WITH ages ranging between 18 and 96, the St Saviour Bowls Club finals had something for everyone.
It saw mother and son duo Lindsey and Taylor Greechan both successfully defend their singles crowns, with Lindsey adding the Ladies Handicap and Ladies Choice (with Mark Hamilton) to have three wins, just as she did in 2023.
The schedule was tailored around Stuart Simon, who had qualified for six finals.
He opened his account on Friday morning, partnering 96-year-old club patron Stuart Weaving in the Senior Pairs.
Simon’s final game has had to be scheduled for this Sunday.
He was on the losing side in his first game, which saw Dennis Foley and Paul du Feu pull away after a very tight opening seven ends.
In the morning, Barry Simpson and Mark Le Cornu teamed up against Simon and his partner Peter Le Long in the Select Pairs.
The game followed a similar pattern with the score level at eight ends, but Simpson and Le Cornu had a good run to move into a growing lead in the second half of the match.
In the afternoon, Simon played with Olive Crowhurst in the Ladies Choice and, though both played very well, they came up against defending champions, Mark Hamilton and Lindsey Greechan.
Crowhurst had played against Greechan in the Ladies Handicap Singles in the morning session and, despite playing some excellent bowls, was unable to win many of the very tight heads.
The Men’s final was played between 18-year-old Taylor Greechan and Clive Bidel.
This was Bidel’s first time in the Championship final, having taken some notable scalps on the way.
With the score at 10-11 after eleven ends there was all to play for, but Greechan picked up five shots in the next two ends, playing some of his best bowls to take the win in 17 ends.
Ann Bisson claimed victory over Sally Black in the Ladies 2 Wood, while Maggie and Fred Jeanne were successful in the Married Pairs, beating last year’s winners, John and Carol le Goff.
Simon would win again the following day, with partner Anne Richardson, in a very close Mixed Select Pairs.
Despite being 11-5 up after nine ends, they lost the next six and found themselves behind rivals Ann Bisson and Fred Jeanne.
This made for a nail-biting last few ends, but they came back to win 17-13.
On the adjoining rinks, Tom Lindsay saw off Gary Walmsley in an excellent Novice Singles final, which Lindsay came through after an epic 24 ends to win 21-15.
Meanwhile, Guy Walton and Gary Westwood managed to keep David Ingram and Steve Lund at bay in the drawn Men’s pairs, despite a tremendous fightback from 19-6 down to fall just short, the final score 22-17.
The last session of the competition gave Simon a second 2024 win as he defended his 2 Wood title against Dave Black.
Scott Livingston overcame Michael de la Haye in the sets final by two sets to zero and Steve Lund bounced back from his defeat in the morning to play very well and beat Mark le Cornu in the Men’s Short 2 Wood.
The concluding game was the Ladies Championship and, while Lindsey Greechan was victorious, the first six ends went to opponent Anne Richardson.
It wasn’t until the 11th end that the ever-impressive Greechan took control of the game to come away with a 21-11 win.
St Saviour Bowls Club president, Brian Bisson, thanked all those who worked behind the scenes to make the tournament a success.
