National Championships
2023
Over the weekend of
3rd to 6th November teams representing eight of the member counties
of the ECBA competed in the 29th Annual National Championships,
at Potters.
Each county is represented
by 6 Rinks all of whom play against their opposite number in
each of the other counties, with an even spread of matches across
the Saturday and Sunday.
Session 1 (Saturday)
Hertfordshire hit the front early on, as they took all 6 points
off Northumberland. Just behind were Durham, Cambridgeshire and
Suffolk, who all took 4 points off Essex, Norfolk, and Sunderland
respectively. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
6 |
Durham |
4 |
Cambridgeshire |
4 |
Suffolk |
4 |
Norfolk |
2 |
Sunderland |
2 |
Essex |
2 |
Northumberland |
0 |
|
|
Session 2 (Saturday)
Hertfordshire stayed top, taking 4 points against Norfolk, while
Cambridgeshire moved into second, dropping only 1 point to Essex.
Suffolk were third as they took 4 points off Durham, while Sunderland
did the same against Northumberland. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
10 |
Cambridgeshire |
9 |
Suffolk |
8 |
Sunderland |
6 |
Norfolk |
6 |
Durham |
4 |
Essex |
3 |
Northumberland |
2 |
|
|
Session 3 (Saturday)
Herts dropped just one point in the seesion, against Durham,
and pulled out a 4 point lead over Cambridgeshire who lost out
2-4 to Sunderland. Essex got the better of Suffolk, 4-2, and
it was a full house for Northumberland, against Norfolk, lifting
them well off the bottom of the standings. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
15 |
Cambridgeshire |
11 |
Sunderland |
10 |
Suffolk |
10 |
Northumberland |
8 |
Durham |
7 |
Essex |
7 |
Norfolk |
4 |
|
|
Session 4 (Saturday)
A very good session for leaders Hertfordshire, who picked up
maximum points against Sunderland, and the same for Durham against
Northumberland. Essex came away from their matches against Norfolk
having dropped just 1 point, and Suffolk just got the better
of Cambridgeshire, winning 2 out of 3.
That saw Hertfordshire move out to a 7
point lead over Suffolk, who were now back up to second, with
Durham and Cambs only one point further back, and Essex another
point adrift. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
21 |
Suffolk |
14 |
Durham |
13 |
Cambridgeshire |
13 |
Essex |
12 |
Sunderland |
10 |
Northumberland |
8 |
Norfolk |
5 |
|
|
Session 5 (Saturday)
Crunch time for the two leaders as they met one another. It would
be vital for Suffolk to regain some ground, while Herts would
probably settle for maintaining their lead, although a session
win would be huge for them.
As it was Suffolk came out on top, winning
two and drawing one, closing the gap to 3 points.
Cambridgeshire bettered Durham (2 wins
to 1), to overtake them in the standings. Essex won 2 and lost
1 against Northumberland, while Norfolk had a great session against
Sunderland, dropping just 1 point, and doubling their total points
in one go. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
22 |
Suffolk |
19 |
Cambridgeshire |
17 |
Essex |
16 |
Durham |
15 |
Sunderland |
11 |
Norfolk |
10 |
Northumberland |
10 |
|
|
Session 6 (Saturday)
The standings tightened further as Cambridgeshire took 2 of the
3 games against Herts, and Suffolk did the same against Northumberland,
leaving the top 3 covered by just 3 points and Hertfordshire's
lead down to just one.
Sunderland picked up 4 points against Essex,
and Durham and Norfolk came away from their games with 3 points
each. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
24 |
Suffolk |
23 |
Cambridgeshire |
21 |
Durham |
18 |
Essex |
18 |
Sunderland |
15 |
Norfolk |
13 |
Northumberland |
12 |
|
|
Session 7 (Day 1 end of play)
The day's final session saw things tighten even further.
Suffolk dropped just 1 point against Norfolk,
Cambridgeshire took a clean sweep of their games against Northumberland,
and Hertfordshire won one, drew one, and lost one to Essex, while
it was also a clean sweep for Durham over Sunderland.
That now gave us a top three who were covered
by a single point, with Durham only 4 points off the lead. |
|
Pts |
Suffolk |
28 |
Cambridgeshire |
27 |
Hertfordshire |
27 |
Durham |
24 |
Essex |
21 |
Sunderland |
15 |
Norfolk |
14 |
Northumberland |
12 |
|
|
Session 8 (Sunday)
Hertfordshire opened with a full house against Northumberland,
but for thier closest contenders it was something of a disaster.
Suffolk could only muster one point from their games against
Sunderland, while Cambridgeshire only won one of theirs against
Norfolk, although Durham did pick up 2 wins against Essex.
