WATER OF LEITH BOWLING ASSOCIATION

FIXTURES 2005

  League Tables Finals &  Representative Games  

Records and Former Champions 

Tab

FINAL TABLE 2004

Rep Games

Representative Games 2005

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2004

 It was celebration time at Bainfield when the club from Hutchison Crossway were crowned the Water of Leith 1^st Sixteen League champions for the first time since 1994. The cake took a long time to ice with the race to succeed Gorgie Mills to the coveted title going right down to the wire with Bainfield, Slateford , and Juniper Green all in with a big shout entering Wednesday nights 18^th and final fixture. A single point covered all three contenders and with home advantage against lesser opposition the talk was that 5-0 wins were on the card all round. But it was Bainfield who coped best with the strain and a brilliant clean-sweep result against Beechwood left their two rivals to suffer the pain. Slateford, six in a row champions from 1997 to 2002, stumbled to a 3-2 win over Beechwood while Juniper Green’s 4-1 success over Currie wasn’t good enough to bridge their 50 odd year title gap. Ronnie Petherick is the non-playing captain of Bainfield and he was proud as punch at the way his team had ended their Water of Leith title drought. “It was a hard battle all the way but we fought the good fight and what pleases me most is the spirit and skill of a team that included four Under 25 players and at the opposite end of the age scale veteran stars like Alex Ross and Willie Dyet”. Teenage star Paul O’Donnell was first to put Bainfield’s final challenge into top gear, skipping Neil Butters, Stuart Patterson and Stuart Clark to a 24-14 victory over Tam, the janny, Richardson. Gary Purdie kept the momentum going, skipping Adam Brock, Jim Ross and Dyet to a 23-11 triumph over Gary Thomson. Brian Stoddart also fired on all cylinders, skipping Craig Moss, George McNab and Paul Rintoul to a 25-13 success over David Eaton. A bumpy road for Graham Pringle however saw him 10-0 then 16-13 adrift before conjuring up a magic run of 1,2,3, to skip Duncan O’Donnell, John Simmons, and Stuart Ross to a 19-16 win over Tom Headspeath. Slateford saw Andrew Ramsay lose and Kenny McShane and Robert Marshall both held to a draw while Juniper were stunned when their top rink skipped by Alex Hurry crashed 21-8. 

Championships : Beechwood gardener Tom Headspeath has experienced different landscapes since dropping out of the E&L Hamilton Trophy scene in 2002 but he is back in the limelight after capturing the Water of Leith Singles title in their finals at Currie. Headspeath sewed the seeds for his victory with a run of 1,1,3, to cross Graeme Pringle 14-11 then reaped the reward with an extended run of 3,2,2, to beat the seemingly eternal bridesmaid from Bainfield 21-11. The career path of last seasons E&L Under 21 champion John McDermott continued on an upward spiral with the fast budding Sighthill star landing the junior title at the 21-6 expense of George Smith of Colinton. Teenager Paul O’Donnell was another headline maker as he skipped his Bainfield partner Brian Stoddart to an extra end triumph (17-16) over Gordon Sutherland and Gary MacDonald of Colinton in the Pairs. Gorgie Mills landed a centenary year honour in the Triples with Paul Millar, Kevin Jamieson and John Priestley adding a 4 at the second last to beat Beechwood 16-10. Juniper Green fielded their most successful league rink in the Fours and Alex Hurry did the business by skipping Russell Wilson, Colin Gilchrist and Andy Mackay to an 18-9 success over Carrick Knowe. The Water of Leith BA celebrate their Centenary next year.

2003  

Championships : Carrick Knowe were denied a title four-timer when Gorgie Mills ace Paul Millar turned up trumps against Darren Hush in the Singles final of the Water of Leith Championships at Bainfield last weekend. But it was the closest of calls with Hush battling back from 12-18 to cross 20-18 before Millar landed a late 1,2, to capture the crown in a nail-biting climax. Carrick Knowe were left to celebrate a great treble with Richard Tough setting the ball rolling at the 21-8 expense of John Forsyth (Gorgie Mills) in the Junior Singles. It was tougher going in the Triples however with Kevin Tennant, Keith Graham, and John Mitchell, pulling out a 4,2,1, finish to turn the tables (15-11) on Colinton’s Owen Western. The final of the Fours was highlighted by a run of 2,3,2,2, that set up Craig Aitken, John Carse, Bill Little, and Brian Sharp for a 16-12 win over Stevie Watson of Balerno. Bainfield captured the Pairs title with Brian Stoddart and Paul O’Donnell storming to a 24-9 success against Scott Brunton and Andrew McKendrick of Juniper Green.

