Gladys Cowell ladies’ over 60’s competition

There was a disappointing field of 22 at Peel, on Saturday 13 May, for the Gladys Cowell Over 60’s competition sponsored by Gladys’ grandson Nigel Rawlinson. However, as the competitors said, what the entry lacked in quantity was more than made up for by the quality! The standard of play and some very close matches confirmed the truth of that statement.

The horrible weather during the morning cleared to give a reasonable afternoon, although it was beginning to get very cold for the final stages.

Quarter-finals: Mary Moffatt 21, Margaret Tasker 6; Philippa Taylor 21, Libby Andrade 14; Maureen Payne 21, Tricia Bull 10; Rosie Winckle 21, Celia Joughin 16.

Both semi-finals were tense affairs. In the first Philippa had the better of the early exchanges, taking a lead of 13-8 before Mary won three of the next four ends to close to13-14. Once again Philippa took control and looked a shoo-in to win the game at 19-14, but Mary dug in to win the next six ends and move into the final. In the other semi-final things were pretty even for the first half of the game with Maureen 13-12 ahead after nine ends, before winning three of the next four ends to lead 17-13, when Rosie  upped her game to level at 17-17.However Maureen won the next three ends to book her place in the final.

Semi-finals: Mary Moffatt 21, Philippa Taylor 19; Maureen Payne 21, Rosie Winckle 17.

In the final Maureen was ruthless racing to a 16-7 lead after nine ends, but as she showed in her semi-final, Mary is a fighter and scored 7 on her next four ends to get back within two points, before Maureen finally ran out the winner 21-15.

The presentation was made by club president, Heather Horsburgh, who congratulated the players and thanked everyone who had helped during the afternoon.