Channel Islanders claim two of the four titles up for grabs in exciting finals at Northfield with Katrina Bisson a long-overdue and very popular singles winner

Top honours in this year’s Women’s British Isles Championships hosted by Scotland, at the National Centre of Excellence at Ayr Northfield, went to Jersey who claimed two of the four titles, with England and Scotland taking one apiece. 

Jersey won both finals they contested, with England playing three, Scotland two and Wales made it to one. Despite making it to the semi-finals of the fours and triples, Ireland failed to mount any final challenge.

Nobody can deny Karina Bisson her moment of glory. The Jersey stalwart consistently represents her homeland all around the world, is always a force to be reckoned with and is always there or thereabouts at the final summing-up.
 She had it all to do though, coming through from the preliminary round against Ballymena’s Jennifer Dowds, and will no doubt look back on a purple patch in the middle of the game where she picked up 11 shots over four ends to move from 1-5 down to 12-5 up at ten ends and move through ten ends later 21-12.

In her semi-final against Paisley Victoria’s Anne Marie Fletcher, she was again pushed all the way in a 25-end exchange with never more than two shots separating the players in the second half of the match. 

However, a storming 3, 1, 1 finish saw her safely over the finishing line 21-16.
 Making her way through from the other half of the draw was Hampshire’s Julie Saunders. In a high-quality, 29-end marathon, Jackie Hopkins from Tridwr looked to be heading to victory when she led 20-16, but Saunders pipped her at the post  21-20 with a 1, 1, 2, 1 finish.

Although never headed in the final, Bisson had her work cut out in the 26-end dual.  In the opening exchanges, she found herself 3-0 off the pace after just two ends, but turned that scoreline around when she counted nine shots over the next five ends to lead 9-3 and, despite dropping two singles, chalked-up three of her own to go 12-5 ahead after the 12th. Saunders reined-in and hit back to be 15-12 off the pace at the 20th end, but a treble followed by a double put Bisson within touching distance at 20-12. However, she had to wait for four ends before sealing the title 21-16.

At one stage, it looked as though the honours were going to be equally-shared but Jersey and Scotland produced grandstand finishes in the pairs and fours to leave the spectators on the edge of their seats.

Title number two for the Channel Islanders came from Gaynor Thomas and Sue Dingle against Welsh duo Mel Viles and Mair Jones from the Hoover club.
 
They showed 3-1 ahead after three ends but then the wheels fell off as they only landed one telling punch in the next six ends, dropping 14 shots and only gaining a single to find themselves trailing 15-4.

The scoreline remained in Wales’ favour at 17-11 with only three ends to play, but in a reversal of their semi-final match against Scotland, the tide turned in Jersey’s favour and a double followed by a treble and an all-important single on the last end pushed the match into an extra-end decider where the Channel Islanders
produced the knock-out blow to snatch the title 19-17.

In the semi-finals, Jersey hardly gave Huntingdon County pair Catherine Popple and Sarah Newson a look in. The went 9-0 ahead after four ends, and although a four followed by a 3 on the tenth and eleventh ends left the English duo two shots off the pace at 14-12, Jersey outgunned the English partnership on the run home by five ends to one to enjoy a 23-14 victory.

In the other semi-final, Scotland’s Helen Stevenson and Theresa Matthews from Rutherglen held a 13-7 lead over Wales with five ends to play, but Wales kept their challenge alive when they picked up three trebles in a row to go 16-13 ahead, and, despite dropping a single on the penultimate end, finished with a pick-up of four to win 20-14.

 

Scotland’s Kathy Moffat, Anne Motroni, Jan Oliver and Mary Ferguson led for all-bar-one of the first 11 ends where they showed 15-10 ahead in the fours. However, Surrey County quartet Inger Newman, Pam Garden, Kath Brodley and Pat Launders grabbed the opportunity when it presented itself and turned over nine shots in three ends to lead 19-15, but they failed to score again as the Dumfries rink gathered, rose to the challenge and wrapped up the title with a double followed by three singles for a nail-biting 20-19 win.

There was no such excitement in the triples, with the strong international trio and title favourites Huntingdon County dropping only 12 shots between their semi-final and final matches to clinch the trophy. Disappointed at going down in their British pairs campaign, Catherine Popple and Sarah Newson teamed-up with Sarah’s mum Val and didn’t mess about in their semi-final clash with Jersey’s Carole Allen, Gean O’Neil and Karina Bisson, romping to a 25-2 win, with Jersey throwing in the towel after just 13 ends, while their final opponents - Scotland’s Liz Allison, Nora McKay and Val Sneddon from Denny progressed at the 26-12 expense of Maureen Moody’s Port Stewart trio.

They led from the opening end of the final, dropping only eight of the 17 ends played to win 21-10 and take their second British title in two years – winning the fours crown last year at Leamington along with Peterborough clubmate Doris Flowers.

Results

Singles
Prelims: Jersey (K Bisson) bt Ire (J Dowds) 21-11,
Semis: Jer bt Scot (A M Fletcher) 21-16,
Eng (J Sanders) bt Wales (J Hopkins) 21-20, 
FINAL: Jersey (Karina Bisson/St Brelade)
bt Eng (Julie Sanders/Hampshire)  21-16.

PAIRS
Prelims: Wales (M Viles & M Jones) bt Ire (M Hoey & P Nolan) 18-13, 
Semis: Wales bt Scot (H Stevenson & T Matthews) 20-14, Jersey (G Thomas & S Dingle) bt Eng (S Newson & C Popple) 23-14,
FINAL: Jersey (Gaynor Thomas & Sue Dingle/Jersey) bt Wales (Mel Viles & Mair Jones/Hoover) 19-17 after extra end

TRIPLES
Prelims: Scot (L Alison, N McKay, V Sneddon) bt Wales (M Smith, J Griffiths, P Bignell) 14-12,
Semis: Scot bt Ire (M Clarke, K French, M Moody) 26-13, Eng (S Newson, V Newson, C Popple) bt Jersey (C Allen, G O’Neal, K Bisson) 25-2,
FINAL: Eng (Sarah & Val Newson, Catherine Popple/Huntingdon) bt Scot (Liz Allison, Nora McKay, Val Sneddon/Denny) 21-10

FOURS
Prelims: Ire (I Minnis, P Smyth, M McGuile, C Young) bt Wales (A Sutherland, C Headley, B Thomas, J Hine) 17-12,
Semis : Scot (K Moffat, A Motroni, J Oliver, M Ferguson) bt Ire 20-6,  Eng (I Newman, P Garden, K Bradley, P Launders) bt Jersey (Y de Gruchy, E Vowden, E Cole, J Fox) 18-13, FINAL: Scot (Kathy Moffat, Anne Motroni, Jan Oliver, Mary Ferguson/Dumfries) bt Eng (Inger Newman, Pam Garden, Kath Bradley, Pat Launders/Surrey) 20-19