AFTER seven year of trying, there was success for a Redditch skittler in the 2017 Guy Gasket British Skittles Championships in Torquay organised by Serious About Events.
Andy Clewlow, pictured with his trophy, made the final of the men’s singles competition.
The Swan Studley Skittles League’s representative side, Renegades, had been eliminated in the regional qualifying rounds and could not compete as a team in Torquay.
However, seven of the team’s players entered the singles and doubles competitions determined to gain a consolation prize or two.
The men’s double pairing of Alan Cummings and Geoff Loat made it through round one when topping their group and scored well in round two, but were knocked out at this stage in what was a particularly high-scoring group.
There was first round elimination for the two other pairings of Andy Clewlow and Glyn Morley and Rob and Len Quartly in their groups.
Kim Clewlow, partnered by a player from the team Sister Act, also went out in the first round of the ladies’ doubles, but it was much better for Kim in the mixed doubles when she joined husband Andy to make it comfortably into round two, only to then lose out narrowly.
In the singles competitions, Morley, together with Rob and Len Quartly, crashed out in round one as did Kim Clewlow in the ladies’ event.
Cummings though topped his group to progress, while Loat and Andy Clewlow also did enough to make it through but, after completion of round two, only Andy Clewlow had made the singles semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Kim, who also qualified to play for the ladies’ team Sister Act from Coventry, scored well when helping the team to a resounding win in the first game of round-robin group but the side could not keep up their momentum and failed by just a few pins in their last game to make the knockout stages.
It was left to Andy Clewlow to carry the Redditch flag and in an exciting singles semi-final he qualified easily enough for the group final, but cursed his luck, in what was a nervy final for all players, when narrowly missing the opportunity to make one or two stacks (double-figure scores) which might have made him British champion.
As it was, the winner from Stroud did make an all-important stack to take the main prize, leaving Andy Clewlow to collect a well deserved finalist trophy.
