On Saturday, December 4, it was once again time for the short mat bowlers of Wales to get together to raise funds for Ty Hafan Children's Hospice, and have a day of fun and fierce competition (writes Steve Howe). This was the eighth year that the pairs tournament had taken place and, as always, Ken Bellamy and Jean John put in many weeks work organising the event. Not only arranging the venue, the mats and the competition itself, Ken and Jean spent many hours organising the raffle prizes. This year, 1,592 books of tickets were sold, 51 prizes were donated, of which 11 were hampers, all made up from donated gifts. Sixty-nine pairs competed in this year's tournament and with 16 mats at Heatherton's bowls stadium, the round-robin leagues were completed by 2.30 pm. The winning 16 pairs then went into a sudden death knockout. The standard of bowling throughout the day was excellent, with club, county and Welsh players all giving of their best. In the semi-finals, Craig and Luke Guymer, last year's winners, played Robert Hughes and Janine Bancroft, while Jack Cole and Charles Proctor played Paul and Linda Elt. At last, the final was played, with, I am sure no one will mind me saying, 'autumn' competing against 'spring'. In a hard fought match, which went all the way to the wire, Jack Cole and Charles Proctor were the winners in an exciting and close match against Robert Hughes and Janine Bancroft. It was an especially poignant moment for Charles when he was presented with the Joan Proctor Trophy played for each year in memory of his wife. In addition, semi-finalists and finalists went home with prize money. It was a very successful day and Sandy Grindlay, of Ty Hafan, thanked everyone for their support. Ken Bellamy has since presented Ty Hafan with a cheque for £2,656.65. This makes a grand total of £17,620.61 that Ken and Jean have raised for Ty Hafan in the eight years they have organised the tournament.
