Three go Forward for the North – report by Barbara Dutton (3/9/06)
The All England Northern Area Finals were held at Earby on Sat/Sun 2/3 September 2006. Competitors travelled from Bury, Bowdon, Fylde, Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Huddersfield and, of course, Pendle. The weather played a great part in this tournament which drew 12 finalists from the North to compete for places in the All England Finals in Nailsea, Somerset. Play had to be postponed on the Saturday following a biblical deluge which rendered all 5 lawns unplayable. The Sunday morning inspection found all lawns playable and the contest continued on a 14 point basis (a shorter game).
Len Ainsworth from Fylde was the winner with Robin Delves from Pendle in second place. There was tie for third place between 5 players, and a ‘penalty shoot out’ took place with shots from the boundary to the centre pin to determine the winner, who was Paul Kenworthy from Bury. These three go forward to represent the North in the Finals which take place in two weeks time.