Sunday the 02^nd November and we were all back at Stevenage for the National Qualifiers/County Pairs competition. With our under 55’s now allowed to join in we now had eighteen pairs competing. This was only a small increase on the Over 55’s competition, a sad reflection on the fact we don’t have that many under 55’s in the county.  We were split into three groups of six teams, it was going to be a long day, everyone arrived by 08.15 and play got under way once all our eight mats were in place and our Competition Organiser Darren had outlined the schedule for the day. With each pair having five, ten end games there were ten qualifying sessions to be played. Our new county umpires Sue Knight and Mark Spalding were called upon many times and were ably assisted by our long-standing umpires Brian Fowler and Darren Stanford. They were all called many times during the day, thank you to all four of them. The group stage was completed at 15.30. The top two pairs from each group along with the two highest placed pairs of the remaining twelve were through to the quarter finals.

Quarter Finals

Mat three had Michelle Conlon and Trevor Knight playing Martin Nash and Neil Rixon. After nine ends of play Martin and Neil took the first semi-final place with a score of 10 – 4. On mat four Brian McGivern and Alan Spicer were playing Sue Knight and Malcolm Warwick, in another game that ended after nine ends Brian and Alan took the second semi-final spot with a score of 10 – 5. Mat six had Darren Brown and Lisa Miles playing Darren Stanford and Wendy Hunt in a close game Darren and Lisa took the win at 10 - 6 and progressed through to the Semi-finals. Our last quarter final game was on mat eight. Bev Stevenson and Mark Spalding played Barry and Val Thorogood. Bev and Mark took the last place in the semi-finals with a score of 11- 9.

Semi-Finals.

We had Brian and Alan playing Darren and Lisa on mat one. Brian and Alan started well with a triple and followed this with a single. Darren and Lisa came back on end three for a double but Brian and Alan upped the stakes with a hotshot four followed by a double for a 10 – 2 lead after five ends. Darren and Lisa pulled back, taking the next three ends for singles. End nine and Brian and Alan held a single and had won the first place in the final with a score of 11 - 5. Mat four had Martin and Neil playing Bev and Mark. Martin and Neil started with a single. Bev and Mark matched this on the second end. Martin and Neil pulled ahead with a double followed by a single. Bev and Mark pulled closer with a double then took the lead with a triple on end six for a 6 – 4 lead. Martin and Neil fought back they took a single then regained the lead with a triple on end eight. Bev and Mark came back on end nine for a single to reduce Martin and Neil’s lead to one shot going into the last end. Martin and Neil held on to the last end, taking a double for a 10 – 7 win we now had our second finalist of this competition.

 Third/Fourth playoff

The third/fourth playoff between Darren & Lisa and Bev & Mark was played on mat three. Darren and Lisa got this playoff started with a double. Bev and Mark then held a single but Darren and Lisa matched this and followed on with a double for a 5 – 1 lead after four ends. Bev and Mark attacked again and held their second single. In a game of many close ends Darren and Lisa took the following two ends for singles and a 7 – 2 lead after seven ends. Bev and Mark pushed again, this time they took a single and followed that with a triple to be only one shot behind going into the last end. The last end saw Darren and Lisa hold on for a single and the win at 8 – 6 giving them the third spot in this pairs competition.

The Final

The final between Brian & Alan and Martin & Neil was played on mat two. Martin and Neil started with a single. Brian and Alan held end two for a single only to see Martin and Neil take the lead back with two further singles. Now it was Brian and Alan’s turn they took two more singles to level this final at three all after six ends. They then took the lead with two further singles in this close fought game. Martin and Neil then held the penultimate end for a single and it was 5 – 4 to Brian and Alan after nine ends in this game of singles. The last end and Brian and Alan bucked the trend, taking a double they had the win at 7 – 4 and have now added the pairs trophy to their 2025 cup collection having won the over 55’s two weeks ago.

Our 2025 Pairs County Champions  Brian McGivern and Alan Spicer

Runners up:  Martin Nash and Neil Rixon

3^rd Place: Darren Brown and Lisa Miles

4^th Place Bev Stevenson and Mark Spalding

How many places we get allocated for the nationals will not be known until January. We will definitely get two places but could easily get three or four. We will just have to wait and see.

Can we please all say thank you to Darren Stanford our Competition Organiser and to Rebbeca Nightingale. They both worked tirelessly throughout the day making sure that this event run smoothly.

Our next County/National Qualifiers game will be the Triples on Sunday December the 07^th. However before that we have two I.C.C. matches at Stevenage. We will be hosting Essex next Sunday(09^th) and two weeks later Suffolk will be travelling to Stevenage for revenge after we beat them at their home ground at the beginning of October. Why not come along to watch these exciting games and get some inspiration for your triples game in December.