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 is 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!

Our Sunbury women bowlers have performed rather well in county 2-woods competitions two weekends running!

Last weekend it was the turn of Eileen, Karen and Tracy in the Middlesex Women’s 2-woods Singles at Cambridge Park. They all had tough draws with Karen and Tracy winning a couple of rounds and surprising a few folk. Karen fell in the quarters but Tracy made it to the semis and competed well against a county-badged player playing on home turf.

This weekend was the turn of the pairs with Anita joining the trio at Hayes. Tracy & Anita had a nail-biting extra end win against a pair from Cambridge Park but fell in the quarters to eventual finalists from Ashford. In the other half of the draw, Karen & Eileen did well against a home team and fell just short in their semi final against a Ladygate pair (and their supporter/coach!). Sunbury are certainly getting back on the map!

This week’s working party completed their mission of preparing for the laying of concrete for the summer house. Many thanks to those who could spare the time and effort .. it’s a job well done!

This weekend’s team friendly with Heathervale went ahead with only two rinks in the end. Sunbury came second playing against some rather promising kids!

Friday Triples continued this week and there’s no stopping the team captained by Diane who completed another win this time against Karen’s team; Alison’s team got the better of Nikki’s team and moves into 2nd place; Eileen’s team produced their first win .. a close run affair over Alan’s team.

6pts – Diane;

4pts – Alison;

2pts – Alan; Eileen; Karen; Nikki

We’ll finish this week with an actual end of bowls from 2019 .. no photoshop or placement! if you ever see some good “bowls art” please take a snap and send it to me.

Despite some doubts, the midweek team friendly with Teddington went ahead with 4 triples and proved to be a good match played in the afternoon sun. Sunbury continued their good showing in friendlies and won by 10 shots with the relatively new Sunbury bowlers certainly playing well.

We also resumed our campaign in the South Middlesex League (SML) this weekend against Fordbridge Park, whom invariably have strength in depth and walloped us 10-nil last time out. Well, it was certainly a more competitive game with the rinks shared at 2-2 and one of those we lost on was by a single shot. Unfortunately we lost on shot count by four so the overall result was a 6-4 win to Fordbridge Park.

The Friday Triples saw the second set of matches played in glorious sunshine. Diane’s team are setting the pace, following up a first week win with another over Alan’s team in a final end decider; there was an even closer game played between Eileen’s and Nikki’s teams with Nikki’s team edging it with the final bowl. Next Friday sees the third set of games of ten.

4 pts – Diane;

2 pts – Alan; Alison; Karen; Nikki

0 pts – Eileen

In county games this week we nearly had the result of the season when Simon, Keith & Colin played a strong Ashford team in the Middlesex Men’s Triples. After a nip and tuck start, Ashford edged away and built up an 8-shot lead. The Sunbury boys were preparing to call it a night, that is until they picked up an unprecedented 8 on the penultimate end. Unfortunately they lost the final end by 1-shot but they can certainly hold their heads up high on what might have been! In other games, Nathan and I had a close match in our 2nd game in the Middlesex Men’s Pairs losing by 4 shots to an Ashford pair. Having won my three previous rounds against players from Masonians in the Middlesex Unbadged Singles it was refreshing to play someone from a different club in my last-16 game. Playing on Ashford’s super green brings a new challenge and the marker was someone I’d previously lost 21-20 to. Unfortunately the omens won and I lost 21-20 again! So, that’s now three county games Sunbury have lost by one shot this season .. I think we deserve some better luck soon!

Some of the early rounds of this season’s Club Competitions were played this week .. Tarun was again one of the first off the blocks closely followed by BobH but thanks to everyone for being so keen. The online lists and sheets in the clubhouse will be updated on a regular basis. We still have three day-long competitions remaining this season so please do get in touch if you fancy competing, especially those who’ve joined recently. Everyone is more than welcome.

In other news, our lawn mower now bears the name of our much-loved past President who died in late 2023 and who’s estate kindly donated some funds to help pay for it; Karen received her colts badge when representing Middlesex in a recent county game at Sussex; Sandy & Simon were snapped on their knees, perhaps praying they’ll soon get to the end of their mission to bring all the benches back to life .. what a superb job they’re doing!

A switch to Sunday for the opening Club Competition of the season may not have been entirely vindicated but it was nonetheless a great day of bowls .. over half of today’s 24 games were won by two shots or less! The eventual finalists  weren’t decided until the very end, with Keith & Sandy setting the pace with 4 wins out of 4, but only just! Last year’s winner JenB also qualified for the final with many congratulations to her playing partner, Linda, who will play her first final come the end of August. Well done to all, and everyone who helped setup and of course Nikki & Dennis who provided the catering. Our next club competition is in three weeks time, two woods again but you’re on your own with singles!

