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Monthly archives for September, 2012

Tournament Day 2012

Sep30
2012
1 Comment Written by Admin 2

34 members turned up on Saturday for one of the most intriguing Tournament Days for years! Pat McErlean volunteered to join Match Secretary, David McCarry on the sidelines to allow an ideal format, with 32 players taking to the village green for four games of 5 ends.

The day started with a ‘Spider’, with the only rule being that no-one was allowed to draw to the central jack, resulting in chaos across the green. As the running bowls came to a rest, and the jack stopping ricocheting, Duncan Ballantyne’s bowl was judged to be the closest, earning him a bottle of Vodka, presented by President Frank McCallion.

The First Spider
Duncan Ballantyne & Frank McCallion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game 1

The first game was straightforward…to simply play as drawn, giving some interesting team formations and opportunities for big scores.

Stevie McArdle, Billy Murray (Snr), Paul Kane, Drew Atkinson, John Holland, Jim Daly, Ian McCallum & Micky Haggerty
Jim McCallion, Andy MacEachran, Frank McCallion, Fulton McIntosh, Frank McCarry, George McCallion, Matt Morrow & Neil McCallion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game 2

Game 2 was a round robin format, with players playing the first end as drawn and then moving progressively up the playing order. Again, this produced some unlikely ‘head to heads’ with inexperienced skips playing directly against regular back-end players.

Billy Hogg, John Hopkinson, Tommy Pender, Billy Murray Jnr, John Gillies, Duncan Ballantyne, Graham Connell & Hugh MacLean
Ronnie Jardine, Davie Lang, Peter Donnelly, Mick Roberts, Jamie Daly, Michael Cassidy, Tam Fraser & John Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game 3

Game 3 gave us a chance to see David McCarry’s warped mind in action! Teams assembled on the green, initially as drawn, but then each team had the opportunity to decide the running order…of their opponents! As each team debated how to weaken their rivals (by presumably keeping the best bowlers away from the back end) many people were having flashbacks to their schooldays, worried about being last picked for the playground football.

John Murphy…2 yards short (as usual)

However, this probably turned out to be the most enjoyable game of the afternoon.

Many of those picked at skip played some superb bowls, coached by the experienced guys playing lead and second.

This game also saw Admin2 loudly slagging Davie Lang (his opponent) for being two yards short with his first bowl, only to pull up two yards short himself…

Thankfully, David McCarry was on hand to capture the moment for the website. However, he was too slow to catch Michael Cassidy’s wrong bias at the next end!

We had a short break after the third round of games to have the now traditional pies and bridies, served by Vice-President Billy Murray Snr.

Game 4

Going into the last game, Jim Daly was the only player on maximum points and Drew Atkinson was heading for the wooden spoon, being the only one with no points. Remarkably, 14 members were still in contention for the top prize and, after the first three unusual formats, we were wondering what was in store for game 4. Playing with your other hand? The player in your rink with the lowest cumulative points skipping?

However, game 4 was simply draw a disc and then organise your own team once out on the green, which was perhaps appropriate now that we were at the ‘business end’ of the tournament.

Jim Daly collapsed to an eleven shot defeat, taking his team of Matt Morrow, Davie Lang and Frank McCarry down with him. This trio had all been on 5 points each and another win would have secured a top five finish for the whole team.

Once the points and shots were tallied the top three were announced as follows:

  1. Ian McCallum (7 points +17 shots)
  2. John Hopkinson (7 points +12 shots)
  3. Tommy ‘Pele’ Pender (6 points + 24 shots)

Frank McCallion presents the trophy to Ian McCallum

President Frank presented Ian with the trophy. The fact that Ian was experimenting with a brand new set of size 2 Tigers only rubbed it in all the more as members collected their prizes based upon their total points & shots.

Tam Fraser ‘won’ the wooden spoon with 1 point -14 shots and picked the full length mirror which, coincidentally and bizarrely, had been selected with him in mind! Hopefully the chance to check his whole appearance before leaving the house will improve his dress sense.

A fantastic day was had by all, and huge credit is due to David McCarry for the creative format. Perhaps we’ll have an even bigger turnout for next year’s Tournament Day…

Posted in Results

Lounge Entertainment (October to March)

Sep26
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

The following acts will be appearing in the members’ lounge over the next six months:

Saturday 6th October 2012 Heather
Saturday 20th October 2012 Eileen Scullion
Saturday 10th November 2012 D. McLean
Saturday 24th November 2012 Aileen Finn
Saturday 8th December 2012 Eileen Scullion
Saturday 5th January 2013 Heather
Saturday 26th January 2013 John Giggs
Saturday 16th February 2013 Aileen Finn
Saturday 9th March 2013 Eileen Scullion
Saturday 30th March 2013 Aileen Finn

We also have the Christmas Dance on Saturday 22nd December in the function hall.

