The 2018 Minor Singles Championship was decided on Saturday with the semi-finals contested in the morning and the final in the afternoon. The weather was ideal and the Greens were in pristine order as the four verdure warriors wandered onto the rinks to determine who would be the new Yamba Minor Singles Champions. Steve Butler quickly found his form and took control of his semi-final with David Coupland. David was not playing poorly but Steve was in a mood and didn’t let David have any peace. Steve efficiently and effectively went about dominating the scoreboard and reached the necessary 31 shots with the minimum of fuss and booked a place in the final. The other semi-final was a much closer encounter with Cliff Hinton gaining the initial advantage to nurture what appeared to be a match-winning lead. However, Bob Gunning displayed his fighting qualities and never say die attitude as he methodically chiselled away at Cliff’s lead. Bob managed to get within two shots and appeared to be on the precipice of victory. But, Cliff steadied and took the next few ends to seize the match by 31 shots to 22. Cliff, last year’s runner-up, was looking to go one place better this year and started the final as a man on a mission. Although never dominating the game, Cliff was marginally in front from the start and it wasn’t until the twenty-first end that Steve managed parity at 14 shots each. Again, Cliff skipped ahead leading 19 to 14, and again Steve fought back to 19 shots each after 28 ends of play. The game was a beauty and the throng of spectators, members and visitors alike, were savouring every morsel provided by the two outstanding competitors. A four-shot pick-up by Steve on the thirty-fourth end, following a magnificent conversion shot, catapulted him to within four of the target 31 shots and also delivered a new surge of self-belief. Steve wrapped up the match three ends later taking the game and the title by 31 shots to 24. Both players are to be congratulated on their performance and sportsmanship. This was a game that the crowd wanted to last for much longer and one that it seems unfair that someone must lose. Don Freeman