Members of Haddington Bowling Club are in seventh heaven after they were confirmed as the 2014 supreme club of the East Coast Carpets-sponsored East Lothian Leagues.

Haddington won the Division 1 title for the first time last Thursday evening after chief rivals West Barns suffered a shock 8-0 home defeat against Castlepark in their rearranged fixture.

The final round of fixtures in the 18-match campaign last Friday night ended up being an anti-climax as Haddington were confirmed as the champions without throwing a bowl as they held an uncatchable nine-point lead after West Barns’ major slip-up in their penultimate fixture the previous evening.

“We have had a great campaign and I must thank our lads for showing remarkable competitive spirit and great consistency throughout the season and I think that has made us deserved champions,” said an ecstatic team captain Angus Blair.

Haddington ended their league campaign with a 5-3 victory at Tranent, while West Barns were held to a 4-4 scoreline at relegated Prestongrange.

Cockenzie & Port Seton ended their up-and-down campaign on a high following an 8-0 home win over foot-of-the-table Aberlady, while Castlepark finished with a 6-2 home win over Gifford.

East Linton were awarded a walkover against EL-Coop after the Tranent side surprisingly could not raise a team to fulfil the fixture.

Champions of Division 2 were Castlepark A, with Dunbar claiming the second promotion spot, while at the other end of the table both Athelstaneford and Macmerry suffered the relegation blues.

East Lothian Labour won the Division 3 title at a relative canter and joining them in the higher division next season will be EL-Coop A. Dropping through the relegation trapdoor were West Barns A and Castlepark B.

Cockburnspath stormed to the Division 4 title, while Prestongrange A claimed the other promotion place.

In the afternoon senior leagues, the champagne corks were popping at Polson Park in Tranent after East Lothian Labour celebrated title success in Division 1, while near-neighbour EL-Coop won the Division 2 title after just pipping Dunbar to the post in a thrilling finish.

The Division 3 title was won by the ‘auld yins’ at Aberlady, with East Lothian Labour A grabbing the other promotion place.

West Barns made a successful defence of the prestigious Jubilee Cup having fielded a team of stars that defeated Haddington in the final of the ELBA Top Ten played at Gifford BC. They will now go forward and represent East Lothian in next year’s national tournament.

The final on Saturday afternoon was a thrilling affair that went right down to the wire and saw West Barns score good wins in the pairs and triples to earn a 4-4 share of the spoils, then tip the match scales in their favour with shot surplus of 4 over the newly crowned Division 1 champions. “Winning back to back Top Ten and Top Five titles has certainly made up for a disappointing finish to our league campaign,” said a jubilant team captain Scott Kennedy.

Scotland new cap Kennedy played a major role in the West Barns triumph as he skipped Kevin Thomson to a crucial seven-shot victory in the pairs over Stewart Thomson and Gary McNab.

The pairs win supported the efforts of Ian Knox, Ian Thorburn and Gary Landells, who had signalled the signs of a ‘Barns’ victory by inflicting a three-shot defeat on Graeme Wilson, Gordon Hunter and Billy Dunleavy in the triples.

The result in the singles is often critical to the overall outcome of the match so it was an encouraging start for Haddington that Glenn Blair delivered a thrilling 21-20 win over West Barns internationalist Alister ‘Bongo’ Kennedy.

Blair’s win was then supported by Chris Brock, Charlie Sobolewski, Jamie Blair and Angus Blair, coming in the shape of a five-shot victory over Dougie Kennedy, Robert Wilson, Calum Gordon and Scott Thorburn in the fours.

In the earlier semi-final action, West Barns defeated Cockenzie & Port Seton at Haddington, while Haddington halted the challenge of Castlepark at Gifford.

Meanwhile, a good weekend for West Barns got even better on Sunday when they progressed through to the semi-final stage of the Inter-County Top Five singles following an excellent 4-1 points win at Dumfries & Galloway champions Gretna in the quarter-final action.

West Barns now head to Sighthill Bowling Club in Edinburgh on Sunday for the tournament finals day and will tackle Edinburgh champions Carrick Knowe in the semi-final at 11am. The other clash features Castle Douglas against Dunfermline West End. The club champions throughout the county have been battling it out over the past week for the right to claim the prestigious ELBA Champion of Champions title. The event reaches its climax tomorrow (Saturday) as Aberlady BC stages finals day, with all the action commencing at 12.30pm.

The climax to the ELBA John McDonald Trophy tournament will be at North Berwick BC next Thursday (September 11) from 2pm. Scotland star Derek Oliver paraded his exciting skills in the climax to the championship singles at Cockenzie & Port Seton and captured the title once again with a hard-fought 21-15 win over now eight-times beaten finalist Steven Morgan.

Oliver, 30, has now equalled club legend Alex Morgan’s record of seven title wins.

Graham Dickson is a first-time champion at East Lothian Labour after beating John Rollands in a closely fought final. Elliot Grieve defeated Simon Neil to be crowned king of Macmerry for the first time, while Derek Malcolm is the new kingpin at Aberlady.

Veteran campaigner George Cowan is the champion at East Linton after he beat Keith Fender 21-19 in a thrilling final.

The annual East Linton Open Singles tournament takes place next Monday (September 15) and entries are now being accepted by calling the secretary on 01620 860654.

In the now fast-approaching indoor season, East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club will open its doors for the new season this coming Monday to Friday, 10am-noon and 6.30-8.30pm, for membership payments and practice games at £1 a game. No play will be possible on the evening of Wednesday due to a prior private booking. From next Monday onwards the club will open on a full-time basis.

It is envisaged some of the leagues will be up and running the week beginning September 15, especially the Morning Leagues and the Top Four. All members are asked to keep an eye on the website and boards for details. Those wanting to enter any of the pre-Christmas leagues should contact Steven Clark (match secretary) as soon as possible. Membership fees and rink fees remain the same at £58 and £3 (£4 non-members) respectively.

Meanwhile, the club is staging an open day on Sunday for all members and non-members from 1pm to 4pm. The carpet is open for free bowling to all between 2pm and 4pm.

The draw for the Gifford Bowling & Sports Club John Craig Top Four tournament, sponsored by Carol Craig & Family, tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows: 10am: W. Smith, D. Riva, M. Wood, B. Galloway, W. W. Wood, Stenton, A. Baillie, A. Riva. 11am: B. Douglas, B. Bisset, W. Gray, J. Campbell.