lothian was the rink of Malcolm Higgenbotham, Stevie Thomson, Derek Oliver and the superb Marshall who scored at 14 of the 19 ends completed and contributed a spectacular 29-8 win over the luckless Alex Kelly.  The rink draw pitched old campaigner Wood against new kid on the block Brian Irvine and the smiles were on the East Lothian faces as the home icon skipped Colin Cook, Dougie Berwick and Andrew Jeffrey to a 25-18 victory.  Robertson made a strong start to skip John Stevenson, Brian Wyllie and Scott Kennedy into a 9-6 lead over fellow cap Jim McCann but lean times followed and although there defeat wasn’t heavy they lost 24-19.  Foster and co conceded 7 shots on the opening three ends then life became even tougher as they were put through the mill and crushed 23-10 by the impressive Ian McLean. East Lothian’s win enabled the four-in-a-row champions to join their victims and Coatbridge as joint leaders in the race for a qualifying place.  Latest section standings:

 

Meanwhile the ladies side challenge for qualification from the C section of Division 1 of the Scottish Ladies League suffered a major setback with a 10-shot away defeat to chief promotion rivals Portobello. Both teams came into the top of the table clash in fine form and although East Lothian battled bravely they couldn’t avoid an 82-72 defeat.  An 8 shot win in the rink skipped by Diane Rowan kept EL in the picture but their success was put in the shade when Portobello overcame the rinks skipped by Rose McAinsh (-1), Morag Wood (-3) and young stand in skip Emma Brown (-12).  Despite the defeat East Lothian still top the section on shots aggregate as they have 58 shots more in the shots bank than Portobello.

Both the gents and ladies sides have no fixtures this weekend as the joint national championship finals take centre stage at West of Scotland IBC in Glasgow over the weekend.  Unfortunately and disappointingly East Lothian has no representation at the blue riband event.

East Lothian star Emma Brown has retained her place in the ladies junior international team for the series in Wales in January and she is joined by clubmate Dee Hoggan after she was named a travelling reserve in the 18 strong squad.  Unfortunately Dee’s younger sister Kim failed to impress the watching selectors and missed out on selection.  

The senior side suffered there second defeat of the season as there lead at the top of the highly competitive East B section of the Scottish Senior League was reduced to a single point.  The clash at Balbardie last Wednesday gave the visitors a strong chance of ending the immediate opposition qualifying hopes however the home side prevailed by the margin of 14 shots.  Balbardie triumphed 65-51 having clinched their win with an impressive performance that saw them humble East Lothian heavily on the rinks skipped by Jim Neilson (-13) and John Holmes (-9).  Jock Brodie (+6) and captain Frankie Gray (+2) did keep the away side fires burning with fine victories but over the piece the visitors may have missed the services of their influential icon Willie Wood MBE who was unavailable.  The seniors were back in action on Wednesday and again Willie Wood was missing when they welcomed townie rivals Bainfield to Meadowmill stadium.

A side from East Lothian IBC travel to Dunfermline early on Sunday morning to play Bainfield in the semi-final of the Headwell Team Championship.  The following team has been announced:-

Ladies: E.Brown, J.Russell, N.McNeil, D.Rowan (skip)

Gents: C.Cook, D.Berwick, S.Clark, S.A.Thomson (skip)

Under 35’s: E.Fallen, D.Lowe, R.Thomson, C.Fallen (skip)

Seniors: T.Taylor, G.Good, J.Hamilton, J.Holmes (skip).

East Lothian young star Luke Newlands has another opportunity to impress the Scotland International Youth side selectors at the latest trial match on Sunday, this time at Meadowmill stadium from 12 noon, where the youth side take on a Scotland Under 25 select team.

Domestic action continues in the knockout competition play downs at East Lothian IBC, Scott Kennedy plays Jamie Higgins in the Gents Scottish Triples final whilst Willie Wood plays Jock Henderson in the Fours final. The main action this week was last night (Thursday) with the semi final of the popular Top Four event where Jock Kennedy plays Peter Fallen while John McCrorie tackled Jock Henderson.

Turning attention to the outdoor code East Lothian ace Alister ‘Bongo’ Kennedy is currently overseas representing Scotland in the prestigious Hong Kong International Classic tournament.  In the singles event the 32 year old from West Barns enjoyed a magnificent run before agonisingly losing out in the semi-final on an extra end shoot out to Hommer Mercado from the Phillipines.  On route to the last four Kennedy never dropped a set as he defeated Zulhilmie Redzuan (Hong Kong), Tony Tong (Hong Kong), Michael Cronin (Ireland) and Hirendra Bhartu (Canada).  Kennedy now turns his attentions to the pair’s event where he teams up with Midlothian star Colin Walker to form a strong Scotland pairing.

 

 

East Lothian has a double interest in next week’s Co-operative Funeralcare Scottish International Open in the shape of the deadly duo Alex Marshall MBE and Paul Foster. The opening event in the World Bowls Tour season will be staged on the portable rink at the Dewars Centre in Perth from 7-14 November.  With extensive live coverage on BBC Scotland TV, the event will feature the top 16 players in the world, joined by qualifiers from the UK, Australia, South Africa, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel and New Zealand.  In the draw just announced No.2 seed Marshall will face well known Australian qualifier Steve Glasson in the first round on Monday (November 9^th) at 1pm while No.4 seed Foster enters the opening round exchanges a day earlier (Sunday) and tackles South Africa qualifier Nic Rusling at 5pm.

East Lothian IBC gent’s side are 4 points off the pace but moved into second place behind Blantyre with a massive 54 shot home victory (111-57) over Coatbridge when the teams clashed last Saturday in the B section of the Scottish Premier League. “That without doubt was our best performance of the season so hopefully that will have got the confidence back and we can kick on now to try and catch Blantyre”, said East Lothian captain James Hogg. Winning performances from the rinks skipped by Willie Wood MBE, Alex Marshall MBE, Graham Robertson and Paul Foster put a positive stamp on an encouraging overall team performance.  71 year old Wood was in fine form as he emerged the dominant figure by skipping Colin Cook, Dougie Berwick and Scott Kennedy to a whopping 33-13 victory over David Blades.  Chief support came from Marshall as he skipped Malcolm Higgenbotham, Stevie Thomson and Derek Oliver to a convincing 32-13 triumph over Robert Murphy.  Robertson was another start to finish merchant as he skipped Jamie Higgins, debut boy Ross Thomson and Brian Wyllie to a 23-14 win over fellow cap Jim McLarrie while the rink of Mark Johnston, captain James Hogg, Andrew Jeffrey completed the clean sweep as they contributed with a 23-17 win over David Mungall.  There is no game this weekend for the gent’s side due to the national junior singles and they are next in action on Saturday week (November 14^th) when they head along the M9 to tackle a struggling Falkirk side who are still seeking there first point.

Chris Fallen carries the East Lothian banner into the playdown action of the national junior singles championship at Abbeyview IBC in Dunfermline this weekend.  The garden county champion travels across the River Forth tomorrow (Saturday) to tackle junior cap Paul O’Donnell of Bainfield in the prelim round action at 3pm.  In the ladies playdown action on Sunday, also at Abbeyview, Kim Hoggan represents the East Lothian IBC banner and faces a prelim round test against Elgin at 10am.

The ladies side of East Lothian IBC mission to gain promotion from the C section of Division 1 in the Scottish Ladies League continues to gain force with the confident garden county side battling to an 83-80 away win at promotion rivals Tweedbank to move joint top on points with both Portobello and Tweedbank.  East Lothian enjoyed success on the rinks skipped by Nancy McNeil (+5), Morag Wood (+4) and Diane Rowan (+2) however there was another setback for Rose McAinsh (-9).  The ladies side are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) and have home advantage against Teviotdale who will be on a high following there shock win over early season pacesetters Portobello last weekend.  Team manager Sheena Currie has recalled Alicia Irvine and Emma Brown back into the side while Morag Salter and Roberta Smith have been sidelined.  The full team reads:

J.Farrell, A.MacDonald, E.Brown, N.McNeil skip

N.Bauld, I.Combe, A.McLean, D.Rowan skip

M.Devine, M.King, A.Irvive, R.McAinsh skip

M.McGowan, J.Russell, M.Hamilton, M.Wood skip

Following an idle week the high flying senior side returned to Scottish Senior League action on Wednesday when they played host to chief rivals in the East B section Portobello.  Going into the eagerly awaited encounter the garden county ‘auld yins’ held a four point advantage over there closest challengers so a home win would put EL in an almost uncatchable position going into the second phase of fixtures. 

