The CSSA National Skittles Championships Report

The CSSA National Skittles Championships were held on Saturday 5 June 2010 and the hosts were once again the Cheltenham Club.

Due to various reasons we only had 5 regions participating; Scotland, Northern Ireland, Midlands, South West and North West. This changed the format to each team playing four games of five legs per match with the team with the highest pins total getting the two points.

Scotland who have a reputation for not doing very well were welcomed in John West's opening speech as always turning up in force and adding to the atmosphere but it not doing them much good!

After the draw, which saw Scotland sit out the opening round of matches, they took to the alley to play North West after winning the toss and putting North West in first, Scotland put in a master class of consistency winning the match by 28 pins scoring three strikes and a spare to total 210.

The second match squared the two Gaelic nations; Scotland and Northern Ireland in a match that was always going to be highly charged and it didn't disappoint. The Scots lads went into the last leg trailing by four pins so needing to score a 43 to win the match and with both sets of players and fans roaring their teams on (Scotland even had the skirl of the bagpipes playing) Scotland sneaked over the finishing line with a nine, nine, eight, finish to pip Ireland and secure the two points. This game also produced three strikes and a spare.

Going into the third match after the food break, Scotland had four points and were in with a real shout of upsetting the odds but also realised they still had the two strongest teams to play. The third match against the Midlands turned into another nail biter as Scotland took a six pin lead in the first leg which was whittled back to three by the end of the third leg, a nervous leg by both teams saw Scotland going into the last leg with a five pin cushion which they managed to hold. There were three strikes for Scotland in this game.

So going into the last set of matches, Scotland were undefeated on 6 points as were the South West (the tournament favourites). The match was started by Scotland as they had lost the toss for the first time, was this an omen?! The early exchanges saw South West hold a narrow five pin lead after two legs with Scotland having missed a couple of spare opportunities to really put the pressure on. After setting another reasonable target in the third leg, Scotland retired to watch their opponents tackle it, a seventeen (a feat that saw all nine skittles down with first ball) closely followed by a fifteen to total sixty, put a hammer into the Scottish hearts and left the South West to cruise to victory and clinch the tournament.

So it was runners up for Scotland, a feat they were very proud of and John sang there praises at the presentations. Once again the tournament was well organised and smoothly run by John West; our thanks go to him and the Cheltenham club for hosting us.

Well done to the Scottish team of Ally Barr, Ronnie Patterson, Abe Torrance, Davie Barbour, Alan (Fadge) Macpherson, Willie Gibson and Vic Dobbie who all played brilliantly and who at last brought something home. Thanks also to our two loyal fans Marc and Cammy and the ladies of the Imps Betty, Anne and Margaret for there support.

There's always next year!

Ally Barr

Scottish Skittles Organiser

(and player)