Our midweek friendly at Wraysbury brought a first for some and a reminder of indoor bowling for others .. an artificial green! Despite losing on rinks 2-1 most folk enjoyed the afternoon and would be pleased to see it on the calendar again next season. We followed this up with another friendly on Sunday, this time at home to Chertsey, where we again won on one rink out of three.

The Friday Triples league came to a climax this week with wins for teams captained by Diane, Karen and Nikki, who cemented the top spot.

14pts – Nikki; 12pts – Diane; 10pts – Alison; Eileen; Karen; 4pts – Alan;

Well done to everyone who participated and our organiser Eileen. One unusual feature this season was no cancellations due to the weather. Congratulations to the winning team of Chris, Keith, Neil, Pat, Paul and their captain Nikki, who’s now won it twice in the four years it’s been contested.

The last of our all-day club competitions, the Presidents Cup, was played on Saturday in the more usual hot dry conditions we’ve come to expect over the years. It attracted a bumper attendance of 34 players, with everyone playing at least 3 short games over the course of the day. There were some close games and even a draw courtesy of Chris and Keith. Three of the semi-finalists were a repeat of last year – Alan, Keith and Tracy; and they were joined by Colin. Both semis were close and decided on the final end – but it was Alan and Tracy who came out on top and will contest the final in just under three weeks time. Thanks to everyone who helped with the preparation of the green, setup, catering and organisation – too many to mention but special thanks to Dennis, Gary and Nikki.

The lineup for the Junior championship has been decided. Commiserations to Sandy and Simon who missed out to Andrew and Tracy. The other club competitions will have finalists soon and certainly in the next three weeks! Best of luck to everyone still competing.

Looking ahead ..

Tues 12th 6pm – Club Night;

Wed 13th 6pm – Ashford v Sunbury;

Thur 14th – Summerhouse arrives;

Sat 16th – Bluewood Cup at Fordbridge Park;

Sun 17th – Beer, Gin & Music festival

This Saturday we have the last of the season’s day-long club competitions – the Presidents Cup. It’s a bit different to other bowls formats in that the scoring is 4-3-2-1 regardless of who’s holding shot bowl. We’ll play a series of short games using a swiss system (not knockout) until we have four semi-finalists and then two finalists. The weather forecast is good, maybe too hot for some but don’t worry, we expect to have plenty of rest periods due to an unprecedented number of entrants. We’re aiming to start the first set of games at 10:30am so please report from 10am ready for the draw. We expect to finish around 4pm, although some may wish to bow out before that. Nikki is kindly arranging pizza for lunch and will be taking any orders on the morning. If you’re expecting to play please check you’re on the list below and let me have any changes asap.

Playlist – Alan; Alison; Andrew, Andrea; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; ChrisSh; Christine; Colin; DavidP; Don; Eileen; Gary; JenC; John; Julia; Karen; Keith; Linda; Mike; Nathan; NeilF; Nikki; Pat;  Peter; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tracy; Viv; Wade.

In the season-long club competitions, the Junior Championship has produced the first finalist. Congratulations to Andrew who had to battle through three rounds before beating Sandy in their semi-final, but only just and by winning fewer ends too!

Thanks for the response to help building the summerhouse on the 14th. We’ll let folk know when the delivery time is confirmed.

This week’s Friday Triples saw wins for teams captained by Alison, Nikki and, yes, Alan’s team! It was far from plain sailing though when the head was disturbed when measuring for a crucial shot on the last end .. a harsh lesson for those involved. Nikki’s team is in pole position going into the final week but could be caught by one of three other teams. The final showdown is this coming Friday.

12pts – Nikki; 10pts – Alison; Diane; Eileen; 8pts – Karen; 4pts – Alan;

Saturday’s friendly at Byfleet was shared on rinks 2-2 but the hosts did better on shots. Thanks to everyone who put their names down to play at one of the furthest trips we have. The weekend was rounded off with an SML game at home to Stanwell. It was 2nd vs 3rd in the table and it proved to be quite close with rinks shared 2-2 but with Sunbury scoring more shots for an overall 6-4 win. One unusual feature of the game was the sight of two sets of orange  bowls being used on the same rink and both by skips too! So we’ve now played three well-established clubs in the space of a week – Walton who celebrated their centenary three years ago; Stanwell did so last year; Byfleet’s centenary will be next year. Congratulations to them all .. let’s hope Sunbury make it too one day .. in 2068!