The youth section at East Lothian IBC open their East of Scotland Junior League campaign tomorrow (Saturday) morning (8am) with a tasty home fixture against Dunfermline outfit Abbeyview.  The defending champions will parade a few new faces in their line-up as they have lost several players due to the age restriction rule but convenor Peter Fallen is still confident the new players brought in will be well equipped to help the side mount a solid defence of their title.  Meanwhile Luke Newlands made an unlucky quarter-final exit in last weekend’s Scottish Young Bowlers Masters tournament held at Falkirk IBC.  Newlands came through his qualifying section undefeated but then came a cropper in last eight clash against East Fife, going down 2-1 on sets.

 

 

The playdown action in the ladies national indoor singles championships took centre stage at Midlothian IBC last weekend and last season’s runner-up Norma Bauld was a strong East Lothian replacement for unavailable champion Janet Fairnie. The prelim round action saw Bauld in good form to score a battling 21-18 win over Elgin challenger Flo Shiach but then never quite fired on as many cylinders in her first round clash with international star Lorraine Molloy of Balbardie and the outcome was a heavy 21-4 defeat. 

Meanwhile the national senior fours playdown action took place last Sunday with the East Lothian contingent of Jock Kennedy, Graham Good, John Hamilton and John Holmes in action at Falkirk IBC.  They opened there account with a hard fought 17-14 win over Tweedbank in the prelim before losing out to Portobello in the first round proper 22-6.

There was no joy for East Lothian’s Scott Kennedy in the inaugural Champion of Champion event at Midlothian IBC last Sunday after he lost out in straight sets to West Lothian icon Neil Speirs in his opening match. 

East Lothian IBC gent’s side defence of the Scottish Premier League title is under severe jeopardy as the title favourites early season form continues to stutter as they suffered a shock defeat at Aberdeen last Saturday.  Aberdeen showed good form and battled well to inflict a deserved 72-61 pain on an East Lothian side that was at full strength. “Its a game we wanted to win and given our resources were expected to win so losing it is a major blow and we now know we can’t afford anymore slip ups in our remaining fixtures”, summed up team captain James Hogg. Worryingly for the selectors was the fact the rink skipped by Paul Foster (+4) was the only one to make a positive impression, Alex Marshall MBE battled hard to earn a peel while Graham Robertson (-5) and Willie Wood MBE (-10) both suffered damaging defeats. 

Elsewhere in the B section table toppers Blantyre moved four points clear of East Lothian when they beat Dundee away while Coatbridge beat Falkirk at home. The side will attempt to pick up the pieces of a so far disjointed campaign to date when they tackle B section rivals Coatbridge in a must win game at Meadowmill stadium tomorrow (Saturday).  The selectors have rang the changes in an attempt to get things back on track and there confident the re-shaped team will deliver the goods.  David Oliver, John Stevenson and Stuart Wyllie are all stood down to the reserve bench and recalls handed to Colin Cook and Dougie Berwick while budding teenage star Ross Thomson is introduced to the star studded line-up.  The new line-up reads:-

M.Higgenbotham, S.A.Thomson, Dek Oliver, A.Marshall MBE skip

C.Cook, D.Berwick, S.Kennedy, W.W.Wood MBE skip

M.Johnston, J.Hogg capt, A.Jeffrey, P.Foster skip

J.Higgins, R.Thomson, B.Wyllie, G.Robertson skip

 

The Ladies side return to Scottish League action tomorrow (Saturday) when they travel to Galashiels to tackle an undefeated Tweedbank in Division 1C.  Team manager Sheena Currie has made a number of changes to her line-up ahead of the expected tough test although some are enforced as regulars Yvonne Veitch, Alicia Irvine and Betty Ford are unavailable and the young Hoggan sisters Dee and Kim are stood down with Currie introducing the experienced duo of Morag Salter and Roberta Smith to the side while there are recalls for Norma Bauld, Margaret Devine and Muriel Hamilton.  The line-up reads:-

 

J.Farrell, A.MacDonald, E.Brown, N.McNeil skip

N.Bauld, I.Combe, A.McLean, D.Rowan skip

M.Devine, M.Salter, R.Smith, R.McAinsh skip

M.McGowan, J.Russell, M.Hamilton, M.Wood skip

 

The senior side’s domination of the East B section in the Scottish Senior League continued last Wednesday with the runaway table toppers making it five wins in a row at the expense of West Lothian.  West Lothian had home advantage but the Inveralmond stadium isn’t a formidable fortress to penetrate as East Lothian proved with a commanding 75-49 victory. East Lothian held the upper-hand on three rinks with skips Willie Wood MBE, Jock Brodie, and Frankie Gray suppressing the talents of the opposition to enjoy comfortable wins while Alastair Russell suffered a narrow defeat.  Willie Wood was the major influence on the match and the 71-year old emerged the star of the show by skipping Tony Taylor, Gordon Good and John Holmes to a whopping 30-7 win over Tommy Turnbull.  Brodie has an inspirational style of play and was in his element to skip Jock Cunningham, George McLean and Brian Bissett into a 13-2 lead after 10 ends. They did experience a lull on the run in however and had to settle for a 15-10 win over John Murphy.  Captain Gray was against the collar at 8-11 but cashed in on a purple patch spell of 2, 3, 4 to skip Eric Denholm Bob McIntosh and Jimmy Smith to a 17-12 win over Ronnie Martin.  Russell and his front three of Ronnie Kennedy, Bill Kerr and Ronnie Stevenson suffered a disastrous final phase and lost out 20-13 to Peter Ball.  The side had an idle day on Wednesday but return to action this coming Wednesday (November 4^th) with a home fixture against Portobello.

 

The action continues in the Esprit Trophy sponsored evening leagues and Mark Johnston’s rink are the outright leaders in Division 1 after they kept their unbeaten record intact following a 15-10 win over nearest challengers Brian Wyllie’s rink last Tuesday evening.   Meanwhile members are urged to check the notice boards as all the pre-xmas Scottish competitions have now been drawn while they can also be viewed on the club website www.elibc.co.uk/Competitions

 

East Lothian IBC youth star Luke Newlands has progressed through to the next stage of a series of trial matches for the Scotland Youth side after another impressive performance at Blantyre IBC last weekend.  However, on a disappointing note it was the end of the road this time around for Newlands garden county teammate Ross Thomson after he failed to impress the watching selectors and missed out on further progress.  

 

 

The gent’s national indoor singles championship took centre stage at Arbroath IBC last weekend and East Lothian IBC’s Alan Young was a strong garden county replacement for unavailable champion Willie Wood MBE but there was no joy for the 31 year old as he became a prelim round casualty giving 21-17 best to George Johnstone of Portobello.

The ladies national singles championship playdown action are being staged this weekend at Midlothian IBC and champion Janet Fairnie carries the East Lothian banner into the blue riband event.  Fairnie opens in the prelim round at 1.30pm against Flo Shiach from Elgin.

The SIBA and SWIBA have joined forces to promote a new Champion of Champions event although the criteria announced says the field of 16 will embrace those who have attained high standing in the national ranking lists.  East Lothian IBC have achieved one representative in the shape of former national single champion Scott Kennedy and he opens against West Lothian internationalist Neil Spiers on Sunday at Midlothian IBC (11am).

Turning attention to scottish league action the ladies side did the business in comprehensive style at Meadowmill stadium last Saturday against bottom of the table Teviotdale where their 92-67 success in the C section of Division 1 was driven by wins for the rinks skipped by Nancy McNeil (+15), Diane Rowan (+12) and Morag Wood (+7) while Rose McAinsh suffered a narrow defeat.  There’s no fixture for the ladies this weekend due to the national singles and they are next in action on Saturday October 31^st when they face a tricky away fixture to Tweedbank.

Meanwhile the table topping senior side made it four straight wins with a thumping 84-41 home win over Tweedbank last Wednesday in the East B section of the Scottish Senior League Cup.  The home side posted wins on all four rinks skipped by Jock Brodie (+21), John Holmes (+8), Jim Neilson (+8) and captain Frankie Gray (+5).  The side were back in action on Wednesday as they made the trip to the Inveralmond stadium in Livingston to tackle West Lothian.

The gent’s side return to Scottish Premier League action tomorrow (Saturday) as they travel up North to play B section rivals Aberdeen.  At the time of the report going to press no team news was available from East Lothian HQ although it was expected the selectors would have a full strength squad to choose from.

