WESTLECOT’S ladies go into the new year still flying the flag for the Old Town club in the national indoor team championship competitions.

They are still running in the Yetton Trophy after thumping Cotswold by 31 shots in a third-round tie just before Christmas.

This success meant that the Westlecot Yetton ladies team went into the festive break as the only side from the club still actively involved in any of the 10 national men’s, ladies’ or mixed inter-club championship events.

Westlecot ladies were given a bye in round one of the Yetton but then in the next two rounds accounted for Gloucestershire sides MidGlos, 76-68, and Cotswold (Stroud), 99-68.

They now face a last 32 tie next Thursday, January 3 (starting at 12 noon) against Warwickshire club Welford-on-Avon (near Stratford), with the prize for the winner being a place in the last 16 against either Wellingborough or Cambridge Chesterton.

Westlecot make two player changes and a couple of positional switches due to holidays and unavailability to the side that comfortably beat Cotswold in the last round.

Wendy Anderson’s rink, which recorded the biggest winning margin last time out, sees 15-year-old Katy Smith come in at lead for her Yetton debut in place of Ellen Bolland.

Meanwhile, in the other away rink at Welford, Viv Barker returns at number two with teenager Lucy Smith (Katy’s sister) moving to lead in place of Val Coles, who switches to home reserve.

The two changes at Westlecot are both positional, with Jill Webb coming into Doris Woodley’s rink and Sylvia Wells taking over from Webb as skip of the other rink.

TEAM

Home - Rink 1: Maureen Rogers, Jill Webb, Jane Taylor & Doris Woodley. Rink 2: Julia Hunt, Val Mortimer, Deanna Gingell & Sylvia Wells. Reserve: Val Coles.

Away - Rink 1: Katy Smith, Barbara Twine, Linda Perfitt & Wendy Anderson. Rink 2: Lucy Smith, Viv Barker, Josie Lloyd & Jenny Vowles. Reserve: June Johns.

  • TEN players from Wiltshire, including five from Westlecot, will be competing today in the Bournemouth Open, the fourth event on the planetbowls.com indoor singles tour.

Neil Smith, his two daughters Lucy and Katy plus Tom Walkley and Chris Cheesley are all chasing the £750 first prize, with prize money paid down to the quarter-finalists.

A field of 64 players will be competiting in Bournemouth, including England international Sam Tolchard, who won Event 2, the Tye Open (Harlow) and Danny Denison, the first winner of the Westlecot Open staged in March 2011.