So it was Major Singles Quarter Finals day on a very cold Saturday afternoon with a blustery wind to keep everyone on their toes. With Chris Carey in action in the Zone Singles, his match against Michael Macourt had to be rescheduled. However that left three intriguing games to be played.

Chris Wood took on Jimmy Barclay on Rink 10. Chris got off to a strong start winning nine of the first fourteen ends and amassing a 16-7 lead. Jimmy then came back to win three ends in a row to narrow the gap to 16-13. Chris stretched that lead back out to nine shots by end 22 and just kept plugging away with singles until the match stood at 30-21 after end 32. Jimmy wasn't giving in and notched a three on the next end but the match ended on end 34 as Chris got two shots to win 32-24.

On Rink 9 we had the matchup of two great characters as Ray Ryan faced Joe Shofer. Joe made a solid start to the match culminating in a 4-shot haul on end 9 to lead 13-3. Ray fought back to take the next four ends but then gave up another four to trail 17-10. Ray's fortunes were looking much better when he netted six shots on ends 19/20 to tie the match at 19-19. The match stayed close until ends 26/27 when Joe managed three shots on successive ends which positioned him for the win 31-22.

Finally we had Rink 8 which saw Fred Alexander matched against John Cumming. Again we saw one player make a fast start- in this case it was Fred jumping out to a 14-5 lead after fourteen ends. John came back to narrow that gap to six shots before Fred went on an unstoppable run winning the next thirteen ends in a row! The final score was 31-8.

So the Semi-Final line-up will see Fred Alexander up against either Chris Carey or Michael Macourt whilst Chris Wood will play Joe Shofer.

Cards will be called at 12 noon for all games on Wednesday's & Saturday's with immediate effect until Daylight Savings Time returns in October.

Please note the amended schedule for the competition which is different than you will find in the Handbook. There is some flexibility for scheduling of Rounds 2 and 4 subject to agreement with your opponent and marker. The markers for Round 1A have been nominated and can be seen on the draw sheet.

All matches will begin at 12:30pm. Club uniform must be worn.

The 2019 Tapner Carnival concluded on Thursday with a very successful Jacobs Creek Shield competition with 14 teams of nine players (pair, triple & four) each battling it out and filling our greens to capacity. Conditions were perfect with mild temperatures and only a very modest breeze for the players to contend with. The result was as close as it could possibly be with two sides locked on the same number of wins; the same shot margin and the same number of ends won. As per the conditions of play the final decider was the largest margin in the pairs and by that factor it was Denistone who were named as winners with North Epping the runners-up.

In his remarks during the presentation, Tapner organiser Peter Sullivan noted that this was a first-appearance win for Denistone. He also noted that this was the first time the Shield had gone to a club from outside Zone 9. He playfully challenged all the other clubs present to work hard to bring the Shield back to the Zone next year!

The Best Pair winners were Belrose; the Best Four prize went to Lindfield Rollers and St Ives carried away the Best Triple honours. Well done to Ross Yates, Chris Wood and George Rosettenstein. Overall St Ives 1 came 3rd and our No 2 side (last minute entries when another club had to withdraw) came 6th.

This was a great day for all the participants but it was only possible due to the efforts of a large number of volunteers to help with lunch, refreshments, etc. Thanks to all who gave up their time to make this such a good day for St Ives Club.

The Cale Property Champions Tournament takes place at North Epping BC on Thursday March 21. St Ives side for this event is shown below. Card call is at 8:45am and the green fees are $34 per player.

The selectors have named the St Ives team to compete in the Jacobs Creek Shield on the final day of the Tapner carnival of Thursday March 7.

The 2019 Pennants season is just around the corner. The opening round of matches takes place on Saturday March 9.

St Ives is holding a final trial match against North Epping for Grades 3 and 6 on Saturday March 2. The selectors have named the sides both for the trial and Round 1 of Pennants play. Please advised asap if there are any issues with availability.