On Sunday 4th August Finch Hill hosted the Apollo Blinds mixed doubles competition.

The event got underway with some very strong starts, notably from the Marown pairings of Clare Cooper with Sid Bolton along with Debbie Leece with Paul Kelly.

At the quarter final stage home greeners Lil Smith and Les Brookes had a titanic game to eventually overcome South Ramsey’s Kim Hargraves and Austin Hart to progress into the semi-finals. Also winning through to the semi-finals were two Noble’s pairs – Tina and Steve Hampson together with Roz Cannon and Juan Drinkwater.

In the semi-finals Lil and Les continued their winning streak by beating Tina and Steve and progressed into the final. Jayne and Walter also won through against Roz and Juan.

Jayne and Walter began the final with a flying start taking a maximum four chalks but Lil and Les unfazed immediately took the next end and opened their account with several single shot wins. The weather was by now deteriorating rapidly but this didn’t dampen the determination of either pair. It was nip and tuck all the way until the final end when Jayne and Walter ran out the eventual winners. Well done Jayne and Walter!

A special mention must go to the two juniors in the completion, Arran Dunn (Marown) and Grayse Blencoe (Mooragh Park), who played an exceptional first round match against Roz and Juan and only just lost out with a final score of 19-21. They are certainly future stars in the making.

The presentation was made by Mr Chris Reynolds of Apollo Blinds who kindly sponsored this event.

Joyce Ogden