Club Championship Pairs 2023-24

The Belrose Club Pairs Championship was well supported this year with entries from 16 teams ranging in skill from Grade 7 through to Grade 1. The top teams were always going to win through to the finals, however all the teams played in great spirit and had lots of fun. It’s not often that Grade 7 players get a chance to pit their skills against Grade 1 players, and everyone appreciated it.

The weather was kind to us for rounds 1 and 2, however the rain forced us to postpone the finals until the following weekend. There was quite a bit of rain through the week, however the Finals Sunday was a beautiful, warm day.

In the morning, the semi-finals contests were Bob Leonard and Peter Abdallah v Mick and Steve Rawlings as well as Rowen Dennis and John Campton v Ethan Scott-Branagan and Matt Blackburn, with Rawlo and Blackburn progressing. With the quality of these finalists, everyone was anticipating a top match – they weren’t disappointed.

The first half of the game was a classic arm-wrestle. Matt had his nose in front for the first 7 ends but Rawlo was fighting back and applying pressure. After 8 ends they were tied at 7 each and after 10 ends they were tied at 9 each. It looked like a great fight to the finish. After 19 ends, there were only 2 shots in it and it was anyone’s game, but a superb conversion by Matt on the 20th end gave him 5 shots and sealed the game. It was a game well worth watching.

All the results and the draw can be found on Bowlslink by following the link below.

We wish Ethan and Matt all the best at the Champion of Club Champions finals at the end of April 2024.

2023-24 Championship Pairs draw and results.