Posted in Results

Winter Hours

Sep26
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

The Club will move to winter hours from Monday 1st October 2012: These are as follows:

Monday Closed
Tuesday 7pm – 11pm
Wednesday Closed
Thursday 1pm – 11pm
Friday 12pm – 12am
Saturday 12pm – 12am
Sunday 12pm -11pm

These hours will apply from October to March. Any exceptions / special openings will be advertised.

Posted in Results

Nominated Two Bowl Pairs 2012

Sep23
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

Saturday saw the Nominated Two Bowl Pairs, once again taking place in perfect weather conditions, making up somewhat for the horrendous summer for bowls.

After three rounds of 8-end games the four highest qualifiers were as follows:

  • John Gillies (s) & John Brodie
  • Charlie Cassidy (s) & Michael Cassidy
  • Graham Connell (s) & Duncan Ballantyne
  • Neil McCallion (s) & Joe O’Shea

In the first semi-final Connell & Ballantyne eased past Gillies & Brodie by 8 shots to 1. The second semi-final was a tighter affair, with the Cassidys edging out McCallion/O’Shea 7-6.

In an excellent final, Charlie & Michael Cassidy led 8-2 after six ends and several spectators headed off assuming the outcome was decided. However, Graham Connell & Dunky Ballantyne dug deep and produced a 3 and an amazing 4 at the final two ends to take the Nominated Pairs title with a narrow 9-8 victory.

Graham Connell & Duncan Ballantyne

Congratulations to Graham and Duncan, and a big thanks to everyone for turning out for such an enjoyable day.

Posted in Results

Lounge Entertainment – September weekend

Sep22
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

Well known local singer Des McFarlane will be appearing in the members’ lounge on Saturday 22nd September. There is no charge at the door but members and their guests are advised to arrive early to guarantee a seat, especially with this being the bank holiday weekend.

The Club will have entertainment in the lounge on Saturday nights regularly throughout the winter months. The dates and acts will be posted on the website soon.

Posted in Results

Two Bowl Final 2012

Sep19
2012
1 Comment Written by Admin 2

The final of the Two Bowl took place on Wednesday night, with holder Michael Keenan taking on recent Champion of Champion, Jim Daly. This was a repeat of last year’s final and it was also Jim Daly’s third successive appearance in the Two Bowl final, having lost in 2010 and 2011. The match was marked by Stevie McArdle and kicked off just after 6pm.

Jim Daly, Stevie McArdle & Michael Keenan

Both players got off to a slow start, struggling to catch the weight and draws on the rink, but the game was finely balanced with Keenan taking a narrow 3-2 lead after four ends.

From this point on both players had adapted and we were treated to some fine bowls. It remained a nip and tuck game, with the scoreline moving from 4-4, to 6-6 to 7-7 after eleven ends.

Action from the Two Bowl final 2012

Keenan took control for a brief period and edged into a 10-8 lead after 15 ends, however Daly replied immediately and took a 11-10 lead. He stretched this to 13-10 and was within striking distance but Keenan rose to the occasion and matched his opponent at 13-13 after 21 ends played.

At the 22nd end Daly was lying one with his final bowl to come and had over a yard to draw in for the match, however he handed Keenan a lifeline by falling short, leaving the scoreline 14-13.

At the 23rd end Daly was lying two but Keenan pulled the jack through to save game with his last bowl. In fact, if he had taken it a few more inches he would have won the match, as his first bowl was lying 5 feet behind the front cluster.

So we were into the 24th and final end, with the scoreboard showing 14-14 and a winner takes all scenario. Daly was lying game but Keenan played a running bowl to remove it, leaving Keenan lying the match with a bowl about 4-5 feet short of the jack.

This time Daly made no mistake and drew just past Keenan’s front bowl to take the Two Bowl title with a 15-14 victory.

The players were on the green for over an hour and it was a fantastic game to watch. The players and marker retired to the club house for drinks set up by Vice-President Billy Murray Snr.

Congratulations to Jim on winning this tournament after coming so close in recent years. Michael would have been pleased with his performance and has the Past-Presidents and Handicap trophies to console him.

