Other Events
Ketton Gala: Wednesday 27th August
Gala double for Ketton pair
Ketton bowlers Paul Galloway and Chris Middleton completed a 2025 double when they won their club’s second gala on Wednesday - this time with team-mate Bob Kelman.
They took the July event on shots difference but this time it was a more convincing success in the 12-team competition amassing 28 points - three clear of their nearest rivals from Market Overton, despite interruptions from heavy showers.
Points were awarded for each match won or drawn with a further point for each end won.
Liz Dyer, Kevin Thomas and Richard Lambert were tied on 25 points with Ketton’s Helen, David and Ron Tilley but took second prize with a superior shots difference.
The gala raised a valuable £309 for club funds.
18th - 23rd August: National Finals at Skegness
Shirley pipped in national final
Local bowlers hoping to grab a title at the English National Federation championships at Skegness were disappointed when they failed in their bid for silverware.
However, Shirley Suffling, representing Ketton and Northants, came close in in the two-bowl singles.
She had earlier beaten Jenny Shaw (North Essex) and Nottingham’s Anne Patten and had one hand on the blue riband trophy in the final. But she couldn’t quite hang on against Northumberland’s Naomi Scott.
Suffling led 18-15 after 26 nail-biting ends but Scott suddenly found line and length on a tricky surface. It finally took 31 tension-packed ends for her to secure a 21-18 win.
Ketton’s Helen Tilley, Elaine Upton and Suffling lost in the semi-final of the two-bowls triples to Lincolnshire. Upton also lost 21-11 to Northumberland’s Karen Waite in the Senior singles.
Elsewhere Blackstone’s Stephen Harris held Russell Robinson to 14 shots apiece in the four bowl men’s singles semi-finals but conceded seven shots in two ends to the Derbyshire bowler who then went on to take the title against Wayne Burrage (Norfolk).
Stamford Town bowlers qualified in six events but by the end of play on Wednesday had failed to progress in any of them. Sue Seed was beaten in the Secretaries and Champion of champions singles and with Kevin Vinter in the Senior mixed pairs went down on the extra end against Hunts after tying 15-15 at 21 ends. Seed was also a member of the three-bowls triples with Chris Ford and Chrissie Baker that lost to Durham.
Like many, Town’s John Holroyd failed to come to terms with the vagaries of the uneven surfaces. With Neil Crees he was beaten 16-11 against Humberside in the Senior pairs ahead of a 21-12 defeat by Suffolk’s Matthew Smith in the two-bowl singles.
The only bright spot for Northants was the 95-91 win by Peterborough Parkway in the Durham Centenary Shield, landing the four rink triples team prize for the first time in the county’s history.
