Well last night’s Founders & Legends Trophy singles competition held at Abingdon Conservative Club was the final Wednesday of the Summer season which started 22 weeks ago with the first round of the Skol Trophy 8’s competition and ended with another long established Competition which commemorates all of the players and officials of the past who helped form, compete and administer our league for the past 65 years!
Before that Competition though we played out the remaining semi final and final of our newest competition the Thames Cable Pairs which was new in 2025 and restricted to players from teams in the D, E and F sections. The competition attracted over 20 entries and matches were very competitive in the earlier rounds, which were played up to the semi final stage when held at the Harwellian Club last month.
The first semi final was between two sides from The Fox, Boars Hill represented by Steve Fernback and Jo Wilson and they played that semi final a couple of weeks ago against team mates Alan Fowler and Todd Morris on a neutral throw with Alan and Todd winning through after a tight contest which ended with a 3 stick shoot out.
So last night it was the turn of the other semi finalists who were Keiran Murphy and Michael Rainbow from 2025 newcomers to the league Long Wittenham Athletic Club and they faced John Curry and Ashley Jerome representing Harwellian A. In another tight game that went to 3 legs it was the Harwellian’s who won through to face Alan and Todd in the final.
Again a close run contest which proved a “stretch” too far for the Fox pair and again after 3 legs it was, due in a large part to an excellent 4 doll leg from John which saw the Harwellian pair to become the first winners of this Competition kindly sponsored, as is the league overall, by Thames Cable.
With those matched decided it was time to move on to the main event and one which so many players are eligible for being of or over a certain age! Disappointingly entries this year were significantly down compared to recent years, but 16 players took to the oche to compete for the Trophy and there were a number of tight matches in the early round before Geoff Lee, Dave Butler, Leigh Clapton and Dave Sapey progressed to the semi finals. Both semis both of which were only decided after 3 legs and it was Abingdon Con Club’s Leigh Clapton and Berinsfield SC A’s Geoff Lee who made it through and then in the final it was Leigh who triumphed to take yet another title, this time though a singles title, to the Abingdon Conservative Club whose domination this year in all competitions is there for all to see. They are far from finished and in just a few weeks time when they are represented in both the Singles and Pairs semi finals, our final competitions of the season on Presentation Night which takes place on Friday October 10th at Abingdon United.
No comments yet.