THE Bowls England National Competitions and Championships held at Leamington Spa saw the Gloucestershire pairing of Linda Challenger and Lindsay Collin (Page Ladies) become runners-up in the Senior Pairs.

The pair having battled through four county rounds to reach the final stages started out in round one with a narrow 24-21 win over Pat Reynolds (Parkway). Next up was Sheila Plaskitt (Dunholme) in which they gained a comfortable 23-13 win.

In the quarter finals they held the edge in beating Pat Hilson (Rosedale) 17-15. Continuing in form for the semis they held the upper hand to make it to the final with an 18-13 win over Tina Broderick (Burton Latimer) 18-13.

The final saw them up against Carol Inserra (Shepshed Town) and having it all to do after going behind early on they ended up losing out 23-6.

Flying the flag high for the county, Val Osmond (Ardagh) reached the semi-finals of the Senior Singles where she lost 21-10 to Anne Anderson (Durham).

The fours saw the quartet from Stroud (Gill Hodder, Val Heathcote, Jean Crooks and Jacky Howes) have a first round win over Newmarket Ave (Cambridgeshire) 21-14 before losing out to Parkway (Huntingdonshire) 25-15.

Caer Glow (Ann Leach, Maureen Richards- Smart, Pauline Gunn and Kay Gent) beat Windsor Great Park (Berkshire) 24-10 in the first round only to lose out to Bridport (Dorset) 20-14.