W.Y.S.M.B.A
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The 2025 Annual NEMSBA Championships commenced over the weekend for everyone in the NESMBA zone at the York Indoor Bowls Centre.
Report as follows from a West Yorkshire perspective:
SATURDAY MORNING [FOURS]
Of the 5 fours that made it through to York, only 2 unfortunately made it through the group phase, Mel, Tom, Royston & Darren as 1 four, and John, Andy Miles, Joanne and Dave the other four. John Packer's four made it through the 1st KO round but fell to Martin Grange's Staffordshire 4 In the next round.
Darren's four faired better by getting right to the final before coming unstuck to Martin Simcock's Staffordshire's team.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON [SINGLES]
Darren, Royston, Daniel Sands and Matthew would qualify from the group phase with John Packer just missing out. Royston was then narrowly beat by Dave Newsome in the next round which also saw Daniel Sands bow out too. Darren and Matthew would go onto the QF phase before both eventually losing. Peter Roberts would beat Adam Lamb in the final in a repeat of last year's finale too.
SUNDAY MORNING [PAIRS]
All 4 of our participants made it through the groups in this one. In the next round Dave & Matthew and Royston & Darren were beaten. Daniel Sands & Robyn fell in the next round leaving just Tom Morris & John Packer remaining, cue a great run... cutting through Peter & Steve Roberts, then Chris and June Crowther in the semis to win the whole damn thing against Darren Kerr and Janice of Staffordshire to a rapturous WY ovation! Excellent
SUNDAY AFTERNOON [TRIPLES]
4 from 5 of our entrants qualified with Angie, Mel and Hannah unfortunately not making it through.
Daniel Sands, Tom and Steve Briggs were beaten in the QF stage, as too were Joanne, Royston and Darren. An all (and only one all weekend) WY Clash in one of the semi finals saw Andy Miles, Dave Fletcher and Matthew Leaf pip Kathryn Jones, Andy Jones and John Packer on the last end for a spot in the final. Despite a great effort throughout, a costly 5 count cost WY dear as Clint and Chris Crowther with Gary Williamson would go onto win the triples for Stockport.
3 participants from the 4 final disciplines is superb and how the results unfolded just shows how we've done as both a squad and some fantastic individual performances, The pairs was a standout, John and Tom couldn't really of gone through many more tougher opponents to record what will be a famous win for these guys and a memory that they'll keep for a lifetime and how they did it too which made picking up the county shield as West Yorkshire captain a proud moment for me too.
I think it goes (rather undeservedly) that we are sometimes overlooked compared to Staffs and Stockport's firepower but as results have shown over this weekend, we can still match them and can have our way with them too. So a huge thankyou and well done to all those that gave as good as they got!! Exceptional!
The County shield winners were WEST YORKSHIRE for their combined performances from the Knock Out stage onwards too!!!
[1]WY 17pts
[2]Staffs 16pts
[3]Stockport 14pts
V I C T O R Y !
March 2nd home to Durham and a realistic chance of our first win of the season.
Singles
It was always going to be a hard task up against two established singles players especially with Glen missing. Kevin played well and was disappointed to lose his first game at the last end 12-13, he made amends in his second however, winning 19-7.
Yvonne endured a tough day but showed real fight in her first game losing 10-16 after being 2-14 down.
Points
West Yorkshire 2 Durham 8.
Pairs
The pairs was a case of so near and yet so far! Ian and Andrea got us off to a great start with an 11-8 win but lost out 13-15 to the Mc Callum’s in a very good 2nd game which could have gone either way. Walter and Phiz unfortunately lost out by 1 point in both of their games and the aggregate point was lost by 1.
Points
West Yorkshire 2 Durham 8.
Trips
It would be wrong of me to single anyone out as both trips played very well all day to win all 4 games and the aggregate by 69 shots to 14.
Points
West Yorkshire 10 Durham 0.
Fours
A good day for the fours with 3 wins and one defeat by 1 point.
Points
West Yorkshire 8 Durham 2.
Final score
West Yorkshire 22 Durham 18.
A happy captain after a good team performance. Next week we play Derbyshire in our final match of the season at John Charles
STOCKPORT BLUES!
Our final away game of the season took us across the M62 to play Stockport at their new Etherow IBC venue.
