The Adult Triple Crown took place in Norwich, England last weekend, with multiple successes for the Irish teams, in particular the men's team.
Ireland's Paul Stott took gold in the singles on day one, bowling a perfect 300 game in game four on his way to 42-pin victory over England's Steve Miller. England's Rob Thurlby took the bronze medal, beating Ireland's Darragh McLoughlin into third spot by just 4 pins.
In the women's singles Aimee Kellegher was the pick of the Irish, finishing in 5th place. The gold went to England's Autumn Chamberlain, who posted the highest total of any player in the tournament, male or female, on her way to a very comfortable 102-pin victory. Jo Cundy and Laura Ivory made it a clean sweep of medals for the English.
The Doubles saw Ireland take another gold medal in the men's section, with Paul Stott and Alan Bride pipping Steve Miller and Rob Thurlby by 16 pins. The bronze medal went to the Welsh pairing of Gareth Roberts and James Footner.
The English ladies continued their domination of the medal haul with a second consecutive 1-2-3 in the doubles, with the gold going to Angie Brown and Alison Taylor. Jo Cundy and Autumn Chamberlain took the silver with Sarah Purnell and Laura Ivory finishing in third place. Ireland's Dymphna Kestell and Aimee Kellegher just missed out on a medal with a fourth place finish.
The English men got their hands on their first gold medal in the trios, with Steve Miller, Chris Oates and Rob Thurlby beating the Irish team of Alan Bride, Fran Puzzoli and Paul Stott into second place by a considerable gap of 138 pins. The bronze medal was taken by the Welsh team of Lyndon Walters, Paul Green and James Footner.
The English ladies once again showed the gulf in class between themselves and the rest of the field in the trios, taking both gold and silver ahead of Guernsey, who took their first medal of the tournament. The gold went to the team of Angie Brown, Jo Cundy and Autumn Chamberlain, with silver taken by Sarah Purnell, Alison Taylor and Laura Ivory. The Guernsey team which took the bronze consisted of Danni Machon, Linda Robilliard and Lauren Hurford.
The Five-man team event had huge significance in the men's section, as it would decide whether Ireland could hold off the English and take the shield, awarded to the team which accumulates the most points over the course of the weekend.
Unfortunately for Team Ireland, England were simply to good on the day, with only one of their five players shooting under 700 for the three games. The Irish posted a positive total of 3386, but the English put in a masterful display to finish on 3533 and take both the gold medal and the shield, by a mere 1.5 points. The Irish men had been ahead since the opening game of the first event of the weekend, so it was a disappointing end to a very positive weekend.
It was not all bad news for the Irish men on Sunday, however, as Paul Stott and Alan Bride made it an Irish 1-2 in the Masters. And Darragh McLoughlin also bowled terrifically to share third place in the Masters with England's Rob Thurlby.
In the Women's section, Team Ireland took the silver medal behind the dominant English team. Aimee Kellegher qualified for the women's Masters, where she eventually finished in sixth place. The top five places were filled by English ladies, showing once again just how dominant they were throughout the weekend. In the end they took the women's shield by a remarkable 202.5 points over Team Wales, with Team Scotland in third place. Team Ireland eventually finished in fifth place overall.
It was a strong showing form Team Ireland at this year's Adult Triple Crown, in particular from the men's team. Overall the two teams collected three gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes, in a much improved performance from twelve months ago, when a young, inexperienced team were outclassed in Scotland.
Bowltalk would like to congratulate all who were involved, with special mention to Paul Stott for his Masters win and his perfect game, and Alan Bride for his second place finish in the Masters. Also congratulations to Aimee Kellegher, who bowled fantastic all weekend to qualify for the Masters.
For a complete list of results, go to the Irish tenpin bowling website, www.tenpinireland.com, and follow the link to the Adult Triple Crown.
