The final day in a series of three British Isles and International Series Championships took place at Stanley Indoor Bowls Centre on Saturday.

The Men’s International Series Indoor Bowls Championship followed the Ladies International Series and International Championships taking place in Stanley throughout the week, and concluded on Saturday 19 March with England taking on Scotland in the final match.

Last year, the same final game between England and Scotland resulted in a draw so this year all eyes were watching closely to determine the victors of this similarly tight match. Despite the efforts of the increasing animated crowd to spur their teams along, it was still not clear even 10 minutes from the end of the four hour match which team would win!

Yet mirroring the success of the ladies earlier in the week, England eventually clinched victory with a score of 116-107. Scotland took second place, with Wales in third place and Ireland in fourth.

Following the match, local schoolchildren acting as mascots for each of the four national teams led their sides on for a final walk-on ceremony in which the trophy was presented to the winning team. Local MP Kevan Jones, also in attendance, thanked the staff of Stanley Indoor Bowls Club for staging such a fantastic event and congratulated the England team on their outstanding win.



He said: “Many congratulations to all at Stanley Indoor Bowls Club involved in bringing the championships to the town, for staging the events so brilliantly. We hope to welcome the series back to Stanley again one day.”

Peter Thompson, Chief Operating Executive, from the EIBA, the governing body for the sport in England, commented: “This final match between England and Scotland has been an excellent match, with tickets completely sold out. We have seen some fantastic bowling here in Stanley throughout the week and the events have been hugely popular. These events, and the resulting England Men’s and Women’s victories, will remain in our memories for many years to come.”

This week, local schoolchildren in Stanley have also been inspired to take up Indoor Bowling. An impressive match was held at the Club on Wednesday between St Joseph’s, Stanley and East Stanley Primary in front of family and spectators from the Championships. Both teams met England star and 2009 Indoor Bowls World Champion Greg Harlow, who also won in the Men’s International Triples Competition in Stanley this week. The match was won by St Joseph’s.

For full results please click here
ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Peter Thompson, Chief Operating Executive of the English Indoor Bowling Association Ltd, tel. 07852 282998 or e-mail: peterthompson@eiba.co.uk