Over the last two weeks bowlers from Tuross Head played for the Barry Sloane Lightning Singles Memorial Trophy. This is a special event played in sets. Each game is played over two sets of five ends with a one end tie breaker if needed. In the preliminary rounds the players are placed in groups of three and play a round robin. The player with a bye in each round acts as the marker. After the round robin section the top eight players qualified for a knockout section to determine the winner.
The top eight were Peter Macdonald, Noel Downie, Ivan Balentovic, Alan McLeod, Peter Davies, Rita Downie, Lou Kozlik and Paul Douglas. A blind draw was held to determine the order of the draw. In the quarter finals Alan McLeod had the only two set to nil win when he downed Ivan Balentovic. The other three quarter finals required tie breakers to determine the winners. Paul Douglas edged out Lou Kozlik, Noel Downie had a narrow win over Peter Macdonald and Rita Downie ousted Peter Davies.
Both of the semi finals were decided in tie breakers with the victors coming back after losing the first set. Rita Downie continued her great form with a convincing second set and tie breaker win over Paul Douglas. Noel Downie had a great match with Alan Mcleod. In the tie breaker it looked like McLeod would progress until Downie played a great last bowl to grab a place in the final.
The final ended as a family affair!! Rita and Noel Downie won their way into the final with determined play in their final matches. In very trying windy conditions, that deteriorated as the day went on, Noel proved too consistent and ran out the winner two sets to nil. He now adds the Barry Sloane Memorial Trophy to his haul of victories for 2019!
