By Peter Martin
Peter O’Callaghan (King Cross) won the Association’s, Berry - Hey Handicap having, sponsored by Mr Mike Berry at Elland C&BC on Sunday 27th August 2023 he defeated John Williamson of (Akroydon Victoria) by 21-20 to win the eighty first staging of the competition. 43 Bowlers entered the completion in what would go on to prove that it was going to be a long day for all concerned. With the supplementary competition with 19 entries which was won by 
Allan Buckley (Oxenhope) who defeated Nigel Parker 21-9 (Hipperholme). In the main event Peter in the round of 32 defeated Simon Page after being 17 14 down to only allow Simon 1 more pair to finishing with 21-19 win, in the next round he also staged a great fight back from 15-7 down against Clive Austin to win 9 of the last ends to clinch the game 21-18, The next game for Peter just got even harder as loosing to Jason Watters throughout the match and at all but 16 down ran out to win 21-20, This set him up with a Match against Mick Walker, Peter found early form and raced to a 10-2 & 18-3 lead and finishing off the game with a comfortable 21-9 win in the semi-final. This set him up with a nail-biting final with John Williamson who had wins of 21-6 against Simon Robinson a hard fought game with Tom Robertshaw after being 16-5 down to win 21-19, a quarter final match with Danny Barker which he took control wining 21-10, it was a different game in the semi-final against Daz Turnbull they were locked at 10 , 13, 17 & 18 all at the 25th end but John scored 4 singles to clinch the match 21-18. The Final started one sided with Peter having the best of the opening ends leading 13-4 and 16-6 before John had a break of 12 with 4 2’s to go ahead 18-16 & 20-18 but it was Peter who had the best of the last 3 ends with singles to clinch the match and the title for 2023, Peter had also previously won the supplementary competition in 2022.
The supplementary cup was won by Allen Buckley (Oxenhope) who defeated Nigel Parker (Hipperholme) with a score of 21-9. Allen Buckley had a remarkable
performance throughout the tournament, beating Becky Woodhead 21-9 in the first round with a break of 11 points that gave him a decisive advantage. Becky Woodhead tried to recover and reached 12 points, but Allen Buckley secured the victory with two more points. In the second round, Allen Buckley maintained his dominance over Sheridan Paterson, leading the game with scores of 11-5, 14-7 and 17-8, and finally winning 21-11. He advanced to the semi-final against Kay Lund, who he overwhelmed with breaks of 7, 3 and 5 points, leaving her with only 8 points. In the final, Allen Buckley never trailed behind Nigel Parker, who was close at 13-9, but could not stop Allen Buckley's impressive break of 8 points that sealed his triumph with a score of 21-9. Nigel Parker had reached the final after winning against Chris Mitchell (21-17), Adam Taylor (21-11), Jeromy Firth (21-14) and Nick Oddy (21-19), with his best break of 8 points coming from a comeback against Nick Oddy when he was down 13-19.
The Elland C&BC team hosted the competition and the Association thanked them for their work, as well as the caterers, measures and groundsmen.
Sue Dennis, representing Mr Berry who has sponsored the competition for 81 years, presented the prizes to the winners.
Pictured top Sue Dennis Peter O’Callaghan & Vice Presedent Jenny Walmsley
Bottom Allen Buckley Sue Dennis & Vice Presedent Jenny Walmsley