The first Short Mat tournament of the 2024-25 season was held over the weekend of November 22-24; as is traditional, it was Mixed Scotch Pairs. Twelve teams played 3 games each and the top four teams proceeded to the playoffs on Sunday.
There were some exciting games and some surprising results – a number of “big names” did not make it to the playoffs – and, as is so often the case, the ranking after the first 3 games was not repeated in the final results.
In the game for 1st and 2nd places, although Jenny W-W and Randy S bowled extremely well, they could not quite match the eventual winners, Judy C and David G, although the final score of 22-2 arguably looks more one-sided than the game itself. Congratulations to Judy and David. Judy has now been in the winning team for three successive years and equals Sirish P’s record of 4 wins in total.
Jenny, Randy, Judy and David having finished in good time, the crowd of onlookers were thus provided with an uninterrupted view of the battle royal which was the runner-up game (for 3rd and 4th places) taking place on the Locker Mat, between Laima V and Kenn P and Lee Ann D and Don B. This turned out to be one of the most exciting games of the entire tournament: having been 12-2 down after the first six ends, Lee Ann and Don staged a remarkable comeback and after the full 12 ends had been played, the score was 13-all. In the final tiebreak end, Laima snuck the winning point with a spectacularly precise draw shot into a tightly-packed head.
Congratulations to the winners and commiserations to all of the losing teams. The entire tournament was carried out in a spirit of fun and bonhomie, as is, of course, the Lakehill way. Just because you’re playing to win doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun as well.
Especial thanks to all the volunteers, without whom these tournaments simply could not happen:
- In the kitchen: Margot G (organiser), Bev S, Alice S, Mary S, Leslie S (apparently kitchen help need a surname beginning with ‘S”).
- On the computer: Pat M, Lindsay M
- Umpires: Shona D, Sue E
- Tournament Manager and Reporter: Deryk Barker
