EAST Lothian Co-operative Bowling Club hosted the 2022 district finals on Sunday afternoon as the first stage of the Bowls Scotland competitions reached its climax.
Ian Thorburn was the first competitor to book his place in the nationals finals in Ayr as he saw off the challenge of Gifford legend Willie Wood.
The West Barns man took full advantage of his excellent first two bowls end after end to mount a strong lead 15-9 and then on to a 21-12 win.
EL Co-op were fortunate to boast both junior singles finalists in Danny Stevenson and Kieran Dodds.
Stevenson raced to a 10-0 lead before Dodds fought back to trail 10-7.
However, a run of six scoring ends saw Stevenson crowned the U25s district champion 21-9.
Mags Thomson, Bowls Scotland district secretary, faced the challenge of good friend Yvonne Veitch (Ormiston) as she looked to claim the over-55s ladies’ singles.
The match looked set to go the distance, with no more than two shots separating the two for most of the contest.
Leading 16-14, the Castlepark favourite saw a run of one, two, two and one to clinch the contest 21-14.
The senior fours were contested by Port Seton and Elphinstone.
The tie looked to be heading strongly in the favour of the Port Seton favourites as they led 13-6 after nine ends.
But Elphinstone were not finished in the contest and scored a hat-trick of ends to trail by just three shots.
End 13 proved pivotal in deciding the match, though, as the Port Seton rink conjured up a fantastic four to all but seal their place in Ayr.
They went on to win the tie 19-10.
In the pairs, Sam Gray entered the fray looking to skip teammate James Burnett to a win.
The Prestongrange pair would need to see off Haddington duo Colin Dick and Andy Burt.
An excellent display of leading backed up by the flying Gray saw the ‘Grange boys lead 12-4 at the halfway point.
It was to be a pattern that would repeat itself over the remaining ends as the Prestongrange pair took the contest 22-7.
The Port Seton triple were looking to make it a double success for the club following the seniors’ morning victory.
And they made the best possible start, Steven Morgan turning the jack on the opening end to score a magnificent seven shots.
West Barns, undeterred by the early setback, hit back with a three followed by a two of their own to give themselves a boost.
On a rink that was difficult to change shots, it was Port Seton lead Steven Thomson who would stamp his authority on the game as the trio scored the following eight ends without reply and forced a concession of the match with the score at 23-5.
West Barns were to once again take centre stage in the finals day as their four took on the challenge of Aberlady.
Winning six of the opening seven ends looked to have West Barns in the driving seat to join Ian Thorburn in the second stage at Ayr in July.
Yet Aberlady had different ideas, scoring a huge six on end eight, followed by a four on end nine to lead 13-7.
It was a lead that was to remain intact until the 15th.
Gary Landells produced the most unlikely of threes on end 16 to leave West Barns looking for the same score on the last end.
Aberlady started the 17th end the better, both lead and second adding to the head and covering potential counts at the back of the rink.
Landells conceded the three shots required and burnt the end, chasing a bare jack from the confines of the rink.
The replayed 17th end followed a similar pattern, both leads and seconds unable to build a solid foundation for the required counts, with Aberlady more than happy to match bowls and reduce any chance of a count.
Landells would once again be looking to turn a bare jack through the head, this time failing in his efforts as Aberlady triumphed.
The coveted district singles title would be contested by Grant Thomson (East Linton) and Alan Young (Tranent).
The East Linton man settled the quicker and raced to a 7-0 lead.
Young proved worthy of his ‘Iceman’ nickname, remaining cool under the heat of the day and pressure of the tie as he confidently marched to the pin with the mat for the first time.
The Tranent man scored 10 shots of his own without reply.
Thomson was far from settled on the tricky surface but composed himself and scored two singles to bring the match within one at 10-9.
A fortuitous drive saw Young deliver a blow to the East Linton man, making the shot with four shots against.
Once again, an excellent display of mat placement and jack throwing saw Young score seven consecutive ends to lead 20-9.
A full house of four shots to Thomson on end 17 was not enough to spark a full comeback as Young claimed the single shot he needed to win the tie 21-13.
East Lothian representation is now complete for the 2022 National Championships.
The stage two competition draws will be completed by the week commencing July 11 and will take place at the national centre for bowling in Ayr between July 17 and 23.
Elsewhere, there was good news for Logan Shields (EL Co-op) and Logan Kennedy (Port Seton), who were celebrating after successful trials for the U17 international team.
Both have been named in the squad for the series at Ayr, Northfield, on August 23 and 24.
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Deaf Bowling Association singles and fours play-offs took place at Brechin last weekend.
Stuart Thomson opened with a 21-8 victory in the singles. He then had to dig in the following round as he trailed 10-0 to Graham Mcdonald of Aberdeen, eventually overcoming his opponent 21-20 to book his place in the finals at Willowbrae on August 13.
He will be joined by Alison Carswell, as she saw off her Fife opponent 21-13.
The men’s fours completed the hat-trick of finalists at Willowbrae as they saw off Fife 23-4 in the afternoon contest following a morning bye.
Due to limited entries, East Lothian ladies’ four of Holly McCorkindale, Deborah Preston, Christine McCulloch and Olivia Preston found themselves straight into the semi-final, defeating Dundee 17-8.
They would go on to make history, etching East Lothian’s name on the trophy for the first time, defeating Aberdeen 18-11 in the afternoon final.
Finally, East Lothian Bowling Association’s Hamilton Trophy squad completed their group games last weekend against West Lothian at Linlithgow BC, a match that normally goes a long way in deciding the qualifier from the East Coast section.
East Lothian were looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, while West Lothian required a win to put pressure on the Borders Bowling Association in their quest for a place in the quarter-final.
West Lothian made all the early running and led by 20 within an hour. The windswept arena proved more than a handful for even the most experienced and left opportunities across the green for both sides.
West Lothian would make the 100 turn first and continued their 20-shot lead.
A turn in the game came as East Lothian scored well across the end 18 and brought the match to within two at 108-106.
But West Lothian responded to claim third place in the table with a 129-117 victory.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here