The 2021 Linea Directa Valencian Championships get underway on Wednesday 15th September, with play taking place at the Emerald Isle and Quesada Bowls Clubs.
The traditional parade of clubs and opening ceremony will not take place due to Covid-19 restrictions so play will get underway at both venues starting at 10am with the qualifying round of the Mixed Triples.
Holders Brenda Jiggins, John Jukes and Graham Richardson of Country Bowls will be in action at the Emerald Isle against La Marina’s Mike, Anne Stone and Tom Spencer. The Mixed Triples will then be played through to the semi final stage on Wednesday and Thursday.
Friday and Saturday sees the Mixed Pairs, which will also be played through to the last four, at the two venues.
La Marina’s Margaret McLaughlin and Tom Spencer, who won the 2020 competition at Greenlands, will not be contesting the current contest but there are nevertheless some attractive pairings during the early rounds.
The return of Pete and Lisa Bonsor to these shores, following their sojourn down under, will provide some additional spice to the mixed pairs which could be won by a married couple for the first time since the Bishops in 2015.
In addition to the Bonsors, the couples to look out for are Vistabella’s Martin and Maureen Foulcer, Colin and Mel Highland from Quesada, and Drew and Ann Marie Gerrard representing the Emerald Isle.
The Men’s and Ladies Pairs will be played on Sunday and Monday. Men’s holders Gary Thorpe, who won the competition last year, is paired with Fred Willey and will meet another Vistabella pair in round one, Ian Kenyon and Martin Foulcer.
In the Ladies Competition, San Miguel’s holders Val Hignett and Anita Brown will have no easy passage with a first round tie against Sue Jordan and Irene Laverick of La Siesta.
The two blue ribbon events, the Men’s and Ladies Singles will see two time winner Peter Morgan of Quesada seeking his third consecutive title, but first, in what must surely be the tie of the round, he will have to get past the 2017 champion Martin Foulcer at Quesdada. That match will be played at Quesada at 1230 on Tuesday 21st.
There will be a new title holder in the Ladies Singles, without Maggie Furness, which gets underway on Wednesday 22nd, but there will be no shortage of competition with three previous winners, Anita Brown 2014, Peta Rhodes 2017 and Ann Marie Gerrard 2019 all vying for ownership of the prestigious title.
As last year’s runner up, Ann Marie will be hoping to go one place further but she will first have to get past Carole Donnelan of Country Bowls in Round one. Peta Rhodes meets another CB competitor, Sheena Mallet, while Anita Brown faces Linda Hier of Greenlands Bowls Club.
All of the rounds will be played through to the semi final stage prior to the semis and the finals moving to the Emerald Isle Bowls Club where they will be played during the period 25 – 28 September.
There is plenty of seating available at both venues where spectators are welcome, absolutely free of charge, throughout the entire competition.
Linea Directa will be proudly sponsoring the tournament for the sixth consecutive year.
Results and competition info will appear on the Valencian Championships Facebook Page
Caption: Peter Morgan and Andy Miles met in the 2020 Men’s Final played at Greenlands
