Update from John Tyrrell (Competitions subcommittee) –
The clubs fourth finals day took place today, that saw the conclusion of both the Singles and Doubles Competitions. The mood was perhaps a little more subdued than normal, given the events of the last week. Club Secretary Paul Milton led those attending in a minutes silence, our own small gesture of respect to the Queens passing, before the competitions began in earnest.
The Singles final between Paul Jeremy and Jim Harrison, got proceedings underway shortly after 11.00am. However, none of us watching were expecting the whirlwind performance from Paul who amazingly won the first game 13-0 and then went on to win the match with a 13-3 victory in the second game.
In a little over forty minutes it was all over and we had a new Singles champion in Paul Jeremy. It means that since the competition began, we now have four different champions appearing on the trophy.
Everyone then broke for drinks and light refreshments before the Doubles final. A big thank you to Sue Dayananda and her team for putting all this together.
After lunch the defending doubles champions Pat & Paul Jeremy were attempting to do what no one has managed yet, to hold onto their title. They were up against the ‘in-form’ pairing of Ruth Jenkins and Phil Freegard, who had stormed through their group matches without even dropping a game until their semi-final victory over the Tyrrell’s.
Their good form carried on into the opening game which they won 13-6. Realising their title was at stake the Jeremy’s rallied in the the second game. The observing spectators were treated to an excellent game of Petanque with some great play between the pairs, however in a very closely fought game, Ruth and Phil took victory.
Paul Milton presented the trophies to winners, before the afternoon’s events finished with a raffle.
A thank you also to Darren Hardwicke who did an excellent job as Competitions Umpire.