Like many other areas Lancashire held their County Championships last weekend,

the 10^th & 11^th May at Premier Bowl Blackpool. The difference with this one we understand, was that it was possibly the first that Lancashire had ever held. We were however told during the weekend by one of our senior bowlers that many years ago they may have had something akin to a County Championship but not held on the recognised weekend and not to the usual format.

Lancashire decided that they would combine the tournament with the recent retirement from bowling at 82 of their long time Vice Chairman and founder of Lancashire Area BTBA , Albert Pursglove.. To commemorate the event they named the tournament in his honour. Albert tells the story, that after starting bowling at the old Savoy Bowl on Blackpool promenade in the 1960’s he and his wife Freda moved to the Cala Gran bowl in Fleetwood and set up a scratch league. In the late 70’s he decided to approach the BTBA about setting up a Lancashire Area Association as we know it today and formed the first Lancashire Area team from this scratch league. After recent further discussions with some of our older bowlers we understand that possibly, prior to this, there may have been a small Lancashire team run entirely with bowlers from Manchester

During his time, helping to run Lancashire Area Association, Albert set up the Wilkinson Sword Tournament for all Lancashire bowlers, which he ran for a number of years. This event was so named because the prize was a sword, obtained as a result of Albert’s success on behalf of Lancashire Area BTBA, when he tendered in a National Auction and won one of 250 very valuable swords which Wilkinson had offered to sporting and other organisations as trophies. At the end of the Championship this year Albert was able to present this sword to Lancashire’s new County Champion Carl Dulson.

The weekend at Blackpool was split into two sections. There was the handicapped event with 100 entries from all age groups and from all over the county. This took place during Saturday and Sunday . The climactic second section was the Masters where the top 16 scratch bowlers from the handicap event battled it out on Sunday evening to find out who the County Champion for 2003 would be. This produced a very high standard of bowling, Andy Constantine from Burnley starting in fourth place in the step ladder, firstly beating the young Gary Marcus from Blackpool 206 - 157 followed by the experienced Robin Liptrot from Wigan,204 – 194 but to loose in the final to the new County Champion Carl Dulson from Manchester 199 - 221

Carl had displayed a very high standard of bowling throughout but especially with an average over the five games in the masters of 242.

In the handicap section there were singles, doubles and four-person team events. This produced some very good bowling and ended up with some individuals and teams being surprised to find themselves winners. In the singles Craig Cronshaw came out as winner of the mens with a 692 series, in the ladies, Barbara Glover with a 625, in the boys it was Sean Birkenshaw with a 646 and Kathryn Little in the girls with a 657. The doubles went to Greg Marcus, who for a 14 year old, bowled outstandingly all weekend and his partner Simon Entwistle who between them had a handicap score of 1363 to beat the adult section winners very good score of 1280 bowled by Mark Lawson and Guy Ho. The overall team winners who also beat the adult section score of 2531 by Team X, Chris Maughan, Nicl Lovell, Lloyd Marsden and Gary Fitsimmons were again the junior team of Greg Marcus, Ross Gowrie, Simon Entwistle and John Halliday with a pinfall plus handicap score of 2674.

The scratch all events champions were,Carl Dulson with a 207, in the ladies Rachel Aldersley with a 184, in the boys Greg Marcus with a 203 and in the girls Kathryn Little with a 182.

At the end of the presentations by Albert and Freda Pursglove, Lancashire Area BTBA presented him with a Lifetimes Achievement Award and Freda with a basket arrangement of flowers and announced that he had been elected Life President of the Lancashire Area BTBA

Our thanks go to Albert and Freda for presenting the prizes. They along with many of the participants and spectators stated how much they had enjoyed the event, meeting up with, bowling against or just chatting to old and new friends and bowlers. Thanks must go to the management at Premier Bowl and all those others who helped to make this, the largest gathering of Lancashire bowlers, such a success.