THE Skipton and District Veterans travelled to Castleford District last Friday to take part in the annual knockout competition for the Hickson Trophy.

Skipton president and team captain Alister Keighley was in good form as he led by example being the only player to get three wins, as the team went through to the final.

The first match at Garforth Recreation saw Skipton take on Bradford who looked a very strong side.

The match proved to be very tight with nothing between the teams throughout, Skipton finished with seven winners to Bradford's five. The best win came from Alden Phillips 21-9 against former Skipton Devon player Hedley Kettlewell.

Alan Downing 21-14, Mick Duke 21-15, Derek Seed 21-16, Alister Keighley 21-17, Trevor Hargreaves 21-18 and David Jacques 21-20, were the seven winners for Skipton, the final match score was 219-214.

Skipton then moved to Garforth Rec No 2 green to take on hosts Castleford in the semi final.

Skipton got off to a terrific start as Hargreaves 21-2 and Seed 21-6 won the first two games.

Mick Demain got home 21-20, while Idris Wade picked up 12 to give Skipton a 75-49 lead.

The middle four saw three more winners for Skipton, Jacques 21-7, Keighley 21-10 and Kevin Burnett 21-13, while David Hemsley got 19 to give a 157-100 lead after eight.

It must have looked a big lead to the last four as they did not manage a winner although Alan Downing got 18, the final score of 205-184 saw Skipton through to the Final.

The team moved onto Pontefract to take on Sheffield in the final, on paper a very good side with plenty of ex-county players.

It proved to be a completely one-sided match as only Keighley picked up a win 21-15, the next best was David Hemsley with 14.

The Sheffield side totally dominated the match winning 246-138to win the Hickson Trophy.

The Hargreaves Ltd Skipton & District League Merit will take place on Sunday, July 29 at Broughton Road. The start time will depend on the number of competitors. The entries will close this Sunday.