Posted in Results

Renton B.C. Fives 2012

Sep16
2012
4 Comments Written by Admin 2

The decision by the Match Committee to reschedule, rather than cancel, the Renton 5s tournament back in July paid off yesterday when 30 members took to the green in perfect, dry conditions for a fantastic day of bowls.

There was a slight delay in starting as a few members were drafted in at short notice due to call-offs. A big thanks to Andy McCallion, Paul Kane and Charlie Kane for filling in; Andy having been woken at 8am after a few hours sleep following a heavy night in Balloch!

Paul Kane Jnr (Dumbarton BC) also filled in for the first game until grandfather Charlie arrived. A huge thanks to Paul for supporting Renton once again – it was much appreciated by the organisers.

The participants were as follows, with every team due to play every other team and the two highest up qualifying for the final:

Team 1 Team 2 Team 3
G. Connell J. Gillies Jim Daly
D. Ballantyne F. McCarry S. McArdle
T. Fraser P. Donnelly D. Atkinson
T. Pender B. Hogg J. Holland
J. Hopkinson A. McCallion B. McNeil
Team 4 Team 5 Team 6
C. Cassidy N. McCallion B. Murray Snr
G. Lunan D. Lang B. Murray Jnr
J. Murphy J. Brodie P. McErlean
Jamie Daly D. McLaughlin M. Cassidy
C. Kane B. Campbell P. Kane

The game got underway with the Fours & Singles, with the Billy Murray(s) team (the bookies favourites for the wooden spoon beforehand) strengthened by the addition of (daddy) Paul Kane, and after game 1 they were the leaders with maximum points.

A round of Pairs & Triples followed, and then another set of Fours & Singles. At the lunch break (after 3 rounds of games) the standings were as follows:

Position Team Points Shots
1 B. Murray 9 +14
2 J. Gillies 7 +14
3 G. Connell 7 +7
4 Jim Daly 6 -4
5 C. Cassidy 4 -14
6 N. McCallion 3 -17

Bookie slips were being torn up at this stage due to the pre-tournament favourites (a team of ringers hand-picked by Stevie McArdle!) languishing in 4th place, but with another 8 points available no team was fully out of the running.

The fourth round of Pairs/Triples games threw the tournament wide open with the table as follows with a game to go:

Position Team Points Shots
1 J. Gillies 11 +22
2 B. Murray 11 +14
3 Jim Daly 8 +7
4 C. Cassidy 8 -7
5 G. Connell 7 -8
6 N. McCallion 3 -25

This meant that 5 of the 6 teams were still in contention for the final, highlighting the beauty of the 5s format, which tends to even out results over the day.

In fact, with the Cassidy team due to play Gillies, and the Murrays playing Connell, there was a scenario where it was possible for three or four teams to tie on 11 points with identical shots, leading to Stevie McArdle and John Murphy searching frantically for the numerous scorecards in case a count back of ends was required.

However, the Gillies four took the 2 points required to guarantee their place in the final and pre-tournament favourites team Daly took the maximum 4 points to leapfrog the Murrays, who had lost both their games to team Connell. The final table after five rounds of games was therefore as follows:

Position Team Points Shots
1 J. Gillies 13 +20
2 Jim Daly 12 +15
3 G. Connell 11 +13
4 B. Murray 11 -5
5 C. Cassidy 10 -5
6 N. McCallion 3 -38

The final was contested between John Gillies (s)/Billy Hogg and Stevie McArdle (s)/John Holland in the Pairs and Andy McCallion, Peter Donnelly & Frank McCarry (s) versus Brian McNeil, Drew Atkinson & Jim Daly (s) in the Triples.

A. McCallion, J. Gillies, P. Donnelly, B. Hogg, F. McCarry, S. McArdle, J. Daly, D. Atkinson, J. Holland & B. McNeil

In a tight final which at one point was finely balanced 9-9 across the two games, Gillies/Hogg won the Pairs 8-3 and the Triples finished 6-6 handing victory to Honorary President McCarry and Honorary Vice-President Gillies, showing that there’s still life in the old dogs.

The winners and runners-up were presented their prizes by VP Billy Murray Snr and John Murphy.

Renton 5s Winners 2012

John Gillies thanked Stevie, Billy & John for organising the day and gave a special thanks to Billy for the excellent food.

