County / National Over 55’s Pairs at Stevenage.
Sunday the 19th November saw sixteen pairs enter the over 55’s competition. The morning started with four groups of four pairs playing three games in each group. The top two teams from each group went through to the quarterfinals. Neil Rixon and Martin Nash beat Trevor Tharby and Margaret Hare in the first quarterfinal. Jeff Branch and Dennis Mack beat Paul Bruce and Trevor Knight, Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern beat Andrew Miles and Alan Hare. The last quarterfinal saw Bill and Toni Gearing beat Darren Stanford and Jeanette Gayler. The Semi-finals were won by the pairs of Alan/Brian and Jeff/Dennis who went through to the final. Bill/Toni and Neil/Martin played in the third-place decider. The final was won by Alan Spicer and Brian McGivern beating Jeff Branch and Dennis Mack into second place. Third spot was taken by Neil Rixon and Martin Nash with Toni and Bill Gearing taking fourth spot. We will have to wait until 2024 for our next County / National qualifier which will be the prestigious singles tournament held on January the 14th.