NORTH WEST JUNIOR ZONE
JUNIOR NATIONAL PAIRS COMPETITION
The Junior pairs took place on Saturday 13th December 2014 with 13 pairs participating.
The format was to be 4 groups with the winners of each group going through to the semi-finals of the main competition, second place in the group would qualify into the semi-final of the plate competition and third place qualifying into the wooden spoon.
GROUP A
This group had four pairs with last year winners Adam Rankin and James Caskie starting as favourites. Joe and Martin Hamill from the Drumsurn bowling club were making their first appearance at the pairs competition, nerves at start were evident to see but the young pair settle down and produced excellent bowls throughout the day. St. Mary's, Ballerin young hotshots Joseph McIntyre and Odran Canning were always going to prove a difficult challenge throughout the day and did not disappoint were they collected full points in their first game. Alan Cochrane and another newbie Sophie McIntyre completed this group, Sophie stepping in at the last minute and only started playing bowls this year, seriously you would of thought she had played this game for years, along with Alan they produced excellent bowls, only being piped to victory in the last end in the first game the pair got better as the day went on and completed victory in their last group game to finish third. No surprise that Adam and James won their three games to finish top of the group. Joseph and Odran finish second.
GROUP B
Laura Cochrane and Shauna O'Neill were to play Craig Marshall and Curtis Harrison, Curtis was another junior who stepped in last minute and certainly did not look out of place, this game was producing an exciting finish and as the last end was being played Craig and Curtis held a one shot lead but with both skips to play their last bowl the girls held three shots, Craig had the decision either to draw or hit, he choose the later and unfortunately for him he could only manage to remove one bowl leaving Shauna to draw for three and won the game by two shots. Martin Kirk and Matthew Nicholl were to make their entrance with the talented duo fearing no one, Craig and Curtis were their first opponents, the later got off to a good start but Martin and Matthew were not to be outplayed and started to play good bowls but just did not do enough to win this game. The girls were to complete the group against the young boys and it was the boys who started off the better taking an early lead, this was proving a tough battle for the girls and they had to dig deep to produce an excellent performance to beat the boys, well done Martin and Matthew two excellent performances. Laura and Shauna top the group with Craig and Curtis finishing second and the Boys finishing third.
GROUP C
When the draw for the pairs was being done this group was bringing a lot of interest to the Cochrane household. The paring of Calvin Heavern and Jamie Cochrane were to be in the same group as Rachel and Hannah Cochrane. First up was Keelan Nelson playing with Tamsin Elder, they were up against Calvin and Jamie, this game was proving to be an interesting contest with Keelan and Tamsin playing controlling bowls to keep in the game with the big pair in this group, as the game got into the later stages Calvin and Jamie produced excellent bowls to won this match. Entered the Largy girls and Keelan and Tamsin were to be their first challenged, this was a great game with both pairs exchanging blow for blow and it was always a difficult game to call and only for superb bowls by Keelan they edged this game by a single shot. The eagerly contest of the girls against the big bro and Calvin took place with Jamie bullying his way into a commanding 7 nil lead, GAME OVER? Well, tell that to the two talented Cochrane girls, the girls were playing really well and deservedly got a shot in the next end and on the next end after that they collected a count of 3. The girls continue to pile on the pressure and with the score 7-4 with two ends to play the girls were holding a count of three only for Jamie to play an excellent bowl to get shot and showed in his reaction what it meant. The Boys gained the shot in the last end to won the match and group with Tamsin and Keelan taking second place.
GROUP D
The heavyweights in this group were Jordan Rankin and Graham Kennedy but not to be outshone were the two pairings of Lee Devenney with Stephen Ferris and Caitlin O'Neill with Ross McMullan. Lee and Stephen were first up against Jordan and Graham and were slow to start before getting into the game with excellent bowls only to fall short by a shot. It was a matter of what would of happen if they would of got a good start. The boys returned in the next game to play Caitlin and Ross, not sure if the first game affected the boys but once again they were slow to get out of the blocks, in fairness Caitlin and Ross were excellent playing precise bowls and constantly piling on the pressure taking a commanding lead but as taught the two boys never give up and continue to play better bowls before the game finished. The last game in the group was between Caitlin with Ross and Jordan with Graham, the big pair shot out of the traps very quickly taking a commanding lead controlling the outcome but once again Caitlin and Ross were never giving up and at the end were only defeated by three shots. Jordan and Graham topped the group with Caitlin and Ross second and Lee and Stephen finishing third.