East Lothian progressed through to the second round of the Headwell Team Championship following a hard fought opening round 7 shot overall victory over Perth last Sunday after the points were tied 4-4.  Wins for the rinks skipped by Diane Rowan (ladies) and Stevie Thomson (gents) carried the day over narrow defeats sustained by Derek Lowe (under 35s) and Dougie Kennedy (seniors).  The garden county side now tackle East Fife on Sunday November 15^th.

The SBA has announced their team for the 2010 Home International series to be played at Worthing and it contains four players from East Lothian.  Port Seton ace Derek Oliver is stepped up from the reserve bench to play third in the rink skipped by colleague Alex Marshall MBE of Gifford while as expected the West Barns duo of Willie Wood MBE and Alister Kennedy retain their places in the side. 

Tonight (Friday) is the last chance for entries to be made for the Fortune Travel Services sponsored Evening Triples League which carries prize money of £150.

Finally, a quick reminder to all bowlers that hat games are now up and running at East Lothian IBC on a Monday from 10am-12 noon and Saturday 6.30pm–8.30pm with  non-members more than welcome.  So for any bowlers new to the area or any outdoor players who have always fancied trying the indoor code these are excellent opportunities.   

 

 

 

East Lothian’s Gents team bounced back from their disappointing opening game defeat with a comprehensive 21 shot victory at home to Premier League new boys Dundee.  A shock had looked on the cards early on with Graeme Robertson 7-0 down, Paul Foster 8-0 down and Alex Marshall 6-3 down although Willie Wood was 9-0 up.  By half way however East Lothian had managed to scrape into a 4 shot lead before stretching away over the second half of the game.  Alex Marshall top scored having been 6-3 down to only lose 3 more shots and skip Stuart Wyllie, Stevie Thomson and Andy Jeffrey to a 23-9 victory with Paul Foster and his rink of Mally Higgenbotham, James Hogg and Scott Kennedy hitting back from 10-1 down to win 19-13.  Graeme Robertson also came back strongly from 16-6 down to skip Jamie Higgins, Dougie Berwick and Brian Wyllie to a 22-20 triumph while Willie Wood and his rink of Colin Cook, John Stevenson and Derek Oliver having started quickly were the opposite and surrendered a 17-4 lead to lose 21-22.  There’s no game this week for the gents team due to the national singles and they are next in action when they face a tricky away trip to Aberdeen on Saturday 24th.

 

It is the Gent’s National singles play-downs this week, which sees Alan Young in action at Arbroath at 1.30pm.  Alan takes the singles place after his 21-18 play-off win over fellow semi-finalist from last year Scott Kennedy after both winner Willie Wood and runner-up John McCrorie were unable to make this weekend.  Alan is a more than able representative though and opens up his campaign against familiar opposition in former Garden County member George Johnstone who is flying the Portobello banner in the national event.

 

The national two bowl pairs play-offs took place last Sunday with Mark Johnston and Willie Wood in action at West Lothian.  The senior duo were in impressive form over their first two games with 2-0 victories over Teviotdale and Blantyre before losing out 2-0 in the section semi final to eventual qualifiers Andrew Chapman and Ewan Shearer of Balbardie.  In the ladies event Agnes Heaney and Rose McAinsh opened up with a 2-0 victory at Falkirk over Bainfield before losing out 2-1 to Tweedbank.

 

The ladies also bounced back from a defeat in their previous game with an excellent 91-86 win away to Bainfield.  Alicia Irvine was the main contributor with an emphatic 36-13 win whilst Nancy McNeill also weighed in with a 23-10 victory.  These results tipped the scales in East Lothian’s favour despite disappointing defeats for the rinks of Rose McAinsh (18-29) and Morag Wood (14-34).  The ladies travel to bottom of the table Teviotdale this weekend giving them a great chance to strengthen their league position.  Selector Sheena Currie has had to make several changes for this game with Diane Rowan coming in at skip for the holidaying Alicia Irvine.  Mary McGowan moves from Nancy McNeil to Morag Wood's rink, Janet Farrell moves to lead in Nancy McNeill's rink and Audrey MacDonald comes in at second with Norma Bauld dropping down to reserve.  All these moves leave the team as follows:

J Farrell, A MacDonald, E Brown, N McNeill

K Hoggan, B Ford, Y Veitch, R McAinsh

D Hoggan, I Combe, A McLean, D Rowan

M McGowan, J Russell, M King, M Wood

Res: N Bauld, M Devine, I Edgar, T Gordon

 Last Wednesday the seniors opened up a 3-point lead in their league thanks to a solid 63-52 win away to Bainfield.  Willie Wood was the main contributor with a 7 shot win, while Frankie Gray finished 3 up and Jimmy Neilson 2 up to more than compensate a narrow 1 shot defeat for Jock Brodie.  The seniors were due to be in action at home to Tweedbank on Wednesday 14^th before travelling to West Lothian on Wednesday 21st.

 

East Lothian are in action at the Headwell Team Championship this Sunday and send the following team to represent the club at 2.30pm against Perth:

Gents: C Cook, D Berwick, S Clark, S Thomson

Ladies: E Brown, J Russell, N McNeill, D Rowan

Seniors: J Hamilton, G Good, J Holmes, D Kennedy

Under 35’s: R Thomson, E Fallen, C Fallen, D Lowe

 

Next week sees Willie Wood and Alex Marshall travel to a Tenerife training camp as part of a 10 man elite squad fighting to win the 6 places available for next year’s Commonwealth Games to be held in India.

 

The Esprit Trophy sponsored Evening Leagues are now up and running and after 3 games Mark Johnston and Brian Wyllie’s rinks are tied at the top of Division One with the maximum six points.

 

Next Friday 23^rd is the last chance for entries to be made for the Fortune Travel Services sponsored Evening Triples League which carries prize money of £150.

 

Also a quick reminder to all bowlers that hat games are now up and running at Meadowmill on a Monday from 10-12 and Saturday 6.30 – 8.30 – non-members are welcome.  So for any new bowlers new to the area or any outdoor players who have always fancied trying the indoor code these are excellent opportunities.

 

The East Lothian bowling community is mourning the recent death of well known county bowler Ian Twatt who passed away last Tuesday morning after a short illness. Ian was regarded by many as one of the best players the garden county has ever produced.  He won various domestic titles with East Lothian Co-operative BC and East Lothian IBC.  The best period of success came in the early 1980’s when he won a national outdoor fours title whilst a member at Gifford BC and it was not long before his qualities were to grace the international stage as he received a Scotland cap in 1988.  A funeral service was held on Tuesday and Ian is survived by his wife Janet. 

Willie W Wood MBE continues to add to his great legend status with the 71-year old bowls phenomenon capturing a place in January’s Potters Holidays World Indoor Singles following a straight sets (6-4, 6-1) win over Portobello ace Andrew Caldwell in last Sunday’s play-off match at Falkirk IBC. It is believed Wood has became the oldest player ever to qualify through to the televised stages from the qualifying playdown action and he now gets the chance to once again to mix with the world’s finest bowlers at the sport’s theatre of dreams ‘Potters Leisure Resort’ in Great Yarmouth.“I’m absolutely ecstatic to get another crack at the World Singles title and if I can find my best form on the portable rink well then who knows”, grinned a delighted Wood afterwards.

