In the third division, Tarleton B won the championship for the first time by a massive 46 points, dominating the division by winning 17 out of their 18 matches & gaining promotion to the 2nd division after being relegated last season. Longton VM B had just a 4 point margin over their nearest rivals to finish as runners-up for the 3rd time in their history, the other occasions were in 1994 & 2003. But they only clinched the second promotion place on the final day of the season with a superb 8-2 away win after a season long battle with Burscough RBL B & Hoole Village Hall. The 3rd Division Player of the Year award was won for the second time by John Moore (Tarleton B), who scored 43 points & was undefeated throughout the season winning all of his 17 games.

A fairly large crowd witnessed an exciting final in the KO Team Trophy at Fleetwood Hesketh BC. After the first four games, the favourites Mere Brow A led by 9 chalks, winning 3 of the 4 games. Their lead was increased to 21 chalks after five games due to Danny Finch's 21-09 win & Mere Brow looked in a strong position to win the title again. However, Banks St Stephens B's next 3 blocks had different ideas & turned the match completely on it's head as they all won, with man of the match, John Greer, leading the way with a 21-8 win over Alan Shacklady & ably supported by Mark Wilde's 21-10 & Alan Pikington's 21-12 wins. This gave Banks St Stephens B a lead of 12 chalks after 8 games. The last two games were nip & tuck affairs, with each team at times having a chance to win the title. After seventeen ends of these games, Banks St Stephens B looked favourites to cruise to victory when Ken Miley led John Berry 14-8 & Andy Draper led Dave Fenny 12-10, but after 25 ends the Mere Brow players had got back into contention & the match look like it was going to be a very close call when John Berry was beating Ken Miley 17-16 & Dave Fenney led 20-14 against Andy Draper. But the Banks St Stephens lads secured victory & the title by both scoring sufficient chalks in the final crucial ends to give their team a 14.5 chalk advantage at the end of the match, with Mere Brow A having to settle for the runners-up position for the second time this season. This is the 2nd time that they have won this title, the other occasion was in 1997. Semi-finalists were Botanic Gardens A & Hesketh Arms.

On Friday 25th July at Fleetwood Hesketh BC, in front of a large crowd of around 100 spectators, Wayne Ditchfield (New Longton) made it back-to-back Steve Rimmer Memorial Shield singles titles in comfortable style. He was in excellent form with comfortable wins of 21-07 & 21-10 in the early final night rounds. This set up a semi-final clash with his North Lancs & Fylde County Colleague, Emlyn Weekes (Banks St Stephens) , in what was expected to be the match of the night, but Wayne was in dominate form in the early stages taking a 7-0 advantage in the first 6 ends & leading 17-4 after 15 ends with some excellent leading & devastating pinpoint accurate striking in the corners, before closing out the match 21-11 to take him into the final against his team-mate & friend, Ashleigh Woof. In the other half of the draw, Ashleigh Woof (New Longton) had wins of 21-10 & 21-04 with some excellent pinpoint accurate bowling on three quarter round peg marks to set up other New Longton versus Banks St Stephens semi-final clash with Andy Draper. In a tough tussle, Ashleigh finally won 21-16 to reach the final. The early stages of the final were nip & tuck up to end 15 when the score was 11-9 to Wayne. However, Wayne, showed his class, by running out from this position in the next 9 ends with superb corner play, with most of his lead bowls finishing just inches from the jack, to take the game 21-9 & the title for the second year running. The League & competitors would like to give many thanks to Yvonne Rimmer for presenting the trophy & prizemoney, Fleetwood Hesketh Bowling Club for the use of their excellent facilities including the superb condition of their green & their members who helped in the running of this competition, as well as to the many league members who supported this competition, making it a very memorable & fitting tribute to Steve Rimmer.