It was another hard day in the singles for Kevin and stand in Yvonne with a shot difference of 34 for and 64 against.
The pairs as usual did well with Ian and Andrea winning both their games and Walter and Phiz keeping things tight to claim the aggregate point.
The highlight in the trips was a very good 14-5 win for Warren, Gary and Frank but unfortunately the other 3 games went to Stockport.
And so to the fours, Dennis’s four trailed 10-1 going into the last end of their first game but remarkably scored an 8 to finish 10-9 down. Their 2nd game was equally dramatic, winning 8-7 with a 2 at the last end.
Final score
West Yorkshire 10 Stockport 30.
We now have two remaining fixtures at home which hopefully will result in two much needed wins.
STILL BATTLIING AWAY...
Sunday February 9th Home v Humberside B.
Following on from last week another hard match against a very strong Humberside team that will probably win the league this season.
Singles-
A bad day for the singles, Kevin and Glen up against two very good players although Glen was unfortunate to lose his first game at the last end.
Pairs-
Ian and Andrea played very well to record two good wins and put us in with a good chance of the aggregate point, it wasn’t to be however with Janet and Howard losing their second game quite heavily.
Trips-
After a heavy defeat in their first game, Gary, Frank and Warren turned things around for a good 10-3 win in their second game. Ann, Glennys and Alan lost out by 2 points in both of their hard fought games.
Fours-
With Walter unfortunately missing this match, Dennis stepped in to skip and along with Maveen, Rene and Steve Morris played brilliantly as a team to win both of their games in style. Ron’s four of Hazel, John and Yvonne although not winning kept things tight and contributed to winning the aggregate point.
Final Score
West Yorkshire 12 Humberside 28
Alan
UNLUCKY AT HUMBERSIDE!
Sunday 2nd February 25,Away again, this time along the M62 to North Cave to play Humberside B.
Session 1 -A win in the pairs for Ian and Andrea 12-11, and a narrow 8-6 defeat in the trips for Ann, Dot and Alan, were the highlights of the first round.
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Session 2 -Another win in the pairs this time from Phiz and Karl 13-12 and another narrow loss 9-8, this time for Tim’s four.
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Score at half time -Humberside 12 West Yorkshire B 4
Session 3 -A good win for Tim’s four 12-7 and two 1 point defeats in the pairs and trips.
Session 4 -The pairs had a realistic chance of the aggregate point if Ian and Andrea could avoid defeat. They kept us waiting to eventually draw 11-11 and so secure the aggregate point by 1. In the singles Glen clawed his way back into his game after being 12-5 down to end up 13-15. Walter’s four also missed out by 2 losing 4-6 in another close finish.
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To say the score didn’t reflect the match would be an understatement with six games being lost by either 1 or 2 points. Next week we return to the John Charles Centre for the rematch with Humberside and with a bit of luck a much needed win.
Final Score - Humberside B 31 West Yorkshire B 9
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Alan
DURHAM DISAPPOINTMENT
Heavy defeat at Durham.
Our first game of 2025 took us north to play Durham in what turned out to be a difficult day for West Yorkshire B. After the first two rounds of games it was obvious that we were struggling to get to grips with the fast mats at the Glebe Centre, the only highlight being the singles with Kevin Burnett losing by one point to Helen Jarvis.
Points at the break - West Yorkshire 0 Durham 16.
Things could only get better !!
Well in the 3rd round of games they didn’t, with a further 4 defeats.
And so to the final round of games, could we avoid a whitewash?
Well yes, we could, our first win came from the ever dependable Andrea and Ian Chiverton with an excellent 20-11 victory in the pairs closely followed by a win for Walter’s four (Rene, Maveen and Dennis)10-8. We then endured a nail-biting finish to the singles with Kevin again losing out by 1 point, this time to Mitch Moody who bowled a perfect last wood to deny what would have been a well deserved win.
Final score - West Yorkshire 4 Durham 36
Special mention to Dot Taylor who was playing her first county game and fitted in well in the trips.
Alan
CLOSE GAME IN SEASON OPENER!!
West Yorkshire Terriers were our visitors for our 1st game of the season.
Singles -
We welcomed back Glen Scott and after six ends he found himself 10-0 down but in typical fashion he managed to turn it around for a 12-11 win. His 2nd game was equally hard fought for an 11-13 loss. Kevin Burnett was in scintillating form recording two wins 21-8 and 20-6.
