A HOST of teams representing numerous clubs throughout South Dorset gathered to do battle for the annual Open Triples Shield.

The Melcombe Regis team – the DVBs consisting of Don Ramsey, Vic Mantle and Brian Tovey showed tremendous strength during the early rounds, winning all of their scheduled matches to qualify as winners in their league and earn a place in the final.

Their opponents were a Wellworthy team – The Unnamed made up of Joe Wahnon, Roy Burnett and Stuart Reed, who narrowly qualified as winners of their league with a better shot difference.

The final saw the DVBs take an early lead and following a succession of single shots and a three they continued to improve on this advantage.

The Unnamed then hit back but with one end to go the DVBs were in the comfortable position of having a five-shot lead.

With the skips left to bowl the DVBs held shot and skip Tovey placed his wood into the head.

Reed, for The Unnamed, bowled a firing wood to take out the closest DVBs woods with the result that they now held three shots.

Again Tovey drew a wood into the head and Reed had no option but to successfully play another firing effort to re-establish their three-shot lead.

The final wood bowled for the DVBs was again placed in the head. After much debate the final wood bowled by The Unnamed was another firing one with the objective of taking two of the closest DVBS woods out of the head in order to win five shots and force an extra end.

This wood missed the intended target and the DVBs took the Open Triples Shield with a two-shot advantage.