East Lothian youth side capture of the coveted Andy Houston Trophy for the first time in 20 years is a major achievement significantly enhanced by the excellence of their play in defeating holders Lanarkshire in the final match played at Shettleston BC in Glasgow last Sunday.
Read MoreThe garden county young guns opened the campaign with a 15-shot win over Angus & Dundee then followed that with a hard fought 10 shot win against Central West. That set-up a final game winner takes all showdown clash with defending champions Lanarkshire and it was East Lothian who held most of the aces throughout to deliver a 14-shot win.
“Absolutely fantastic performance from the whole team and massive well done to every single player and also huge thanks to all the spectators who were there to cheers them on to national title glory”, beamed team convenor Stewart Thomson afterwards.
Newly crowned Division 1 champions Cockenzie & Port Seton signed off the end of their competitive 2018 outdoor season by capturing the ELBA Courier Cup when their 12-man strong team landed the odds to beat North Berwick in the final played at Aberlady BC last Saturday. Emphatic wins on two of the three rinks, skipped by Steven Morgan (+16) and Craig Valentine (+14), swept the seasiders to a commanding 56-25 win over the runaway Division 4 winners. The rink skipped by Commonwealth Games hero Derek Oliver was involved in a ding dong battle with David Middleton before snatching a single shot victory from the jaws of defeat on the last end. “Winning the Division 1 title for a second consecutive year was a great feeling and it is now great our team of twelve have added the prestigious Courier Cup to win three major honours in the ELBA this season”, said team captain Craig Valentine.
The Courier Cup is a knockout tournament featuring all the evening league winners and the semi-final action saw Cockenzie & Port Seton see of the challenge of Division 3 winners East Lothian Labour while North Berwick staged a brilliant fightback to defeat Division 2 champions Prestongrange.
Tranent Bowling Club makes the short trip along the City Bypass to Sighthill Bowling Club on Sunday in Edinburgh on Sunday morning to participate in the finals day of the Andrew McKellar Inter County Top 5 Singles Championships. The East Lothian champions are the defending national champions and they will face West Fife champions Broad Street of Cowdenbeath in the semi-final action at 11am. The other last four clash features Newbridge (West Lothian) and Chirnside (Borders). Former national singles champion John McCrorie will spearhead Tranent’s bid to capture a second consecutive national team honour and joining him in their quest for glory is Adam Martin, David Whitson, Kevin Jones and Matt Osborne.
EL-Coop ace Dean Riva will this weekend be part of a strong Under 25 team that will represent Bowls Scotland in the British Isles Junior International series at Belmont Bowling Club in Belfast. Riva is named as a travelling reserve in the 27-man strong Scottish side hoping to make a successful defence of the title.
The club champions throughout the county have been battling it out over the past few evenings for the right to claim the prestigious ELBA Champion of Champions title. The event will reach its climax on Saturday as Haddington Bowling Club stage the tournament’s finals day, with all the action commencing at 12.30pm.
Legendary figure Willie Wood MBE reigned once again as the singles champion of his beloved Gifford Bowling Club having captured the title for a record extending 26th time, defeating Ronnie Skea, 21-13, in the final.
Scotland cap Scott Kennedy continues to make his mark at Cockenzie & Port Seton having captured the championship singles crown for a second time in three years following a hard fought 21-16 victory over Steven Morgan. 
Lauren Baillie emerged queen of the seaside club once again when she saw off the challenge of younger sister Leanne in the ladies singles championship final, winning 21-17. Ian Thorburn turned back the clock to become champion of West Barns for a second time after he beat Calum Gordon, 21-17, in a cracking final
Celia Lorimer is the new ladies champion while Liam Fender captured the youth title. Gary Reid is the new champion at Athelstaneford while Jackie Phillips grabbed the limelight in the ladies. Former county star Stewart Johnston is champion again at Ormiston having captured the title for a record extending eighth time, defeating defending champion Dan Rowley, 21-19 in a high-quality final. Raymond Frame was crowned king of Castlepark for a fifth time after beating defending champion Jamie Frame, 21-10, in the final while George Thomson won the senior crown for a second consecutive year.
Mark Riding is champion again at Elphinstone and is celebrating a sixth title success following a 21-14 win over Norrie Cochrane. Derek Allen is the new champion at Winton following a 21-11 triumph over Graham Easton in the final while John Holmes Jnr is celebrating a first championship success at East Lothian Labour. At Cockburnspath Willie Reid is the new gents champion and Chloe Watt is the ladies champion. Daniel Peart is the new champion at Longniddry while Margaret Devine (ladies) and George Anderson (seniors) were also on the winner’s rostrum.
With the indoor season now just around the corner officials at East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club has announced the club will open today (Thursday) and for the first week opening times will be 10am-12 noon and 6.30-8.30pm. Practice games will be permitted during this period and club membership fees will also be taken. The club will open full time 10am-8.30pm from Thursday 13th September. The Thursday morning leagues begin on the 13th with all other leagues and Top Four scheduled to commence week beginning Monday 17th September.
Draw for Cockenzie & Port Seton BC Open Pairs, sponsored by Belhaven Brewery, on Saturday is as follows:-
10am K.Cunningham, C.McNeill (Eyemouth), I.Malcolm, K.Hay (Musselburgh), D.Lawrence, C.Johnston, A.Jamieson, J.Gordon, K.Henderson, A.Thomson, J.Weatherhead, A.Martin
10.45am S.Hoy, S.Morgan, M.Munro, M.Telford, D.Scott, G.Baillie, S.Thomson, M.McCormack, D.Oliver, I.Veitch, E.Johnstone, W.McFarlane
Draw for Elphinstone BC Open Pairs, sponsored by AC’s Taxis, on Saturday is as follows:
9.30am C.Edmond, D.Hazzard, R.Thomson, I.Thomson, B.French, R.Buchanan, K.Glen, D.Swinton, K.Davidson, J.Davidson, C.McNeil, K.Gordon
10.30am R.Mills, H.Ramsay, S.Cochrane, N.Cochrane, C.Glen, R.French, R.Strang, S.Whitson, B.Hazard, S.Reid, P.Swinton, D.Higgins
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