THE South Hams Short Mat Bowls Association season was completed last week with the final of the Knock-Out Cup being played at Stoke Fleming Village Hall.

Slapton Swifts and Diptford went toe-to-toe on an exciting evening with many excellent shots being played by both teams. The overall result was a win for Slapton Swifts who won both games on each mat.

There were some great shots played often with a last-minute shot completely changing the result of the end. Slapton Swifts eventually won comprehensively and walked off with the trophy.

The finals night at the end of the season also acts as the presentation evening for all competitions competed in throughout the winter season.

One competition is the Team Trophy where the teams play each other over a home and away leg with games of singles, pairs, triples and fours. The end of the season also resulted in the Graham Collyer Team Trophy being won by Slapton Cygnets with South Milton Sanders as the runners up.

Although the final was competed over a single match at a neutral venue, this final was also a competitive event much enjoyed by those who spectated.

The other presentations were for the divisional league competitions throughout the season. All the matches were hard fought with many results coming down to the very last match.

In Division One, Totnes Creameries Milk Churns ran out as the winners with 57 points with the runners up being Slapton Cygnets also with 57 points but with a less good shot difference. A very tight end to the season which was unknown until the very last bowl was delivered.

The Division Two outcome was a win for South Brent with 54 points and Stokenham as runners up with 46 points. Although this outcome was a slightly bigger margin, the overall result was also only reached in the very last game of the season.

Short mat bowls now has a recess for the outdoor summer season with many players competing in lawn bowls however many clubs continue to play throughout the year. All clubs welcome anyone who might be interested in trying out bowls and taking part in short mat bowls is a good introduction to the sport.