Newhills Bowling Club

Tonight we had the Ladies Nomination Pairs final where Jacqui Clark & Ariana Mowat were up against Lisa Thomson & Kirsty Sinclair.

After 5 ends the game was all square at 4-4 & on the next end Jac Clk suggested Ariana trail the jack which lead to them picking up a 5 to lead 9-4. This spurred Lisa & Kirsty on to take the next 3 ends with a 3, 1, & 2 taking them into a 1 shot lead. The opposition replied with a 1 so all square 10-10 at 10 ends. Lisa & Kirsty scored in the next 2 ends then Jacqui & Ariana picked up a single so 13-11 after 13 ends, all to play for. With Lisa & Kirsty picking up a 2 followed by a 4 they now lead 19-11 however, Jacqui & Ariana made a final surge & scored 2's at the final two ends.

Congratulations to Lisa & Kirsty 🏆 on your 19-15 victory & well done Jacqui & Ariana reaching the final.

Friday afternoon's Senior Ladies Final brought nomination Pairs partners Karen Taylor & Anne Davidson together to do battle for the 2026 title.

Conditions were bright however, the ladies were battling against extremely windy conditions which had the bowls heading in all directions if you missed an almost straight line! Honours were fairly even after 9 ends with Karen leading 9-5. Then the tide turned with Anne finding her rhythm & a better line, scoring 10 shots over 6 ends to lead 15-9 @ 15 ends. Karen hit back with a 2 followed by Anne taking a 1 so at the 17th end it was 16-11 to Anne. This is when the frustrated Karen upped her game and went on a spree of her own, scoring 1, 4, 3 & a 2 to win the game 21-16.

Congratulations Karen 🏆 & well done to Anne reaching the final 👏

Thanks to marker Kate who at times was almost blown off her feet & had difficulty hearing questions from the players due to the conditions.

Friday morning Senior Pairs final.
Fraser Scott & Kenny Taylor vs Les Alexander & Mike Stephen

Three of our participants were up bright and early and onto the green in plenty of time for their Senior Pairs Final, with one being slighty latchy as he had forgotton his lucky towel. Once we had everybody accounted for, the match began in bright blustery conditions.

A few of the more sprightly bowlers chose to have a bounce away from the final so they could watch the game from close quarters, with others parking themselves on the side benches reminscent of a scene from the popular Scottish comedy 'Still Game'.

The first couple of ends saw Les & Mike settle quickly, taking singles to move into an early 2-0 lead. Fraser & Kenny got themselves onto the scoresheet on the 3rd, again with a single.. This was shaping up to be a tight, close match.
Our finalists then traded 2 s on each of the next 3 ends to make it 6-3 to Les & Mike after 6 ends. A 1 at the 7th extended their lead to 7-3 before a disaster on the 8th saw them lose a 5 to relinquish the lead for the first time 8-7 to Fraser & Kenny. Some players would have crumbled under the pressure but Les & Mike were made of sterner stuff and came roaring back with singles on the next 2 ends to sn**ch the lead back. 9-8 after 10ends.

Unfortunately for Les & Mike, this proved to be a false dawn, as Fraser & Kenny hit a real purple patch over the next 5 ends scoring an impressive 9 shots to their opponents 1 to close out the match 17-10.

Much groans were heard from the aforementioned bench as our pensioners got to their feet on creaking limbs and headed home for their lunch or into the bar for a well deserved pint with our victors and gallant losers.

Congratulations to Fraser & Kenny, commiserations to Les & Mike. An well contested final which kept the small crowd enthralled throughout.

Another Ladies final played on Thursday evening was the Handicap Singles, Angela Johnston scratch v Katrina Wheeler 1

After 6 ends the game was tied at 4-4 then Katrina went on a winning streak scoring 10 shots over the next 5 ends to lead 14-4. Over the next 5 ends it was 1 shot a win with Angela taking 3 to Katrina's 2 so score was 16-7 @ 16 ends.