This coming week sees an interesting friendly at Wraysbury, a new venue for us and a new surface too .. an artificial green! The match is on Wednesday afternoon, following regular Club Night on Tuesday. Last week saw a bumper turnout of 36 players  with all six rinks occupied playing the favoured triples format. Please do bear in mind that it won’t always be possible and fours and even pairs may have to be played. Also if you find yourself on a rink where the majority of bowls are black, please consider attaching stickers to help identify your team’s bowls. There are plenty of red and blue stickers available in the clubhouse.

Jen, Nathan and Karen all compete in county games this week. Jen & Nathan compete at Ashford on Monday in the main Middlesex Mixed Pairs and Karen continues her quest in the SML 75pts competition on Tuesday. Good luck to all three.

This week, Jen, Nathan & Tracy came unstuck when facing yet another triple at Staines in the SML Mixed Triples. In the SML Mixed Pairs Jen & Nathan followed up a win at Fordbridge Park by beating our own Nikki & Dennis to progress into the semi-finals. Unfortunately Karen & Alan failed to join them after running out of steam against a pair from Hampton.

Lastly, the summerhouse has been ordered and is due to be delivered on Thurs 14th August. We’re not sure of timing yet but anyone who can spare some time to start the build on that day would be very welcome.

We may have come second in this week’s friendly at Walton but it was good and enjoyable afternoon of bowls. Sunbury were on top on all rinks at half way but the home team put the pressure on in the second half winning on all rinks by the end, albeit only just. Overall Walton took the game by 11 shots. It was sad to hear more about their woes of losing the bowls green at the end of their lease in 2028. We added our names to the petition – do a search for “Walton Bowls closure” or click here to see more about their fight to save the bowls club.

To the lucky few who are still going in our club competitions .. the play-by deadlines are suspended. We’re in a good position with a whole month before finals and just a few quarter-finals outstanding. For some a semi-final is their only game and we want to ensure that the game is played on a date both players are comfortable with and without pressure to squeeze games in. This is due in no small measure to all those who’ve arranged and played their games in good time throughout the season, so many thanks – it really has made the Competitions Secretary’s job an easy one!

As for the competitions themselves the lineup for the Women’s Championship semi-finals is complete. In a very long game, Tracy battled past current champion JenB in their quarter-final and will face Karen (2023 winner); the other semi-final sees Anita (2022 winner) play Pat.

The Men’s championship semis has defending champion Alan v Brian (finalist 2018 & 2019) and Keith (finalist 2024) v Andrew.

A special mention for Don for the determination he showed on Friday, losing to Richard and then Tarun but then winning Men’s Pairs on the final end .. all in the same day!

More names have been added to the playlist for Presidents Cup on 9th Aug. If you’d like to play too just get in touch.

Playlist – Alan; Alison; Andrew, Andrea; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; Charlie; ChrisSh; Christine; Colin; DavidP; Don; Eileen; Gary; JenC; John; Julia; Karen; Keith; Linda; Nathan; NeilF; Nikki; Pat; Paul; Peter; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tarun; Tracy; Viv; Wade.

The summerhouse project took another step forward last week with the concrete base laid. Thanks to those who did a great job levelling it.

After last weekend’s 8-2 loss at Fordbridge Park in the South Middlesex League (SML) we returned to winning ways on Sunday with a 6-4 win at Strawberry Hill. The day was wrapped up pretty quick in order to catch the lionesses battling past world champions Spain in the Euros. The midweek friendly with Oatlands Park was reduced from 4 to 3 triples in which Sunbury won on one. On Wednesday we visit Walton with 4 triples, hoping it’s not the last time we do .. sadly, Walton are under threat of closure.

The club competitions are hotting up with some players moving into form at the right time. More games are planned for this week so good luck to all and thanks again to everyone who offers to mark. The last of the season’s day-long competitions is the Presidents Cup on Saturday 9th August. This is a singles tournament ideal for those of us who may get close to the jack but not necessarily hold shot. The four nearest bowls get awarded points from 4 through to 1 regardless of whose bowls they are. It’ll be contested over a series of short games to determine the two players who progress to finals weekend. We currently have over 30 entrants so they’ll be ample opportunity for rest for some and to enhance those marking skills for others! Please let me know if you can no longer make it or wish to be added.