East Lothian IBC gent’s side made a disappointing start to their campaign in section B of the Scottish Premier League when the defending champions suffered a 13 shot defeat (73-60) at probable chief rivals Blantyre last Saturday. Wins for the rinks skipped Willie Wood MBE (+3) and Graham Robertson (+2) paled into insignificance as their colleagues Alex Marshall MBE (-5) and Paul Foster (-13) tumbled to defeats. “No excuses on the day we were beaten by the better team so we have to take it on the chin, knuckle down and make sure we get back to winning ways instantly”, reflected newly appointed team captain James Hogg. Their mission to achieve a quick return to winning ways starts tomorrow (Saturday) and home advantage over newly promoted Dundee gives them a hot favourite’s chance of doing so.  The selectors make to enforced changes as both Mark Johnston and David Oliver are unavailable so Dougie Berwick and Colin Cook are drafted in from the reserve pool.  The full team reads:

J.Higgins, D.Berwick, B.Wyllie, G.Robertson skip

S.Wyllie, S.A.Thomson, A.Jeffrey, A.Marshall MBE skip

M.Higgenbotham, J.Hogg capt, S.Kennedy, P.Foster skip

C.Cook, J.Stevenson, Dek Oliver, W.W.Wood MBE skip

The Ladies side also suffered an indifferent start to their Scottish League campaign as they were left nursing the wounds of a 17 shot defeat (95-78) sustained on home soil at the hands of local rivals Portobello when the two teams clashed in Division 1C last Saturday.  The garden county side suffered defeats on three of the fours rinks as Alicia Irving (-5), Nancy McNeil (-6) and Rose McAinsh (-6) all encountered narrow defeats while Morag Wood battled hard to earn a 19-19 peel against Ina Anderson.  The ladies are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) as they make the short trip to face townie rivals Bainfield and team convenor has announced no changes to the team line-up.  The line-up reads:

M.McGowan, J.Farrell, E.Brown, N.McNeil skip

K.Hoggan, B.Ford, Y.Veitch, R.McAinsh skip

D.Hoggan, I.Combe, A.McLean, A.Irvine skip

N.Bauld, J.Russell, M.King, M.Wood skip

The senior side produced another encouraging performance in their quest to qualify for the knockout stages of the Scottish Senior League Cup from the East B section with a healthy 20 shot victory over Balbardie at Meadowmill stadium last Wednesday.  The home side posted wins on three of their rinks – skipped by Jock Brodie (+15), Frankie Gray (+12) and Willie Wood MBE (+7) – whilst Jim Nielson suffered an eleven shot defeat.  The ‘auld yins’ were back in action on Wednesday as they made the short trip to the Hutchison Crossway stadium in Edinburgh to tackle Bainfield. 

 

Alan Young grabbed an unusual second opportunity with both hands as he will represent East Lothian IBC in next weekend’s showpiece Scottish Singles playdown action after he defeated last season’s fellow beaten finalist Scott Kennedy in last Friday evening’s play-off clash.  Both players got another change of the honour after it emerged both champion Willie Wood MBE and runner-up John McCrorie were unable to their chance.   

 

 

East Lothian IBC gent’s side Scottish Premier League programme springs into its winter action tomorrow (Saturday) and the defending champions open with a challenging away visit to Blantyre. The garden county side will compete in the B section which also comprises of Dundee, Coatbridge, Aberdeen and Falkirk. News is that the team from the Meadowmill stadium is more or less status quo from last season which means four major stars in the shape of Alex Marshall MBE, Paul Foster, Graham Robertson and Willie Wood MBE all have skipping duties.   The full team reads:

J.Higgins, Dav Oliver, B.Wyllie, G.Robertson skip

S.Wyllie, S.A.Thomson, A.Jeffrey, A.Marshall MBE skip

M.Higgenbotham, J.Hogg, S.Kennedy, P.Foster skip

M.Johnston, J.Stevenson, Dek Oliver, W.W.Wood MBE skip

 

The Ladies side also enter their Scottish League campaign tomorrow as they prepare to compete in Division 1C and open with a home match at Meadowmill stadium against local rivals Portobello.  Team Convenor Sheena Currie has been dealt a major blow as it emerged she has lost the services of ace skip Janet Fairnie for the foreseeable future due to illness while fellow skip Diane Rowan is unavailable for the opener due to holiday commitments.  Skipping roles have been handed to Nancy McNeil, Rose McAinsh, Alicia Irvine and Morag Wood while Currie has also decided to blood some young talent in her line-up in the shape of the Hoggan sisters Dee and Kim along with junior cap Emma Brown.  The full team reads:

M.McGowan, J.Farrell, E.Brown, N.McNeil skip

K.Hoggan, B.Ford, Y.Veitch, R.McAinsh skip

D.Hoggan, I.Combe, A.McLean, A.Irvine skip

N.Bauld, J.Russell, M.King, M.Wood skip

The senior side launched their bid to recapture the Scottish Senior League Cup title with a surprisingly comfortable 22 shot away victory (73-51) over arch rivals Midlothian in last Wednesday’s opening East B section  match at Dalkeith stadium.  The garden county rinks skipped by Jim Neilson and Willie Wood MBE won well while Jock Brodie finished peels but captain Frankie Gray suffered a single shot defeat.  Neilson emerged the leader of the pack as he accelerated from 11-5 to 22-5 to skip Ronnie Kennedy, Bill Kerr and Alister Russell to a 22-9 win over Bill Dunn.  Wood also got off to a flyer to lead 11-5 and then went on to skip Tony Taylor, Gordon Good and John Hamilton to a 22-12 win over Alex Cox.  Brodie conceded a count of three on the final end to skip Jock Cunningham, George McLean and Brian Bisset to a 15-15 peel with home skip icon Frankie Gray while Kenny Boyd, Bob McIntosh, Jim Smith and Gray were edged out 15-14 by Bill Ballantyne.  The ‘auld yins’ were back in action on Wednesday as they welcomed Bathgate side Balbardie to Meadowmill stadium.  The selectors had to make a couple of enforced changes to the line-up with John Holmes earning a recall while there was a first team debut for Murdo McDonald.

 

Meanwhile East Lothian legend Willie Wood MBE is one victory away from capturing the ultimate prize in indoor bowling at Falkirk IBC on Sunday – a place in the 2010 World Indoor Singles Championship in January.  The wizard from Gifford faces Portobello star Andrew Caldwell in a play-off decider, which gets underway at 11.30am, with the winner claiming the last Scottish qualifying spot and get the opportunity to test their credentials against the World’s finest at the sports theatre of dreams ‘Potters Leisure Resort’ in Great Yarmouth.

 

On the domestic scene officials at East Lothian IBC has announced that last years beaten championship singles semi-finalists Scott Kennedy and Alan Young will face each other tonight (Friday) at 6.30pm in a national singles play-off match after it emerged neither champion Willie Wood MBE or runner-up John McCrorie can participate in this years event.

 

It’s congratulation to East Lothian IBC youth members Luke Newlands and Ross Thomson after both players made it through to the next stage of a series of trial matches for the Scotland Youth side after both impressed at last Sunday’s first trial match at Lanarkshire IBC.  Both players will now attend a second trial match at Blantyre IBC later on this month.  Unfortunately Sam Gray and Connaire Wallace failed to impress the watching selectors and missed out on any further progress.  Meanwhile youth convenor Peter Fallen is said to be delighted after receiving confirmation this week that Jim and Jessie Braes are to continue there magnificent support of the local young bowlers by sponsoring the youth section for a third successive year.

 Looking for a diary?  Then why not get your hands on the newly launched Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall diary.  This is a 16-month diary that spans the months October 2009 to December 2010 inclusive and therefore embraces the forthcoming indoor season, next year's outdoor season and half the 2010 indoor season. The diary also features dates to remember, useful tips and a short profile of Alex’s career.  The classic slim line pocket diary displays one week to a double page giving you plenty on space to plan your games and social activities in the coming months. The diary is suitable for everyone, gents, ladies and juniors.  To order simply e-mail alexmarshall249@sky.com or telephone 07813442362.  

 

 

There was double heartbreak for East Lothian legend Willie Wood MBE after he lost out in both the singles and pairs finals in last weekend’s playdown action in the WBT Scottish qualifiers for the World Indoor Singles and Pairs at Falkirk IBC.Denying 71 year old Wood a spot in the Potters World Indoor Championships in January was Auchinleck’s Stuart Anderson as the Ayrshire ace produced two stunning last bowl deliveries in both sets to win a cracking Section 1 final 5-4, 9-8.  However the gloom was somewhat lifted for Wood when the World Bowls Tour officials announced that Wood along with this weekend’s singles runner-up would participate in a play-off match on Sunday October 4^th as an additional spot has became available in the championships. “Bitterly disappointed to have lost the final but all credit to Stuart he played two brilliant last bowl deliveries in both sets and that was the difference.  However everything is not lost as I’m thrilled I will get another crack at trying to become the oldest ever player to appear in the World Singles”, said Wood. In the Section 1 pairs final Wood and partner Darren Burnett lost out to the Elgin duo of Andrew Barker and Mike Stepney in a tie break after the sets were tied at 1-1.  The Scottish qualifying action at continues this weekend as another strong East Lothian contingent converge on Falkirk IBC dreaming of winning the ultimate prize in indoor bowling – a place at the World Indoor Championships.

