East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club gents’ singles champion Billy Mellors booked his place in the field for January’s National Indoor Singles gala finals after coming through the weekend’s playdown action at East Kilbride IBC.

Mellors’ semi-final opponent at Fraserburgh IBC on January 31 will be Midlothian champion and fellow Scotland cap Ronnie Duncan.

The 40-year-old IT project manager opened his account with a hard-fought 21-16 first-round win over Stuart Pagan of Abbeyview, then found life much easier in his second-round clash when he defeated Kenny Johnstone of Tweedbank 21-4.

On Sunday morning, the Garden County champion faced Mike Stephen of Aberdeen and had to be at his very best to come out on top 21-16, then he eased past world-stage star Jonathan Ross of Paisley 21-9 in the quarter-final to book his place in the Fraserburgh showpiece.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to bits to reach the semi-final and now have the chance to try and realise a burning ambition by winning the National Singles title,” said Mellors.

Meanwhile, Emma Brown lost out at the semi-final stage in Sunday’s National Ladies Super Singles tournament, also staged at East Kilbride.

The strong-looking partnership of Andrew Jeffrey and Scott Kennedy will carry the East Lothian banner into Sunday’s gents’ National 2-bowl Pairs playdown action at Lanarkshire IBC in Wishaw.

The Garden County champions have received a bye into the first round proper and will play either Allander or Fintry at 11.30am.

In the ladies’ playdown action at Midlothian IBC, the solid-looking pairing of Emma Brown and Janet Fairnie fly the local flag and tackle Bainfield at 9.30am.

East Lothian IBC young rising star Calvert Allison is on international duty this weekend as he will be part of a Scotland Under-18 side competing in a British Home International series at Abbeyview IBC in Dunfermline.

The ladies’ side from East Lothian IBC began their Scottish League campaign in Division 1C with an excellent 19-shot victory away to West Lothian.

“It was a strong performance and we led from the opening end of the game and we were never troubled throughout, with really good wins on three rinks,” reflected team convenor Sheena Currie.

Internationalist Emma Brown led the way, with her rink producing an excellent 25-15 victory over Jennifer Richardson, and she was ably supported by the rinks skipped by Nancy McNeil and Janet Fairnie, who recorded nine and eight shot victories respectively. Yvonne Veitch was the losing rink, succumbing to a seven-shot defeat.

The ladies are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) when they make the short trip into Edinburgh to tackle chief promotion rivals Bainfield.

The team reads: M. Kivlin, A. Berwick, M. Thomson, J. Fairnie skip. I. Gray, C. Jones, D. Rowan, Y. Veitch skip. R. MacKintosh, J. Russell, M. Hamilton, E. Brown skip. J. McFarlane, I. Combe, G. MacKintosh, N. McNeil skip.

The gents’ side’s Scottish Premier League programme springs into its winter action tomorrow (Saturday) and they open with a challenging home clash against Paisley.

The Garden County will compete in a competitive but winnable-looking B section, with Paisley, Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Ardrossan and Aberdeen providing the opposition over a 10-match campaign that stretches from tomorrow until January 24.

East Lothian go into the opener missing the vital services of Commonwealth Games hero Alex Marshall and he is expected to miss most if not all the campaign due to other bowling commitments, while the trio of Colin Cook, Steven Morgan and Jamie Gordon have all declared they are unavailable for the campaign ahead.

Former West Lothian player Scott Logan is handed his East Lothian debut on the indoor scene, while youngsters Kieran Simants and Calum Logan have earned well-deserved places in the side.

The skipping roles for the opener will be occupied by the international contingent of Scott Kennedy, Graham Robertson, Billy Mellors and Derek Oliver, while experienced campaigner Mark Johnston will wear the captain’s armband.

The team reads: A. Jeffrey, S. Logan, G. Darling, S. Kennedy skip. K. Simants, D. Berwick, W. W. Wood, G. Robertson skip. E. Fallen, G. Muir, S. W. Thomson, B. Mellors skip. M. Johnston capt, C. Darling, J. Higgins, D. Oliver skip.

The senior side got their Scottish Senior League campaign under way on Wednesday when they made the trip to Hawick and tackled East B section rivals Teviotdale.

Youth coaching at East Lothian IBC continues tomorrow morning and every other Saturday between 8am and 10am, where new members and anyone interested in taking up the sport are more than welcome.

On the domestic front at East Lothian IBC, the East Coast Carpets-sponsored Top Club tournament will run from November to April and will be played in a league format initially, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the semi-finals.

Games will be played on Friday nights and teams may consist of gents, ladies and youths. Contact the club or match secretary via the website to enter.

Cockenzie & Port Seton BC stage their annual Presentation of Prizes evening on Saturday, October 25, from 6.30pm.

Tickets for the event are now on sale to members and guests priced at £7.50 (includes two-course meal) and can be purchased by contacting Steven Morgan on 07861 672123.