The Palmerston Cup reached its climax with the Finals, featuring Meon Valley against Fareham Blue in the third and fourth place playoffs, and Lee facing Rowner Red in the eagerly anticipated Final.
In the first match between Meon Valley and Fareham Blue, Fareham's Bob Scottow surged to a commanding 13-4 lead after six ends against Meon Valley's Phil Walker. Fareham continued to dominate, ultimately winning 40-6.
The second game saw Fareham's Lee Cunningham making a strong start against Meon Valley's Josh Berry, leading 9-2 after six ends. Fareham extended their lead to 19-7 by the thirteenth end. Despite a late surge from Meon Valley, Fareham held on to win 20-12.
In the final match-up, Fareham's Cyril Friend and Meon Valley's Andy King engaged in a closely contested battle. After six ends, the score was level at 7-7. Meon Valley gradually pulled ahead, leading 15-10 by the eleventh end. Fareham mounted a comeback, narrowing the gap to 15-14 by the thirteenth end, but Meon Valley maintained their composure, scoring a series of singles to secure a 19-15 victory. The overall result saw Meon Valley with 37 shots to Fareham Blue's 75 shots, securing fourth place while Fareham Blue finished in third.
In the Final, the historic rivals Lee and Rowner Red delivered an intense showdown.
In the first game, Rowner's Bill Ross led Lee's Steve Wiggins 4-3 after six ends, but by the seventh end, Lee had taken a narrow lead at 5-4. Rowner then dominated the middle phase, scoring consistently over the next five ends to lead 11-5 by the twelfth end, eventually winning 16-8.
The second game saw Lee's Graham Hillier initially level with Rowner's Barry Stafford at 3-3, but Rowner surged ahead over the next eight ends to lead 17-3 by the eleventh end. Lee mounted a spirited comeback, scoring in almost every end towards the finish, tightening the game to a nerve-wracking finale. However, Rowner managed to hold on, winning 18-15. At this stage, Lee had closed the overall gap to just two shots behind Rowner.
In the final game, Lee's Martin Ellis made a strong start against Rowner's Keith Gerrard, leading 6-2 after six ends. Rowner staged a comeback to lead 7-6 by the tenth end, but Lee regained control, leading 16-8 by the fifteenth end. Rowner's late surge, including two three-point scores in the final ends, brought them to a narrow 17-14 deficit. Despite losing the match to Lee, Rowner's cumulative score of 48 shots against Lee's 40 shots crowned them Palmerston Cup Champions for the second consecutive year. Commiserations to Lee for their part in making this a memorable final.
Brian Knight
Competition Secretary
| Matches | Rinks | Shots | Points | ||||||
| League | P | W | D | L | W | D | L | Diff | |
| Lee | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 200 | 46 |
| Fareham Blue | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 233 | 44 |
| Rowner Red | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 132 | 42 |
| Fareham Green | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 36 | 31 |
| Meon Valley | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 47 | 28 |
| Milton Park | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 66 | 26 |
| Banister Park | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 25 |
| Fareham Red | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 24 |
| Lockswood Green | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -85 | 20 |
| Priory | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | -54 | 17 |
| Rowner White | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | -66 | 15 |
| Lockswood Blue | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 8 | -70 | 14 |
| Crofton Silver | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | -221 | 4 |
| Crofton Gold | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -231 | 0 |
The latest results and schedule are updated automatically after the competition operator enters the scores.
This competition, which started in 2011, is run during the winter season at Palmerston Indoor Bowls Club, Fareham. This is an open competition for outdoor bowls clubs to compete against each other on the indoor carpet and is a means of keeping in touch with members when their club is closed.
The competition is played on Sunday evenings with games starting at 6.00pm. Each team requires a minimum of nine players as each match consists of three rinks of triples. Most teams have a squad of more than nine players who are used on a rotational basis, and being an open competition, the teams can be all of the same gender or mixed. Teams usually play fortnightly and there will be weeks when your team would have stand downs when the other leagues are playing, so you do not have to turn out every Sunday.
This year there are 14 teams who will initially play 4 games against each other in a mini-league before the knockout stage. The scoring system is two points for each winning rink and a further six points for the team with the overall winning score (twelve points are available for each game). The results of this league will determine the 8 teams who will go into the quarter finals in the knockout stage. The knockout draw will be seeded based on table position, so there is an incentive to finish as high as possible to obtain a favourable draw.
Prize money will mean the winning team receiving £200 down to £75 for the fourth placed team.
Brian Knight
Competition Secretary
The OFFICIAL RULES 2024-25 may be seen here.