England enjoyed superb success at the British Isles Championships, coming away with six British Isles Champions and one Runners-Up.
The event was held in Ayr, Scotland and took place on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th June.
It was delight for Devon duo Sophie Tolchard and Harriet Stevens as they claimed the Women’s Pairs title with a 22-2 win over Welsh mother and daughter pairing, Lauren Gowen & Tracy Gowen.
Tolchard and Stevens controlled the match, allowing no opportunities for the Gowen’s to get back into the game. A seven late on, led the Welsh pair to concede with four ends to spare.
It becomes the first British Isles title for Harriet Stevens who was “speechless” after the win.
“We were unable to compete in previous championships because of Covid, so it’s great to get back on the green competing and so nice to do this with Sophie, my teammate, and family,” said Stevens.
Tolchard added: “We controlled the heads and always had bowls around to limit the opposition scores.”
Ed Morris secured historic back-to-back British Isles Men’s Singles titles with a 21-9 victory over Wales’ Daniel Salmon.
After winning the title last year in Llandrindod Wells, Wales, Morris stamped his authority on the game from the start. A forehand runner to take Salmon’s bowl out to make three shots proved to be the decisive blow in the final.
“It feels pretty surreal,” described Ed. “I had a quick look at the records and no one has achieved it [Consecutive British Isles Men’s Singles titles] since David Bryant. Whilst I’m nowhere near the bowler he was, it is nice to be in the same sentence.”
It’s been a couple of months to remember for Suffolk’s rising star Charlie Beeton. In May, he won the National Under 18’s Singles and now, he can call himself the British Isles Under 18’s Singles Champion.
In a high-quality final, he beat Scotland’s Jamie Noon 21-16. It was neck and neck all the way through but Beeton dug deep to pull away from Noon in the latter stages.
Beeton was embraced by his family as they burst into celebration as he claimed the victory.
The British Isles Men’s Senior Fours was won by Vaughan Holland, Paul Bunting, Craig Shaw and Alan Symondson (Berkshire).
They romped home to a 26-7 win over Ireland’s Uel Gordon, Gerard Begley, David Calvin and Robin Brown.
Symondson said: “Our front end got us off to a great start. That put us in a position where we were able to control the rest of the game really well.”
The fantastic four of Helen Butler, Louise Whyers, Penny Strong and Annie Dunham won the British Isles Women’s Fours, sealing a 19-6 win over Jersey’s Fiona Archibald, Sara Douglas, Lorraine Plante and Suzanne Job.
Dunham shared, “It feels amazing. So proud of the girls, they’ve been superb throughout especially in really challenging conditions.
“Shout out to Pearl [Flowers] who helped us get here. We also want to shout out Aviva and Aceit for their support. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to compete and look fantastic on the green.”
Flowers was part of the four up to the quarter-finals on their way to winning the National Women’s Fours last summer.
Rachel Mackriell, Nina Allbut and Denise Hodd were overjoyed as they sealed the British Isles Women’s Triples title.
They won 21-13 in impressive style against Grace Henry, Barbara Cameron and Donna McCloy of Ireland.
The English triple held their nerve in the last few ends to keep Ireland at arm’s length.
In the Men’s Triples, Kevin Harrison, Mark Irwin and Stuart Irwin finished as British Isles runners-up.
They were beaten by Ireland’s Derek Smith, Gary McCloy and Ian McClure 14-17.
Harrison and the Irwin brothers took a 7-0 lead but were clawed back by the Irish triple and were left needing six shots to win on the last end.
All results in full can be found here.