Junior Cheshire Shield 2018

Entries down and rain forecast. Things didn’t look good for the 2018 Junior Cheshire Shield. However, an excellent day’s tennis was enjoyed by all of the teams that took part at Congleton on Sunday 16^th September. Since the competition moved to a one-day format the sun had shone, but this year the rain was forecast for all day. In the event there were only a couple of episodes of drizzle and one light shower and play was not interrupted. The competitors were magnificent and got on with the task of enjoying their tennis.

Following a couple of withdrawals, there were five teams in the Girls’ competition. They played in a single round robin group. For each match, the number 1 pairs played 8 games against each other and the number 2 pairs did the same. We then counted the total number of games won by each team. Widnes Tennis Academy proved to be too strong for the others and won the event for the third year running. Neston girls were runners up. Teams from Lymm, Heswall and Alderley Edge also played.

There were 6 teams in the Boys’ event. They also played in a singlet round-robin group. Last year’s winners Bramhall Lane and last year’s runners up Lymm met in the last round separated by only a few games, but Bramhall Lane won the match to make repeat the result of 2017. Teams from Widnes Tennis Academy, Hoole, Heswall, and Congleton also took part.

New trophies in memory of Stephan Maier, a supporter of Cheshire Tennis, were presented to the winners by past-presidents Barbara Newnes and Barbara Bloor. The organisers, John and Marion Doe, were thanked as were the catering team of June Bowyer, Lindsay Newton, Andrew Giltrap, Jill Bell and Ruth Barton.