SEMI FINAL MAIN COMPETITION
Adam Rankin/James Caskie VS Laura Cochrane/Shauna O'Neill
Calvin Heavern/Jamie Cochrane VS Jordan Rankin/Graham Kennedy
SEMI FINAL PLATE COMPETITION
Joseph McIntyre/Odran Canning VS Curtis Harrison/Craig Marshall
Tamsin Elder/Keelan Nelson VS Caitlin O'Neill/Ross McMullan
SEMI FINAL WOODEN SPOON
Sophie McIntyre/Alan Cochrane VS Martin Kirk/Matthew Nicholl
Rachel Cochrane/Hannah Cochrane VS Lee Devenney/Stephen Ferris
All semi-finals were played at the highest standard with all games going down to the last end.
In the main competition Adam and James got off to a flyer against Laura and Shauna and half way through the game it looked like it was going to be an easy victory, the girls had other ideas with Laura beginning to outplay Adam and Shauna now playing better bowls, the boys maintained their lead and eventually came out 10-6 winners. The other semi-final was another good match with Calvin and Jamie taking an early lead with some very good attacking bowls, Jordan and Graham came into the game and was now starting to match bowl for bowl and some excellent bowls were being played by all four, nothing separated the boys with two ends to go but Calvin and Jamie were to get a count of two in the second last end and held there nerved to see out the game in the last end to progress to the final.
In the plate semi-finals Curtis and Craig had a real good battle with the Ballerin boys which want down to the last end only for Curtis and Craig to edge this one by a single shot. Tamsin and Keelan started off quickly against Caitlin and Ross and in fairness controlled this game but all four played really well but with the good start Tamsin and Keelan were to make the final.
In the wooden spoon semi-finals Sophie and Alan had a great game against Martin and Matthew and once against the large crowd were to witness another mouthing watering finish and the boys were to played a good last end to get through to the final. The Largy girls of Rachel and Hannah had the challenged of the boys of Lee and Stephen and another great game was being played, bowl for bowl was exchanged and yet again the last end was to encounter a great finish with the boys piping the girls to reach the final.
FINAL OF MAIN COMPETITION
Adam Rankin/James Caskie VS Calvin Heavern/Jamie Cochrane
FINAL OF LATE COMPETITION
Curtis Harrison/Craig Marshall VS Tamsin Elder/Keelan Nelson
FINAL OF THE WOODEN SPOON
Lee Devenney/Stephen Ferris VS Martin Kirk/Matthew Nicholl
The best three matches of the day were to take place as all three finals were determined with the last bowl in each match.
The main competition final was the top game of the day as all four bowlers were excelling, once again as in the semi-final Calvin and Jamie were to get off to a good start and looked really good for their lead. Adam and James started to get back into the game and were now showing why they won this competition last year. With the final being played over 10 ends all ends were contested at the highest level with all four players showing excellent composure and after 8 ends Calvin and Jamie were holding a slender lead 7-6, with the shot against Jamie he play a great drawing bowl to get the shot and take a two shot lead into the last end. Calvin and Adam lead bowls were excellent as both played drawing and running bowls with the advantage being in Calvin and Jamie's favour. Jamie's first bowl drawing to the line was heavy, James took advantage with the slightest of rubs he drew the shot, Jamie's last bowl was a very attacking bowl, the correct bowl to play but unfortunately he was just a fraction off removing the bowl and winning the match, with James last bowl he had to draw to the line and for 95% of the bowl it looked really good only to break the line, what a great effort but congratulations to Calvin Heavern and Jamie Cochrane who were worthy winners and will now go through to represent the Junior zone at the IIBA junior pairs championships in March 2015.
The plate final was another cracker with all four players showing nerves at the start but settle down and started to produce excellent bowls. Curtis and Craig were getting things a little better at the start and deservedly took an early lead but Tamsin and Keelan crawled their way back into the game playing really good bowls and after nine ends nothing separated both pairs. The last end was an exciting finish with once again nerves showing in all four players and just maybe a bit of excitement as well but Craig had the opportunity to draw the bowl to win and did not disappoint his partner Curtis to win the plate final. Well done Curtis and Craig.
The wooden spoon produced another great final with Martin and Matthew going into an early and commanding lead playing really good bowls, the final looked to be over for Lee and Stephen but these two boys who know nothing about defeat did what they do better than anyone I know, they never give up and produced bowls under pressure as good as you will see and after nine ends somehow lead by one shot, playing the last end and all four players were giving everything they had and blow for blow was being dealt with the shot against Stephen he played a great last bowl to hold match and this prove good enough as the last bowl from Matthew just missed the jack. Well done Lee and Stephen.
Congratulations to all 26 juniors who were all excellent and did us all very proud.
My thanks goes to Noleen Cochrane, Warren Elder and William Devenney for the help to make the running of the competition go very smoothly.
The singles competition will take place ton Friday 19th December at the Limavady Recreation Centre starting at 7.00pm sharp.
After the conclusion of the pairs Irish international and team captain Leigh Harrison made the draw for the singles.