2013/2014 Season

REPORT 1 – AFTER DOUBLES, DAY 1

The Championships kicked off on Saturday morning with the women and men bowling their doubles squads. A general slow start to the day saw some people struggle on the 38ft pattern, however, with the fives and singles still to come for the men, and the completion of the singles and the trios for the women, Sunday will prove to be the day for the big scores.

As ever promised by BUCS Championships, bowling a competition purely based on scratch scores has heightened the competitiveness of all concerned. One of the most competitive universities this year appears to be Loughborough, particularly on the men’s side, with their A team lying in first after the doubles. It was at this point last year, however, that their table topping position was taken from them by Nottingham Trent, promising for an exciting teams match later on.

After bowling brilliantly all year, nobody was surprised to see Nottingham at the top of the tables somewhere along the line, this time in the form of their women’s team of Charlotte Richardson, Danielle Ediker and Silvia Alcove. Currently lying in first place on 1319, Nottingham look set to once again finish in a medal position this year.

The women appeared to find the lane more challenging than the men, with only one 200 game bowled all day by Lincoln student Bekah Hamlet – gold medallist at last years BUCS and veteran Team England bowler at a number of levels, Bekah is definitely one to watch this year. Hannah Bratton-Smith, 3rd place last year, from Kent, is currently equalling her performance of last year, lying in 3rd once again, on a 526. She sits behind Ladies’ Captain Louise Parker from Manchester Metropolitan, lying just ahead of her on a 536, though Louise is confident that in her last BUCS she can push her performance up and get that top spot.

Bowling along side Bekah Hamlet is Team Wales bowler, and fellow Lincoln student Carrie Anne Rogers, who is, with her accomplished bowling style, this reporter predicts, should climb the tables come the longer patterns still to come. Along with Bekah, she currently sits in 2nd in the team standings, even with a blind score. Just 80 pins behind Lincoln are Loughborough, a team of first time BUCS bowlers; Florence Maxwell, Flora Ruitter and Nikki Stam on a 1203. Following in the footsteps of the men, and appearing to not be phased in their first appearance of the competition, everyone has their eyes on them to do well this year. Looking at the women bowling yesterday, there are a number of women who could still push these three bowlers off the top spots – namely Danielle Ediker from Nottingham, who, if she can keep calm, could hit big scores with her high rev rate; Tiffany Nock from Leeds Metropolitan, who, despite having a slow start yesterday, is known to fair better on longer patterns and Carrie Anne Rogers from Lincoln, who, with her experience at an international level, should be able to keep a cool head and put out some impressive scores.

Currently 2nd in the men’s individual’s is UCL bowler, Gregory Chan, on a massive 689, just 4 pins behind Loughborough’s Curtis Hooper’s impressive score, yet still some 109 pins off his personal best, of 693. One predicted to be high in the tables this year, and not disappointing, is Team Scotland bowler and Edinburgh Napier student Brian Gillespie, currently one of the only other bowlers on a 210+ average.

The playing field on the men’s teams are much more diverse than the women’s with a large gap between 1st and 3rd, with Sheffield currently some 197 pins behind 2nd place Nottingham on a 3006. Nottingham, following in the footsteps of their girls, are on a 3203, and only look to be getting stronger, yet still lie some 243 pins behind Loughborough’s A team of Mike Hurst, Curtis Hooper, Captain Matt Fidgett, Matt Harris and one who we are all pleased to see finally making it to a BUCS championships, Mark Hodds.

REPORT 2 – AFTER TRIOS, DAY 1

Day 1 of the BUCS Championships was completed last night with half of the men’s teams bowling their trios set. Loughborough A are currently still in the lead, bowling an impressive trios set of 1507 in the first half of their teams trios, added to their 3446 from the doubles yesterday, giving them a grand total of 4953 at the half way point. Closing the gap slightly were current 2nd place team Nottingham A, who with a 1603 in their first trios set, boosted them from 3203 to 4806, closing the gap from 243 to 149. Sheffield, still to bowl their trios sets, dropped behind UCL, who sky-rocketed into 3rd with a trios set of 1624, putting their 2983 total up to 4607.

In the individuals section, Curtis Hooper is still leading on a 231 average, however, having only bowled 3 games, all is still to play for. Brian Gillespie from Edinburgh Napier is currently lying in 2nd on a 3 game overage of 215, as Gregory Chan, with his trios set of 557 dropping his average to 3rd place, now on a 207.7 average.

