West Hoathly hat-trick as Millennium Cup day raises £1,100 for hospice

West Hoathly walked away with our Millennium Cup trophy for the third successive year after a titanic battle with Burgess Hill that was eventually decided on shots scored.

But while points still mean prizes, even on charity day, pounds mean pay day for the object of our fundraising – the much-appreciated St Peter and St James Hospice in Chailey.

The organisation serves a broad catchment area that includes the locations of three of the four participants – Haywards Heath, St Francis and Burgess Hill. And while West Hoathly lies just outside the boundaries, it has members who live within it.

With all sorts of initiatives to tempt players, helpers and supporters to part with their money – and the predicted afternoon storms not materialising – we managed a full day’s play, which meant more time for fundraising, too, and the final total raised was slightly more than last year’s record sum – just over £1,100.

And once again, our main sponsor, P&S Gallagher, funded the day - not least the magnificent lunches enjoyed by all players and helpers.

On the green, it was much the same story as last year – the four teams (ladies’ and men’s pairs, triples and fours) finishing in the same order.

But it was a closer finish this year, with the holders and Burgess Hill tying on 24 points and West Hoathly keeping the trophy on shots scored.

Intriguingly, the margin by which they won – 27 shots – was more than accounted for by the winners’ ladies’ fours, who were relentless in their thrashing of their St Francis counterparts, refusing to take their foot off their opponents’ throats in a 36-1 victory in just an hour of bowls.

It was the victors’ female players who came out on top overall, picking up 14 of a possible 18 points, whereas among the men, it was Burgess Hill who triumphed, scoring 12 points to West Hoathly’s 10.

As for us, the ladies fared better than the men this time round, scoring eight points and finishing third, while the men scored just six and came fourth.

Our ladies’ triples scored four of those eight points, while our men’s fours scored four of our six.

Millennium Cup

1st – West Hoathly – 24 points (total shots: 182-95)
2nd – Burgess Hill – 24 points (155-98)
3rd – Haywards Heath & Beech Hurst – 14 points (113-146)
4th – St Francis – 10 points (85-191)

Men’s competitions
1st – Burgess Hill – 12 points (76-48)
2nd – West Hoathly – 10 points (75-50)
3rd – St Francis – 8 points (51-78)
4th – Haywards Heath & Beech Hurst – 6 points (59-80)

Ladies’ competitions
1st – West Hoathly – 14 points (107-45)
2nd – Burgess Hill – 12 points (79-50)
3rd – Haywards Heath & Beech Hurst – 8 points (54-66)
4th – St Francis – 2 points (34-113)

How did we do?

Haywards Heath & Beech Hurst individual results

Men
v Burgess Hill – 18-30
Pairs – 5-11
Triples – 5-12
Fours – 8-7

v West Hoathly – 9-33
Pairs – 4-8
Triples – 2-12
Fours – 3-13

v St Francis – 32-17
Pairs – 10-3
Triples – 6-11
Fours – 16-3

Ladies
v Burgess Hill – 15-28
Pairs – 3-12
Triples – 8-7
Fours – 4-9

v West Hoathly – 12-28
Pairs - 3-9
Triples – 5-10
Fours – 4-9

v St Francis – 27-10
Pairs – 5-4
Triples – 7-6
Fours – 15-0

Men’s pairs: Mark Gooch and Tony Jarvis
Men’s triples: Bill Mann, Stephen Banks and Basil Larkins
Men’s fours: Tony Ashby, John Box, Peter Huntley and Neville Dalton

Ladies’ pairs: Judy Aldis and Elsie Wilding
Ladies’ triples: Fiona Burman, Doreen Penfold and Linda Huntley
Ladies’ fours: Sue Berry, Sheila Fletcher, Marge Breading and Anne Bosman