BLANDFORD BOWLING CLUB

GALLERY 2024 - SOME IMAGES AND REPORTS FROM THE 2024 SEASON.

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CLOSING DAY 2024 - SATURDAY 28th SEPTEMBER 2024

            Closing Day 2024 was held on a warm and sunny afternoon. The event was organised by Club President Norman Arnold and was well attended by club members.

              The games were preceded by the traditional "spider". This was won by Tim Bryning.  There were then 4 games - 3 mixed rinks and 1 mixed triples.  After the games Norman Arnold presented prizes to the winning "away" team of Andria Sims, Joan Collier, Ian Thorne and Brian Hall and the winning "home" team of Ian Wood, Peter Preen, Sylvia Pink and Barbara Collier.  Prizes were also presented to Sue and Ian Wood who won the Australian Pairs competition with 17 points. 

             The presentations were followed by an excellent buffet which was produced by club members under the supervision and guidance of Sue Wood. There was also a raffle with prizes provided by club members, 

After an excellent season for the club we look forward to a comprehensive Winter period of social activities. followed by the 2025 season.

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14th and 15th SEPTEMBER - COUNTY FINALS at BRANKSOME PARK

The Club was extremely well represented at the county finals.

The Lust Trophy was won by Sue Wood

Matthew Yarnold and Zach Evans were runners up in the Under 16s pairs.

Ladies U16 singles was won by Lucy Rankin-Mackintosh.

Mens U16 singles was an all Blandford final in which Matthew Yarnold was beaten by Thomas Gilley.

In the Men's County Cup we were runners up to Wimborne.

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FRIDAY NIGHT MIXED TRIPLES - FINAL NIGHT - FRIDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2024

        Friday 13th September 2024 was the final game of the season.  In all 13 matches were played by over 50 players,.  The outcome was a victory for Hawks by 3 points from Buzzards.  The prizes were presented to Bill Hussey and his team by President, Norman Arnold.

         The evenings were well enjoyed by everyone and thanks go to Jan and Pete Cornick and Kathryn Harding for arranging a very popular meat draw. As well as being a highlight it also made nearly £500 for club funds,  The bar was also very popular and thanks go to Terri Lake, Margaret Thorne and bar staff

Cliff Walters, who organises the league thanks everyone concerned for making the evenings so popular. We now look forward to 2025,

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SOME REPORTS ON MEMBERS FURTHER SUCCESSES - SATURDAY 10th AUGUST 2024

The Club has had a lot of success recently.

        The County Cup Competition (men) beat Shaftesbury on Friday 9th August evening 68-59 and now face Wimborne in the County Finals in September.

         Sue Wood, Anita Evans Margaret Thorne and Daphne West played in the The Lust Trophy competition which is for ladies who have not won a singles competition.  Unfortunately Anita and Daphne were knocked out in the first round but Sue went on to win her second round match and is now in the County finals in September. Margaret won her second round match but due to the number of entrants she then had to play again.  The match was fit for a final which Margaret narrowly lost. Three matches in one day was tough going.

        There are still ongoing competitions:

        Julie Pitt/David Burge/Emily Thomas and Jack Knight are through to the semi finals of the County Mixed 4s which is due to take place at Sherborne on 2nd September but date and time to be confirmed.

Gill Budd, Margaret Thorne and Terri Lake are in the semi finals of the Benevolent Triples which takes place on Monday (12th August) at West Moors.  The pairs team of Gill Budd and Terri Lake are in the semi finals of the B&D Trodd Trophy which takes place on 4th September at Branksome Park.

          Our juniors will also be represented at the County Finals : Lucie Rankin MacIntosh in the ladies under 16 singles, Tom Gilley and Matthew Yarnold in the men's Under 16s singles and Zach Evans and Matthew Yarnold in the men's Under 16 Pairs

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   REPORTS ON FURTHER SUCCESS BY CLUB MEMBERS - SATURDAY 22nd JUNE 2024

     There has been some very proud and successful achievements by club members again this season.