That propelled Herts back to the top, 4
points clear of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with Durham one further
back. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
33 |
Suffolk |
29 |
Cambridgeshire |
29 |
Durham |
28 |
Essex |
23 |
Sunderland |
20 |
Norfolk |
18 |
Northumberland |
12 |
|
|
Session 9 (Sunday)
Perhaps the closest session so
far, with two match-ups where the points were shared 3 each,
Sunderland v Northunmberland and Norfolk and Hertfordshire. Suffolk
(4 points against Durham), and Cambridgeshire (4 points against
Essex), edged just the tiniest bit closer to the leaders, who
were now 3 points clear. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
36 |
Suffolk |
33 |
Cambridgeshire |
33 |
Durham |
30 |
Essex |
25 |
Sunderland |
23 |
Norfolk |
21 |
Northumberland |
15 |
|
|
Session 10 (Sunday)
Hertfordshire and Suffolk kept pace with one another, picking
up 4 points each, against Durham and Essex, respectively. However
Cambridgeshire fell back slightly, as they lost 2 of their 3
games to Sunderland. And Norfolk pulled a little bit further
away from Northumberland as they won 2 out of 3. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
40 |
Suffolk |
37 |
Cambridgeshire |
35 |
Durham |
32 |
Sunderland |
27 |
Essex |
27 |
Norfolk |
25 |
Northumberland |
17 |
|
|
Session 11 (Sunday)
Hertfordshire took a clean-sweep of their games against Sunderland,
and with Suffolk winning 2 of their games against Cambridgeshire,
the lead at the top extended to 5 points. Essex and Norfolk took
3 points each from their encounter, and Northumberland had one
of their best sessions as they won 2 out of 3 against Durham. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
46 |
Suffolk |
41 |
Cambridgeshire |
37 |
Durham |
34 |
Essex |
30 |
Norfolk |
28 |
Sunderland |
27 |
Northumberland |
21 |
|
|
Session 12 (Sunday)
Hertfordshire and Suffolk played one another with Suffolk needing
to gain points , or it would be all but over. As it was, Suffolk
took 2 wins, narrowing Hertfordshire's lead to 3 points. Cambridgeshire
did the same against Durham, as did Norfolk over Sunderland.
Meanwhile, it was a full house for Essex over Northumberland. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
48 |
Suffolk |
45 |
Cambridgeshire |
41 |
Essex |
36 |
Durham |
36 |
Norfolk |
32 |
Sunderland |
29 |
Northumberland |
21 |
|
|
Session 13 (Sunday)
Suffolk needed a big win over Northumberland to at least give
themselves a chance, and while they didn't get all 6 points,
they gained 5. Meanwhile Herts were taking on Cambridgeshire,
where the points were shared evenly.
Durham and Norfolk also finished 3 points
each, and Sunderland took 5 off Essex.
One session to go and it was now a definite
2 horse race, with Hertfordshire one vital point ahead of Suffolk. |
|
Pts |
Hertfordshire |
51 |
Suffolk |
50 |
Cambridgeshire |
44 |
Durham |
39 |
Essex |
37 |
Norfolk |
35 |
Sunderland |
34 |
Northumberland |
22 |
|
|
Final Session
Northumberland sadly ended the day with a session which saw them
add no further points to their tally, leaving them on 22 points
overall.
Norfolk had been vying with Sunderland
all day, but despite a much better showing on Sunday, which saw
them add 21 points to the previous day's 14, they stayed 7th.
Sunderland also had a much improved second
day, their 23 points was equal third best, but Saturday had seen
them on only 15, so they just missed out on 5th.
Essex's points on Sunday were a little
bit down on Saturday, and only missed out on 4th by a couple
of points.
Durham were another team to show a drop-off
from Saturday to Sunday. They kept 4th placem but their challenge
for a top 3 place, fell away.
Cambridgeshire also dipped slightly on
the second day, and had fallen out of contention with a session
to go, but finished firmly in 3rd place.
All of those positions barely shifted throughout
the day, but at the top it was getting closer. Hertfordshire's
lead had been 5 points with 3 sessions to go, but Suffolk kept
edging closer, and they were one behind as they went into the
final session.
All Suffolk could do was to win all 3 games,
the final outcome would rest entirely on Hertfordshire's results.
And Suffolk did indeed win all three games, something which they
had failed to do in any other session across the weekend. But
they had to work hard for those wins against stern opposition
from Norfolk.
All of Hertfordshire's games were nailbiters
too, but with 2 wins in the bag it all came down to that one
last game, which swung back and forth, but it was Essex who came
out on top, causing Herts to fall short by just a single point.
It was easily the closest overall result
since 2008 when the championship was Cambridgeshire and Suffolk
were seperated by just 18 shots, and there were any number of
results which contributed to Suffolk's win, but what really seperated
the two teams were the results of the games when Suffolk and
Hertfordshire went head-to-head. Of the 6 games, Suffolk won
4, there was one draw, and Herts won just the one. 9-3 in Suffolk's
favour, but just that one point between them over the course
of the whole weekend.
Many thanks to all the players and supporters
who helped make the weekend a success, to all those who helped
out with running the event, especially Northumberland who help
raise £630 through the draw.
|
Sat |
Sun |
Total |
Suffolk |
28 |
28 |
56 |
Hertfordshire |
27 |
28 |
55 |
Cambridgeshire |
27 |
23 |
50 |
Durham |
24 |
17 |
41 |
Essex |
21 |
18 |
39 |
Sunderland |
15 |
23 |
38 |
Norfolk |
14 |
21 |
35 |
Northumberland |
12 |
10 |
22 |
The full set of results can be found here. |
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