Index
Cynth Ford - Alex Everton
Memorial Doubles
June 2002
The second tournament visited by The Manics - Now with screen printed team shirts - was the Cynth Fort/Alex Everton Memorial Doubles held at the Bowlplex, Aspects Leisure Park, Bristol. This was the first time either of us had been to the bowl so we followed the directions carefully, even though they seemed to be written for those travelling from North of the centre, rather than the South West. However, we found it easlily from those directions and with time to spare for me to get a meal.Due to circumstances beyond the tournament director Mike Cordwell's control, the date for the tournament was not the one originally intended and the date actually clashed with Englands opener in the World Cup, a 1-1 draw with Sweden. Unfortunately, the early squad had to contend with the noise of the football fans watching the game on the big screen behind the lanes but the match was over by the time we were due to bowl our games.
Our first block of three games was delayed whilst we sorted out the computer scoring and once we got going I had lost a little focus on what was proving to be a challenging condition. Following a move down the house I regained my focus and was able to bring my scores back to a more reasonable level with a 'brooklyn' shot that was working very well. Richard bowled steadily and at the end of the day we were in the top half of the table. Indeed, we beat some of the teams that had been above us in the Swindon tournament, and my 5th game took the high game pot for that game (one of only a few 200+ games bowled on the day - a testament to the approaches and lane conditions, not the standard of the entries).
More learning under the belt - and more practice needed.
Many thanks to Mike Cordwell, tournament director who did very well with what appeared to be very little help.
