Yorkshire at the National Finals – Leamington 2026

Sep 6

3 min read

Congratulations to every Yorkshire player, pair, triple and four who represented the county at this year's Aviva National Bowls Finals in Leamington. Reaching the national stage is no small achievement in itself, and every one of our competitors did the county proud by simply being there.

Across the men's and women's competitions, Yorkshire had representatives in singles, pairs, triples, fours, junior, under-24 and senior events – a great reflection of the strength and depth of bowls across the county.

Runner-up! Sue Allen goes all the way to the final

The individual highlight of the whole finals belongs to Sue Allen (Thirsk Athletic), who reached the Final of the Pegasus Homes Women's Over 60s Singles — beating opponent after opponent through five rounds before finally coming up just short, 14–21, in the final. A brilliant run and a national runner-up finish to be very proud of.

National champion! David Houghton wins the Para Pairs

Yorkshire also has a national title to celebrate this year: David Houghton (Holderness Bowling Club, Hull), playing alongside partner Chris Bell, won the Para Pairs Championship at Leamington. A fantastic achievement and a genuine national title for the county.

The standout team run: Women's Fours reach the semi-final

Not far behind was the women's fours rink of Amica Fordy, Mel Wilkes, Chris Parkinson and Cressida Fordy (Northallerton), who fought their way through to the semi-finals of the main Women's Fours Championship before finally being edged out. A superb run through a tough draw.

Other notable performances

Several other Yorkshire competitors also enjoyed strong runs before bowing out:

Jack Bird (Men's Two Bowl Singles) reached the quarter-finals.
Sue Allen (Women's Four Bowl Singles) also made it to the quarter-finals of the main singles event.
Sue Hugill, Helen Walker and Sue Allen, and Angela Laskey, Carol Sarvent and Jane Simpson both flew the flag in the Women's Triples, with both Yorkshire trios reaching the quarter-finals.
Amica Fordy had a quarter-final finish in the Women's Under-24 Singles.
Stan Thompson and Sam Winter (Men's Pairs) and Danny Clark, Jack Bird and Mark Walton (Men's Triples) both reached the last 16.
Sandie Plant and Judy Abel (Women's Pairs) also made it through to the last 16.
Jack Grover (York Railway BSC) reached the quarter-finals of the Men's Champion of Champions.
Gayle Hartley (Thirsk Athletic) reached the last 16 of the Women's Champion of Champions.

Clubs and county teams flying the flag too

York Railway Bowls and Social Club won through to the last 16 of the Men's Top Club competition, and Yorkshire's county teams reached the quarter-finals of both the Balcomb Trophy and the Johns Trophy (going down in a tight 98–103 match to Leicestershire), as well as the Middleton Cup.

Yorkshire's youngsters also had a fantastic finals, with the Angels of the North - a combined Cumbria, Northumberland and Yorkshire Under-25 squad reaching the semi-final of the Amy Rose Bowl before losing out to Surrey.

Thank you to everyone who competed

Well done and thank you to all of our competitors across every discipline, from the Four Bowl Singles right through to the Junior and Senior events – for representing Bowls Yorkshire with such credit at Leamington. Getting to the National Finals at all is a real achievement, and the whole county should be proud of everyone who represented Yorkshire this year.

Here's to building on these performances next season!