Playlist – Alan; Alison; Andrew, Andrea; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; Charlie; ChrisSh; Christine; Colin; DavidP; Eileen; Gary; JenC; John; Julia; Karen; Keith; Nathan; NeilF; Pat; Peter; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tarun; Tracy; Viv.

There are just two weeks left in Friday Triples and it’s very tight at the top after latest wins for teams captained by Eileen, Karen and Nikki; Alan’s team have safely secured the wooden spoon but may have a big say in who wins!

10pts – Diane; Eileen; Nikki;  8pts – Alison; Karen; 2pts – Alan;

As we head into the final third of the season, the worms are doing their thing and the worm casts and dew may need removing before play. The switchers are kept in the chalet above the door .. thinking positively, it can be viewed as a gentle warm-up for bowling!

The date of our annual Club Dinner and presentation of awards has been booked for Friday 21st November at Fulwell Golf Club. Apologies for pre-empting an earlier date.

Finally, a shout out to a few of our members celebrating significant birthdays this month .. congratulations Charlie, Keith & Pat!

It came close to a cancellation but we persisted with the Presidents Plate in the rain on Saturday. After a delayed start to let the worst of the rain pass through we were rewarded with much drier conditions as the day progressed with even some sunglasses on show! Apologies to those who had to withdraw .. we’ll hopefully get more usual weather (stinking hot ?!) for the last of our day-long competitions, the Presidents Cup, in three weeks time. After keeping their powder dry and missing the first round of games it was the team of Anita, Brian & Peter who won all their games and qualified for the finals weekend. Their opponents in the final had the opposite – a miserable start in the rain but then picked up the pace to win all their remaining games. Particular congratulations to Neil and Verena who both qualify for their first final alongside the more familiar Nathan. Thanks to all who contributed to the day and kept the faith .. weather apps, what would we do without them?!

Whilst the Presidents Plate was being fought out Eileen, Karen and Tracy were also battling the elements and some rather good opponents at Bush Hill Park in the Middlesex Women’s quarter and semi-finals day. Eileen & Karen played first in their over-55 pairs quarter-final and came out with a superb win. Next up was Karen against Tracy in the Unbadged Singles. Tracy took the honours and played a woman from Bishop Duppas in her semi-final. Meanwhile Eileen & Karen faced a home team in their semi-final. Although both fell short in their games they can all can take great pride in representing Sunbury and edging ever closer to top honours!

In our club competitions it’s great to see some of our newer bowlers doing rather well .. Frank, Don and Wade to name but three. In the Men’s Championship, last year’s finalists, Alan and Keith, have both progressed to the semis after battling past Colin & BobH. There’s lots more games this coming week so good luck to all.

I’m loathe to mention Friday Triples but suffice to say no one appears to observe the interim rules! Diane’s team got back to winning ways as did Karen’s team with a close win against Alison’s team; Eileen’s team maintains their push for honours with a win against Nikki’s team.

10pts – Diane; 8pts – Alison; Eileen; Nikki; 6pts – Karen; 2pts – Alan;

It’s a tough ask and may be tempting fate but a decent result on Sunday at Fordbridge Park could conceivably see Sunbury take top spot in the South Middlesex League. After propping up the league in previous seasons it’s refreshing to see both Sunbury and Stanwell towards the top of the table regardless of what happens.

Okay, Sunbury we may not be top of the league but it felt like it after achieving back to back wins in the SML. We followed up last weekend’s 10-0 win against Bishop Duppas by beating Staines 6-4 on Saturday. With a heavy loss on one rink and a matching heavy win on another it was left to the other two rinks to decide the outcome. In the end we came very close to winning on both of them but we’ll settle for sharing the rinks 2-2 and an overall shot advantage of 75-58. Amazingly this is pretty much the complete reversal of when we played Staines at the start of the season when we lost 6-4 and by a very similar shot count! Next up in the SML is another stern test at Fordbridge Park on Sunday 20th.

On another busy weekend of bowls we hosted a friendly with Ember on Sunday which was reduced to 14 ends due to the heat. Sunbury won on all 4 rinks to reverse the loss at Ember in our very first game of the season back in April.

Friday saw anther round of Friday Triples and only the second defeat for Diane’s team this time by Eileen’s team. Alison’s team obviously didn’t read the interim rules and inflicted yet another defeat on Alan’s team, and moves into joint top spot. Nikki’s team beat Karen’s team to join them.