 

The SML game with Ashford that was cancelled during the week and ended up making way for the Mixed 2-Woods Pairs competition has been rearranged for Saturday 28th, so please add your names if you can make it. The best of luck to those of you competing in any county competitions this week and hats off to those of you who’ve already arranged to play in the early rounds of our club competitions. The weather is set fair for the coming few days so Tuesday’s Club Night shouldn’t be in jeopardy this week.

Finally, some of you may remember Rosie from last season, a puppy that Karen and I raised from 8 weeks old. Well, we were rather pleased to hear this week that she has qualified as a working guide dog and is living with a lady in the Redhill area. Well done Rosie!

Apologies, we’ve decided to switch this Saturday’s Mixed 2-Woods Pairs competition to Sunday. Club Night narrowly survived this week but Chris’s Thursday morning roll-up fell victim to the rain. We are hopeful for tomorrow’s start of Friday Triples but the weather looks bad again on Saturday. No one really knows but Sunday does look better. Big apologies for upsetting plans and to those of you unable to compete on Sunday. Please drop me a line if you can no longer make it or if you weren’t down to play and can make Sunday.

Current playlist – Alex; Andrea, Alison; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; ChrisSh; Colin; Eileen; Frank; JenB; JenC; John; Karen; Keith; Linda; Nathan; NeilF; Paul; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tony; Tracy; Verena; Viv.

In recent county games there was a strong showing from Keith & Andrew in their opening game in the Middlesex Men’s Pairs. They were leading a strong Ashford pair for most of the match until they dropped a crucial 5 shots on one end. There was better luck for Nathan and myself playing in the same competition against a pair from Cambridge Park .. we next play Keith & Andrew’s victors! There was better news for Keith playing with JenC in the Middlesex Mixed Pairs, they enjoyed a narrow win against fellow Sunbury team of Simon & Sandy. I continued my success in the Middlesex Unbadged Singles beating an opponent from Masonian for the third round running. Next up is a trip to Ashford for a possible place in the quarter-finals. Lastly, condolences to Eileen & Karen. Playing in the Middlesex Women’s Pairs against past county champions from Cambridge Park and lost out by two shots; they then teamed up with Tracy & Nikki in the Middlesex Women’s Fours in their last-16 game at Bishop Duppas .. and lost by one shot! Bowls can be fun most of the time, but also a little cruel.

This year’s club competitions are now live on the website and displayed on the noticeboard in the clubhouse.

I know you’re all keen, but please take note of the play-by dates and arrange games in good time. The onus is on the first named player(s) to make contact and arrange dates but feel free to make contact anyway. Also feel free to make a shout out for a marker for any singles games on the member’s WhatsApp group, if required. Please book a rink where possible to avoid any clashes with green cutting etc.. If there are any issues or problems please get in touch.

The best of luck to everyone and enjoy the games and experience!

Club Competitions 2025 – Mens

Club Competitions 2025 – Womens

Club Competitions 2025 – Mixed/Open

We completed a run of four team friendlies on Sunday with a very narrow loss (by two shots) against Byfleet.  The previous day on Saturday we visited Esher and their super green, by all accounts one of the best playing surfaces around! We must be a smooth lot as the win was a fairly comfortable one. The midweek friendly with Oatlands Park ended in a very narrow win (by two shots) and the previous weekend we hosted Hersham with a narrow loss (by five shots). Overall, a return of two wins in four friendlies is a pretty good return. The next team match is an SML home game on Sunday 8th against Ashford.

June has arrived and with it the Friday Triples league with the first round of games on the 6th. Some of you may have already been contacted by your team captains, below are the teams and schedule as a reminder. When playing please arrange to be on the grounds by 10:30am to help setup and get sorted. Since it’s inauguration the winning team has been captained by women so just remember perhaps it’s time for the men! Good luck to all, enjoy and may the best team win.  Friday Triples

The current weather forecast shows some rain again on Tuesday so let’s hope it’s short-lived or leaves Club Night well alone this week. I’ve been asked if we can play in rain and the answer is a woolly yes so long as it’s not too heavy or persistent and doesn’t present a danger to anyone.

The draws for our Club Competitions have been made with a few games to be played by 22nd June. I realise there may be some nervous anticipation – full details will be published very shortly.

The first of our day-long club competitions is this Saturday 7th – the Mixed 2-woods Pairs. Below  is the playlist so please get in touch if you can no longer make it or you’ve been missed out or would like to play.

Alex; Andrea, Alison; Anita; Barry; Bindley; BobH; ChrisSh; Colin; Eileen; Frank; JenB; JenC; John; Karen; Keith; Linda; Nathan; NeilF; Paul; Roger; Sandy; Simon; Tony; Tracy; Verena; Viv.

Please try and be at the grounds by 10:30am for the first set of short games at 11am. Nikki is kindly sorting refreshments. Enjoy!

On the county scene, having managed to squeeze a win last week I go again in the Middx Unbadged Singles this week. Unfortunately I won’t be joined by Nathan after he nudged his opponent’s bowl into shot at a crucial time in his match. There are also Middx Men’s Pairs and Women’s Fours game this week amongst others .. good luck to all.

