Tenby Five Arches 91 (12 pts) St. Katherines 69 (2) This must-win game was watched by a sizeable crowd, including players who had turned up for the traditional photo call for the squad. But the victory was certainly not easy, with the exception of the 'little general' and his mates. Who else, you may ask! Ken Lloyd turned in his best performance of the season - well that's what he told me anyway! Joking aside, 'Nugget' has been consistent throughout the year. At one stage of the game they scored 21 shots without reply to coast home by 13. Tony Brown returned from his sojourn up north to give a performance that Roy Powling was pleased about. Both Roy Kennion and Maxie helped the cause in the second half. It was a disastrous drop of four shots on the 19th end that saw DKT and his rink go down by two shots. Mike Gouldingay gave a steady performance at lead for Dai's foursome. Bill Bailey was the star on Mike's rink, and he candidly admitted that he needed to produce a good effort as he was in danger of being dropped. At least he is honest about his game. 'Plunger' was a more than contented man after the match. The same cannot be said of Mike, who had a 'stinker', much to the amusement of Dai Robb and the watching juniors! 'Crocky' said: "You can't be good all the time," which again caused great hilarity! Thanks to the rest of the crew, the rink squeezed home by two shots. With Pendine not playing over the weekend, the Arches now sit proudly on top of the division two table. How long for will depend on the last game of the season at the border village. At least we carry a three-point advantage going into the last game of the season. Five Arches are sponsored by Stena Line, while match sponsors were Coastal and Island Cruises and Mike Gouldingay. Rink scores (Five Arches first, St. Katherines skips only) were as follows: M. Gouldingay, J. Hubbard, G. Hill, D. King Thomas 19; D. Smith 21. S. Askew, B. Bailey, D. Robb, M. Crockford 20; K. Walker 18. R. Hine, K. Lloyd, R. Hurlow, G. Beynon 27; J. Lewis 14. R. Kennion, M. Donoghue, T. Brown, R. Powling 25; D. Joyce 16. Five Arches team to play Pendine on Sunday is: S. Askew, B. Bailey, D. Robb, M. Crockford; R. Kennion, J. Taylor, T. Brown, R. Powling; R. Hine, K. Lloyd, R. Hurlow, G. Beynon; M. Gouldingay, T. Brutnell, G. Hill, D. King Thomas.
Tenby 119 (14 pts.) Pembroke Dock Mariners 42 (0)
The Coastal Cottages sponsored Tenby team played the penultimate match in their league campaign on August 11. The visitors were the Mariners side from Pembroke Dock. Tenby were looking for a good result to maybe pinch third place in the final league standings for 2006. Neil Dickinson, Bert Barnikel, Terry Preston and skip Peter Day were not for the first time this season drawn on rink one. Peter and his men were all in outstanding form; in fact the opposition did not score until the 12th end. Needless to say the Tenby rink won by a massive 40 shots. Rink two consisted of Ron Hurlow, Roy Kennion, John Moffat and Andrew Muskett. A similar story to rink one unfolded, with the Tenby captain's men in command throughout. They finished the game with a well-deserved 23-shot victory. Pat Currie and his rink of Gerald Hewitt, Joe Richards and Dai Spencer had a closer tussle in their match. Honours were even at half-time, with Pat keeping his rink in contention with a fine bowling performance. The Tenby lads all started contributing in the second half and fought their way to an eight-shot victory. Last up were Doug Silcox, Mike Gouldingay, Ray Holly and skip Jon Webb. This again was tight early on, but Jon and his men upped the ante in the closing ends, to run out with a six-shot victory, giving the Tenby team a clean sweep on all rinks. Tenby finished up overall victors by an overwhelming 77 shots, but more importantly 14 much-needed points. Captain Andrew was more than pleased with the result and urged his men to produce the same effort for the final game of the year against Milford Haven. Rink scores (Tenby first, Mariners skips only) were: Gerald Hewitt, Joseph Richards, Dai Spencer, Pat Currie 20; B. Cale 12. Neil Dickinson, Bert Barnikel, Terry Preston, Peter Day 46; R. Jones 6. Doug Silcox, Mike Gouldingay, Ray Holly, Jon Webb 21; N. Firmin 15. Ron Hurlow, Roy Kennion, John Moffat, Andrew Muskett 32; G. Bann 9.
