The LBC decided to trial Saturday afternoon pick-up bowls this summer. The idea was, to avoid the heat that comes with a (Sunday) morning start in mid-July and to bring some life to the Club’s Patio area on Saturdays as the sun goes down.
Here’s how the sessions have unfolded so far. Teams are selected at random at the start of each session:
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Twelve bowlers announced their availability for Game 1 on July 6, but grim weather forced us to cancel the session.
For Game 2, on July 13, seven bowlers convened in misty conditions resembling the by-now familiar rain. A rotating four-player triples team of Alex Hendy, Yoko Ishiguro, Hiroko Kojima and debutant Frank Fisher fought back in the last three of 12 ends to ruin the evening of Satish Tandon, Hans Pauli and James Hegarty.
The winners of Game 3, on Saturday July 20, were Team Alex Hendy, Yoshihiro Iizuka and Motoko Tsuyama, who beat Team Satish Tandon, Terry Potticary and Hiroko Kojima 8-4 in the final, thanks to amazing skip play by Yoshihiro and Motoko. The bronze medal match was won by Team Hans Pauli, Captain Kumar and Yasu Kojima, who beat Team Toshiharu Saito, Shigemitsu Itoh and James Hegarty (unlucky again, Jim!).
For Game 4, on Saturday July 27, we had a bumper turnout of 18 bowlers. The team of Makoto Honjo, Kaz Umeda and Captain Kumar beat the team of Hans Pauli, Yoko Ishiguro and Ippei Iwasaki in the final.
Another perfect number for triples (12) took to the Green on a red hot August 3 for Game 5. The Yaguchidai breeze helped to make life comfortable for the bowlers. In the final, Team Yoko Ishiguro, Shigemitsu Itoh and Seishi Yoda beat Team Jun Adachi, Simon Denyer and Ippei Iwasaki. In the bronze medal match, Team Makoto Honjo, Hans Pauli and Toshiharu Saito beat Team Alex Hendy, George Ishiguro and Mark Shriner.
With one game left to play in the Saturday Sundown Series, the race for the Men’s and Women’s Pick-up Crowns is … alive!
Lawn Bowls 