8pts – Alison; Diane; Nikki; 6pts – Eileen; 4pts – Karen; 2pts – Alan;

Meanwhile, Karen had a battle of her own in the Middlesex Women’s over-55 singles for a place in the quarter-finals. Feeling a bit under the weather and 19-11 down she somehow managed to draw level at 20-20 and held shot on the last end only for her opponent to take the jack with the final bowl of the game!

Next week there are a  number of club competition games being played, mainly quarter-finals; Tuesday’s Club Night should see another fine evening; the Presidents Plate will be contested on Saturday .. we currently have the magic number of entrants so please double-check you’re on the list; Saturday also sees Eileen, Karen and Tracy in action at Bush Hill Park in the Middlesex Women’s quarter/semi finals – they are competing in the over-55 Pairs and Unbadged Singles; On Sunday we visit Fordbridge Park in the SML. Good luck to one and all.

Presidents Plate – Saturday 19th

Alan; Alison; Anita; Bindley; Bob; Brian; Cassie; ChrisSh; Christine; DavidC; DavidP; Diane; Don; Frank; Gary; JenB; JenC; John; Keith; Linda; Nathan; NeilF; Paul; Peter; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Tony; Verena; Viv.

We have the next of our day-long club competitions on Saturday 19th, the grandly named Presidents Plate. It’s played as a series of short games in the familiar format of triples with the top two teams qualifying for finals weekend. Teams are arranged at random with a little bit of seeding! This year’s  playlist has seen an unprecedented amount of change .. if  anyone still wants to enter please do get in touch over the next few days. The day will start at 10:30am and finish some time around 3:30pm.

Playlist – Alan; Alison; Anita; Bindley; Bob; Brian; ChrisSh; Christine; DavidC; DavidP; Diane; Frank; JenB; JenC; John; Keith; Linda; Nathan; NeilF; Paul; Peter; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Tony; Verena; Viv; (Reserve: Cassie)

One of the reasons for a few folk withdrawing from the Presidents Plate is that they’ve done rather well in county games. Following up Tracy’s qualification for the Middlesex Women’s county quarter/semi-finals day on the same date as presidents Plate we now have Eileen and Karen joining her after they won their last-16 game in the over-55 Pairs. Karen also went through in the Unbadged Singles following an on-the-day walkover. This comes with some mixed news as although we’re guaranteed to see a Sunbury woman in the semi-finals it’s because Karen and Tracy have been drawn to play each other in the quarters!

In other county games this week, Nathan put on a fine display in his latest round of the Middlesex Men’s Singles. Up against a very experienced county player from Ashford he led for quite a while but couldn’t quite keep up with his relentless opponent in the final third. There was better news for Nathan when he teamed up with JenB and beat current club champions at Fordbridge Park in the South Middlesex Mixed Pairs, joining Alan & Karen in the quarter-finals.

Our Club Competitions continue with plenty of games being played. The draws are up to date on the sheets in the clubhouse and online. Please do get in touch if I’ve missed any results.

Men’s competitions

Women’s competitions

Mixed competitions

Please do continue to arrange games in good time and especially those in the Men’s and Women’s Pairs – it can be notoriously tricky to get four folk together!

Club Night reverted to its usual Tuesday evening this week and with some fine weather for it. Dennis provided some more coaching in what’s turned out to be a bumper year for new bowlers/members. Some welcome guides are available in the clubhouse so please feel free to pick one up when visiting.

The Friday Triples league has reached half way (5 weeks). Eileen is away for the next couple of rounds starting this Friday so you’ll see me in charge and the interim rule that prevents anyone from beating my team on the last end!

8pts – Diane; 6pts – Alison; Nikki; 4pts – Karen; Eileen; 2pts – Alan;

The coming weekend sees two team fixtures – an SML match with Staines on Saturday and a friendly with Ember on Sunday. Both games are played at home at 2:30pm.

Lastly, you may have seen that we’ve had a bumper crop of fruit on the cherry plum tree by the entrance this year. Unfortunately, it’s attracting wasps and other flies so please do take care and sweep the nearby path when you can – a broom is in situ.

