It was a family affair all round on final’s day at the City of Aberdeen bowling tournament at Westburn Park on Saturday.
Brother and sister Jason and Carla Banks, from Inverurie, won the men’s and junior singles championships respectively, while Aberchirder father and son Willie and Kevin Beaton triumphed in the men’s pairs and mother and daughter Isobel Laing and Carol Stuart retained their women’s pairs title.
Carla, like her brother a Scotland under-17 international, made history by becoming the first girl to lift the title since the junior competition was introduced in 1973.
The teenage siblings were elated by their success.
Carla, 15, who is about to go into her fourth year at Inverurie Academy, said: “I was stuck on 18 for a bit but I kept on going. I have been bowling for five years now and winning this title is one of the highlights of my career. I quite often go down to the green in Inverurie with Jason, although he usually beats me.”
Her 18-year-old brother, Jason, who started bowling when he was 10 and is about to got to Aberdeen University to study mechanical engineering, said: “It was a great final and I am delighted to have won it by a shot. It couldn’t have been any closer and it was fantastic my sister Carla also managed to win her junior final.”
The Aberchirder club swept the boards in the men’s and women’s pairs competition.
Willie Beaton and his son Kevin are the new men’s pairs champions, while Carol Stuart, also from Aberchirder, and her mother Isobel Laing, who plays out of Elgin, retained their women’s pairs title.
Willie, who first won the pairs with his father Charlie 19 years ago, said: “It is great to win the cup with my son Kevin but we both found the rink we were playing on pretty tricky, no two bowls were the same. The game was really tight but in the end we took it by two shots. I’ve now been lucky enough to win this title with three different partners.”
Kevin echoed his father’s words, saying: “It was a very tricky game for us, in what turned out to be difficult conditions but we just sneaked it in the end.”
It is Isobel Laing’s ninth women’s pairs title and the sixth partnered by her daughter.
Laing, 61, said: “It all turned on one end early on when we took six shots.
“Winning the title was just as enjoyable as the first time we won it together way back in 1995. Hopefully, we will both be back next year to defend our title once again.”
Stuart said: “This is one of the best weeks of weather we have had at Westburn Park. It is just a pity my bowls couldn’t match up to it.”
Abergeldie’s Margaret Duthie retained her women’s singles title by defeating Sheena Gill whose husband, Larry, also lost out to Gordon Brown, 21-7, in the seniors’ final.