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.

Wednesday afternoon saw a glorious afternoon for bowls in the latest team friendly with Oatlands Park. They are renowned for being the best-dressed club around and they didn’t disappoint, upholding past traditions very well. The match itself ebbed and flowed and in the end it was our visitors who came out on top, winning on 2 of the 3 rinks and with an overall shot count of 48-38.

PS: As part of their centenary celebrations Oatlands Park have arranged a bowlathon on 21st June, bowling for 24hours!

Next up we have friendlies on both days of the weekend – players have been contacted but to remove any doubt they are recorded below. Please contact your acting captain Alan with any issues.

Saturday – Esher v Sunbury .. Alan; Anita; BobH; Cassie; David; Diane; Eileen; Maggie; Pat; Roger; Sandy; Simon

Sunday – Sunbury v Byfleet .. Alan; Brian; Chris; Jen; Jenny;  John; Julia; Keith; Linda; Lynda; Paul; Simon

The popular Friday Triples league is due to start Friday 7th – teams will be announced soon and the team captains will be in touch with those involved.

Some of our our bowlers have opened their campaigns in this season’s Middlesex county competitions. Last week the Men’s Fours (Nathan; BobH; Dennis; Alan) went down fighting 15-19 at West Ealing, but the Women’s Fours (Tracy; Nikki; Karen; Eileen) fared better winning through 19-10 against a team from Cambridge Park to progress to the quarter-finals this Sunday.

The draws for our internal club competitions will be made on Friday and published soon after.

After this week’s friendly with Oatlands Park we welcome in June with back-to-back friendlies on Saturday away at Esher and Sunday at home to Byfleet. We are a couple of players short for the Saturday game so please get in touch or sign-up on the sheet in the clubhouse if you’d like to be involved. All are welcome and encouraged to participate, especially if you’ve never played in a match before.

Wed 29th May 2:30pm – Sunbury v Oatlands Park

Sat 1st June 2:30pm – Esher v Sunbury   (two more players required)

Sun 2nd June 2:30pm – Sunbury v Byfleet

After the recent Open Days, tonight’s Club Night may see some new bowlers so please make them welcome and, hopefully, you can share some of the nuances of bowling. The green was due to be cut today but it’s more likely to be Wednesday now, so apologies if the grass is a little longer .. it’s still a little shorter than some of the grass verges in the area!

Some time back, Tarun very kindly setup a WhatsApp group for Sunbury Bowls members as another source of info/comms and for sharing some banter from time to time. The numbers have been slowly increasing and if you’d like to join here’s the link .. Sunbury Bowls 2024 Members

It came down to the last end of the day to decide the winners at Hersham on Sunday. Despite best efforts it wasn’t to be and despite wins on 3 of the 4 rinks we lost overall on total shots 62-66. Thanks to our hosts it was a most enjoyable afternoon of bowls with the sun shining brightly for the most part. It was especially nice to see our ex-captain Di on the green for the first time this season. Our next team match is another friendly on Wednesday afternoon at home to Oatlands Park.

Just a reminder that entries to the club competitions will close shortly so please get them in at the soonest. Also, after last week’s cancellation Club Night resumes on Tuesday evening .. please register by 5:45pm.

The deadline for entry into the Club Competitions is 31st May so please do let us have any final entries for the Men’s, Women’s or Mixed competitions. The exceptions are the three remaining day-long competitions (two in June; one in July) , where entries are accepted up to the week before. Entry forms are available in the clubhouse and online here .. Competitions Form 2024

Stanwell proved to be a step too far at Sunday’s SML match and it wasn’t to be three-out-of-three. Although to Sunbury’s credit, there was a win on one of the three rinks and an overall shot count of 75-69. Unfortunately this transferred as a 8-2 points loss. It does mean we have a 50% record in the league before the next match on 9th June. Before that is a string of five team friendlies so please check the team sign-up sheets in the clubhouse.

The ever popular Friday Morning Triples are almost upon us .. Eileen is finalising the teams for the upcoming league so watch this space.

Well, I’m not sure anyone saw that coming .. Sunbury coming out top in both of the weekend’s SML team matches!

First up were league newcomers Strawberry Hill and after a hot and muggy afternoon of bowls, Sunbury recorded convincing wins on 3 of the 4 rinks and an overall shot count of 87-53 for an 8-2 points win. Sunday was the turn of Staines, one of last season’s top three teams. Sunbury took early leads on two rinks and pushed on for healthy wins. The closest contest of the afternoon involved new club captain Dennis and his team, who just fell short on the penultimate end. We may ban playing on rink 5 as, like on Saturday, it proved to be tricky and our losing rink. It didn’t detract from an overall 64-55 shot count in Sunbury’s favour and a 6-4 points win. The SML matches continue next weekend with a visit to Stanwell on Sunday .. fingers crossed for an unprecedented hat-trick of wins.

Before that we have the first of our Open Days on Saturday 11am-3pm. Thanks to John, our unofficial advertising executive, who’s been working hard promoting the days. As ever, we won’t know how many folk will turn up but if you could spare an hour or two please do head down to the club to welcome any guests and potential members.

The weather is forecast to cool down a bit during the week but should, hopefully, be okay for Club Night on Tuesday evening.

This week’s mid-week friendly with Walton was played in hot and sunny conditions with bowls the winner, a nice change from the last couple of encounters when rain came out on top! Sunbury won on one rink and drew on another for a narrow 67-62 loss on shots. Thanks in particular to two of our most senior players, Terry and Charlie, for bearing up to the hot conditions.

It was nice to be back in the game after a bit of a drubbing on Sunday in our SML match at Hampton. There we drew on one rink but came out second on the others for an overall 9-1 points loss. The SML fixtures continue this weekend with home matches on both days at 2:30pm. Cool towels may be in order for players and spectators alike!