Sunbury picked up maximum points in Sunday’s South Middlesex League (SML) game with Bishop Duppas. There was a delay of around 20mins due to a downpour and thunder which seemed to play to the home team’s advantage .. the two rinks that were behind before the break finished on top by the end, albeit by one shot on one of them. We enjoyed comfortable wins on the other two rinks as well as overall shots which converted to a 10-0 win. Sunbury take on Staines next weekend with renewed confidence that we can compete with the bigger clubs. Also at the weekend is a friendly with Ember. Everyone is invited to put their names down for the team games – see the sheets in the clubhouse.

In county games this week, it’s great to report on yet more success for our Sunbury women. Tracy had a close win on Saturday in the Middlesex Unbadged Singles and qualified for the quarter & semi-finals day at Bush Hill Park on Sat 19th. Karen has a chance to join her when she plays her last-16 game on Tuesday evening at Ashford. Our women’s team of Andrea, JenC and Sandy came up against a top team at Ashford on their home green in their Middlesex Women’s Triples quarter-final. The weather was unkind too, but I’m sure they’ll bank the experience and give it a good go again.

On the Men’s side, Nathan had a fine win in the main Middlesex Singles draw against a strong player from Cambridge Park and plays again in a quick turnaround on Monday evening. Unfortunately both Neil & Tracy and JenC & Keith lost their Middlesex Mixed Pairs games but will no doubt take heart from the experience. Meanwhile, Karen and I have been battling away in the South Middlesex Mixed Pairs with two successive wins at Cambridge Park to qualify for the quarter-finals.

The games are ticking over nicely In our internal Club Competitions, with most having reached  the quarter-finals stage. As we’ve seen in previous years, it’s thrown up some double-headers ..  JenB now faces Tracy twice; as do Eileen & Karen and Alan & Colin! Good luck to everyone and thanks again to all competitors (and markers). The playlist for the Presidents Plate on Sat 19th is evolving all the time and will be published again shortly.

Men’s

Women’s

Mixed

Lastly, for the latest news on SSA and Cricket club activities please click here .. SSA&Cricket

The second of this season’s day-long club competitions was played on Sunday .. the Mixed 2-woods Singles. It certainly couldn’t have been played in hotter conditions so many thanks to all competitors, caterers, supporters and those who took on the lion’s share of marking too! Very well done to Andrea and Richard who won all their three games to reach what was effectively the semi-finals. But it was our two youngest members of the club, Nathan and JenB, who prevailed and will play in the final at the end of August. The next of the competitions is the Presidents Plate on Saturday 19th July. This is a triples competitions, a format most of us are familiar with, so I do encourage everyone to partake, and especially our newer bowlers. Teams are randomly selected with a little seeding involved.

In place of a cancelled team match on Saturday, our club captain Dennis kindly put on a markers best practise workshop. It’s fair to say we all learned a lot and will hopefully put it to good use going forward and pass the word onto others. Watch this space for further workshops on other topics throughout the season.

 

 

In county games this week there was another tremendous result from our Sunbury women. This time it was the turn of Andrea, JenC and Sandy in the Middlesex Women’s Triples. Up against a strong team at Cambridge Park they won their last-16 game and qualified for the quarter (and semi) finals day on Sunday 6th at Ashford. I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing them the best of luck and perhaps even go and support them – their game is due to start around 1:30pm. Unfortunately another women’s triples team of Karen, Nikki & Eileen failed in their bid to join them as they lost to another Cambridge Park team. There was better news with Karen winning her game in the Middlesex over-55 Singles against a player from Staines.

You may have already heard that we’ve had to move this coming week’s Club Night from Tuesday to Wednesday to accommodate some county and club games. Apologies to those of you who rely on rolling up on Tuesday and can’t make Wednesday .. the decision isn’t taken lightly and will be kept to a minimum throughout the season.

In the club competitions the rounds are ticking over nicely. With so much activity going on it’s always advisable to book a rink if possible. I’m happy to do this if you encounter problems.

The Friday Triples league is in full flow. The team captained by Diane had their first loss last Friday which allowed Alison’s team to catch them with a win against Eileen’s team. Here are the standings after four weeks.

6pts – Alison; Diane;

4pts – Karen; Nikki;

2pts – Alan; Eileen;

The coming week sees lots of activity on the bowls green, in fact you’ll probably see something happening every day of the week .. club competitions, county games and roll-ups. Enjoy the fine weather, it’s not always like this during Wimbledon fortnight!