HAWKSHAW A and Forrest F brought the curtain down the Bolton Badminton League with victories in the handicap tournaments.

Hawkshaw beat GMT to win the Jane Fletcher Memorial Cup, while Forrest beat fellow Section D side Moorside B to lift the Robert Cup.

Hawkshaw finished second in Section A and had to give a large number of points start to GMT who finished fourth in Section B.

Hawkshaw started well when Steph Dawid-Paluch and Matthew Green won the opening games 21-6 and 21-10 against GMT’s second couple, Wendy Jones and Alex Smith.

The second couple for Hawkshaw, Claire Edmondson and Gordon Mitchell, then claimed their games 21-14 and 27-25.

GMT’s Lesley Bates and Gunsan Parikh put up a strong fight, achieving a good result for their team.

Hawkshaw hit back when the third couples played, Nicola Deurden and Nathan Whitehead claiming both games 21-4 and 21-9 against Karen Hodgin and Zayn Shah.

Dawid-Paluch and Green then completed two 21-8 wins against Bates and Parikh when the first couples played.

Although Hawkshaw’s tally was growing fast, GMT were still in the hunt and really gave themselves hope when Jones and Smith won the first game of the second couples' 21-17 before Edmondson and Mitchell responded by winning the second 21-10.

After the mixed games Hawkshaw were leading 212-115.

Hawkshaw then showed their strength in the level doubles, a battling GMT unable to halt Hawkshaw’s momentum.

Had GMT gained enough points to win with 163 or had Hawkshaw kept them at bay?

The envelope revealed a 165-point handicap to GMT, giving them a total of 328 against Hawkshaw's 380.

Robert Cup final rivals Moorside B and Forrest F finished first and second, respectively, in Section D.

The handicap was bound to be close as both teams won their respective home matches in the league.

The Forrest team included veterans Ray and Ann Schofield and Linda Rigby, and 16-year-old Matt Latham which illustrates the benefits of the sport of badminton being a game of skills and tactics rather than power and stamina.

Forrest got off to a good start when Linda Rigby and Matt Latham won the opening games 21-6 and 21-15 against Sue Beamer and Stuart Hall.

Ann Schofield and Paul Davison also won their games 21-17 and 22-20, against Pam Leivesley and Andrew Yates.

Moorside then claimed their first game when the third couples played, Amanda Bracegirdle and Alan Parkinson winning 21-18, and Georgina King and Ray Schofield reciprocated by taking the second 21-18.

When the first couples played Schofield and Davison maintained their form, claiming both games 21-15 and 21-13, against Beamer and Hall.

The games were shared when the second couples met. Rigby and Latham took the first 21-8, and Leivesley and Yates claimed the second 21-17.

Forrest had established a good lead at the completion of the mixed games

Moorside then took control of the ladies' doubles, winning three out of four games, but unfortunately their men could not follow suit, with Forrest performing a clean sweep and maintaining their over-all lead,

The envelope revealed a 10-point handicap for Moorside giving them a final score of 304 points against Forrest's 353.