We were blessed with yet another sunny day for the latest club competition, the Presidents Plate. An unprecedented number of entrants saw ten teams of triples play a series of four short games according to a swiss-system format. Despite some mighty close games, and numerous draws, two teams finished clear of the chasing pack and qualified for finals weekend. Hats off to Andrea who has been in fine form of late and qualified for her first final, alongside more seasoned teammates Cassie and AlanP. The second spot went to Pat, Keith & Dennis with a vital win in their last game. Thanks once again to Nikki, overcoming some particular challenges yesterday, to provide refreshments and lunch. Everyone is welcome to enter the last of our day-long competitions on Saturday 20th July, the grandly named Presidents Cup. It’s a singles 4-3-2-1 scoring format which favours those who may get close to the jack but tend to get pipped to shot wood!

Presidents Plate 2024

The latest round of Friday Triples saw a first win for the team managed by AlanP, inflicting a first defeat for Alison’s team. There were also wins for Karen’s team and Nikki’s, who moved into joint top spot …  Alison (6pts); Nikki (6pts); Eileen (4pts); Karen (4pts); Alan (2pts); Diane (2pts)

Sunbury have entered a team into Thursday night’s NW Surrey Mixed Fours league for some time, ably managed by Eileen. This year it was decided to enter another team, effectively doubling the woes for Eileen in arranging teams. But things are looking pretty bright thus far .. Div 2 (won 5; lost 2); Div 3 (won 3; lost 3).

Good luck to all those representing Sunbury in external competitions this week and to those partaking in our club competitions and Club Night .. the summer is racing through with July here tomorrow!

Sunbury enjoyed some success in this week’s Middlesex county competitions. Anita beat the woman who Tracy lost to in the previous round and JenB beat Karen to progress to the quarter-finals of the Unbadged Singles. If both win their next games they will face each other in the semis! In the Women’s Triples there was a fine 19-16 win for Tracy, Jenny and JenB against a team from Bishop Duppas and next face a tricky visit to Ashford. Unfortunately, Karen, Nikki & Eileen lost out 21-20 at Cambridge Park.

Looking at our Club Competitions, the last-32 round of matches of the Open Handicap (the largest draw of all the competitions) was completed this week. Many thanks to everyone for getting their games in before the deadline and making life so easy for the Competitions Secretary! The last two matches are early contenders for this season’s longest with Cassie & Colin playing 28 ends and then Anita & Neil usurping this the following day with a staggering 31 ends, matching Dennis v AlanP in last season’s Men’s Handicap final. We’re all set for Saturday’s Presidents Plate with 30 confirmed players. This makes 10 triples with higher handicapped players due to be placed in different teams – the actual draw taking place on the day. It’ll be played as a swiss-system with a random first round then winners v winners and losers v losers. The top two teams will go forward to finals weekend. Please congregate from 10am with the first games starting 10:30am.

We then move into July and team matches resume; first up is an SML game on Sunday 7th with Sunbury hosting Bishop Duppas. Since our last game other teams have been climbing past us in the table .. let’s hope we can do some climbing of our own!

Mixed/Open 2024

BobH finished the day as the only unbeaten player at Sunday’s Mixed 2-wood Singles competition. Played on a blazing hot day it was Bob and JenB who won through to finals weekend with semi-final wins against other group winners/runners-up Jenny and AlanP. It was good to see some notable wins for less experienced players and even a couple of draws in the 52 games played. The day went on a little longer than anticipated but was kept in control under the guidance of Gary. Thanks are also due to Nikki and Dennis for sorting out refreshments throughout the day. Lastly, thanks to all who participated, every match was played/marked in great spirit. Mixed 2-woods 2024

The next club competition is the Presidents Plate on Saturday, 29th. Here are the current players signed up to play so please get in touch if anything’s changed : AlanP; Alison; Andrea; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; Brian; Cassie; Charlie; Chris; Colin; David; Dennis; Eileen; JenB; Jenny; John; Karen; Keith; Lynda; Maggie; Neil; Nathan; Nikki; Pat; Richard; Roger; TonyH; Tracy; Tarun.

