The Ladies Singles Competition was won by Vicki Cooper of Vixens who beat Louise Greenwood of Wingers in the final at the Colliton Club. The singles will be the last all ladies event in the D&DSL, as after 50 years of ladies skittles the Ladies League will cease at the end of the season. There were 39 entries and the league supplied a buffet to commemorate the end of the ladies skittles.

For those ladies still wanting to play skittles, there are teams in Section A, B and C that are looking for players. Please contact Brian Newton or Terry Gosney if you would either like to find a team, or if you are interested in starting up a new team. Teams in Section A, B and C can be made up of any gender.

After 17 years in Section B the Vic Reeves have won promotion to Section A. The lads from the Vic beat Hartstoppers away on Thursday by 58-pins, and with promotion rivals Monsters losing away to Bullocks the runners up spot goes to Vic Reeves with one match to play. Currently they are level on points with Monsters, but Monsters have played all their games so finish the season with a bye. Vic Reeves host Steamers next week but even if they lose they’ll go up as their head to head with Monsters is better by just 2-pins. Vic Reeves won away at the Oak by 18-pins while Monsters won the return game at the Vic by 16-pins.    

Vic Reeves raced into an 18-pins lead on alley two at the Colliton Club against Hartstoppers after hands of 58 and 69, there were stick ups from Lloyd Wilson (9) and Josh Hall (13) on the second hand. Will Clark started the fourth hand with a 14 stick up but two 2’s kept their score down to 51, but the Vic side still had a 21-pins lead. The next hand saw them move 28-pins in front after hitting 58. The sixth hand saw the promotion chasers put the game to bed with a 68 hand with two stick ups from Lloyd Wilson, who put 14 on the board, while anchor-man Jack Beale had a 12. They finished how they started and hit 58 on the last hand to win by 58-pins, hitting 422.

Vic Reeves were formed in 1996, taking their name from the well know comedian, their home nights were Friday at the Victoria Hotel, and they spent their first few season in Section F, before finishing runners up to Marco Wanderers in 1998 and gaining promotion to Section E. In 2001 they were runners up to Barmy Army in Section E. After two seasons in Section D Vic Reeves went up to Section C, as although they had finished 7th the sections were being expanded. For three seasons on the trot Vic Reeves finished in third place in Section C, and then there was a fourth place finish before they finished as runners up in 2008 to Tinklers. In 2006 Vic Reeves won the Plate beating Country Boys in the final. The Vic side settled in Section B and remained at that level mostly with mid table finishes. Their highest finish had been 5th in 2009 and 2023, while twice they finished third from bottom in 2011 and 2016. In 2019 they were runners up in the Plate, losing to Half Pints in the final. Now a much deferent version than the team that started in 1996, the young lads led by captain George Wilson should bring some entertainment to Section A with their songs and laughter. Although much changed two long standing players Steve McHale and Roger Wilson remain part of the team.

Vic Reeves join Swan Abbots who go up as champions, as debutants in next seasons Section A.  

Wareham Legionaires 448 Colliton Wide Boys 462

Wide Boys beat the champions Wareham Legionaires at the New Inn, West Knighton to make it to the final of the cup for the third time in four seasons. Legionaires went 9-pins in front on the first hand after hitting 72 with stick ups from Pete Luther (14) and Ryan Carpenter (17), while Steve Legg had hit Wide Boys first stick up, an 11. Jason Hallett struck a 17 stick up for the Wide Boys on the second hand as the Colliton team hit 68, in response Legionaires hit 59 and the game was all square. The third hand saw Wide Boys go 2-pins up, they hit 62, Legionaires had a good start to their hand after Mike Jeans had a 13 stick up but the Wareham outfit could not build on that and hit 60. The fourth hand was all about the Fowler’s, Josh and dad Andy both hit 15’s as Wide Boys hit 73, which saw them go 16-pins up after Legionaires hit 59. Wide Boys had another good score on the fifth hand hitting 70 with Josh Fowler hitting 17 while Matt Slade boltered his third ball on his stick up, Legionaires hit 62 to trail by 24-pins. Jason Hallett had a 12 stick up on the sixth hand to help the Colliton team to 67 and they went 39-pins up when Legionaires hit 52. Captain Andy Fowler finished the night with a 12 stick up and his team hit 59 to leave the champions  99 to win. Wareham Legionaires finally showed why they are back to back champions in Section A, fighting back in style on the last hand, Jordan Nicholls started the hand with a 17 stick up, while two 14’s from Pete Luther and Terry Whittaker left the bottom three 41 to win.  A big stick from either teammate may have given anchor-man Steve Shear a chance but two 7’s left him 27 to win, although he did finish the night off with a stick up hitting 12 to give his side a 84 hand which meant they lost by 14-pins.

Josh Fowler was top score with 69 for the Wide Boys while Pete Luther was top for Legionaires with 67.      