Points 6 + 2 aggregate.
Pairs
Andrea and Ian got us off to a perfect start winning 17-9 but couldn’t repeat it in their second game, losing 9-19. Alan playing with new partner Ann Lucas had a hard first game, losing 11-16. They won their 2nd game 17-10 thus sharing the aggregate points.
Points 4 + 1 aggregate.
Triples
Hard day for the trips against 2 very good well established teams. Howard’s trips recording an 8-8 draw in their first game.
Points 1
Fours
Last season we relied on the fours for points, it was a bit of a struggle today however with only 2 points scored. Walter’s four lost their first game 5-11 , a change in the playing order for their second game resulted in a 13-6 win. Ron’s four had a difficult day recording 4-8 and 5-16 losses.
Points 2.
Ann Lucas, who was playing her first county game, played very well and looked very much at home in the team. Frank Lindsay, also playing his first county game, played well in Walter’s four.
So all in all an encouraging performance ( last time we played the terriers we lost 30-10)
Final result West Yorkshire B 16 North Yorkshire Terriers 24.
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By Capt. Alan Byers
DARK DERBYSHIRE DAYS!
Difficult day in Derbyshire.
The B team travelled down the M1 on November 3rd to play what we all knew would be a difficult match and so it was !.
It was a day to forget for our stand in singles players Yvonne and Dennis up against 2 very accomplished players in Ivan Lunn and Phil Wright.
0 points.
The pair’s fared better with a win for Ian and Andrea, but a tough day for Ann and Alan.
2 points.
The trips were the stars with 2 wins for Janet, Howard and skip Dorothy Phiz and a win for Warren, Gary and Gordon. Aggregate points won.
8 points.
Another hard day for the four’s with Walter, Maveen, Ken and Rene recording the only points with 1 win.
2 points
Final score West Yorkshire 12 Derbyshire 28.
STOCKPORT STUMBLE!
Sunday November 10th.
Our visitors today were Stockport B; last season’s relegated team from division 1.
Singles
With both Glen and Kevin back we were optimistic of winning some points, however this was not to be as both endured a testing day against two good players.
Points
West Yorkshire 0 Stockport 8 + 2.
Pairs
Ian and Andrea got us off to a good start with a 13-7 win. But a narrow 10-11 loss for Alan and Maveen was the next best result.
Points
West Yorkshire 2 Stockport 6 + 2.
Triples
A narrow 6 - 8 loss for Janet , Howard and Glennys, was followed up with a good 11- 8 win in their second game. Warren, Gary and Catherine recorded a good 13-6 win in their first game so with an 8 point advantage the aggregate point was up for grabs. It was not to be, however, with a 7-18 loss.
Points
West Yorkshire 4 Stockport 4+2.
Fours
A bad day for our fours, the best result being a last end loss for Walter’s four 7-9.
Points
West Yorkshire 0 Stockport 8+2
Final Score
West Yorkshire 6 Stockport 34
A disappointing result but everyone tried their best against a very good Stockport side.
Alan
TOUGH AT THE TERRIERS!
Our second away match of the season took us up the A19 to play North Yorkshire Terriers at Easingwold.
Singles
Kevin got off to a great start leading 10-2 after 7 ends but was pegged back and eventually won 16-15. Glen had two very close games which could have gone ether way but unfortunately they both went to the Terriers 13-15 and 11-13. In his last game Kevin needed to win by 4 points to secure the aggregate point, all square after 11 ends, he couldn’t quite do it losing 17-12.
Points
West Yorkshire 2. Terriers 6+2
Pairs
Another hard day for the pairs with the only points coming from the reliable Ian and Andrea with a win in their second game.
Points
West Yorkshire 2. Terriers 6+2
Trips
A bad day for the triples, with four wins and the aggregate going the way of the Terriers.
Points
West Yorkshire 0. Terriers 8+2
Fours
A win for Walter’s four in their second game gave us our only points in the fours.
Points
West Yorkshire 2. Terriers 6+2.
Final score
West Yorkshire 6. Terriers 34.
So a disappointing day overall. Everyone at some stage played well, we are just not consistent enough at the moment.
Alan