There’s a fair bit of activity scheduled for this coming week so the very best of luck to everyone competing in Club or County competitions. Club Night continues on Tuesday as does Friday Triples on .. Friday!

Alison’s team remain unbeaten in the Friday Triples after pipping Eileen’s team on the final end in the latest round of games; Nikki’s team continued their good form with a comfortable win against Diane’s team; Alan’s team prop up the table after a battling loss against Karen’s team! The next games continue on Friday 28th.

6pts – Alison

4pts – Eileen; Nikki

2pts – Diane; Karen;

0pts – Alan

The club competitions are progressing nicely and we’re all set for the second day-long one tomorrow, Sunday 23rd. It’ll be closely followed by the Presidents Plate on Saturday 29th. For that, there are currently 27 listed players which is a nice number as it’s played in triples, but there may well be changes as we get closer so please do let me if you’d like to play, or can no longer make it. Playlist : AlanP; Alison; Andrea; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; Brian; Charlie; Chris; Colin; David; Dennis; Eileen; JenB; Jenny; John; Karen; Keith; Lynda; Maggie; Neil; Nikki; Pat; Richard; TonyH; Tracy

The British summer is trying its best to finally arrive and with it lots of activity on the bowls green .. whether it be competition matches or friendly roll-ups, it’s all great to see. Club Night returns to it’s usual place tonight, Tuesday 18th – please try and register in the clubhouse by 5:45pm.

Whilst there’s a break from team matches this coming weekend we have the second of our day-long club competitions in the shape of the Mixed 2-Woods Singles. We’ve had an unprecedented number of entries .. ten more than last season! It’s fantastic that so many are embracing the chance to compete but it will inevitably result in less actual playing time, although a great opportunity for increasing step counts with plenty of marking involved!

Here’s the playlist and a final call for any changes : AlanP; AlanT; Alex; Alison; Andrea; Anita; Barry; BobH; Brian; Cassie; Chris; Colin; David; Eileen; JenB, Jenny; John; Karen; Keith; Lynda; Nathan; Neil; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tracy; Viv

The day will be played in a round-robin format over a series of shorter games, so not a knockout. Refreshments and lunch will be available during the day and by the end we should hopefully have two players going forward to compete in finals weekend on 31Aug-1Sep. The winner for the last two seasons has been Anita so no pressure there to make it a hat-trick! See you all, and any supporters, on Sunday from 10am for a prompt 10:30am start.

This week’s team matches didn’t quite go Sunbury’s way .. losing both the midweek friendly to Teddington and Saturday’s SML match to last year’s champions Fordbridge Park. Rosie the dog didn’t seem to mind though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Friday Triples league this week there were wins for teams led by Alison, Eileen and Nikki. This leaves Alison and Eileen unbeaten and due to play each other in week 3 on Friday 21st.

On Sunday 23rd we have the second of our day-long club competitions .. the Mixed 2-Woods Singles. It will be played in the now customary round-robin format over a series of shorter games from 10:30am to around 3:30pm. Here is the list of entrants, so please get in touch with any changes/errors.

Alan; Alex; Alison; Andrea; Anita; Barry; BobH; Brian; Cassie; Chris; Colin; David; Eileen; JenB; Jenny; John; Karen; Keith; Nathan; Lynda; Neil; Richard; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tracy; Viv

It’s encouraging to see so many competition games being played but here’s a reminder that the first cut-off date is fast approaching .. 30th June for the last-32 of the Open Handicap. Do let me know of any issues and we’ll see what can be done.

On the subject of the handicap here’s a recap of how it’s applied .. the difference in handicaps is added to 21 for the higher-handicapped player, eg. if player A is handicap 6 and player B is handicap 4 then player A has to get 23 shots and player B has to get 21 shots to win. The first named player should take the initiative in contacting their opponent to arrange a date/time and getting a marker, but it’s ultimately down to both.

For information here are some reminders on the basics of bowls and etiquette, mainly aimed at new bowlers but a useful recap for us all.

