Laura Lewis and Andrew Stapleton topped a strong field of bowlers to take the BLBC 2011 Club Pairs title. Eight teams composed of skips (pre-selected by Tournament Director, Gary Knox) and leads (randomly drawn by each skip in turn) competed on Saturday October 15. Three teams won both their morning games (Jim Corr/Gary Knox, Dave Rockhold/Shawn Roney, and Lewis/Stapleton) and were joined by the best placed one game winners (Howard Mackey/Phil Grattan) in the semifinals. The pairs of Lewis/Stapleton and Corr/Knox advanced to and fought a keenly-contested final. With Laura and Andy commanding a substantial 4-point lead going into the last end, Jim added an element of suspense by “burning” the end with his last bowl, forcing the end to be replayed. However, Laura and Andy held on to win with a final score of 13-8. Congratulations to both!

After the game, we fired up the BarBQ and kicked back over a meal. It seems like a fitting end to the 2011 club tournament season. Special thanks to Gary Knox for all his careful planning and extra effort to set up the rinks, prepare score cards, and keep us under control. Good job, Gary!

Thanks, too, to novices Ann Gardiner and Shawn Roney who played in today’s tournament. They were a welcome addition to the event.

So, everyone get out there and practice! The 2012 season isn’t far off. Closing day is Saturday, Oct. 22 at San Francisco LBC.