It's Competition time! Weekly news, 7th May

Kim Wright
6 days ago
6 min read

This year's competition draws are announced

The internal competitions were randomly drawn by the selection committee this week and are now available on the website here. Alternatively, scroll along to the Internal competitions tab on Spaces. The draws willl be up in the clubhouse on Saturday morning.

Please check that you are listed in all the competitions you expect to be - and no others - and also note the deadline date for your first match.

Don't forget - to reserve a rink to play your match - click here or go to the Reserve a rink tab on Spaces. Then, on the day of the match, draw a rink in the clubhouse as per usual.

Changes this year

There are a couple of changes to competition rules this year. In line with the general trend to reduce the number of ends per match, all pairs matches will be played over 18 ends. Singles is still the first player to reach 21 points regardless of the number of ends.

In the men's handicap, the difference between the 2 handicaps will be added to the lowest ranked player's score at the beginning of the match. They will then play the first to 21, as other singles. This should make the game a bit shorter and the highest handicaps have been reduced to allow for this. Rules of the competitions and the role of the marker are also on the website here and in the clubhouse.

It is sometimes difficult to find a marker, especially when things start to get busy, so if you are willing to mark matches please sign up on the sheet in the clubhouse.

If you have any questions please just ask. If not, good luck to everyone and have fun!

Wendy Coleman

Ask Allan

After last season's successful series of coaching tips from Alan Shattock, one of our 2 coaches at Banwell, we thought it would be good to have some more.

Allan says:

I thought I would resurrect Ask Allan for the season. Hopefully you may get something out of it; I certainly do from the research. This week has been no different. We have all started in our various matches, so this week I wish to discuss with you the duties of the skip, lead, second and third, which is Section 3 in The Laws of the Sport of bowls.

Section 3.1 - Players and their duties - I will start with the lead.

The Lead

The lead must place the mat centre line with the front of the mat on or in front of the 2m mark from the rear ditch, and at least 25m from the front ditch.
Before they deliver the jack, the lead must make sure the mat is centred.
After bowling the jack, they must centre it, then they are able to bowl their first bowl. If the lead puts a bowl on the jack he puts his opponents on the back foot.
When the leads have bowled their bowls, their duties are over for that end, unless the skip has delegated some other tasks.

The Second

Second is the position I really like playing. There are usually four or five bowls in the head which makes things easier.

The skip will tell the second where they want them to put their bowls to consolidate the position after the leads have bowled.
Some skips would ask the second to look after the score card; as we will see, the skip is responsible for the score card. T
he third may ask the second for assistance as to which bowls are nearest for them to measure. Lead and second are known as the front end - I think they are the important players on the rink because games are won and lost by the front end.

The Third

Third can measure any and all disputed shots and call on the skip (or the umpire if one is available) if no agreement is eached.
Third tells the skips the number of shots scored for or against their team when the end is completed.

The Skip

The skip will have sole charge of the team, and all the players in the team must follow he skips instructions.
The skip along with the opposing skip decide all disputed points which are within the Laws of the Game.
The skip must be responsible for the score card whilst the game is in progress, making certain that all the names are recorded correctly.
They must record the score of both teams at the end of each end, and when the game is finished, they must total the score then sign it and record the time the game ended.
The skip can delegate any of his powers to any of their own players, EXCEPT when dealing with the score card, as long as the opposing skip is informed ( 40-1-10).

Next time we will discuss the job of marking.

Triples and Pulled Pork BBQ, 30th May

As you know, our next event is Triples Day, and a pulled pork BBQ for players and social members alike.

Click here to see details and RSVP, or scroll along to the events tab on the Spaces app. We need to know numbers, so please use the RSVP to let us know you are coming.

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If not, please check your email's spam or junk folder!

Contact Kim if you need a hand

This week's match report

Over 55s at away to Ashcombe 30/04/26

What a glorious day for our trip to Ashcombe Knights, with wall-to-wall sunshine and warm but cooling breeze. We had a good afternoon winning on four rinks, and losing on a couple; one rink lost by one shot while the other went down heavily.

The top rink of the afternoon was John Wright's, winning by 16 clear shots, so well done to him and his side. We won overall by 4 shots. Scores were Banwell 97 shots, Ashcombe Knights 93, points allocated are Banwell 16, Ashcombe Knights 4. We should be all pleased with our efforts.

Special thanks to Brian Davis, and Terry Byrnes for stepping in at the last minute. Both were on winning rinks, so thanks for your contribution. I must extend congratulations to the lads who were playing against my rink for getting a hot shot.

It was a very encouraging day with Banwell winning the match, although the rink I was skipping went down by 31 shots to 6. We were disappointed, not only by letting the whole team down, but in our own individual performances. We continued to do our best but on the day we were beaten by the better side.

I was disappointed by comments made by a Banwell player whilst I was responding to Ashcombe's Captain Its rude and unnecessary.

Next game away to Portishead RBL on May 14.

Allan Shattock

Over 55s Captain

North 1 A team, away to St Andrews 03/05/26

The A Team were away to St Andrews B on the first match of the year. The weather threatened to be poor by mid afternoon, but the game got underway. Chris Wilson skipped rink 2 with a Mc Ardell/Williams and Guckian line up behind him, and came away with a solid 24-10 win.

Phil Villis skipped on rink 3, assisted by Burnett/Grant and Pheasant, and went down by only four, losing 12-16. Allan Shattock - with help from Clarke, Davis and Wright - secured a rink win and with it, the match points with a 19-16 victory.

The rain did indeed arrive mid afternoon, and given the atrocious conditions, the green held out well. Despite everyone getting soaked, we completed the game and secured a 10-2 win, - great effort all round.

The B Team were spared getting wet as Portishead failed to show at Banwell - it now transpires that they were away on annual spring tour but, unlike last year, don't seem to have notified us to re-schedule the game....I have contacted them and await a reply. We have claimed the points and await clarification from them and the League as to further action here.

John Wright

Captain of the Day

Mixed friendly at home against Victoria, 05/05/26

We were pleased to meet Victoria on a fine sunny afternoon, albeit a bit of a chill wind, particularly as last time I played against them both teams thought they were away! No such mis-steps this time... until the game started.

I don't think that we played that badly, it was just that Victoria played so much better. After the first 2 ends (thank goodness it was only one on each end) 3 of the teams just couldn't keep pace with their opposition. The only exception was the captain's team (thanks to Sue Sims, Mike Turnbull and Brian Davis) which, after being 7-1 down after 5 ends, raced ahead to a 35-12 win.

The overall score was 58-90 to Victoria, although their captain generously said that it was close enough to call it a draw, so we'll take that, and at the end of the day we had spent a very enjoyable afternoon with friends and good company, and we didn't get wet.

Everyone's a winner!