Meanwhile the World Bowls Tour has learned this week that BBC TV will increase its coverage of the forthcoming Potters Holidays World Championships by two days - but will not renew the agreement to televise the 2009 International Open. The decision has led to the suspension of the WBT's second biggest event this season. "Whilst we are delighted that BBC have endorsed their enthusiasm for Bowls by extending the televised coverage of the forthcoming World Championships, we are extremely disappointed by the effect this has had on the International Open," said WBT Director Richard Maddieson. "It is with great regret, therefore, that we have had to suspend the International Open ranking event for the 2009/10 season."

East Lothian IBC’s senior side got their Scottish Senior League Cup campaign underway on Wednesday with a tricky away clash at East B section arch rivals Midlothian.  The side has been rocked by the news that icon figure Ian Twatt is unavailable for the foreseeable future due to illness while usual skip Jock Cunningham is not 100% fit and has indicated his desire to start the campaign playing at the front end.  For the opener at Dalkeith skipping roles were handed to Willie Wood MBE, captain Frankie Gray, Jim Nielson and Jock Brodie while there were baptisms of fire for debut boys for Bob Makin and Bill Kerr.

Meanwhile East Lothian IBC Youth Convener Peter Fallen has announced that the Saturday morning youth coaching sessions will commence tomorrow (Saturday) at Meadowmill stadium from 8am until 10am.  Any youngster between the ages of 8 and 16 are welcome to come along.  It’s a big day on Sunday for four players in the current East Lothian IBC youth set-up as Ross Thomson, Luke Newlands, Connaire Wallace and Sam Gray all participate in the first of a series of trial matches for the Scotland Youth Team at Lanarkshire IBC. 

Turning attention back to the now fast fading outdoor season, it was soft drinks all round at Longniddry clubhouse for a second successive year after their talented youth rink of B.Muir, E.Leith, J.Ferguson and C.Wyllie completed a successful defence of the East Lothian Youth League.  Prestongrange finished up in runners-up spot.

 

 

The final of the John McDonald Senior League Cup played at Castlepark BC last Tuesday brought title celebrations to Aberlady but utter dejection to EL-Coop who were piped at the post in a dramatic climax. Aberlady appeared to be cruising to victory as they completely dominated the early stages but a magnificent fightback from EL-Coop so them force the match into an extra end.  However it was the Aberlady rinks that held firm under intense pressure as they scored doubles on both rinks to win the extra end 4-0 to trigger the victory salute.

 

Meanwhile the draw for next season’s Scottish Inter County Top Ten tournament took place at Gorgie Mills BC recently and East Lothian champions Tranent have missed the prelim round action but will be on their travels in the first round proper on Sunday May 23^rd as they head along the M8 to tackle Glasgow outfit Kingswood Bowling Club.

A squad of bowlers from East Lothian have begun their indoor season early as a large contingent have this week been joining more than 200 bowlers at Carlisle IBC to compete for UK qualifying slots in two WBT ranking events for the new 2009/10 season.

 Sticking with the indoor scene, East Lothian IBC’s senior side’s Scottish Senior League Cup campaign gets underway on Wednesday (September 23^rd) with a tough opener against arch rivals Midlothian at the Dalkeith stadium. 

On the domestic front the leagues at East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club get into full swing next week with full sessions in the Morning and Ladies leagues, the Evening Mixed League begins on Monday and the Top Four begins on Tuesday. The Saturday Morning Triples League begins tomorrow (Saturday), Castlepark have a free week. A late withdrawal means Division Three and Top Four Section F is one rink short, anyone willing to fill this gap should call the Match Secretary on 07940004735 or leave a message with Control at Meadowmill.

 

 

Alastair Russell of Aberlady Bowling Club is the 2009 Champion of Champion of East Lothian having etched his name on the coveted trophy with a hard fought 21-16 win over Stuart Cuthill of Macmerry in the final at Port Seton BC last Saturday. The final lasted 22 ends and was played in front of a crowd sparser that it should have been for one of the bowling calendars showpiece occasions.  The first nine ends of the final produced a 7-7 share of the spoils and then the game continued to be nip and tuck at 14-13 in favour of Russell after 17 ends played.  But end 18 proved to be significant with Russell opting to cast a short length jack and gaining maximum reward with a full house 4 to 18.  Cuthill responded with a double to 15 but then Russell yielded a magical double to stand 20-15 up.  Cuthill was not going down without a fight and he added a single to 16 but Russell’s play had the mark of a champion in waiting and from 20-16 up he duly carded the winning single on end 22. “I am absolutely delighted at becoming the East Lothian Champion of Champion and it represents the pinnacle of my achievements in the sport to date and of course because of its status I will now become a cult figure at Aberlady”, said a delighted Russell. The earlier semi-final action were of good standard with Russell eventually coming out on top in a 21-20 ding dong affair with Raymond Frame of Castlepark while Cuthill was made to fight all the way before progressing through into the final with a 21-12 success over Haddington champion Alister Blair.

EL-Coop have etched their name on the ELBA Courier Cup trophy for a second time as there second string side caused a major shock with a nail biting 5 shot win over Division 1 champions Port Seton in last Sunday’s final at Polson Park in Tranent.   Alex Pryde was the hero figure for the Division 4 champions as he produced a tremendous display to skip Brian Forbes snr, Davie Fleming and Davie Arnott to a whopping double margin shot victory over county star Ronnie Branley.  Craig Brogan supported by skipping Alan Tregoning, Alan Brown and Steven White to a single figure shot success over Tommy Thomson.  Port Seton icon figure Steven ‘Stretcher’ Morgan kept his side in with a fighting chance with a healthy victory over Davie Markovizc, Greig Haynes, Stewart Thomson and Gordon Pryde but in the end it was to no avail as EL-Coop took the honours and sparked a night of celebrations back at their clubhouse. “Being Division 4 champions you come into this event as the overwhelming underdogs but we had belief in ourselves and to beat a quality side like Port Seton in the final speaks volumes to how we played as a team”, summed up EL-Coop spokesman Alex Pryde. In the earlier semi-final EL-Coop edged a thriller against Division 3 champions East Linton A while Port Seton proved too strong for Division 2 champions Dunbar.       

The East Lothian duo of Derek Oliver (Port Seton) and David Sked (West Barns) were last weekend part of Scotland team that regained the British Isles Under 25 Junior International series and the Sealy Trophy at Llandrindod Wells in Wales with a 100 per cent record.    

A large number of bowlers from around the county will descend on Port Seton BC tomorrow (Saturday) as they are giving the honour of hosting the East Lothian Leagues Presentation of Prizes day following their remarkable sixth Division 1 title success in seven years.  Two representatives from each club in the county along with ELBA officials and officials from league sponsors Credit Issues Scotland Ltd will be in attendance and the special day of proceedings will get underway at around 1.30pm.

East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club has opened its doors for the new season, it is now open from 10am-12 noon and 6.30–8.30pm and from Monday it is open full time. Members should note that the Ladies Triples Leagues and Gents Thursday Morning League all begin next week all other leagues follow on the week after. All dates can be viewed on the website at www.elibc.co.uk or on the notice boards within the stadium.

 

 

Tranent Bowling Club is back in the bowling headlines as champions of the East Lothian Jubilee Cup (Top Ten) following a nail biting shot margin win over host club East Linton after the points were shared 4-4 in last Sunday’s climax to an event that earns the winners a passport into next year’s national tournament. The final – played in dry but cold and breezy conditions – was an absolute cracker with the watching crowd kept riveted to the action as the battle for supremacy was fought out on a tightrope.  Tranent amassed their fours points from wins in the singles and pairs while East Linton kept themselves bang in contention with success in triples and fours. “It was a great day and in the end a great result but hard earned.  Our aim now is to follow in the footsteps of Castlepark, Port Seton and West Barns and do East Lothian proud in the national event next year”, said spokesman Jamie Gordon. Tranent have great faith in their 5 times club champion John McCrorie as the spearhead figure in the Singles and the former national champion delivered the goods but was made to fight all the way in a hard fought 21-18 win over host club star Richard Black. Winning the singles brings with it an extra bonus and morale boost as the result acts as a tiebreak in the event of the match finishing all square on points and shots. Tranent were going great guns in the Pairs with Kenny McCrorie and Jamie Higgins adding a super 6 at the seventh end to lead 15-4 and although pressured at 12 they went on to beat Alan Clydesdale and Grant Thomson, 18-14.

