RAILWAY Institute Amateurs extended their lead at the top of the York Amateur Bowls Association division one with a 7-1 victory over club rivals Railway Institute Corinthians.

Holgate WMC suffered a 7-1 home defeat against Selby who duly climbed above them into second spot in the table.

Holgate had a comfortable 6-2 away win at Dringhouses while Dunnington suffered a shock 8-0 hammering at home to lowly Haxby Road.

In division two, pace-setters Rowntree maintained their unbeaten record with a 7-1 away win at Osbaldwick whilst Shipton stayed on their tails thanks to a 7-1 victory at West Park.

Third placed Bootham lost ground on the top two when going down 8-0 at Clifton.

Hull Road Park secured their first win of the season with a 6.5-1.5 home success against Burnholme.

Division three leaders Poppleton Road WMC had a mixed week, following a good 6-2 win at Copmanthorpe with a 7-1 home loss to Scarcroft.

Poppleton had a successful week, beating Retreat 6-2 at home, before adding to Copmanthorpe's woes and beating them 7-1.

Scarcroft completed a double by beating Minster 7-1 away although though Minster bounced back by winning 6.5-1.5 at home to Stamford Bridge.

Retreat completed a week to forget by losing 7-1 at home to Harrogate.

Meanwhile, Railway Institute, beaten finalists in the York C&IU Evening Bowls League Knock-out Cup last year, are through to the final again this term.

RI beat Poppleton Road 56-47 in the semi-final and will now meet Clarence, who defeated last year's cup winners, Burton Lane.

The final will be at the Railway Institute green, Ashton Lane, on Tuesday, July 12, starting at 7pm.

Ladies shone brightest in the last round of Evening League fixtures.

Since the Club and Institute Union changed the rules several years ago to allow ladies to become members in their own right, CIU bowls clubs have benefitted from ladies joining their ranks and the majority of clubs now have at least one lady bowler.

Three were prominent when Poppleton Road hosted South Bank.

Poppleton's Jean Carter, leading for Trevor Scott, played exceptionally well to ensure her rink won by a substantial margin to secure the aggregate points for her team, while Jean Franks, playing for South Bank, also had an outstanding match, contributing to South Bank's winning rink under skip Kev Potter.

Although her rink only lost by a narrow margin, Kath Hardcastle, who with her husband Brian have been South Bank bowlers for some years now, also played well.

Meanwhile, high-riding Clarence and Holgate, with only one point separating them, head the table after 8-0 victories. Railway Institute, surprisingly whitewashed by Holgate, are still third but are now ten points off the pace.

Burton Lane and Tramways prop up the table with only one win each so far.