REPORT 3 – AFTER TRIOS, DAY 2

With the men’s trios completed, the standings have changed quite dramatically, especially in the team standings. Loughborough still lead the competition with a final trios set of 3152, giving them a total of 6598, a massive 381 pins ahead of 2nd place Nottingham who, with a final trios set of 3014 are now sitting on a 6217. Sheffield have claimed back their 3rd place position, with their two trios teams bowling a total of 2876, finishing overall on a team total of 5882. Birmingham men’s have shot themselves up the tables with an impressive 2712 from their trios teams, giving them a total of 5498 and a brilliant chance of a medal finish overall.

Curtis Hooper from Loughborough is still leading the men’s individuals, his average dropping slightly to a still very impressive 221.3 average. Gregory Chan from UCL has taken back his 2nd place position with his 207.7 average from last night, with Brian Gillespie struggling this morning to finish on a total of 1163, and a 193.8 average after his trios set. Paul Marks from Manchester Metropolitan is very close behind Gillespie, by only 3 pins, scoring a 1160 (193.3 average) for his 6 games so far.

REPORT 4 – AFTER WOMEN’S TRIOS AND MEN’S SINGLES

Following the men’s singles, Curtis Hooper was still in the lead on average with a 221.3 average. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Gregory Chan from UCL has had to withdraw, finishing on a 207.7 average, but on only 6 games he will drop down the tables. Brian Gillespie was pushed down to 4th on average by Nottingham Trent’s Curtis Berry, bowling a 600 in the Singles, leaving him on a 195 average, however, Brian still has the team event to bowl this evening.

Loughborough were still in the lead at the end of the Singles, adding 520 to their score, putting them on a 7118 before the 5’s event. Nottingham cling on to their 3rd place spot, with an impressive 602 in the Singles, putting their total up to 6819, closing the gap going into the team event. Sheffield lie in 3rd with a 471 from their Singles, pushing them to a total so far of 6353. Birmingham have been knocked down by Nottingham Trent, who climbed to 4th after Curtis’ 600 series in the Singles.

After the women’s trios, Loughborough have climbed to be in the lead adding a 1297 to their total, followed closely by Lincoln on a two person (plus 80 pin blind per game) score of 1249 for the trios. Nottingham have kept their place in the top 3, being on 1182 for their trios.

REPORT 5 – WOMEN’S OVERALL STANDINGS

Having completed the Singles, the women have finished their competition for the weekend with style. Bekah Hamlet, to no surprise remained in 1st for the whole competition, finishing her set off with a 1703 overall, and a 189.2 average. Closely behind her was Louise Parker, who finishes in 2nd place on a total of 1630 (181.1 average). Hannah Bratton-Smith kept her place in the top 3, coming 3rd once again, finishing just 10 pins behind Louise on a 1620 (180 average).

Lincoln, despite having only two bowlers, using their 80 pin per game blind score, have impressively climbed to the top of the tables, with Bekah and Carrie Anne finishing on a team total of 3875, with their total of 1343 in the Singles (Carrie Anne bowling a 512). Loughborough finished in 2nd overall, with their team bowling a grand total of 3828 (with a total of 1328 in the Singles). Nottingham clung on to their top 3 spot, finishing in 3rd overall with their Singles games of 1296, leaving them on a total of 3797.

REPORT 6 – AFTER MEN’S FIVE MAN TEAM AND OVERALL STANDINGS

Going in to the men’s five man team event, three universities were battling it out for the top spot; Loughborough, Sheffield and Nottingham. Despite valiant battles from both Nottingham and Sheffield, the tables stayed pretty much the same all weekend, seeing Sheffield hang on to their 3rd place spot on a grand total of 8839. A massive 837 pins in front of Sheffield was Nottingham, finishing on an impressive 9676. However, nobody could have denied that Loughborough, favourites from the start were going to win the men’s gold medal, finishing on a 9871, over 190 pins ahead of Nottingham.

Curtis Berry of Nottingham Trent managed in the singles, with his 600 series managed to stay in 3rd place overall with a 1755 (195 average) for the day, winning his first BUCS medal. Brian Gillespie bowled well in the team event, seeing his total climb to 1789 (198.8 average). Curtis Hooper, however, was the victor of the day, bowling impressive scores in his team event with a 193 (his only game below 200 for the day), 265 and 226 to put his overall total to a very impressive 2012 for his nine games, finishing on a 223.6 average for the day.

REPORT 7 – BUCS REPRESENTATIVE SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENTS

Previously announced BUCS Captain’s for this year are Louise Parker from Manchester Metropolitan University for the women and Jon Spivey from the University of Portsmouth for the men. As Captains, their first task for the weekend was to select the team they wanted to represent Great British Student Bowling with them at a number of events and fixtures throughout the next year. The ladies selection saw some extra names being pulled out of the hat for the representative squad who were unable to bowl the weekend due to illness or personal reasons, but have been chosen due to their impressive performances throughout this season on the BUTBA Tour and at previous BUCS events. The Captains also had to choose their Vice Captains to help them manage the team and events. For the men, Jon chose long time BUTBA veteran and Loughborough student, Mark Hodds, and for the women, Mark’s sister, Rachel Hodds, who was unable to bowl the weekend due to illness, was chosen.

