The up-and-coming Oscars in Hollywood will no doubt grab media attention in the coming weeks, but last Friday, all eyes were on another Hollywood, the Hollywood Bowl in Derby, which staged the internationally recognised ‘GRM World Bowling Championship‘.
Our annual tournament is always a hotly contested affair, with long-standing rivalries renewed and new ones initiated. It is traditional for the current champion to defend their title, but in what could only be described as a ‘media frenzy of disbelief’, Courtney Blockley-Campton declared himself unavailable, citing the unlikely excuse of a ‘prior engagement’.
His absence meant a new champion would be crowned for 2024, and so it was that 28 members of staff and partners took to the alleys to battle it out for the prestigious prizes of Best Bowler and also Worst Bowler of the Year.
The event was organised by social secretary Russell Hurcombe, who naively thought he had a chance of capturing this year’s crown. “Delusional“, came the cry from several tournament veterans who were proved right with Russell failing to make a showing on the leaderboard.
Instead, it was George who scooped the top prize by smashing 4 strikes in a row on his way to a score of 186 and also made it into the top 3 of the daily Hollywood Bowl leaderboard. Mandy proudly took the lowest score trophy with a total of 81 points. She commented, “I’ve been waiting 20 years for this trophy. My game hasn’t improved in all those years, so it is wonderful to finally get the recognition I deserve”.
A note of praise for Liam, too, who also made it onto the daily Hollywood Bowl leader board and can be seen in the main photo with George pointing smugly to his name!
