LAST Sunday Abergavenny were the hosts for the East Monmouthshire Bowls Association finals, which are the culmination of the season long knock out competitions held by the Association. Abergavenny were represented in three of the four finals held on the day.

The first of the finals was the Triples competition which was contested by a trio from Chepstow consisting of Mark Handcock, Alan Hassock and Les Horder, who played against Matthew, Jack and John Vale from Abergavenny.

This is the first time for more than forty years that three generations of the same family have represented the club in the final of any competition.

The Abergavenny trio got off to a good star, building a substantial lead by the tenth end. From this point they were never in danger of losing the game and went on to be crowned champions with a comfortable victory by 20 shots to nine.

In the Pairs competition, Abergavenny players Matthew Vale and Gethin Hill played the Giwern pairing of Colin Clifford and Derek Tyler. The Abergavenny pair got off to a tremendous start, opening up a 14 shot lead by the sixth end. Although the Gilwern players fought back through the middle third of the game, the Abergavenny duo regained the initiative to complete a comfortable victory to win the competition.

To complete the day, Abergavenny were represented in the singles final by Jack Vale who played Caldicot player Keith Nash for the honour of being crowned Singles Champion of the EMBA.

Jack Vale took command of the game from the start, scoring five shots without reply on the first four ends. From this start, he never allowed his opponent to gain a foothold in the game and went on to win by 21 shots to seven.

This was a fitting end to what has been an excellent season for 21 year old Jack Vale. His form has improved throughout the season which has allowed him to gain his first full county cap and then go on to be crowned EMBA Champion.

This week Abergavenny play a mixed friendly game at Brecon, followed by their final EMBA game of the season at Chepstow on Saturday. The following Saturday, Abergavenny will hold their own finals day to decide the winners of the club competitions which have been running all season.