The highlight for me was the way the Jersey teenagers performed in the knock-out events, giving the lie to the idea that bowls is purely for the elderly,’ he said. ‘If you look at the ages of most of the winners, you’ll see how delighted I am at the way they played.’
Scott Ruderham (19), for example, beat his Guernsey opponent in the final of the under-35s’ singles 21-2, giving such a polished performance that he even had the confidence to ditch the jack with his first wood after reaching 20 points, making it impossible for his opponent to score in reply.
Sixteen-year-old Malcolm de Sousa won the under-18 singles 21-9, outclassing his opponent with accurate drawing to the jack. He also had the confidence to ditch the jack as he reached 20 points in a display which belied his years.
The open triples also saw a win for Jersey as 21-year-old Michael Rive (skip), with Ruderham and Ian Partridge, came back from eight shots down to win 17-15. Towards the end Rive’s nerveless play helped to turn the game.
In the open fours de Sousa (skip), with Rachel Macdonald (16), Ross Davies (14) and veteran Mike Everingham led their Guernsey opponents until the 16th end, when they dropped a five, and despite picking up two on the last end they lost 25-20.
In the mixed pairs there was another win for Jersey as Ruderham and Gaynor Thomas won 18-17. In the open pairs Gus McKinnon and John Lowery were too experienced for their Guernsey rivals, winning 22-14, and in the
married pairs Mike and Freda Videgrain couldn’t find the form that took them to the Jersey title, losing 27-7.
In the over-60 singles’ event Dave Bowyer, playing in his first CI event, put up a strong challenge early on before his more experienced Guernsey opponent won 21-12.
