Emphasising how much has changed from a personnel perspective since the first tournament back in 2013, only George Sasanow and Rob Knight are still plying their trade and both were part of the competition last week.
Of the 24 competitors nine had won previous competitions although it was difficult to try and pinpoint any outright favourite ahead of the action.
A preliminary round was established to reduce the field to a last 16 stage, with eight competitors receiving a bye to the next round and those eliminated entering into the Plate tournament.
As competition got underway at 12 noon in exceedingly hot conditions, all the field knew they would have to dig deep to negotiate through five gruelling rounds in order to triumph.
Additional stamina would be required in order for the bowlers to reach the jack due to overnight rain creating a much slower field than usual, conditions that would maybe favour the more powerful players among the field.
With the early stages being reduced to 8 ends per game, it was crucial for the players not to fall to an early deficit and restricting opponent’s scoring in any end would be a sensible tactic.
One notable early casualty was last month’s club champion Ken ‘Sammy’ Sampert who allowed Dean Lambert to come back from 6-2 down and force a deciding end which Dean won.
Other early casualties included George and Rob, with neither able to replicate their form from previous years.
Nail biting
As in last month’s club championship, seven of the eight bowlers who received a bye into the last 16 failed to take advantage and were relegated to the Plate competition, while three of the quarter-final line up were female competitors.
Reigning Open champion Sunee ‘Aon’ Sampert and Sireeton ‘Wan’ Sirimuangjan advanced to the semi-finals to face off against male opponents in Carl ‘The Mesh’ Mesham and Frank ‘Borni’ Born respectively.
Frank managed to overcome Wan in a nail biting contest, triumphing 8-6 on the final end while Aon defeated Carl 9-6.
The final was therefore set, with Aon looking to retain her title while Frank was looking to avenge his recent club championship semi-final defeat to the same opponent.
Learning from this previous experience, Frank attempted to play more cautious and restrict Aon to fewer scores although he still trailed 6-2 at the half way stage.
Any hopes Frank had of a comeback were quickly quashed as Aon delivered a number of high class bowls, regularly putting her opponent under pressure from the outset with a series of ‘touchers’.
Against any other opponent Frank’s standard of bowls would have seen him emerge victorious. However, following her historic victory in last year’s Open Aon proved beyond doubt that she is currently the stand out bowler on the island as she coasted to victory.
Her win also meant the championship was kept within the Sampert family as husband Ken won prior to Aon last year, meaning three consecutive titles for the Sampert household.
In the Plate final Ray ‘Rocket’ Austin beat previous serial winner Ulf ‘Ue’ Egeertstaad 9-6 to claim the trophy.
It was a fantastic day of action and clear to players and spectators alike that the standard has improved considerably in recent years so huge kudos to all involved.
Kamala Lawn Bowls club is open six days a week and all equipment is provided. Members days are Monday and Friday and beginners day Wednesday from 2:45pm onwards. For more information please contact: Tel 099-130-7255 or 097-173-0221; email: galations1402@gmail.com or Gordonjenkins1963@gmail.com.