     The Club has had success in the Tony Alcock National interclub competition. The semi final is is being played on Wednesday 26th June Starting 1800 ( 6pm ) at Blandford Bowling Club. The opponents will be Poole Park.  Come and support our team - the bar will be open.

      Two teams, Tony Cailes and Richard White, David Sherwin and Terry Elston, have both reached the semi finals of the men's pairs to be played at Poole Park Sunday 30th June Starting 1000 (10am).

    The Ladies Triples team of Julie Pitt, Jan Cornick and Carole Beckford qualified for the quarter finals which took place on 22nd June at Lyme Regis.  Unfortunately, they were beaten by a very strong Poole team.

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SOME REPORTS ON MEMBERS EARLY SEASON SUCCESSES - SATURDAY 8th JUNE 2024

    There have been some very proud and successful achievements by club members so far this season.  The biggest success is Jan Cornick and Julie Pitt. Following County matches and team trials Jan has been selected to play in the Walker Cup and Julie has been selected as a travelling reserve.  This competition is played by the top 8 ladies in the county.

     The men have also had success in county competitions; Steve Clayton, Barry Males, Peter Hawkins, Carl Budd reaching the quarter final of the senior 4's.

      Pairs teams Tony Cailes and Richard White, David Sherwin and Terry Elston both reached the quarter finals of the mens pairs. 

We also have a Mens Senior 4s made up of Barry Males, Steve Clayton, Peter Hawkins and Carl Budd in the quarter finals at West Moors on Sunday 9th June.

      Julie Pitt, Jan Cornick, Carole Beckford, not to be outdone, are in the quarterfinals of the ladies triples to be played at Lyme Regis on 22nd June.

      Special mention to Jan Cornick who has been selected to bowl in the Walker Cup with Julie Pitt as travelling reserve. This is an event for the top 8 bowlers in the County: so no mean feat.

      6th June saw two of our Men’s County Pairs teams scrapping for a place in the quarter finals on 30th June at Poole Park. Congratulations to Terry Elston and David Sherwin who beat Broadstone Wessex with one end to spare. Tony Cailes and Richard White beat Shaftesbury narrowly on the last end.

      On Saturday 1st June three of our ladies were selected to bowl for Bowls Dorset in the Johns Trophy at Tiverton against Cornwall.. By all accounts it was a very close match with Dorset running out winners by one shot. Well done to Julie Pitt, Jan Cornick and Carole Beckford.

CLUB OPEN DAY - SATURDAY 11th MAY 2024

On Saturday 11 May 2024 we held a Club Open Day. We started by getting our Juniors playing, as usual on Saturday mornings, under the leadership of Sid Steele and his team. The good weather helped to draw people in and we had 3 beginners bowling before we had even reached our scheduled opening time of 10.00 AM. We soon had all our coaches busy with packed rinks of beginners “having a go at lawn bowls” for the first time.

Sue Wood and helpers provided drinks and snacks for those arriving plus a tombola stall with a good array of prizes. Terri Lake and her team had the bar open for those needing a refreshing drink after spending time in the hot sun. Our Chairman, John Beckford, was present as was our President, Norman Arnold.

We were also visited by a representative of one of our sponsors from McCarthy Stone who seemed to enjoy his visit.

As well as a very busy morning we also had a busy afternoon. In total we had 33 adult visitors who tried lawn bowls for the first time – many of whom have already signed up to our programme of 5 lessons. We also had 3 youngsters who joined our juniors for the morning session. We even had 2 visitors who had bowled before and who are in the process of joining the Club as playing members.

My thanks go to all Club members who helped make the day such a great success and especially to our coaches who are essential to the day. We have another Open Afternoon on Sunday 26 May 2024 as part of the Bowls England “Big Bowls Weekend” from 1.00 PM to 4.00 PM. Let’s hope that day brings even more beginners into our sport and to our Club.

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