SETTLE have won the Clarkson Cup for the first time since 1973 after defeating Sutton A 242-217 in the final at Skipton Devon.

And it was fitting that John Ball, captain of the side that lifted the trophy 42 years ago, was there to watch his club's latest triumph.

Settle A soon increased the 15-point advantage they had on the handicap as Andy Armstrong recorded a 21-11 win.

The next three games were won by Sutton A as Shaun Birch 21-20, Scott Bairstow 21-18 and Gavin Bairstow 21-16, reduced the deficit to 16 points.

Sutton needed a good winner, but it was not forthcoming as Settle’s Dianne Bullock produced a match-winning 21-9 victory.

Sue Finnie 21-13 put hope back into Sutton, but it was short lived as David Leeming's 21-10 win put Settle in command. Even victories for Sutton skipper David Cadwallader 21-14 and Kevin Mackie 21-17 were not enough.

Paul Atkinson's 21-16 win put the seal on Settle's triumph.

The Supplementary Ambulance Cup was contested by Gargrave A and Skipton Craven A at Colne Legion with Gargrave receiving a 15-point start which they did not retain for long.

It was reduced to just four points after the first four games which saw Craven’s Jim Akrigg and David Hewitt both win 21-8, while skipper Matty Simpson 21-20 and Martyn Foulds 21-15 had victories for Gargrave.

Gargrave's hopes were revived by Paul Drinkall's big 21-5 win and Martyn Cox 21-19 success, but victories for Rod Bastow 21-11, Ian Matthews 21-15, Debbie Hosty 21-16 and Stuart Wrigley 21-14 sealed a deserved 215-201win for Craven.

The Andrew Town Joinery Second Division championship has been won by Cross Hills B after they completed their league season with a double over Cononley B.

They won 7-5 away and 9-3 at home to gain enough points to keep them ahead of Steeton A, who finished with12-0 and 11-1 wins over relegated Lund Park B.

Rolls Royce, who beat Oakworth 7-5 and Silsden PF B 9-3, finished third. Rolls Royce's David Turner won the league's aggregate prize with + 11.00 after winning 21 of his 24 games. Team-mate Steve Hounslow topped the averages with 20.83.

Sutton B won the Skipton Building Society Division Three title by 27 points from Settle B. after winning their final game 9-1 at home to Grassington.

Settle B bowler Arthur Bruce won both the aggregate and average prizes after winning 20 of his 22 matches. He had a +10.27 aggregate 20.72 average per game.

Skipton Devon's run to the semi-finals of the Eric Hutchinson Cup came to an end when they suffered a 24-point defeat against Pudsey at Kingston.

Both teams had two wins each in the first four. Despite the victories for Dave Smith 21-19 and Nick Squires 21-18, Devon trailed by 13 points.

Martin Lee's impressive 21-8 win and Faye Ellis' 21-18 victory saw Devon sneak into a small lead.

Richard Perry came from behind to win 21-19, but that was as good as it got. Kevin Burnett was Devon's only winner in the last five games as he took his game 21-14.

The Skipton Inter District Veterans team finished the season with a 36-20 win over Wakefield. The home team once again excelled with seven winners in a 24-4 triumph.

The best victors wer David Jacques and Derek Seed both winning 21-9. The away team lost 16-12 despite having four winners.

The best winners were Alan Pennington 21-4 and Ken Brenkley 21-13. The home team averages were won by Alister Keighley +7.30, who won all six matches.

The away team averages were won by Trevor Hargreaves with +2.0

The final league table was: Bradford 244, Huddersfield 231, Halifax 227, Skipton 219, West Riding 192, Castleford 156, Leeds 150, Wakefield 149.

The Inter District Senior side travelled to Crowghyll Park, Shipley for the group matches in this year's inter district competition. Skipton opened with a 184-181 over Castleford,with victories from Richard Hargreaves 21-11, Peter Clark 21-14, Scott Bairstow 21-15, Andrew Tate 21-16 and David Scott 21-20.

After Castleford beat Aire and Wharfedale, Skipton needed a good win against Aire and Wharfedale to qualify. Four winners in the first five games, through Peter Clark 21-13, Phillip Dowgill 21-20, Andrew Tate 21-14 and Chris Wilson 21-10 gave Skipton a good start.

Skipton faced old rivals Wakefield in the semi-final at Drighlington and were defeated 190-153. It all went wrong for Skipton early on with only Andrew Tate 2-17, winning in the first five jacks.

Richard Hargreaves 21-18, Graham Reay 21-17 and David Smith 21-12 secured further wins but they were not enough to avoid defeat.