Whitland Junior Tournament
Seven of our Junior Academy players entered this yearly event. Accompanied by head coach Dai Robb and his deputy Tony Shaw, they all gave a good account of themselves, with Joe Richards eventually winning the event. He met fellow club member Luke Rees in the quarter-finals, Rachel Hensman just missing out at this stage by point zero two shots. In the semi- finals he was 5-1 down, but he held his nerve to win with the last wood. In the final he met Thomas Holmes, of Carmarthenshire, in a very one-sided game when his opponent conceded after five ends of a nine- end match. This is the first time that a Pembrokeshire player has won the tournament during the seven years of its existence. Other Academy players taking part were Cameron and Ysabelle White, Liz Goldwait and Adam Hensman. This is the first time that Tenby have entered any juniors in this event, and it speaks volumes for the youngsters themselves and all the coaching staff to show that all the hard work and effort put in on the Wednesday coaching nights is paying off. For Joe himself it has been a remarkable year, winning both his opening rounds in the Gold and Silver Cup earlier this month, being selected for the County Under 25 team, playing regularly for the Five Arches and Tenby sides, and he is also in the finals of the junior club competitions. Junior Party
Wednesday, September 6, is party night for our Junior Academy. They start the evening with a 'spider' - the prize for which is a £10 voucher - then some light-hearted games and ending up with a buffet prepared by the indefatigable Margaret Robb. It also happens to be Dai Robb's birthday, so it should be a great evening. Polishers All
Arriving for the usual 'Sunday lunchtime club', members were presented with the sight of Lynn Deli, Gerry Brutnell and husband Ted all busy polishing the trophies and the cabinet glass; they were assisted by Vi Roberts and Kenny Williams. Then Mavis Holly and Molly Spencer arrived and joined in the fun. An hour later, everything was sparkling and shining, and this despite the usual 'barracking' from the members.
CLUB COMPETITIONS
The club's knockout competitions are all progressing well and are now reaching the final stages. The finals themselves will be held on the weekend of September 16/17. Two other competitions being held in September are the Last Gasp Cup (open to over 70s) and the Castle Hill Cup. The Castle Hill Cup is played with a best of three sets format and is open to all members who have been eliminated from all singles competitions and any new members who joined too late to enter the competitions. Entry for both is still open and players are urged to get their names down on the lists as soon as possible.
Bonus ball
Ewan Day, son of the mighty Peter, was one of the lucky winners this week, while Marnie Owens won again for the second consecutive week. What's the formula Marnie? Whist results
Thursday: top score - Mabel Whittaker; first lady - Gerry Meaney; second lady - Muriel Griffiths; first gent - Gladys Irvine; second gent - Vera Burrows; first half - Gladys Cleaton; second half - Elsie Breadnam; longest sitter - Joan Dorling; raffles - Mair Marquiss and Olive Frost. Monday: Top score - Olive Frost; first lady - Mabel Whittaker; second lady - Joan Dorling; first gent - Bert Barnikel; second gent - Pauline Barnikel; first half - John Davies; second half - Jo Davies; longest sitter - Ginnie Beeken; raffles - Mabel Whittaker and Elsie Breadnam.
Keith Delabertouche Mixed Triples For once the weather played a part in this popular event, staged in memory of Keith, the late husband of organiser Lynn. Straight after a gruelling week organising the Gold Cup Tournament, she played in the ladies' pairs event and then organised this tournament. No wonder she took the following day off to recover! There were 32 entries split into four pools, with the games being played on a 'round robin' basis. Local interest in the semi-finals was a home threesome of Vera Williams, Alison Redman and Gwyn Beynon, with Alison and Gwyn both enjoying terrific seasons. Saundersfoot were represented by Kath Blaney, Macky Brace and Paul Blaney in the semis against a Llanelli triples. Eventual winners were Manfred Davies, Pam Jones and Wyn Samuel from Carmarthen, who have supported this event for many years. They each received £100, while the runners-up had £50 each and the semi-finalists received £20. The sponsors for the tournament were Ray and Mavis Holly, who towards the end of the evening treated members to a Chinese carry out. Ray commented: "We wanted to finish the day in style." And they certainly did. This was the highest individual sponship for this event since its inauguration; the club owes a great debt of gratitude to the Hollys.