Thanks to some dedicated work from our members the bowls club grounds are certainly looking colourful. Lots of effort has gone into getting the gardens into bloom, together with the inevitable weeding and cutting hedges, also giving new life to benches, etc.. All efforts are to be applauded so if you see a job that needs doing and can spare the time please do get stuck in.

Our club competitions will kick off next month with the draws taking place after one of our upcoming team home friendlies. Everyone is welcome to enter with the only stipulation being that you’re available to compete on one of the days of the finals weekend 30-31Aug. Most competitions run the length of the season and have deadline dates for each round to be played .. they usually run quite smoothly thanks to the zest of the members competing! In addition we have four day-long competitions which take place on specific dates and are generally played as a series of shorter games in round-robin format. The first of these is the Mixed 2-Woods Pairs on Sat 7th June from 10:30am. Pairings are drawn on the day and we’ll be taking last-minute entries up to a couple of days before. I plan on dropping into this week’s Club Night and am happy to answer any queries, etc. .. and collect any entries!

We started a run of four consecutive team friendlies on Sunday with a home game against Hersham. Last year’s result was close with Sunbury winning on more rinks but just losing out on overall shots by 4. Well, it was pretty much a repeat performance this time where we won 2.5-1.5 on rinks but lost by 5 shots! It was a good friendly afternoon of bowls with some competitive games, just as it should be.

The early rounds of this year’s county competition games were played this week. Tracy, Nikki, Karen & Eileen competed in the Middx Women’s Fours and enjoyed a good win at Cambridge Park .. next up is a visit to Bishop Duppas; BobH narrowly lost out in his Middx Unbadged Singles game at Ashford. My games came in quick succession as a result of entering so many .. Middx Unbadged Singles, NW Surrey Unbadged Singles and National o’60 Men’s Singles. It proved to be my week though with wins in all .. let’s see how the coming weeks pan out?! Good luck to all those opening their campaigns this week .. Nathan, Karen & Eileen. Some others have received byes, etc. so the best of luck when they get going.

Finally, we’ve received further details about the club’s Beer, Gin & Music festival on 17th August. The offer of buy 4 tickets for the price of 3 runs until the end of the month. More details are available here .. Beer & Gin Festival

We plan on implementing some safeguarding recommendations from Bowls England over the course of the season and as such our membership application form will be changing. Declarations such as any primary health concerns and emergency contacts will be voluntarily requested. If we do have any medical emergencies in or around the green then calling 999 will always be the first port of call, but being able to inform responders of medical concerns and contacts could be useful, particularly those frequenting the club by themselves. Other changes around photo ID checks, etc. are on the agenda too.

NB: Saline wash for any medical instances have been placed in the fridge in the chalet.

We concluded the season’s Open Days on Saturday with a somewhat low attendance but it did follow a bumper crop at last Friday’s evening session. As a result of that, and other promotions, we have 6 new members which is fantastic news. We still have hope for a few more deciding to join us too. If anyone knows of others interested in bowling then we can run separate sessions on Tuesday evening or mutually convenient times.

Our decent start in the South Middlesex League (SML) continued on Sunday with a trip to Stanwell where we took advantage of another male-heavy team. As such we won on one of the four rinks but took the win on another as well as overall shots for a 6-4 win. Although unfair to single out players I think it’s warranted to mention the game Roger played, rolling back the years in his first game of the season and on a challenging green too! The win gives us a very creditable total of 18 points from our first four games. We now move onto a run of four friendlies taking us into June.

Finally, a plea to please write your names clearly on any sign-up sheets. It takes some skill, akin to bowling, to scribe vertically onto a felt board but please do try and make your name readily identifiable!

The ever-popular Friday Triples league will start on the morning of Friday 6th June so please sign up via the sheet in the clubhouse asap and certainly by the end of the month. This has been running for a few years now and is designed to give the social bowler a good introduction to more competitive games.

It is open to everyone and there is no pressure to play every Friday; in fact it’s unlikely to be case as only three players from each team will play each time and there are typically 5-6 players in each team. The teams are set for the season but other players may join during the season at the discretion of the organiser. The games take place each week between June-August and each team captain will decide who plays, typically based on a roster availability basis. It is down to each captain how they organise and communicate with their respective team mates.

The organiser of the Friday Triples decides which teams play who, the start time (typically 11am), games format (typically 14 ends), trials or score one on first end, etc.. Each team gains two points for a win and one for a draw. The winning team at the end of the season will be invited to pick up the accolades at the end of season Dinner and Presentation of Awards in November.

Watch this space for information on this season’s Club Competitions which will also start in June. Many of you have already entered but I shall post again soon for the benefit of those new to the club and as a reminder for others!

NB: Andrea has kindly sorted out the first aid box in the chalet/shed; there is also one in the clubhouse. If they get used please put them back and let Andrea or NeilF know (sorry Neil, you’re no longer unique!), although the plan is to check them monthly from now on.