Singles : Paul Miller - Gorgie Mills 21-20 Darren Hush - Carrick Knowe 
Junior Singles : Richard Tough - Carrick Knowe 21-6 John Forsyth - Gorgie Mills
Pairs : Brian Stoddart & Paul O'Donnell - Bainfield  24-9 Scott Brunton & Andrew McKendrick - Juniper Green
Triples : Kevin Tennant, Keith Graham, John Mitchell - C. Knowe 15-11 Brian Davis, Chris Cairns, Owen Western - Colinton
Fours :  Craig Aitken, John Carse, Bill Little, Brian Sharp - Carrick Knowe
16-12
Ross Young, Derek Robb, Hamish McNeil, Steve Watson - Balerno

League : Gorgie Mills popped the champagne corks when they reclaimed the Water of Leith 1^st XV1 League title for the first time since 1996.The new champions finished 4½ points clear of Juniper Green and brought to an end the fantastic six-in-a-row title wins of Slateford who finished in a credible third equal place with Bainfield. Gorgie Mills clinched top spot with a 5-0 home win over Carrick Knowe but their task was made easier with the 3-2 defeat of Juniper Green at Bainfield. “We had our nervous moments as at one stage Carrick Knowe shaped up as 5-0 winners but our lads stormed home and it was obvious that they were blessed with a strong will to win”, said Gorgie Mills spokesman Kenny Reid. Alan Brown came from 2-11 to beat Ian McKenna 17-13; John Priestley finished 1,4,2, to cross John Mitchell 22-18; Ian Brown stood 14-16 before edging Richard Tough 20-18; Ross Lauder conjured up a magic 3 to pip Darren Hush 14-13.

2002 Finals

Slateford BC  celebrated ‘six of the best’ after completing a successful 2002 defence of the Water of Leith 1^st Sixteen’s League title with a 4-1 home win over Colinton. “We were the first club to make it five title wins in a row last year and now we have stretched that to six and the club is immensely proud of the 1st Sixteen’s achievement”, said spokesman Gordon Ramsay. With Juniper Green chasing the leaders right down to the wire Slateford went into the final fixture of the 18-match programme needing 3 points to clinch the title. Wins for the rinks skipped by Robert Marshall, Gordon Ramsay, and Willie McDonald put the issue beyond doubt although it took a magic 3 at the last for McDonald to pip Gary MacDonald 16-15. Colinton tried their best to get themselves on the Juniper Christmas card list as the second from bottom club bagged a solid point via John Fisher who skipped his visiting rink to a 22-14 win over Craig Hurry. Hurry, standing in for ace skip Andrew Ramsay who was in Canada, led 10-4 at one stage but Fisher closed to 11-10 then added 1,3,1,4,3, to cross 22-11. The underdogs also had Rab Marshall under early pressure at 6-1 down but the quiet fella, with Dougie Martin back from his travels in Argentine and playing lead, bounced back to defeat Alan Milne 20-11. Gordon Ramsay lifted the home camp in the early stages with a super 6 to lead 17-5 and he went on to register a 19-12 success over Willie Watson. Meanwhile Juniper Green were left frustrated with their home game against Beechwood postponed by a flooded surface; but with Slateford home and dry it was later decided that a 2½-2½ share of the points be declared. Juniper finished 4 points adrift of Slateford and 1½ clear of third placed Gorgie Mills who finished with a 4-1 win at Balerno.   

2002 Championships :-
Singles : Gary McDonald - Colinton 21-19 Ian Brown - Gorgie Mills 
Junior Singles : Alex Hurry - Juniper Green 21-12 Scott Nolan - Sighthill
Pairs : Graham Fergus & Paul Anderson - Currie 16-15 Gary Thomson & David Cook - Beechwood
Triples : Ronnie Todd, Graeme Eddington & Paul Noble - Sighthill 19-8 Bill Herd, Gordon Ramsay & Dougie Martin - Slateford
Fours :  Bainfield 13-12  Carrick Knowe
Bainfield - Dougie Henderson, Adam Brock, Neil Butters & Willie Dyet  v Carrick Knowe - Kevin Tennant, Campbell Cooper, John Mitchell & Colin Mitchell