East Lothian 10/1

Aaron travelled to Auchinleck with high hopes of glory given his fine track record at youth level and his added experience of being part of the Gents team under his belt. His semi-final opponent on Saturday was Aimmee Thomson from Alloa. The game was tight to start with and it was Aimmee who held the upper-hand over the early stages when holding 8-5 and 9-7 leads. However, Aaron crossed her with a three to lead 10-9 and was never to relinquish the lead from then on. The game was still tight at 12-11 before Aaron scored a 3,1 to lead 16-11 before conceding a one and then seeing out the game with five shots over the next three ends to win 21-12 and claim his place in the final.
In the final Aaron faced a tough challenge against the equally experienced Ross Gouldstone from Prestwick. The game ended up being a classic with some top quality bowls played in a game which lasted two hours. With the score at 2-2 early on Aaron scored a four to lead 6-2, however, this provoked Ross into action and with a combination of draw shots and some precise driving he reeled of a sequence of 2, 1, (2), 3, 3, 2, 1 to pull away into a 14-8 lead. The next seven ends seen single shots scored on each end as the quality of the game continued to improve and it was Ross who scored four singles to Aaron’s three to increase his lead to 18-11 and be within striking distance of the title. Aaron was not going to give up on his hope of glory without a fight and over, what ended up being, the remaining seven ends he showed maturity beyond his years to remain composed and over each of these ends put his opponent under severe pressure. A run of 2, 1, 2 seen Aaron close to 16-18 before Ross answered with a 2 to hit 20. Aaron was not phased though and played excellent bowls to lie multiple shots on each of the remaining ends and forcing Ross to resort back to his striking game which was not as successful as it had been earlier in the game and Aaron scored 2, 2 and 1 to bring the title back to East Lothian with an epic 21-20 victory.

All eyes will be on the Potters Leisure Resort during the month of January as the World Indoor Bowls Championships take place. Six times world singles champion Alex Marshall MBE returns to one of his favourite venues seeking a seventh title and will be joined by fellow East Lothian bowler John McCrorie who has once again qualified for the showpiece event. Alex opens his campaign against Lawrence Quill from the USA on Tuesday 14 January at 7.30pm whilst John faces fellow Scot and number four seed David Gourlay at 2pm on Wednesday 15 January. Should they win their games they would both be in action on Tuesday 21st January. Before all of this Alex is in pairs action as he and regular pairs partner Paul Foster MBE are aiming to defend the title they won last year for a fourth time together and a sixth time in total for Alex. Their first game is this Saturday when they are due to play the winners of the game between Les Gillet/Jason Greenslade and as yet undecided English pairing. Also in action in the pairs is East Lothian resident Colin Walker who plays alongside Ronnie Duncan and they face Robert Paxton and Mark Royal this Friday 10th January.

East Lothian Gents enter their league game away to Prestwick this Saturday knowing that they must record a win to hold any hope of catching runaway section leaders Blantyre. The following team has been named: M Yuill, J Gordon, D Riva & D Oliver (Skip) M Johnston, D Stevenson, S Thomson & J Mower, J Higgins, A Jeffrey, S Morgan & S Kennedy A Betts, C Darling, L Betts & B Mellors

East Lothian youths were successful again at the weekend. At the same time as Aaron was bringing a Scottish title back to the club there were three triples taking part in the SYIBA Adult/Youth triples taking place at Falkirk. There were twenty three entries to this regular event which comprises two youths and an adult, with one of the youths skipping. Entrants came from as far afield as Ardrossan, Prestwick and Aberdeen. The three triples taking part were Daniel Gillies, Peter Fallen and Kieran Dodds (skip); Luke Cowan, Colin Penman and Logan Kennedy (skip) ; Callum Henderson, John Henderson and Lennon Rafferty (skip). All three triples won their sections to progress to the quarter finals where Logan’s triple defeated Kieran’s triple and Lennon’s triple defeated a triple from Prestwick. The two Garden County teams met in the semi-final and the triple of Luke, Colin and Logan recorded a comfortable win over their colleagues Callum, John and Lennon before going on to produce another excellent display in the final against Arbroath and another comfortable victory to claim the title. The title win was even sweeter as this was the first time a team from East Lothian had captured this title.

The Garden County Senior brigade were due to play their last game of the league campaign on Wednesday when Falkirk visited and barring a disaster East Lothian should have been able to secure their qualification for the knockout stage as they entered this fixture at the top of the table, two points and sixty shots in front of nearest challengers Midlothian.

Half year memberships are now available at the indoor for anyone interested in trying indoor bowls which will allow anyone joining to join a league rink or help out in Scottish ties. The half year membership costs £38 and can be paid in the club or via online banking.