As you can see from the main photo, Anne Brogden, wife of late husband Tony Brogden, lifted the trophy on what turned out to be a very emotional day. But let’s go back to the beginning and see how she achieved this.
Under grey skies, the competition began with 16 players in a round robin, with 4 players in each group. The groups included 5 of the Brogden family, showing support on their dad/grandad’s cup day. Once again generated by A.I., the group stage spreadsheets were ready to have scores added as the games finished.
The day warmed up nicely and eventually the sun popped out, and brought perfect conditions for the day. Unfortunately for some, the sun also dried out the green quickly, and by lunchtime, bowls were flying through and often landing in the gutter, so extra skill was needed to take the changing conditions into account.
The group stages finished with the following results:
Each group produced one winner, who would go through to the semi-finals. The spreadsheet determined that Anne Brogden would play Don Lowe, and Janice Lowe would play partner Dave Williams.
First though, the raffle was drawn outside. Thanks to all who brought prizes, the raffle made £67 for the club.
In the first semi-final between Anne and Don, Don gave Anne a good run for her money in the first half of the game, and took the lead for a while. But once Anne got the jack back, she stretched ahead and took the game 21-15. Credit goes to Don for playing 4 games on a hot day at the age of 91, and getting to the semi-finals.
In the other game, Dave Williams dominated throughout, and Janice only manage to get the jack off him twice, leaving Dave the clear winner at 21-5. Dave would later be making the tea in their household!
And so to the final! Anne Brogden had not yet won the cup since its inception 4 years ago, so being in the final put added pressure on her. And with Dave and Anne both playing so well, it would be a tough game.
The game was back and forth for a while, but Anne eventually took Dave across the centre of the green on one of her favourite marks, and her score rapidly increased, leaving Dave 19-11 down. On the next end, Anne sent the jack but her first bowl went long. Dave’s reply was no better, his bowl shooting off to the left of the jack. Anne put another bowl up, again not one of her best, but Dave didn’t judge the length correctly and left Anne with 2 on, to win the game 21-11.
It was clear Anne was very emotional, winning the cup she so badly wanted to take home with her. Coming off the green, she added that Tony was definitely looking down on her today, helping her win.
Peter Carr kicked off the presentations with a quick speech, commenting how well the day had gone and what perfect weather we’d had. Gill Johnston, this year’s club President, also gave a speech, acknowledging what the cup meant to Anne, and what a lovely, peaceful day everyone had had, and thanked Janice for setting up and running the tournament so well. She thanked everyone for the generous raffle prizes, and for the wonderful spread on the food table.
The losing semi-finalists, Don and Janice, were presented with their prizes first, Gill noting how amazing Don was to have played so well at 91.
Dave Williams then received his runner-up prize from Peter and Gill.
An emotional Anne Brogden then went up for her trophy and prize. All the Brogden family gathered around to show their love for her. There couldn’t have been a more appropriate winner for the Tony Brogden Cup.
WELL DONE ANNE!!!
A huge thanks to everyone that helped make the day so special, including all the Brogden family, those who marked cards, washed up, sold raffle tickets, brought food and prizes, and those who measured. It was a memorable day for all and we hope to see even more of you at the next competition, which is President’s Day on Sunday 12th July.
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