Highlights of the day…

  • In his singles match against Billy Murray Jnr, Denis McLaughlin throwing his first bowl before he had thrown the jack, and watching it earnestly all the way up the green to see if it might be a toucher. Of course, Billy let this pass quietly and didn’t draw the whole green’s attention to this unique act…Aye, right!
  • Paul Kane Jnr showing his class at the first end of his fours match. Playing second to John Murphy, and sharing John’s size 2 aces (two sizes smaller than Paul’s own bowls), he ignored the forehand road (almost) shown to him by his lead and drew the shot stone dead on the backhand!
  • The excellent soup, pies, bridies and sandwiches provided by Vice-President Billy Murray Snr.
  • Frank McCarry announcing before the final that anyone needing the toilet should go before the game started. He didn’t want a repeat of the infamous ‘Jobbygate’ incident from last year!
  • Andy McCallion ending up a winner after filling in at short notice with a hangover.
  • Peter Donnelly collecting his first piece of silverware after 13 years in the Village…

Peter Donnelly with the Trophy

So, with five new names on the Renton 5s trophy, and with it being another huge success, everyone looks forward to competing for this cup again next season.

Posted in Results

Handicap Final 2012 (Part 2)

Sep15
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

After their classic encounter the previous night, which was abandoned due to pitch darkness at the 28th end, Paul Kane and Michael Keenan returned to the green on Friday for a 2pm start. The replayed final was kindly marked by John Taylor.

Paul Kane & Michael Keenan

Starting again from scratch at -2 v -3, this encounter was entirely different from their previous matches and it was remarkable the difference 20 hours made to a game played on the exact same rink/setting which had produced such an epic the previous evening.

Michael took a few early 4s to gain the upper hand and his superior play saw him run out a 21-5 winner, becoming only the second person to win the Renton Handicap off a lower minus start than his opponent.

It finished in heartache for Paul, finishing as runner-up in both the Championship and Handicap this year. If he had won the latter he would have been the first person to ever win the Presidents & Handicap in the same year.

Michael now goes for the treble on Monday night in the Two Bowl versus Jim Daly, hoping to add that to his Handicap and Past Presidents successes in 2012.

Posted in Results

Handicap Final 2012 (Part 1)

Sep13
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

Thursday night saw the Handicap final take place, contested between good friends Paul Kane and Michael Keenan, marked by John Murphy.

Paul Kane & Michael Keenan

This was always likely to be an ‘El Classico’ given their fantastic match in the Presidents final last year, which was nip and tuck throughout, finishing in a 21-18 victory for Michael on that occasion.

They were also the two in-form Renton players of 2012, appearing in three of this year’s single-handed finals each, Paul having already won the Presidents and Michael having won the Past-Presidents.

Paul was playing off -2 and Michael off -3.

It was a match played in an excellent atmosphere, with some fine heads and exceptional conversions throughout. This was quite a feat considering the deteriorating weather conditions and a tricky rink.

Paul took an early 5-1 lead but Michael soon pegged him back to 6-6.  Paul took the initiative once again to lead 9-6 but six ends later they were level once more at 11-11. The scorecard also showed 13-13 and 14-14, highlighting what an even game this was.

After 27 ends, including a no-shot and a remarkable 19 singles, Michael led 17-15 but darkness had truly descended.  As a result, both players were relying on instinct and playing from memory, but their quality shone through with one end in particular where both players had a dead draw toucher each with the first two bowls. Given the darkness and the horrible wind and rain both players were contemplating calling it a night and coming back for a rematch but they initially opted to carry on.

The 28th end saw Michael lying 3 close shots with Paul due to play the final bowl. Paul had the chance to drive into the head but risked removing his fourth shot if it went wrong, which would have handed Michael the game. However, by this stage it was simply impossible to see the head from the mat. After a brief discussion Michael, in an act of outstanding sportsmanship, offered to scrub this final end and call it a night without the final bowl being played. This typified the spirit in which the match was played by both finalists.

Paul and Michael will return on Friday 14th September at 2pm for a re-match, to be kindly marked at relatively short notice by John Taylor. They have elected to start from scratch.

If it were possible, justice would be served by declaring them as joint winners!

Posted in Results

Fixture update – Tournament Day & Greenkeeper’s Day

Sep12
2012
Leave a Comment Written by Admin 2

The Committee has opted to extend the season, moving Greenkeeper’s Day to Saturday 6th October, with a 1pm start.

This allows us to hold Tournament Day on Saturday 29th September, with a 1pm start. There will be prizes for every competitor, although the monetary value of the lesser placed prizes has been reduced this year. However, the top 5-10 prizes will still be ‘top drawer’!

Sheets are up in the clubhouse for members who wish to play in either event.

The draw for the Renton 5s has also been posted. Thank you to the 30 members who were able to commit to this tournament, allowing a 6 team format which will mean no stand downs and every team playing every other team.

Posted in Announcement
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