Sunday the 25^th January saw thirty two of Hertfordshire’s best bowlers meet at Stevenage for the last of our National Qualifiers / County Championship games for this season the mixed fours. With two groups of four teams the morning session saw all teams playing three group games with the top two in each group progressing to the Semi-Finals that were held straight after a short lunch break.

Semi-Final one had a Greenwood Standoff with the team of Angie Baird, Bill Durham, Barry Thorogood and Val Thorogood playing Audrey Fowler, Malcolm Warwick, Sue Knight and Brian Fowler. After eight ends of play it was Val Thorogood’s team that progressed to the final with a score of 9 – 3. Meanwhile on mat four the second Semi-Final was being played between the team of Bev Stevenson, Julia Buce, Neil Rixon & Brian McGivern and Trevor Knight, Toni Gearing, Michelle Conlon & Bill Gearing. Coming from behind by taking a five on end four it was Brian McGivern’s team that took the second Semi-Final place with a score of 12 – 5.

 03^rd/04^th Playoff

Audrey, Malcolm, Sue & Brian played Trevor, Toni, Michelle & Bill to see who could take that third spot. Bill’s team started with a triple, Brian took end two for a single and followed that with a second. Bill’s team came back for a single and followed that with a four for a 8 – 2 lead after five ends. Brian’s team came straight back for a four of their own to reduce their deficit to two shots. Bill’s team came straight back by taking a second four to regain their six-shot lead. With two bowls sitting on the jack the last end was declared tied giving Trevor, Toni, Michelle and Bill that third place with a score of 12 – 6.

The Final

Angie, Bill, Barry & Val played Bev, Julia, Neil and Brian in the final. Brian’s team started with a single and followed it with a four. Val’s team started their campaign with a single and followed it with a second. They then took the lead with a four and continued their run with two more singles. Brian’s team held the last end for a single but Angie, Bill, Barry and Val had the Mixed Fours title with a winning score of  8 – 6.

Our 2025/26 Mixed Fours County Champions

Angie Baird, Bill Durham, Barry Thorogood and Val Thorogood

Runners up:  Bev Stevenson, Julia Bruce, Neil Rixon and Brian McGivern

3^rd Place: Trevor Knight, Toni Gearing, Michelle Conlon and Bill Gearing

4^th Place Audrey Fowler, Malcolm Wawick, Sue Knight and Brian Fowler

Following a short break we were then treated to the final two games of the singles competition that had rolled over from the beginning of the month.

Singles 03^rd/04^th Playoff

Malcolm Warwick was playing Neil Rixon to gain that third spot in our singles competition. Neil started with a single and followed that with a second and a double. Malcolm held end four for a double but Neil came straight back and started a second run taking a triple, a double and two more singles for an 11 – 2 lead after eight ends. Malcolm held a single on end nine but it was all over when Neil held a hotshot four on end ten for a 15 – 3 win.

Singles Final

Mark Spalding played Darren Brown in an all-Greenwood final. Darren started with a hotshot four Not to be outdone Mark matched this on the second end and it was game on. Darren then held a double on end three but Mark took the lead on end four with a triple. He followed this with a second triple for a 10 – 6 lead after five ends. Darren held a single followed by a second and reduced Mark’s lead to two shots. With the following two ends going for a single apiece Mark was maintaining that two-shot lead. The penultimate end and Mark held a double, he then finished with a single to take the prestigious Singles title with a score of 14 – 9.

Our 2025/26 Singles Champion

Mark Spalding

Runner up:  Darren Brown

3^rd Place: Neil Rixon

4^th Place Malcolm Warwick

Following the completion of the singles competition Darren Stanford announced that we now have been told what our National allocations are. We have been awarded the maximum of four entries in all six disciplines, so can we give congratulations to those twenty-nine Hertfordshire players that will be travelling to Melton Mowbray in March and April. They have already done well to qualify. The next target is to progress through the round robin stage to the knockouts. Can anyone from Hertfordshire win a cup at the Nationals? We will all have to wait and see.

Once again can we all say thank you to Darren Stanford for organising these six events and extend our thanks to Rebecca who keeps him in check.