Congratulations to the new English Curling champions. Teams skipped by Michael Opel and Joan Reed will represent England at the European championships in December in Basel, Switzerland.

Back Row (left to right): Jamie Malton, Kenneth Malton, Andrew Woolston, Michael Opel, Tom Sutherland.

Front Row (left to right): Lorna Rettig, Joan Reed, Kirsty Balfour, Claire Grimwood.

The Championships opened with a major shock when the reigning champions skipped by Bruce Bowyer failed to win their first two games, scoring only at three ends, while Fiona Hawker struck the first blow in the ladies best-of-5 with a surprisingly easy victory over defending champion, Joan Reed.

At the end of the first day it was Michael Opel who led the men on 2 wins, with Keith Wilson and Phil Atherton on 1 win each and Bowyer winless.

Saturday was a long day for the men with three games starting at 1000 and ending well after 10 at night. The early session saw Bruce Bowyer’s disastrous Championships continue as he lost to Keith Wilson at the last end when he missed a fairly straightforward take out to lose 2 and the the game by 5-4, and Michael Opel won again to take a stranglehold on the Championships, with only Keith Wilson seemingly able to challenge him.

The second Saturday session saw an extraordinary happening and one unknown to the majority of observers when the umpire was unable to separate two stones on a measure and he declared a blank end. As this was the last end of the game and was the difference between winning or losing it was a wise decision. The extra end went to Michael Opel, who with 4 wins now led the field by 2. Even a loss in the third game on Saturday evening failed to prevent him from winning the title when Keith Wilson lost to Phil Atherton.

So a team which had never played together before won the Championships and the right to represent England at the European Championships.

The ladies competition kept the spectators on their toes right to the end of the 4th game which Joan Reed eventually won by 7-5 at an extra end after a titanic struggle.

Having lost the first game quite easily, Joan won the second by 12-6, to ensure that 4 games would be needed at least to decide the title. The third game was a very defensive affair and 4 of the first 5 ends were blanked, as neither side was prepared to risk losing this vital game. Eventually Joan pulled away to win by 5-2, which set up the 4th game on Sunday morning, when Fiona’s team came out with a rearranged throwing order, Lana Watson throwing last stone while Fiona skipped and threw third. The tactic certainly seemed to work and another initially defensive game quickly turned into a humdinger before Joan was able to win at the extra end.

It was an amazing 9th National title for Joan, a 4th for Lorna Rettig, a third for Kirsty Balfour and a second for Claire Grimwood, and they will be hoping to improve on their B Division bronze medal at Basel in December.