The 6th under-18 merit competition was keenly contested by the 6 competitors taking part on a round robin basis on Sunday 17th August at Fleetwood Hesketh BC. 17 year old Wayne Ditchfield (New Longton) won the competition, for the sixth successive year, by defeating runner-up Mark Chester (Fox Lane) 21-17 in a thrilling final, which was a repeat of last year’s final between the same two players & with the same outcome. The final was a nip & tuck affair but was a great advertisement for junior bowling with some brilliant leading over a variety of lengths & marks, including corner to corner & round peg, as well as pin-point striking by both players. The play throughout the competition was of an exceptionally high standard considering the ages of the competitors & they all thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon of competitive bowling.

The previous Sunday, Jimmy Alty, of the host club, won this year’s League's President's day event despite having to give 3 start to all his competitors. In a one sided final, he beat Mark Wilde (Banks St Stephens) 21-11 playing the mark he had consistently played well all day across the middle of the green. However, in the semi-final he was pushed all the way by Denis Hunter (Croston Subscription), who had won his previous games 21-4, 21-8, 21-3. After trailing Denis 15-9, he won 7 of the next 9 ends to lead 18-17. Denis, then fought back, by winning the next 2 ends to lead 20-18 before Jimmy won the next 2 ends to clinch victory in a very hard fought match. In the other semi-final, Mark beat Darren Edgerley (Botanic Gardens) 21-11. 34 competitors took part in this excellent event hosted by the League President, Mr. John P.Rimmer & Fleetwood Hesketh BC. They were rewarded with a thoroughly enjoyable day, which included a superb buffet. Play throughout the day was of the highest standard on the superb green. After the final, the league president, Mr. John P.Rimmer, presented the prizes to the winners & thanked his club members for their help, Keith Robinson, league secretary, for running another excellent event & all the competitors who had taken part in the event. He finished by saying that he had fully enjoyed his day.

On Friday 26th September at Fleetwood Hesketh BC, in front of a good size crowd, Carl Birchall & Ian Grady (Mere Brow) were in awesome form on the final night of the 2008 league pairs competition & won this competition for the first time with ease. Despite arriving 10 minutes after the start time & not getting a practice, they hit the pace of the green from the start & demolished the hopes of Andy Draper & Mark Wilde (Banks St Stephens) with a 21-0 rout in just 10 ends. In the semi-final against Dave Bridge & Peter Hodge (Mere Brow & Tarleton), who had accounted for Miles Forshaw & John Mills (Burscough RBL) in the last 8, they set off quickly from the start & were 14-6 up after 10 ends which they extended to 18-10 four ends later. Despite a spirited fight back by Dave & Peter who scored a single on the next four ends to reduce the deficit to 14-18. A relieved, Carl & Ian won the game at the next end with a three to reach the final. In the other half of the draw, Steve McCall & Ken Taylor (New Longton) won their opener with ease 21-10 before having a struggle in the semi-final against Bill Rose & John Shacklady (Mere Brow) in a tight match they won the last three ends to clinch victory 21-16. The final saw some really close end bowling but Carl & Ian playing their favourite 25 metre diagonal mark seemed to just get the better of their opponents in the early stages to take a 12-1 lead after seven ends. Despite Steve & Ken having a mini revival winning the next three ends to take the score to 7-12, Carl & Ian got hold of the block again at the next end. As they had done all night, Carl with his pin-point leading & Ian's superb backup play they won the next four ends to lead 19-7. They then clinched victory & the title three ends later. The League & competitors would like to give many thanks to the President, Mr.John P.Rimmer, & Fleetwood Hesketh Bowling Club for the use of their excellent facilities including the superb condition of their green & to all league members who helped in the running of this competition, making it a very memorable & successful event.

Unfortunately, the end of season Ormskirk Advertiser Trophy, between representatives from leagues around Ormskirk, had been cancelled for this year following the passing away of organizer, Mr. Eric Gaskell, & the lack of support & sponsorship from the Ormskirk Advertiser. Hopefully, this highly successful & much prized competition will return next season.

All officials & players are now looking forward to the start of another rewarding & exciting season in mid-April 2009. If you are interested in joining this Friday Night league, there are currently vacancies for players &/or teams of 10 players for clubs based in the West Lancashire & Southport Areas. For further information, please e-mail me on secretary@burscoughleague.org.uk with your details.