Valverde Bowling Club held their annual Spring Pairs competition on March 25, whilst Balaia Bowls Club held their annual Memorial Day to remember absent friends on March 28.
The 11th Australian Pairs Tournament was held, in good weather, from March 26 to 31 at Alvor Bowls Club in Montes de Alvor.
This tournament is known for being friendly but very competitive, which brings many people back year after year. On this occasion, we had competitors from five Algarve clubs and 16 of the 32 pairs came from overseas, just for this competition. On an international note, we included one Dane, one German and two Dutch.
Initially, the 32 pairs, in eight groups of four, played round-robin matches from Monday to Wednesday. The leading two pairs in each group proceeded to the knock-out stage of the tournament while the other two pairs went into the plate competition, which was also played in knock-out format.
The winners of the main tournament were Catherine Webb and Brian Walker of the Alvor club and the plate competition was won by Andrea and Michael Dickinson from Suffolk.
The organisers arranged two evening events, which proved very popular, and on other evenings there were impromptu gatherings at which friendships were cemented. Overall, a week that was enjoyed by all and the 12th tournament will be from March 25 to 30, 2019.
By MIRIAM HARE
