Whats your end of season been like?
Club News
Yesterday we reported on the success of the Tattersley family with Dad and Son winning two major competitions in the space of a few weeks. We can't all be like that of course and some of us would be grateful of a couple of individual wins to round off the season.
I play for Kirkheaton Con A in the Veterans 10-Man League where our team captain is Garry (two R's) Senior. Garry has had a decent season on a green that he has cuddled and cared for as greenkeeper and produced a surface that the club is rightly very proud of. Garry and Tony Butterfield (Butts) started the season as joint captains and joint greenkeepers but that all changed with Butts's passing in April.
So not a good start to the season for the club and the Veterans team but the team rallied on the green and we were in third place in the Division 1 table by the end of June, the halfway point of the season. The second half of the season was not so good for the team, and Garry. We were one of the six Division 1 teams involved in the relegation battle in the last few weeks of the season. A final day 7-2 home win over Marsh United A ensured our safety for another year and a generous 7th place finish hid the anguish of being involved in such matters at all.
Garry had some success on the individual front as shown by topping the averages for the Huddersfield Inter-District Away team and being well advanced in the League he seemed to be heading for some recognition of his prowess in the Veterans League averages eventually finishing 22nd.
Maybe the end-of-season clutter of competitions would offer him some recognition with a trophy or two. The club competition for us oldies is the Veterans Vase and it was in the schedule for a late September appearance. A fitting climax to the season looked on the cards as Gazzer pushed two A team players aside to reach the final against pairs regular, Martyn Laycock, who duly beat him 15-21. Well done Martyn.
Garry is undeterred as the nerxt day he was in the Veterans League John Hoyle Trophy on the other green he looks after in his spare time at Moldgreen Con. Again Garry reached the final dismissing the challenge of fellow Inter-District bowlers along the way. However a 19-21 defeat to Tim Poulter ended his bid for a first piece of silverware and a second final loss in two days. He took a lot of banter after this second setback about not being able to handle the pressure and was keen to respond to any doubters in the most positive way. Never say die!
Day three is another club competition and another chance to secure a trophy this time at Moldgreen Con where the end of season club climax is their Champion of Champions competition. How many clubs do you know that have their own Champion of Champions competition? You had to have won a club competition to qualify for this climax event and Garry was keen to build on his previous success to get his hands on any piece of hardware to show his real form and approach to winning under pressure. Guess what? He did. A happy-ending story.
These utterings are not me trying to secure my team place for next season as Garry has already indicated that he will be stepping down from the captain's role. And I did have Garry's permission to write this account, in fact he encouraged me to do it, but that was before he read it. Roll on next season and we can do it all again.
Have you got an end of season story that you would like to share with other bowlers? Get in touch we will be delighted to include it, with or without a happy ending.
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