Same again for District League champions in 2006
through the season unbeaten to retain their title.
Dawdon landed there first ever Sunderland & District title as Adrian Bates and Gary Wood defeated the Barley Mow father & son combination of Bryan and Bobby Sanderson 22-3 in the Silver Jacks final.
The Burkett Shield final saw Roker Marine’s love affair with the shield continue as John Davis, Ray Robinson and Bobby Graham beat Washington Glebe’s A.Brewster, George Garrett and Tom Ainslie 22-6, this was now the Marine club’s 20th success.
In the champion of champion's final Sunderland youngster Phillip Dixon beat Seaham Town's Danny Hardy 21-15 while Barnes Park’s Tommy Jopling landed the seniors title, in the final Jopling ended Grindon Mill’s David Byers hopes 21-15.
The apathy in the women’s came sadly rose to the surface as the once dominant Barnes West End had to withdraw from the league, Whitburn went on to the take the league title.
The Marjorie Marshall Triples final was an all Ashbrooke affair as Sunderland’s Janet Sykes, Pauline Temple & Susan Almond defeated clubmates Audrey White, Betty Milner & Jean Graham 18-7 in the final.
There was a Ryhope double in the Ladies Town Fours and Triples, in the fours final Brenda Forrest, Olwyn Charlton, Winnie Carter and Phylis Tizard defeated Sunderland’s Sue.Almond 19-16, then in the triples final Forrest, Carter and Tizard beat Whitburn’s F.Shield 21-13 in the final.
The Durham County men’s Middleton Cup team suffered their worst ever loss, in the group game against holders Cumbria at Wigton the Durham squad went down by 103 shots which included a 49-6 loss for Hartlepool’s Alan Taylor.
In the county competitions Houghton Diary Lane landed a couple of county titles, Mel Owen, Gordon Agar, Kenny Briscoe and Keith Makepeace landed the men’s fours title while Susan Forster and Joan Rodgerson lifted women’s county pairs.
Having qualified for their respective national championships both failed to make progress, in the men’s at Worthing Makepeace went out in the preliminary round of the fours competition 2317 at the hands of Cumbria’s Stuart Airey while at Leamington Spa in the women’s championships Rodgerson also made an early exit in the pairs going down 25-9 to Sussex’s Kate Sayers.
At the Northern Counties Championships held on the Commonwealth games greens at Heaton Park, Manchester the newly crowned Durham County champion’s rink of Mel Owen, Gordon Agar, Kenny Briscoe and Keith Makepeace missed out on the fours title going down in the semi finals 20-10 to Cumbria’s John Graham, the Houghton four had earlier defeated Yorkshire’s Dave Tooley 17-14.
Overall it was a disappointing championships for Durham as they were the only county not to win any of the six titles offer.
With more easing of restrictions Sunderland council have given clubs the green light to open up although they must adhere to the published guidelines.
Covid-19 has claimed an indoor club as Blackpool Newton Hall will not open again, founded in 1985 it was expanded to seven rinks in 1996 and hosted several TV events.
There was some sad news for the sport as Nancie Colling MBE, former President of the International Women’s Bowling Board (1996) and the English Women’s Bowling Association (1976), at the age of 101.
Nancie was an Honorary Member of Bowls England and was respected across the world of bowls for her many dedicated years of service to the sport.