To conclude the Ladies Team:
Bekah Hamlet (University of Lincoln)
Carrie Anne Rogers (University of Lincoln)
Tiffany Nock (Leeds Metropolitan University)
Chloe Cheetham (Sheffield Hallam University)
Danielle Ediker (University of Nottingham)
Hannah Bratton-Smith (University of Kent)
Florence Maxwell (Loughborough University)
Nikki Stam (Loughborough University)
Rachael McKenzie (Leeds Metropolitan University) who was unable to bowl the weekend due to injury.

To conclude the Mens Team:
Matt Fidgett (Loughborough University)
Curtis Berry (Nottingham Trent University)
Curtis Hooper (Loughborough University)
Chris Hunnisett (University of Portsmouth)
Sean Khua (University of Nottingham)
Jordan Wong (Loughborough University)
Brian Gillespie (Edinburgh Napier University)
Paul Marks (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Will Pearson (University College London)
Steve Atkinson (University of Plymouth)

REPORT 8 – SOME NEW INSTALMENTS TO BUCS PRESENTATION…

This year saw, along with the previously mentioned winners, other prizes given out at the Championships. Due to a record number of entries from universities of more than one team on the men’s side, BUCS allocated a prize for the best 2nd team from the universities entered, which in it’s first year went to Loughborough’s B Team of Bradley Stone, Xing Meng, Victor Yu, Harry Eagles, Matthew Harvey and Neil McKelvie for their impressive total of 7337 over their 9 games.

BUCS also introduced medals for both the men and women for Most Improved Performance from last years BUCS Championships, and Best Newcomer. Birmingham truly proved how much hard work and dedication can pay off in this sport, with both Most Improved Performance prizes being won by members of their university team. For the women, Reena Kaur impressed with her total of 1131, finishing 20th, an improvement of 323 pins on her performance last year. The men’s Most Improved was won by Shaun Parsons, who, finishing 5th this year on a 1697, improved his performance from last year by a whole series, scoring a massive 471 pins more than last year.

Best Newcomer on the women’s side was won by Team Wales and University of Lincoln bowler, Carrie Anne Rogers, for her 161.3 average over the weekend. As the winner of the men’s Best Newcomer was part of a medalist team, the Best Newcomer was awarded to an individual from outside the medal winners, this year going to UCL student, Will Pearson, who finished in 4th place with a 189.9 average.

Interview with BUCS Director Darren Ellis and consultant technician Pete Thornley

Interview with BUCS Ladies’ Captain Louise Pakrer

Interview with Ex-Trent Student Tom Chuter

Round Up of Day 1’s Doubles and Women’s First Squad of Singles

Interview with current Men’s Team Leaders, Loughborough A (Matt Fidgett, Mike Hurst and current individual leader Curtis Hooper)

Interview with BUTBA Committee member and Nottingham President Frazer Bowen

Interview with Defending Men’s Champions Nottingham Trent (Curtis Berry, Jonny Walker and Mike Chan).

Interview with Men’s Captain for 2014, Portsmouth’s Jon Spivey

As a trial this year, your committee is going to be hosting live score updates, video interviews, live squad reports and photographs to be broadcast on www.butba.co.uk and www.youtube.com/butbamedia.

Below is the link for a form which will inform us of any competing members you have as a club, or as an individual, who do not wish their images or video footage of themselves to be used on one or either of the above web pages.

PLEASE FILL IN THIS ONLINE FORM ASAP AND SUBMIT BEFORE FRIDAY AT 10PM. IF YOU CANNOT ACCESS THIS FORM ONLINE, OR ARE UNABLE TO FILL IT IN BEFORE FRIDAY AT 10PM, PAPER COPIES WILL BE ACCEPTED UP UNTIL 12PM ON SATURDAY. ANY CLUBS WHICH DO NOT WISH ANY OF THEIR MEMBERS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE IMAGES OR VIDEO FOOTAGE AT ALL, DO NOT NEED TO RETURN A FORM. ANY BOWLERS WHO HAVE NOT ALLOWED PERMISSION FOR THEIR IMAGES TO BE USED WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITES LISTED ABOVE, HOWEVER, PHOTOGRAPHS MAY BE TAKEN ON THEM WHICH THEY CAN LATER REQUEST FOR PRIVATE USE.