Tranent also made a dream start to the triples with Ian Crichton, Colin Bonner snr and Alan Young racing into a 5-0 lead but the East Linton trio of Colin Deans, Graeme Bell and Steven Kerr recovered to edge a 13-11 win and put the final back in the melting pot with only the fours clash left on the green.  The Tranent rink of Davie Scott, Jamie Gordon, Norrie Cochrane and Brian Wyllie went into the last end knowing as long as they lost no more than 4 shots the title was theirs.  Wyllie and co did the business and settled for losing a single in an 11-8 defeat to Colin Murdoch, Mike Newlands, Kevin Deans and Stuart Bell. In the earlier semi-final action Tranent scored an emphatic 8-0 win over defending champions West Barns at Haddington while East Linton used home advantage to good effect as they beat Prestongrange by a similar scoreline.

The club champions throughout the county have been battling it out over the past fortnight for the right to claim the prestigious ELBA Champion of Champions title.  The event will reach its climax tomorrow (Saturday) as Port Seton Bowling Club stage the tournament’s finals day, with all the action commencing at 1pm.

The curtain falls on the ELBA competitive season on Sunday as four clubs battle it out for the final silverware of the outdoor season, as East Lothian Labour BC host the Courier Cup finals day at Polson Park in Tranent.  The end of season tournament features all the East Lothian League champions namely Port Seton, Dunbar, East Linton A and EL-Coop A.  The semi-final draw was made last Sunday at East Linton and it has paired Division 1 champions Port Seton against Division 2 champions Dunbar while Division 3 champions East Linton A tackle Division 4 champions EL-Coop A.  The semi-final action gets underway at 1pm with the final expected to commence at 3.30pm.

The climax to the John McDonald Senior League Cup took centre stage at Castlepark BC yesterday (Thursday) afternoon (2pm).  The semi-final action took place on Tuesday with defending champions Aberlady tackling Tranent on home soil and EL-Coop clashing with newly crowned senior division 1 champions West Barns at the latter.

East Lothian has two players included in the 24 strong Under 25 team to represent Scotland in the Home Junior International series at Llandrindod Wells in Wales this weekend.  David Sked of West Barns will be present for an impressive fifth campaign in a row and he is joined by Port Seton star Derek Oliver who earns a recall following his shock exclusion last year. 

The annual East Linton Open Singles tournament takes place on Monday 21^st September and entries should be made by Sunday evening to Keith Fender on 01620-860654.

Draw for Tranent Bowling Club Adult & Youth Open Pairs (4 bowl), sponsored by Davie Martin, at Polson Park tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows:

10am  D.Whitson, K.Frame (C/Park), S.Whitson, A.Dodds, D.Robertson, R.Thomson (ELCO), R.Ferguson (L/Niddry), J.Burnett, D.Cochrane (L/Niddry), A.Ferguson (L/Niddry), S.Buchanan (ELCO), K.Yule (P/Grange) 10.45am L.McCrorie, J.McNeish (W/Ford), J.Bonner, S.Newlands (Hadd), H.Robertson, C.Fairgrieve (Hadd), D.Muir (L/Niddry), J.Ferguson (L/Niddry), R.Parkin (L/Niddry), D.Peart (L/Niddry), R.Cochran (P/Grange), L.Colgan (ELCO) 11.30am  K.Hoggan, B.Muir (L/Niddry), S.Clark (Orm), A.Martin, R.Scott (P/Grange), R.French (Elph), R.Bonner, B.Hannah

 

 

 

 

Port Seton clinched the Division 1 title of the Credit Issues Scotland Ltd sponsored East Lothian Leagues for the sixth time in seven years and they did it in great style, at home, with a crushing 8-0 demolition of foot of the table Elphinstone. Long time leaders Castlepark were in pole position going into the final round of fixtures last Friday night but were left rocked and shocked as they blew there chance of the title after suffering a disastrous 6-2 loss at EL-Coop who escaped relegation after chief rivals Haddington blew it big time with a crushing 6-2 defeat on home soil against Aberlady.  “We had both hands on the trophy and the title celebrations poised but we turned in our poorest performance of the season at the worst possible time so we are devastated to have it snatched it away from us”, summed up a Castlepark spokesman.  West Barns went into the last game still in with a sneak of piping both Castlepark and Port Seton at the post but a challenge never materialised as they were on the wrong end of 8-0 thumping from former champions East Linton who finished the campaign strongly to finish a creditable fourth while Tranent, who were idle, finished in third place.

The title celebrations at Port Seton were sparked by wins for the rinks skipped by Steven Morgan, Craig Valentine and Derek Oliver.  Morgan provided the drive and inspiration for his side as he skipped his rink to a 7-shot win over Steven Mackie.  Valentine also operated in a high gear as he skipped his rink to a 6-shot triumph over Peter Fallen while Oliver was finding things hard against Robert ‘Banger’ Strang but answered the pressure with a strong finish to skip his rink to a 2-shot win.  “We knew we had to get maximum points then hope other the results went our way and thankfully that’s what happened and were ecstatic to be league champions once again”, said a Port Seton spokesman.

Dunbar captured the Division 2 title in fine fashion with an 8-0 away win at Gifford but the identity of which club will join them in the top flight remains in question as a rearranged fixture between Ormiston and North Berwick on Tuesday evening at Elphinstone would determine which club would clinch second place and also who would drop down the relegation trap door with Macmerry.  The champagne corks were popping at East Linton as there second string side were crowned Division 3 champions and joining them in Division 2 next season will be West Barns A.  There were also celebrations at EL-Coop as they claimed the honours in Division 4 with Castlepark B grabbing runners-up spot.  In the senior leagues its congratulation to West Barns after they captured the Division 1 title for the first time.

The most prestigious ELBA cup competition on the domestic outdoor calendar will reach its climax on Sunday as East Linton and Haddington host the ELBA Top Ten Championship (Jubilee Cup) finals day.  The line-up in the semi-finals is defending champions West Barns versus Tranent at Haddington while at East Linton the host club tackle Division 2 outfit Prestongrange with both ties commencing at 12.30pm.  The final will be staged at East Linton at approximately 3pm with the eventual winners going onto represent East Lothian in the national equivalent next season.

Meanwhile ELBA officials have announced that the Courier Cup, which involves all the league champions, will be staged at Polson Park in Tranent on Sunday 6^th September.

East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club opens its doors for the indoor season on Monday 7th September; opening times are 10am – 12 Noon and 6.30pm – 8.30pm for the first week then all day opening from Monday 14th September.  The Top Four tournament begins on Monday 21st September; all Leagues have varying start dates from mid September onwards. Full details can be viewed on the notice boards at the stadium or on the website at www.elibc.co.uk from 1st September. Anyone who hasn’t yet entered the Evening, Mixed, Morning or Ladies League should contact the Match Secretary on 07940004735 as soon as possible.

Draw for East Lothian Labour BC Open Pairs (3 bowl), sponsored by AC Taxis, at Polson Park tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows:

9.30am D.Young, S.Buchanan (ELCO), J.Stevenson (W/Ford), L.McCrorie, P.Mair (Mac), A.Wyllie, C.Bonner snr, G.Duncan

  10.15am G.Duncan jnr, J.Cochrane, P.Murray, A.Dodds, M.Martin, A.Martin, B.Hoggan, B.Thomson (ELCO), G.Blyth, K.Whitson, K.McShane, J.Rolland

  11.00am K.Hoggan, A.Cunningham (W/Ford), J.Holmes, B.Higgins, J.Burnett (P/Grange), S.Blyth, R.Strang (Elph), J.Main

 

Jamie Higgins has etched his name on the championship singles trophy at Tranent Bowling Club for a second time have emulated his 2006 success with a hard fought 21-16 win over Colin Bonner snr in Wednesday nights final at Polson Park.  It was outsider Bonner who was playing a blinder and had Higgins against the cosh at 14-5 but then Higgins used the mat up the green tatic to great effect and stormed to 17 without reply.  Bonner stopped the rot with two consecutive singles but Higgins emerged the match winner with a magic 2, 2 finish.  "I'm absolutely delighted at becoming champion for a second time, however, it looked very unlikely in the early part of the match as Colin had me on toast but changing the jack length made all the difference as I then started to find both my line and weight and started to play consistently good bowls", summed up a delighted Higgins.

EL-Coop BC is celebrating the winning of a Scottish Young Bowling Association title with Ross Thomson basking in the national limelight after last Saturday’s championships at Ayr Northfield.   The tremendous success for the East Lothian banner saw Thomson thrill his support by capturing the singles crown with a series of excellent displays that culminated with a commanding win over Rachel Magee of Kingswood BC in the final.   A double of title wins was on the cards for EL-Coop but the bold effort from Derryn McKillop and Declan French was denied by an 11-7 defeat from Polmaise BC in the semi-final.  In the triples the Haddington trio of Zoe Whellans, Graeme McWilliams and Luke Newlands despite a great effort failed to qualify from their qualifying section.  The Tranent pairing of Grace Scott and Kenny McCrorie are in national mixed pair’s action this weekend at Ralston BC in Paisley.  After coming through a tough qualifying schedule the duo have reached the final stages and will now face a last sixteen clash against pairing from Tulliallan tomorrow (Saturday) at 9.30am.  Meanwhile newly crowned ladies national champions Dee Hoggan (junior singles) of Tranent and Port Seton’s Leanne Baillie (pairs) are off to Strathblane BC in Glasgow on Sunday to participate in the Scottish Ladies Under 25 trial match for the 2010 international series.  Dee’s younger sister Kim will also be involved after receiving a late call-up from the national selectors.     

The finals of the ELBA County Championships at Aberlady BC last Sunday saw newly crowned Port Seton champion Steven Thomson bask in the limelight as he produced an outstanding performance to capture the blue riband singles title edging a 21-19 thriller against county star Struan Robertson of West Barns.

Port Seton celebrated a double success as junior cap Derek Oliver teamed up with Gordon Baillie to lift the pair’s title following a hard fought 20-15 success over Bill Burnett and Kenny McShane of Tranent.  There was also double title celebrations at West Barns as there multi talented trio of David Sked, Alister Kennedy and Willie Wood MBE held the triples title with a comprehensive 17-5 win over a luckless Alan Bird, George Thomson and Alan Morgan snr of Castlepark.  It was an afternoon of nail biting drama for the ‘barns’ support with their rink of Ian Thorburn, Chris O’Brien, Kenneth Watt and Gary Landells seemingly in the doldrums at 15-6 down to East Linton with only five ends to play.  But a magnificent finishing run of 1, 5, 1, 2, and 1 saw them grab the title against the shell shocked East Linton rink of Kevin Deans, Steven Kerr, George Cowan and Richard Black.  A special cheer was reserved for host club star Andrew Pringle as he etched his name on the junior singles trophy with a 21-19 over Steven Mackie of Elphinstone.  Charlie Young skipped his Gifford rink of Eric Denholm, Ronnie Skea and John Craig to success in the Senior Fours with a convincing 21-6 over John Inverarity, David King, Jim Oliver and Ian Walkinshaw of Macmerry in the final.  EL-Coop youngster Ross Thomson completed a memorable 24 hours as he collected the youth singles title as the 21-9 expense of Castlepark challenger Stuart Robertson.  Haddington etched their name on the youth fours trophy for a fourth successive year with Luke Newlands skipping Graeme McWilliams, Alannah Whellans and Cameron Fairgrieve to a 23-6 win over Prestongrange.

Former five in a row title holders Port Seton blew the race for the Division 1 title in the Credit Issue Scotland Ltd sponsored East Lothian League wide open when they inflicted a 7-1 defeat on leaders Castlepark last Wednesday evening but then blew it big time as they suffered a shock 7-1 home defeat to defending champions East Linton in one of the few games to beat the wet weather last Friday evening.  The Port Seton camp was cock-a-hoop going into the fixture against East Linton after a tremendous display and result at Castlepark two nights previous and many predicted a comfortable home win which would give Port Seton an upper hand over an idle Castlepark going into this week’s final round of fixtures.  But East Linton did not read the script and produced without doubt there best performance of the campaign.  The shock result brought West Barns and Tranent back into the title picture but only if both sides won there rearranged matches against Aberlady and Haddington on Tuesday night.  The battle to beat the drop will also not be decided until the final night as EL-Coop gave themselves another relegation lifeline with a 7-1 win at foot of the table Elphinstone to move level on points with chief relegation rivals Haddington albeit they have a game in hand.

In tonight’s (Friday) action Castlepark make the short trip to EL-Coop knowing 6 points or more will see them crowned champions but they won’t get it easy as they face a side fighting to save their top flight status.  Port Seton will probably need a maximum point win in their home clash with bottom club Elphinstone then hope other results go there way while it’s the same scenario for West Barns as they make the short trip down the A1 to tackle outgoing defending champions East Linton.  Relegation threatened Haddington round off their campaign with an away fixture at Aberlady in the knowledge they must match any points gained by EL-Coop do be sure of beating the drop as there far superior shot aggregate over there fellow relegation rivals would save their skin. 

Draw for Tranent Bowling Club’s Invitation Fours tournament, sponsored by Leith Funeral Services, at Polson Park tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows:

10am S.Whitson, J.Gordon, Castlepark BC, Elphinstone BC 2, S.Cochrane, J.Cochrane, Macmerry BC, J.Black, A.Young, J.Bonner, J.Main, A.Martin  11am B.Hoggan, B.Wyllie, Tranent Belters, Elphinstone BC 1, Winton BC, S.Blyth, C.Bonner, J.Higgins

 

An early evening torrential downpour put pay to last Friday night’s eagerly awaited Division 1 clash between leaders Castlepark and Port Seton in the Credit Issues Scotland Ltd sponsored East Lothian League action. Despite the best efforts of both players and officials to clear the Castlepark green of the lying water both sides agreed that play could not commence and the fixture rescheduled for Wednesday evening. “We tried everything in our power to get the game on but in the end it was a losing battle and given the fact the game is a potential league decider it was agreed that we should postpone and play on another night when hopefully conditions will be far better”, commented a Castlepark spokesman.

Rain did not stop play in the other three Division 1 fixtures as relegation zoned EL-Coop gave themselves a survival lifeline with a 6-2 home win over Aberlady while chief rivals in the race to beat the drop Haddington suffered a 6-2 defeat away at defending champions East Linton but still command a seven point advantage over EL-Coop with only two fixtures remaining.  Tranent recorded there first 8-0 win of the campaign at foot of the table Elphinstone who’s stay in the top flight is almost certainly at an end.  The result sees Tranent jump from fourth to second and four points adrift of Castlepark but they only have one fixture to fulfil while there rivals have two so it would require a miracle run of results for them to be in title shake up.  Dunbar edged closer to capturing the Division 2 title with a strong 8-0 home win over Ormiston as they increased there lead at the top to 11 points but the race for second place will go right down to the wire with every club with the exception of foot of the table Macmerry still in with a fighting chance of gaining promotion to the top league.  The race for the Division 3 title is also a close run thing but its East Linton A that just have the edge going into the last couple of fixtures while the Division 4 title race is over as EL-Coop’s second string side have it in the bag with two games to play.  The race for the second promotion place is headed up by Castlepark B.  In the senior leagues West Barns look on course to win the Division 1 title for the first time as they have a 7 point advantage over closest challengers Castlepark with only two games remaining.

In tonight’s (Friday) Division 1 action Port Seton will be hoping to close the gap on leaders Castlepark, who have an idle week, when they look for a positive result at home against defending champions East Linton while it’s the same scenario for fourth placed West Barns as they make the trip down the A1 to tackle an out of sorts Aberlady side.  Relegation zoned EL-Coop face a must win game in there battle to beat the drop at foot of the table Elphinstone and then hope arch rivals Tranent can do them a massive favour by inflicting defeat on fellow relegation contenders Haddington at Polson Park.   

EL-Coop’s up and rising star Ross Thomson competes for the blue riband singles title when he heads up the East Lothian challenge in the Scottish Young Bowlers Associations national finals that are played at Ayr Northfield tomorrow (Saturday).  The challenge in the pairs also comes from EL-Coop in the shape of Declan French and Derryn McKillop while the Haddington trio of Zoe Whellans, Graeme McWilliams and Luke Newlands fly the garden county banner in the triples event.

It’s a busy weekend of action around the county as between them Aberlady, Port Seton, Castlepark and Elphinstone host the playdown action of the ELBA County Championships tomorrow (Saturday) with matches taking places at 11am, 1pm and 3pm respectively.  The semi-finals and finals of all disciplines feature at Aberlady on Sunday from 11am.  All competitors are informed that due to unforeseen circumstances all matches scheduled to be held at Prestongrange on Saturday have been switched to Elphinstone while games on the Sunday have been transferred to Aberlady.

The semi-final action in the Tranent Bowling Club championship singles saw Colin Bonner weather a late storm from 19-12 to 19-19 by reeling off two successive singles to beat Jamie Gordon, 21-19.  2007 champion Jamie Higgins will provide the opposition in the final on Wednesday August 19^th (6.45pm) as he held all the aces in a convincing 21-12 win over junior champion Adam Martin.

