It's hard to believe it, but the outdoor bowling season is already drawing to a close. Last week saw the last but one tournament of the year to be staged at Tenby Bowling Club, the open mixed triples for the Keith Delabertouche Cup. Kindly sponsored by Mavis and Ray Holly, the event was held last Thursday and Friday. It was initially played with a round robin format, with the top two of each group going through to contest the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the home trio of Pauline Barnikel, Val James and Gerald Hewitt lost to the Steve James triple from Pembroke Dock, while another Tenby threesome, Pat Currie, Dai Spencer and Lynn Delabertouche went down to last year's tournament winners, Wyn Samuel, Pat Jenkins and Manfred Davies, of Carmarthen. In fact, the Carmarthen trio went on to retain the magnificent trophy again this year with victory against their Pembroke Dock counterparts in the final.

Tenby 82 (10 pts.) Pembroke Dock 78 (4)

Last Saturday, the Layton and Co. Solicitors sponsored Tenby team travelled to Pembroke Dock for a league encounter. This has always been a difficult fixture for the side, having not won at the Dock for six years. First up on rink one was the rink of Gerald Hewitt, Ray Holly, Terry Howells and Andrew Muskett. After a difficult start, the boys found themselves 13-4 down after 11 ends, but amidst the doom and gloom, the boys produced a stirring fightback to end up losing by just five shots, 20-15; a vital comeback if Tenby were to win. Rink two was a somewhat different affair, with Pat 'Match of the Day' Currie enjoying an armchair ride. Joe Richards, Jon Webb and Simon Evans were always adding to the head and with Pat and his wine-coloured bowls always in control, they literally blew the opposition away to win 23-15. On rink three, Neil Dickinson, Ashley Hooper, Terry Preston and Peter Day struggled for long periods of the game. They were 21-9 down at tea, but the boys dug in well during the second half, before eventually going down 28-18. So it was all down to rink four, where captain Dai Spencer, Doug Silcox, John Baggott and skip Paul Diment were always in front. Going into the last end, the boys had to defend a two-shot lead for the team. John then produced two brilliant bowls and the rink went on to win 26-15. As we know, the Tenby prince can hold the shots when needed! All in all, this was a good victory for the team. Captain Dai was delighted to see the side finally achieve a win at the Dock, a win which puts Tenby top-of-the-table with just one game to go. Indeed, it should be a nailbiting finale to the season, with Whitland and Haverfordwest also having a big say in the destination of the title. Tonight (Friday), meanwhile, the Tenby side take a break from league action when they play club rivals, the Five Arches, in the semi-final of the Diment Cup.

FIVE ARCHES 81 (12 pts.) ST. CATHERINES 56 (2)

On Saturday, Five Arches played host to St. Catherines. After a very wet morning, there was some question as to whether the game would take place, but captain Mike, after inspecting the green, decided to play the opposite way to avoid a cancellation. Then, you'll never guess, at 2.30 pm the sun came out until the end of the game. Rink two saw Roy Kennion as lead, backed by young Luke Rees, who played some outstanding shots, with Mike Gouldingay at three and John Moffat as skip. After 10 ends they were 10 shots up and eventually went on to win by a margin of 12. Up front on rink three were Ken Lloyd and Kenny Williams, who both had good games, while Gwyn Beynon and Roy Powling were at the back end, but all the damage was caused by their opponents, M. Power and D. Smith. who were on top form. Arches were 12 shots down at the interval and, despite a fightback, went down by nine in the end. Rink four saw front men Maxi Donoghue and Jonathan Hubbard both having good games, while Tony Brown came in as third and Mike Crockford was skip. The game was all level at 11 ends, but then the home foursome put the pressure on and went on to win by a margin of 12 shots. On rink five, Stuart Askew and Jim Taylor were up front, with Graham Hill as third and Dave King Thomas as skip. All were in outstanding form and by the interval they were 11 shots up. They continued to pull away in the second half and eventually won by a margin of 14, taking the sweep again as well. Captain Mike congratulated the team on a fantastic performance and they are now looking forward to this (Friday) evening when they play against the Tenby side in the semi-final of the Diment Cup, while tomorrow (Saturday) they play St. Issell's in a local derby for the last game of the season. Many thanks to Five Arches sponsors - Stena Line, Welsh Shop and Tees-r-us. pembroke dock 12 Goscar 31

Goscar visited Pembroke Dock in the Meyrick Owen League on Saturday. The team had their best win of the season, running out easy winners. All team members played well, with Ray Hine and Brian Winstone up front giving a good platform for Harry Ebdon and skip Neil Hensman to consolidate the score. With one match to go, a postponed game against Neyland, the team is hoping to a good end to the season.

Whist Drive

Results, Thursday, August 16: top score - Olive Frost; 1st lady - Mabel Whitaker; 2nd lady - Gladys Cleaton; 1st gent - Gent Jill Groom; 2nd gent - Gladys Irvine; first half winner - Elsie Breadnam; second half winner - Pauline Barnikel; longest sitter - Bill Whitaker and lowest score - Ginnie Beeken; raffle winners - Mabel Whitaker and Olive Frost.     Monday, August 20: top score - Gladys Cleaton; 1st lady -Mabel Whitaker; 2nd lady - Olive Frost; 1st gent - Joyce Waters; 2nd gent - Elsie Breadnam; first half winner - Muriel Griffiths; second half - Mair Marquiss; longest sitter (six eggs) - Ginnie Beeken; lowest score - Vera Burrows; raffles - Mair Marquiss and Olive Frost.   Tenby Bowling Club whist drives are held twice weekly in Sutton Street. New members and visitors are always welcome.