Online Form

The North Group of the BUTBA Cup 2013/2014 sees the University of Sheffield participate against the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. Scroll below for the current table and a list of fixtures and results

Table

Fixtures/Results

Date	Home Team	Away Team	Location	Result	Scores
29th January 2014	University of Nottingham	Nottingham Trent University	MFA Nottingham	Void
12th February 2014	University of Sheffield	University of Nottingham	MFA Sheffield	47.5 - 22.5
2nd April 2014	University of Nottingham	University of Sheffield	MFA Nottingham	48 - 22
TBC	Nottingham Trent University	University of Sheffield	MFA Nottingham	Void
TBC	University of Sheffield	Nottingham Trent University	MFA Sheffield	Void
TBC	Nottingham Trent University	University of Nottingham	MFA Nottingham	Void

The South Group of the BUTBA Cup 2013/2014 sees the Loughborough University participate against Imperial College London and newcomers to the Cup, the University of Birmingham. Scroll below for the current table and a list of fixtures and results

Table

Fixtures/Results

Date	Home Team	Away Team	Location	Result	Scores
4th December 2013	Loughborough University	University of Birmingham	MFA Ilkeston	47 - 23
2nd February 2014	University of Birmingham	Imperial College London	Bowlplex, Broadway Plaza	26 - 44
12th February 2014	University of Birmingham	Loughborough University	Bowlplex, Broadway Plaza	22 - 48
22nd March 2014	Imperial College London	University of Birmingham	Airport Bowl	26 - 44
22nd March 2014	Imperial College London	Loughborough University	Airport Bowl	4 - 66
Cancelled	Loughborough University	Imperial College London	Imperial Conceded	70 - 0

The Finals

The BUTBA Cup Finals were held at Acocks Green in Birmingham on the 18th of May 2014.

Semi Finals

Home Team	Away Team	Result	Scores
Loughborough University	University of Sheffield	26 - 34
University of Nottingham	University of Birmingham	58.5 - 1.5

3rd Place Play Off

Home Team	Away Team	Result	Scores
Loughborough University	University of Birmingham	55 - 5

Final

Home Team	Away Team	Result	Scores
University of Nottingham	University of Sheffield	35 - 25

• Winners – University of Nottingham
• 2nd Place – University of Sheffield
• 3rd Place – Loughborough University
• 4th Place – University of Birmingham

Prizes

For the entry form click here.

First Round – 16 competitors (top 8 students and top 8 ex-students) shall play six games in two blocks of three. Each block shall be bowled on a different pair of lanes at doubles pace.

Round Robin – The 6 competitors with the highest scratch pinfall over the first six games shall enter a round robin.  Each player shall play a single game against each other player, changing lanes after each game bowled.  The result of each match shall be determined by the BUTBA points system (30 pins for a win, 15 for a draw) with bonus pins being awarded dependent upon the bowlers score (10 pins for a game over 275, 5 pins for a game between 250 and 274, including handicap).
Please Note: Pinfall from the first round will carry forward for the second round.

The winner will be the person with highest pinfall over all games played on the day.

The qualifying list can be found below. Those in green have confirmed and paid, red have rejected the place and grey names are current reserves:

For the entry form click here.

First Round – 16 competitors (top 8 students and top 8 ex-students in handicap OOM) shall play six games in two blocks of three. Each block shall be bowled on a different pair of lanes at doubles pace.

Round Robin – The 6 competitors with the highest handicap pinfall over the first six games shall enter a round robin.  Each player shall play a single game against each other player, changing lanes after each game bowled.  The result of each match shall be determined by the BUTBA points system (30 pins for a win, 15 for a draw) with bonus pins being awarded dependent upon the bowlers score (10 pins for a game over 275, 5 pins for a game between 250 and 274, including handicap).
Please Note: Pinfall from the first round will carry forward for the second round.

The winner will be the person with highest pinfall over all games played on the day.

The qualifying list can be found below. Those in green have confirmed and paid, red have rejected the place and grey names are current reserves:

For the entry form click here.

Round Robin – 8 competitors shall play a single game against each other player, changing lanes after each game bowled.  The result of each match shall be determined by the BUTBA points system (30 pins for a win, 15 for a draw) with bonus pins being awarded dependant upon the bowlers score (10 pins for a game over 250, 5 pins for a game between 225 and 249).

Final Round – The top four competitors over the round robin will enter a “low-man drop” final.  All four competitors will bowl on the same pair of lanes, with the lowest score from each game being eliminated until only one person remains.

The winner will be the last person standing after the other finalists have been eliminated.

The qualifying list can be found below. Those in green have confirmed and paid, red have rejected the place and grey names are current reserves: