THERE was jubilation for the ladies’ side from East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club on Saturday as they celebrated winning the East Premier Division.

The Garden County profited from the shock news that East Fife had defeated Midlothian in Methil, handing the title to the East Lothian team.

They must now prepare for a playoff semi-final against Auchinleck at Lanarkshire IBC in Wishaw on Saturday.

Team manager Gordon Pryde is missing young star Megan Kivlin and stalwart figure Yvonne Veitch but is in the happy position of introducing former Scotland junior cap Leanne Baillie into the picture and gives the Cockenzie & Port Seton outdoor star her seasonal debut.

Pryde said: “I am pitching Leanne in at the deep end by selecting her at third, but she has the skill, nerve and experience to produce a strong performance.”

Leanne’s elder sister Lauren captains a slightly recast line-up that reads: M. Murray, J. Russell, K. Hoggan, E. Logan skip; M. Devine, B. Riva, G. Mackintosh, D. Hoggan skip; M. Penman, M. Hamilton, M. Thomson, J. Fairnie skip; J. McFarlane, A. Berwick, Le. Baillie, La. Baillie skip/capt.

Elsewhere, Mark Johnston was on international duty last weekend in the British Isles Over-50 International Championships at the Lakeside Resort in Hayling Island.

The Scotland team opened with a 30-25 win against Ireland, then followed it up with a 33-26 win against Wales before beating England 46-29 to claim a maximum six points to win the title for a record-extending seventh time since the tournament began in 1999.

East Lothian’s senior side are in Scottish Senior Cup action on Wednesday and face a potentially tough-looking challenge when they make the short trip to Edinburgh venue Bainfield to take on Headwell in the first round.

Meanwhile, the qualifying action in the Jock Brodie Senior Challenge Cup, now jointly sponsored by Norman T Craig and Plumbing and Electrical Services of Dunbar, continued at the Alex Marshall Arena last Wednesday and host club East Lothian opened their account in the tournament with a 6-2 success over Teviotdale.

The other match saw West Lothian beat Abbeyview 5-3.

East Lothian IBC’s dream of enjoyed an extended run in the Scottish Mixed Team Championship event has been dashed by a 6-2-point defeat from Falkirk in their first-round clash at Bathgate venue Balbardie IBC on Sunday.

The youth side faced a potentially tough home battle against local rivals Midlothian in the first round of the Scottish Top 10 on Saturday morning but an on-song performance saw the young stars call the tune with a fine 6-2 points win.

East Lothian now face Lanarkshire in the quarter-final on a date still to confirmed.

On Sunday, Lewis Betts, Aaron Betts, Robbie Shields, Beth Riva and Danny Stevenson all participate in the SIBA Under-18 international trial match at Paisley IBC.

East Lothian IBC is set to welcome a galaxy of top stars to the Alex Marshall Arena next Sunday (February 11), with Glasgow 2014 gold medal heroes Alex Marshall, Darren Burnett, Davie Peacock and Neil Speirs heading up a great ‘who’s who’ of national indoor bowling giants.

Other big name players competing in the Pro-Am Triples event include Midlothian stars Ronnie Duncan and Colin Walker, host club internationalists Billy Mellors, Derek Oliver, Jamie Higgins, Scott Kennedy, Dee Hoggan and Emma Logan, and Garden County legend Willie Wood.

Medical Professional and Johnston Fuels are sponsoring the tournament.