As a result of winning the Snowy Underhill League in 2008, Chatham Bowling Club took part in the East Kent Finals Day at Milton Regis on Sunday August 30th. This was a round-robin affair with three rinks from Chatham BC playing four 11 end games against teams from other areas who had won their leagues in 2008.
The sun shone for most of the day, and Milton Regis hosted the event superbly, providing everybody with an excellent buffet lunch and a two course meal at the end of the day. Fourteen players from Chatham attended, and each played in at least two of the four games.
Chatham played against Sandwich in the first game, losing on two rinks and winning on one. However, we went on to win two rinks to one in the next two games against Canterbury and then St Lawrence. As the last game approached, three teams were in contention for overall winners …. St Lawrence, Chatham and, our final opponents, Folkestone Park.
It went all the way to the wire. With Roger Howell’s rink still playing, Chatham had lost one rink and won the other. We calculated Roger needed to win the final end to put us in with a chance. He went to bowl several shots down with the jack hidden behind a line of woods. The opposing skip, trying to put a covering wood around the back, nudged the jack into the open. Shot and jack were now adjacent to each other. With his final bowl Roger caught the shot wood, but failed to stay in the head or to trail the jack. The end was lost.
As all the players and visitors retired to the dining room while the shots and points were totalled, and the final positions decided. When the announcement came, Chatham were in third place, St Lawrence in second and Folkestone Park the overall winners.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the players who have participated in this league across the last two seasons. I think it is a great addition to the Club’s annual list of fixtures, and a great way for many players to be involved in competitive games and to improve their bowling.
Finally, on a personal note, I thoroughly enjoyed the East Kent Finals Day. It is the first time in more than a decade that I have managed easily to maintain my concentration and energy across such a sustained period of bowling, and I think this was reflected in the quality of my play in the four games. I enjoyed the day more than I have enjoyed any day’s bowling for several years. I look forward to Chatham appearing in the finals again in the not too distant future.
Graham I Lock
President