Then Katrina picked up a 3 followed by a 1 so we were at 20-7 @ 18 ends. Angela was not giving up though & strung together a 4 end winning streak gaining 6 shots - so it was 20-13. At the 23rd end Angela was lying 1 & a measure although there was a 2 foot gap between the jack & the lying shot. Katrina played her last bowl slightly tight however managed to turn her own front bowl. This resulted in marker Karen having to measure for the shot which went in Katrina's favour to win the game 21-13. Well done to both reaching the Final 🏆

Congratulations Colin, good luck in the semi final

The final rounds of our 2026 SENIOR MIXED PAIRS were played in glorious sunshine this afternoon.
The four evenly contested quarter finals were followed by two very competitive semi finals.
Andy Smith & Anne Brown edging out Les Alexander & Helen Merchant by one shot in the first semi with Nicol Brown & Karen Taylor scoring a more comprehensive victory against Fraser Scott and a tired but happy Sheila Stewart.

Despite the 9-2 scoreline the final was very evenly contested with both pairs having ample oportunities to take shots. In the end Nicol & Karen prevailed over Andy & Anne.

Congratulations to our winners, commiserations to our runners up.

Many thanks to all who took part or came down to spectate.

2026 Dianne Duthie Final - Alison Mitchell vs Angela Johnston

It was Alison who made the better start in Tuesday night's Dianne Duthie Final. She dominated the early exchanges and raced into a 7-1 lead before Angela really got going.
The next phase of the match was a closely contested affair, with many ends coming down to a single shot and the advantage changing hands several times. After more than an hour of play, the scores were level at 11-11 and the game looked set to go right to the wire.
At that point, Angela put together an impressive run of ends to open up an 18-11 lead. Alison responded by winning the next end and then produced a strong run of her own, including a full count of four, to edge ahead at 19-18.
In the deciding end, Alison drew close with her first two bowls and it looked as though it might not be Angela's night. However, an inspired third bowl dragged the jack back and left Angela lying two shots, with each player still having one bowl to play.
Alison's final bowl unfortunately ran through slightly, leaving Angela needing just one more shot to secure victory. A measure was required, but it confirmed that Angela had done just enough to claim the three shots she needed and close out the match 21-19.
It was an excellent final, with both players producing a high standard of bowling and providing plenty of entertainment for the healthy crowd in the clubhouse.

Many thanks to Ladies Secretary Sheila Stewart for marking.

The 2026 MIXED PAIRS FINAL was held on Tuesday night between Tracey Kelly & Zak Morrison vs Liam & Gemma Angus.

In an entertaining & hard fought final Tracey & Zak took the initiative scoring on 5 of the first 7 ends before Liam & Gemma hit back with a 3 at the 8th to leave it peels at 6-6. The next 3 ends saw our finalists trade shots to take the score to 8-8 after 11. Both pairs were playing outstanding bowls with the final still close on 11-10 after 14 ends. The breakthrough came in the 15th end with Tracey & Zak scoring a 4 to extend their lead to 15-10. Liam & Gemma bounced right back with a 3 on the penultimate 16th end, leaving it 15-13 going into the last. Nail biting stuff from our pairs, with Tracey & Zak taking a 2 at the last to take the title 17-13.

Congratulations to Tracey & Zak. Commiserations to Gemma & Liam. Well done to both pairs for an excellent final.

Please see attached the results from the SENIOR MIXED PAIRS Group stages held on Tue/Wed along with our Quarter Final line up for tomorrow, Thursday 3rd Sept starting at 1:30pm.

Thanks to all our participants who once again made it an enjoyable and competitive couple of days. Good luck to all our quarter finalists tomorrow.

Regards

Andy & Sheila.

Congratulations to the finalists of the Ladies Nomination Fours played this evening in rather chilly conditions. Well done Angela Johnston, Katrina Wheeler, Lisa Thomson & Kirsty Sinclair, commiserations to Helen Merchant, Hazel Marr, Kate Mackintosh & Ann Killman 🥳