Goldies Wurzels 420 Patriots 423

The cup holders Patriots reached the final again after a close match with Wurzels at the Three Compasses, Charminster. Patriots never had the best of starts hitting 58 on the first hand, while their opponents raced into an early lead after the top two hit 30 between them, Jason Wilkinson (16), and Dylan O’Donovan (14), and Wurzels hand of 71 put them 13-pins up. Wurzels lead was cut to 6-pins on the second hand, Patriots hit 62 but in response Wurzels could only muster 54. The third and forth hands saw both sides skittle similar, Patriots hit 62 and 59, while Wurzels hit 59 and 62, which left Wurzels still 6-pins in front. The only stick up on either hand was a stick up bolter from Chris O’ Donavon of Wurzels. Patriots hit 67 on the fifth hand with Lee Cooke chipping in with a 12 stick up. Dylan O’Donovan hit his second stick up of the night, a 14 to help his team stay in front, Wurzels hit 64 but their lead was cut to 3-pins. Jack Cooke hit a 13 stick up for Patriots on the sixth hand but four 5’s from his teammates meant that they only hit 57, and Wurzels pulled 2 more pins hitting 59 to lead by 5-pins. The cup holders Patriots looked to be heading out after finishing with 59 on the last hand to leave the Goldies side 55 to win. The Wurzels top half hit 30, but a 3 and a 4 in the bottom half  made their task harder and the Wurzels fell short by just 3-pins, which meant that Patriots were in front for the first time of the night.

Jake Cooke was top score for Patriots with 61, while Dylan O’Donovan was top for Wurzels with 60.

New Inn Chuckers 386 Half Pints 382

Chuckers of Section C knocked out Half Pints from Section A in the semi final of the Plate at Goldies. Richard Goodbody got the night off in fine fashion when he hit a stick up on the very first throw of the match and put 15 on the board for the New Inn team, Chuckers hit 61 and took a 11-pins lead when Half Pints hit 50. The Section A side chipped away at the Chuckers lead and after hands of 52, 54 and 56 were 5-pins behind. Chuckers hit 57 on the fifth hand, and in response Half Pints were struggling until Mark Slade kept them in the match with a 16 stick up to help them to 59, which meant they trailed by 3-pins. Half Pints edged in front on the sixth hand after their 61 hand had beaten Chuckers 57, and the Colliton side were now in front for the first time in the match, but by just 1-pin. Chuckers finished with 55 to leave the Half Pints 55 to win. The Section A side struggled on the last hand and finished the match how they started it with 50 to give the Chuckers a 4-pin victory. Top score for Chuckers was Richard Goodbody with 58, while for Half Pints Nick Heal and Mark Slade both hit 59.

Country Boys 446 (58) Trinity Allsorts 446 (79)

This semi final match of the Plate at Tom Browns had a dramatic end to the tie with an extra hand being played as Allsorts finished the night in style.

Allsorts took the lead on the first hand, Country Boys had hit 59 with a stick up 12 from R Miller, Jamie Hunter hit a 14 stick up for Allsorts to help them to 64 and a 5-pins lead. Jordan Smith hit a 14 stick up on the second hand as Country Boys hit 64, Allsorts came back with 62 and their lead was cut to 3-pins. Skipper Rod Smith’s 13 stick up boosted his sides score to 64 on the third hand and the team from the New Inn went 8-pins up after Allsorts hit 53.

R Miller hit his second stick up of the night for the Country Boys and his 15 helped them reach 69, and although Dan Hunter had hit an 11 stick up for Allsorts the match looked over as their 59 gave the Country Boys a 21-pins lead.

G Selby started the fifth hand with a 16 stick up as Country Boys looked to hammer home their lead, and they pulled 3 more pins, 62-59, to move 24-pins in front.

There were two stick ups in Country Boys sixth hand, J Wood (15) and a second of the night for the captain, Rod hit 12 as his team put 70 on the board. Matt Moore gave the Allsorts a great start on the sixth hand with a 14 stick up, and the Trinity side pinched a pin hitting 71, but there seemed little hope for them as they were still 23-pins behind.

Country Boys finished with 58 to leave Allsorts 82 to win. After an 8 and a 6 from the first two, Dan Hunter had a stick up and struck a 17, a 7 and a 9 followed and then Robbie Haime matched Dan’s score and put his own 17 on the board, suddenly Allsorts were back in the game as it left the last two 18 to win. A 9 from Luke Stacey left skipper Jamie West needing 9 to win the match for his side,, and he had a stick up chance that was missed, and his 8 sent the semi final into an extra hand.

A little shell shocked the team from West Knighton who had looked likely to reach the final only moments before hit another 58 on the extra hand. Allsorts by now were in control and had a dynamic start to the extra hand with the first three all hitting stick ups, Moore (11), Smith (11), while Dan Hunter got his third of the night (13). Robbie Haime chipped in with a 14 as the Trinity outfit reached the Plate final hitting 79 on the extra hand.

Dan Hunter was top score for Allsorts with 68 in the seven hands, while Jordan Smith was top score for the Country Boys with 62.