Tranent Bowling Club hosts an exciting adult & youth open pair’s tournament at Polson Park on Saturday 5^th September.  Youth’s competing must be 16 years of age or under in the Davie Martin sponsored event.  Entries should be submitted urgently to club secretary Jamie Gordon on 07795264449 or the club on 01875613749.

 

East Lothian senior side rounded off their campaign in the Matt Purdie Trophy with an impressive 66-42 win over arch rivals West Lothian in Monday’s action at EL-Coop BC in Tranent. The garden county ‘auld yins’ fired on three of their four cylinders with successes for the rinks skipped by Dougie Kennedy (+18), Alastair Kennedy (+11) and John Holmes (+10) but the rink skipped by Gordon Blyth failed to deliver and were on the wrong end of a 21-5 thumping.  The final standings in the five team inter-county league saw East Lothian finish runners-up on 6 points and a shot margin bank of +10 with West Fife being declared the first ever winners of the inaugural tournament on the same points but were 31 shots to the good over East Lothian. “The tournament was a huge success and it looks set to get bigger and better as the associations of both Edinburgh & Leith and Midlothian have already intimated there desire to join the league next season”, reflected ELBA Secretary Arthur Bellany.

Following a week’s break in action due to last weekend’s national finals at Ayr the race for the prestigious Division 1 title in the Credit Issues Scotland Ltd hots up tonight (Friday) as the campaign trail enters the home straight with only three rounds of fixtures left to play.

Its question time tonight for both teams when leaders Castlepark and third placed Port Seton clash in Prestonpans in the ‘match of the season’.  Former five-in-a-row champions Port Seton trail there rivals by 11 points albeit they do have a game in hand of there opponents but there is a feeling in the seasiders camp this is a must win game for them in the race for the title.  Castlepark play there penultimate fixture of the campaign and they know victory would install them as almost certain champions in waiting.  Second placed West Barns are 8 points of the pace and face an idle week so they will be hoping for a tight scoreline in the battle at the ‘pans’.  Relegation zoned EL-Coop face a must win home clash with Aberlady in there battle to beat the drop while chief rivals in the relegation dogfight Haddington face a tricky away fixture at defending champions East Linton.  Foot of the table Elphinstone must win at home against Tranent if they are to harbour any slim hopes of escaping the relegation trap door. 

The Scottish Under 25 trial team for Sunday’s practice match at Townhill BC in Dunfermline has been announced and it includes two East Lothian players in the shape of Port Seton’s Derek Oliver (recall) and David Sked of West Barns. 

Tranent Bowling Club host an exciting Invitation Fours tournament on Saturday 22^nd August at Polson Park with the expected high class field challenging for the £400+ title in the Leith Funeral Services sponsored event.  Entries to the event are now being accepted and can be obtained by contacting club secretary Jamie Gordon on 07795264449 or via e-mail jamieg@gogsie.force9.co.uk

 

The first Joint National Championships were held at The National Centre for Bowling at Ayr Northfield last week and ended with Dee Hogan, Leanne Baillie and Lauren Baillie winning gold medals. Dee was successful in the ladies Junior Singles and Leanne were winners of the Ladies Pairs. In the Gents events West Barns won bronze in the Senior Fours while Cockenzie and Port Seton gained silver in the triples. East Lothian’s singles representative in the singles was Jim Pringle from Aberlady Bowling Club and he began his campaign with a comfortable 21 – 13 win over Hugh Montgomerie of West Kilbride. When Jim stepped onto the green for his second round tie he was amazed to discover he was playing Alan Bradley from Grosvenor Bowling Club, Greenock. The last time Jim appeared at the national finals in 1990 he was beaten in the singles by Alan but 19 years later he gained revenge with a 21 – 14 victory. Unfortunately Jim could not keep up his winning run and went out in the third round to Graham Jardine, Milton of Campsie 21 – 16. In the pairs event Brian Bird and Raymond Frame were up against Edinburgh outfit, Tanfield. Standing four ahead with two ends to play things looked good for the Castlepark favourites but Tanfield squared things and the tie went to an extra end. Unfortunately with Raymond slipping between the Tanfield shot bowl and the jack with his third delivery the chance was gone and they went out 14 – 15 to the eventual runners-up. The most successful combination of the finals as far as gents were concerned was the Cockenzie & Port Seton triple of Steven Thompson, Craig Valentine and Steven Morgan. In the first round they survived by a single shot 16 – 15 against Gorgie Mills after going into the last end with the scores level. The second round on Friday morning saw a comfortable 26 – 3 over Inverness but the afternoon game provided even more drama as Steven and co. had to survive an extra end before defeating Stenhousemuir 16 – 15. In the semi-final on Sunday morning the trio had another comfortable win, this time 17 – 3 over Bellshill and Mossend but lady luck deserted them in the final. The loss of a 7 in the second half of the game proved too much to overcome and Steven, Craig and Steven had to settle for silver going down 24 – 7 to Dumfriesshire side, New Abbey. The fours championship contenders from East Lothian were David Whitson, Brian Hoggan, Jamie Gordon and Jamie Higgins from Tranent. A fairly comfortable 19 – 7 win over Dumbarton club, Eastfield was followed up with a nail biting 15 –14 victory over Clackmannan. Despite holding an early advantage in the tie they allowed their opponents back in to the game but held on for the single shot victory. Once again the Tranent outfit started their third round tie strongly but gradually their opponents from the north, Whitehall, came back and when the skip ran the white to the ditch for a 5 on the second last end the Tranent four had no time to recover and went out 19 – 15. Internationalist Derek Oliver carried the East Lothian banner in the junior singles event and had to show all his skills to secure a 21 – 14 win over Calum Crawford, Newbattle. This was followed by a comfortable 21 – 11 win over David McMonagle from Kingswood in Glasgow. Derek’s third round opponent was Elliot Reid from Westermains in Lanarkshire. The game was played on an end rink with a straight hand in pouring rain and unfortunately Derek could not master the conditions and went out 21 – 14.

 

The West Barns senior four of Gordon Good, Ron Watson, Ian Knox and Alister Kennedy got off to a great start against Linlithgow in the first round and held on to end up 15 – 10 winners. In the second round they battled their way to a 16 – 15 victory over Catrine before defeating Houldsworth from Wishaw 17 – 12 in the rain on Friday afternoon. Sunday morning’s semi-final saw the West Barns favourites up against Abbeyview from Dunfermline. Again a tricky rink was the undoing of an East Lothian rink and when their opponents played to short ends Alister’s rink could not find an answer and they went out 19 – 12 to the eventual winners.

 

The ladies events were played at the same time as the gents and East Lothian had two representatives in the championships. Leanne and Lauren Baillie from Cockenzie & Port Seton swept everything before them carried along by an enthusiastic support. In the first round the girls had a 25 – 6 win over Burntisland and then beat another Fife club, Methil 26 – 16 in the second round despite conceding three 4s. Balgownie were the next victims in the third round, Leanne and Lauren winning by 24 – 14. The semi-final saw them record an impressive 23 – 7 win over Carrick Knowe. As might have been expected their tightest game was in the final against Glasgow club, St Vincent. The Cockenzie & Port Seton pair were only 2 ahead with two ends to play but produced an outstanding display on the last two ends to take the title 20 – 13. In her first appearance at the National Finals Dee Hogan from Tranent did not let the large crowds put her off and did not drop a set on her way to the title. Her first opponent was Lisa Barrett from Winchburgh who she overcame by 2 sets to 0. Quarterfinal opponent Diane Christenson from Neilston suffered the same fate before Dee was faced with last year’s winner Lesley Gordon from Strathmiglo. A fancied opponent played well but Dee played better and again went through to the final 2 – 0. Her final opponent Stacey Lungley from Gourock Park could do nothing to halt the diminutive Tranent starlet in her quest for gold with game over in next to no time. Dee must have caught the eye with her single-minded approach and to lift the title without conceding a set was a terrific performance. Congratulations to Dee and to Leanne and Lauren on their outstanding achievements and also well done to all the East Lothian players who were great ambassadors for their county. Thanks are also due to the large support who travelled through to Ayr to cheer on their favourites.

 

                                

                                 Dee Hogan                                                                                    Lauren & Leanne Baillie

                                                             

                          Scottish Junior Singles 2009                                                                 Scottish Ladies Pairs 2009