WESTLECOT have qualified for the latter stages in the National Mixed Fours Championship.

The quartet of Ellen Bolland, Sylvia Wells, Kevin Embling and Ian Jefferies booked their place in the final stages of the competition at Northampton from February 16-18 with victory in the Area 10 mixed fours final staged at Cotswold (Stroud) against MidGlos.

Jefferies’ rink trailed 9-7 at 10 ends but came from behind and record a 24-17 success and now face Area 12 winners Cambridge Chesterton in the last 32 but will have to bring in Jean Bird as a sub for Sylvia Wells who is on holiday.

Meanwhile Bolland is also one step away from qualifying for the last 16 in two ladies national championship events.

In the National Pairs, partnering Janet Willis, they stormed to a brilliant 24-12 victory over Carol Goodyear and England junior and senior international Amy Stanton (Malvern Hills) in the Area 10 final.

Bolland and Willis now face Area 9 winners Brenda Bishop and her partner from Daventry on Sunday with a place at Melton Mowbray in the final stages at stake.

Bolland is also hoping to make it to Melton in the National Fours Championship as well.

Together with Jean Bird, Maureen Rogers and Doris Woodley they pulled off a remarkable one-shot victory in the Area 10 final against Maryann Pye’s rink on their own green at MidGlos.

They picked-up a three on 20th end to take the match to the 21st and last end and grabbed a five on the last to snatch a 19-18 success.

Woodley & Co move forward to the Inter Area final at Bromsgrove on Saturday when they face the Area 9 winners, a quartet from City of Birmingham led by Barbara Tew.

While there was success for Bolland and Willis in the pairs and the Woodley rink in Area 10 finals there was despair for other lady players and teams at Westlecot.

Vicky Harding lost in the Area 10 singles final to Amy Stanton (Malvern Hills), while Woodley, Rogers and Bolland lost in the triples final to a trio from MidGlos skipped by Ann Leach.

And in the Area 10 Over 60s Pairs final Jenny Vowles and Rosemary Nichols had to give second best to Joan Surman and Maryann Pye (MidGlos).

  • NEIL Smith is still running in two of the men’s Area 10 national championship events.

The Westlecot indoor bowler has notched up four wins in the bottom half of the Area 10 singles draw all against players from the Cotswold club in Stroud.

He has beaten Neil Chandler 21-7, Dave Howes 21-15, Matt Cuthbert 21-8 and Nick Holliday 21-7 and now another player from Cotswold, England Under 25 triallist Michael Woodbridge in tomorrow’s semi-finals.

The reward for the winner is a place in the Area 10 singles final against Ryan Atkins (Malvern Hills).

Smith is just one step away from a place in Nottingham in the National Fours Championship.

His rink of Kyle Anderson, Tom Walkley, Dave Snell edged home 23-22 in the Area 10 fours quarter-finals against Richard Speke (Cotswold).

They followed that up on Monday in an all-Westlecot semi-final clash against Hedley Bowen, John Thomas, Kevin Embling and Ian Jefferies with a comprehensive 23-5 win.

This win booked Smith’s rink a place in the area final against the Malvern Hills rink of Martin Hall, Neil Smith, Luke Harwood and Andy Walters.

Smith’s hopes in the triples competition had been ended a few days earlier when together with Anderson and Walkley they lost 21-12 to Dave Howes, Neil Chandler and Richard Speke.

And the Cotswold duo of Tom Webb and John Tombs ended Tony Rivers and Dave Snell’s hopes in the Over 60s Pairs beating them 24-15.