Basics of Bowls

Bowls Etiquette

Rink Dimensions

Sunbury women did us proud in this week’s Middlesex county competitions. JenB & Karen progressed to the next round of the Unbadged Singles with superb wins against Ashford competitors; Anita joined them after a walkover; Tracy was unfortunate to miss out after a brave show, soldiering on with a leg strain. The next round sees Anita play Tracy’s victor whilst Jen is drawn against Karen, an unfortunate draw but it does at least guarantee a Sunbury representative in the quarter-finals. Both games are due to played on Monday 24th at Sunbury, probably 6pm.

Looking ahead ..

Thurs 13th 2:30pm – Sunbury v Teddington (team friendly)

Fri 14th 10:30am – Friday Triples week 2

Sat 15th 2:30pm – Sunbury v Fordbridge Park (SML)

Tues 18th 6pm – Club Night

Sunbury visited Ashford for an SML match on Sunday afternoon and the result was a little unusual. Sunbury won on only one of the four rinks but gained a higher overall shot count of 66-64, courtesy of some close losing games and a healthy score for the winning team of Tracy, Roger & Jen. This resulted in a 6-4 win for Ashford, but leaves Sunbury in a respectable 4th place in the league for now.

The Friday Triples league kicked off .. on Friday! It saw wins for teams led by Eileen, Alison and last year’s winner Diane. The second round of matches are Friday 14th 10:30am with Alison v Karen; Nikki v Alan; Eileen v Diane.

Lastly, just a reminder that Club Night has a one-off change this week to Wednesday 12th .. and it’s forecast to be a whole degree warmer than Tuesday!

All the draws for this season’s club competitions have been made .. four Men’s; four Women’s and two Mixed, including a bumper entry into the Open Handicap. It’s uncanny how the same players get drawn to play each other in different competitions – someone may be able to work out the odds but it does appear year after year! This time it’s the turn of Simon & Keith; Nathan & Dennis; Lynda & Andrea; Karen & Jenny; Tracy & Viv to get to know each other quite well. Rivalries will be set aside for Simon & Keith after they also got drawn together in the Men’s Pairs as team mates!

Here is the link to the draws which are also available on the noticeboards in the clubhouse. The best of luck to everyone! Competitions 2024

We conclude a run of five consecutive team friendlies on Saturday at Cambridge Park. The following day we visit Ashford in the SML .. both teams have won 2 out of 4 games thus far so there’s everything to play for. Realistically, it’s probably 2nd place as top team Hampton look to be unstoppable after resounding wins in their first four games, the latest being a 10-0 win at Bishop Duppas.

NB: Friday Triples league games start 10:30am. The first round of games are this Friday 7th.

Rivalries will resume on Friday 7th when the Friday Triples league kicks off. It’s the same six captains from last year with Diane no doubt endeavouring to repeat last year’s success. Each team comprises 5-6 players – here’s how they line up.

(A) Alison : Anita; Chris; Colin; Paul; Terry

(B) Nikki : Cassie; John; TonyH; Tracy; Vivien

(C) Karen : Brian; LindaB; Neil; Roger; Yvonne

(D) Eileen : Andrea; BobL; Richard; Simon

(E) Alan : Charlie; David; Ken; Maggie; Peter

(F) Diane : Barry; Bindley; LyndaM; Pat

The weekend’s team friendlies may have been played one day apart, but it felt like different seasons at times! At Esher on Saturday it was quite fresh and windy; on Sunday it was full-on summer at home to Byfleet. It was good to see seasoned campaigners Roger and Cassie playing in their first matches of the season; and relative newcomers Julia and Viv playing in their first team matches. Both matches went our way with a 72-51 win at Esher and a 62-60 win at home to Byfleet. Despite being second best most of the afternoon the captain’s rink managed to win the last end of the match .. it proved decisive, although they didn’t know it at the time.

This season’s club competitions will be here soon. The draw for the Men’s and Women’s Championships were made after Sunday’s match so watch this space for the full draws.

Lastly, the Women’s Fours team of Tracy, Nikki, Karen & Eileen put up a brave performance in their quarter-final county match on Sunday morning at West Ealing. They lost 15-17 to a team from Brentham but can take heart in getting renewed recognition for Sunbury Bowls.