EWC 2008 Team Event Part 2

As with the trios, yesterday was another tough day at the office. We started really well with a 1048 game which kept us in the hunt for a medal and kept our spirits up! We were all playing really well and everyone looked comfortable on the long, even those that had found it a bit tricky during the week. The second game was on the same pair as Germany who had had the same start as us (1047 to be precise). Again, we played really well but seemed to lose our way a little through the middle part of the game and finished with 1001 - still a decent enough game and giving ourselves a chance in the last game. Germany shot 1032 and closing in on us were Finland with games of 1085 and 1014. At this stage, it was a battle for 3rd and 4th between 3 teams. Sweden and Denmark were so far ahead that it wasn't even worth looking at them as they were already guaranteed a medal.

Before the last game, the screen flashed up to show that there were just 8 pins separating us, Germany and Finland. We played our last game on 1 and 2 which had been favourable to me all week but it wasn't to be in this game. Lane 1 was hooking a lot earlier than lane 2 and it caught us all out with a few too many splits popping up when we least expected it. We limped across the line with a 904 which was 65 pins short of 4th place and a medal!

Again we all battled hard and nobody should be disappointed with their performance.

All was not lost as myself, Zara and Jenny had all made the top 24 for the masters which was good news. In all the excitement, Jenny managed to hurt her knee and ended up in hospital for 4 hours. Unfortunately, there is a nurses strike on in Denmark at the moment so she never got seen and returned to the hotel after 11pm last night. She's ok and it doesn't seem too serious, thankfully.

So on to the Masters.........

EWC 2008 Team Event Part 1

The Team event...the toughest medal to win in the whole championships and we got off to a good start!

The line up was as follows; Jenny, Jemma, JoJo, me and Zara with Nicki playing in the make-up team. Today we played 3 games on the short and tomorrow we are back on the long.

The lanes seemed to be a bit more like the doubles for me so I was happy from the outset. Again I was using my World Class Particle Pearl down board 5 and it looked great. All the girls were playing in similar places to where they have played in the other events and everyone looked really comfortable in practice. We got off to a really good start with 1063, playing with the team from the Ukraine. We then went on to a pair with the Danish team who were looking good. We gave them a run for their money for the first half of the game and finished with 1042, again a good game. Kamilla shot 290 this game and is looking awesome. In game 3 we came across the Italian's for the first time all tournament. Again we looked good and shot our best game of 1070! This gave us a total of 3175 which we are all really pleased with.

Denmark are leading after our squad this morning with 3314 but Sweden are currently looking good to overtake them having shot 1207 for game 2!

We're all pretty tired after an early start this morning so are planning on just chilling out tonight with a beer and a pizza - or something along those lines!!

Keep checking back on http://www.ewc2008.eu/ for the results.

Cheers xx

EWC 2008 Trios Part 2

Yesterday was a better day at the office although still pretty hard work. We all bowled really well and I found the lanes to be pretty much the same as the doubles so I was using my Terminator Rebellion again which looked really good. It was the same story as the doubles, if I didn't put it in exactly the right place, I got punished...if I had £1 for every split I've left this week, I might be able to afford a round of drinks (it's pretty expensive out here).

Our other girls did really great today and put in an excellent performance but they were 150 pins short of a medal. They all bowled really well and should be very proud of how they played.

It was pretty hard bowling when you know you've got no chance of a medal so we decided to just enjoy it and the carry would come...well, sort of! It was good watching the French fight their way to a medal, even if they are a little scary.

Germany (10 points) won their second medal of the tournament along with Denmark. The eventual winners were Denmark in what was a very low scoring match but at the end of the day, a gold medal is a gold medal, no matter how you win it....well done Denmark - not easy on your home turf!!

We went to Bone's for dinner which is a steak house and we all had a good meal and got a good night's sleep ready for the team event.

EWC 2008 Trios part 1

Yesterday was a tough day at the office! We were playing our first block of trios on the short. The first team did really well, shooting 81 over, leaving them well in contention after one squad. We went on to the lanes feeling pretty good. We all seemed to look ok in practice but by the time practice was over the lanes seemed to have carried down a little and were playing longer than in the doubles. I was still using my World Class Particle Pearl and it looked pretty good but I had to keep the pace down. If I was a little quick through the shot, it was leaving me something pretty ugly to spare. Each of us struggled to find the carry and ended the first game with 514. The second game was a little better. I changed to my Sure Strike but it didn't quite give me the reaction that I was after, although did look good and could be a possibility for the team event. I had a few ugly splits in game 2 but managed to pull things together and we had 604 in game 2. We then went on to lanes 1 and 2 for game 3 which played nicely in the doubles. I felt comfortable on this pair but again we all struggled with the carry and finished with 556 and a total of 1674.

The first sentence kind of sums things up for yesterday...it was a tough day at the office and we're hoping that today will be better for us.

The other girls are playing at the moment and look pretty good and are having a great last game....hopefully we can follow them and shoot big this afternoon.

More later xx

EWC 2008 Doubles Result

Today was the second day of doubles and we were playing on the long oil. We both played really well but couldn't catch a break and unfortunately missed out ona medal by just 15 pins. Check out the full results at http://www.ewc2008.co.uk/. Today I was using my Terminator Rebellion and playing straight up board 10. It looked really good but if I missed one board to the left or right of 10 I got a little punished unfortunately.

We're both staying upbeat about things as there is a long way to go and plenty more medals to play for. The Swedes again played really well today and deserved their gold medal, they were outstanding from the start. The German team, Patricia Schwarz and Tina Hulsch played very well on the long oil today and did really well to finish with the silver medal...GERMANY - 10 points!!!

The other girls have all played well on the long so we are all prepared for the trios now.

The trios teams for tomorrow are Nicki, Jenny, and JoJo and Jemma, Me and Zara. The first three are playing at 9.00 and we are playing at 12.30 so keep checking the scores!

Right that's it for another night...more for you tomorrow xx

EWC 2008

Today was pretty good for myself and Zara. We both bowled really well but should have had more which is always the case!

Zara shot 1365 and I had 1328 which was pretty impressive but not nearly as impressive as the Swedes. Helen and Nina had millions and played really well...good bowling! After the first 6 games we were in second place behind Sweden.

I'm really happy with how I played and my World Class Particle Pearl looked really good on the short. I hardly had to move my feet which was really great news for me!!! Zara was the same and we were able to read off each other really well today which I think helped our coach!

We're now really looking forward to tomorrow and just praying that it is a bit cooler in the bowling centre as it was red hot this afternoon when Jenny and Nicki were bowling.

Speaking of which both seemed to find the long pattern a bit tough today but I'm sure they will be fine for the trios - there's still a long way to go girls!!

The scores generally dropped today but that's only to be expected on the long!

Will write more again tommorow.

As my old mate Finny would say, TTFN x

EWC 2008

I'm playing the doubles with Zara tomorrow so we had the day off today. It was good to watch the other girls play and they all did really well! It's always tough on the first day!

We had a good practice session yesterday and those of you who know me will be shocked to know that I lasted the whole session...check me out!!

Am starting to feel a little nervous tonight but looking forward to getting on the lanes.

We had a really nice meal tonight and are all feeling pretty good. The weather here is really nice, much better than back home (although a little too hot for me). Unfortunately the hotel doesn't have air conditioning so sleeping is a bit of an issue but it's ok as the schedule isn't too hectic!

Just about to go to bed as it's a 6.30am start tomorrow morning to be at the bowl for 8.00am for a 9.00am start.

Will report again tomorrow.