LATEST NEWS

27 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 18

There is no Hampshire representation at Leamington today on the last day of the Championships

26 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 17

This morning saw the start of the Senior Singles Competitions. In the Men’s First Round Dorian Bishop of Fareham was drawn against Cambridgeshire but unfortunately was defeated 14 - 21

At lunchtime the Women’s Senior Singles also started where Margaret Holden of Alton Social was drawn against Durham in the First Round. Unfortunately she was unable to repeat the successes of earlier this week as she was defeated by 19 shots to 21

Peter Ward of Ringwood also played his Senior Singles First Round at the same time against Devon but it was the same result with a defeat by 18 shots to 21

25 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 16

The only Hampshire involvement today was the Quarter Final of the Men’s Two Bowl Singles where both our qualifiers of Alan Geary of Boscombe Cliff and Peter Ward of Ringwood faced each other. The result was a close win for Alan by 16 shots to 13. That put him through to the Semi Final where he was up against Essex and in an even closer match Alan won through by 15 shots to 14. The final was against Warwickshire but unfortunately Alan just missed out on a National Title as he was defeated 10 - 16. Although a disappointing result it was still an amazing performance to reach the final

24 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 15

In the Semi Final of the Women’s Senior Fours the Alton Social team of Lesley Johnson, Alice Atwell, Hazel Marke and Margaret Holden were drawn against the Isle of Wight but agonisingly they lost by 17 shots to 18 on an extra end. Another great achievement though to reach the last four in the Country

The Two Bowl Singles also started this morning. In the Women’s Championship Alex Tymon of Milton Park was drawn against Wiltshire but was defeated by 7 shots to 17. Unfortunately Janie Vickers of Oakley also lost her match against Oxfordshire, losing 5 - 19

There was better news in the Men’s Championship as both Alan Geary of Boscombe Cliff and Peter Ward of Ringwood both played three times and both won all their matches to reach the Quarter Final. The frustrating thing is that they now face each other tomorrow morning for a place in the last four

23 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 14

The Alton Social team of Lesley Johnson, Alice Atwell, Hazel Marke and Margaret Holden continued in the Women’s Senior Fours this morning and had another very convincing win in the Second Round against Hertfordshire as they won by 27 shots to 5. That put them into the Quarter Final this afternoon against Cornwall and the good wins continued as they won by 24 shots to 8 to reach tomorrow morning’s Semi Final

In the Men’s Junior Singles Lewis Brimble of Knyveton Gardens started his campaign in the Second Round at lunchtime with a 21 shots to 17 win over Northamptonshire. However in the Third Round this afternoon he was defeated by 11 shots to 21 against Herefordshire

The Women’s Junior Singles also started today and we had Grace Read from Milton Park up against Devon but unfortunately was defeated by 6 shots to 21. Our other player was Molly Firth, also from Milton Park, but unfortunately it was the same resukt with a 14 - 21 loss to Northamptonshire

This afternoon the Ringwood four of Mark Brocklebank, Steve Van Wyk, Derrick Fulker and Peter Ward were also playing in the Quarter Final of the Men’s Senior Fours against Lincolnshire but in a very close match they lost by 19 shots to 21

22 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 13

This morning Margaret Holden of Alton Social continued her good run in the Women’s Singles and won her Quarter Final against Essex, winning by 21 shots to 17. Later in the morning she then faced previous winner Stef Branfield from Somerset in the Semi Final who proved too strong and Margaret was defeated 7 - 21 but a fantastic achievement to reach the last 4 in the Country

Margaret then joined fellow Alton Social clubmates Lesley Johnson, Alice Atwell and Hazel Marke in the Women’s Senior Fours and made short work of their First Round Match against Berkshire as they won comfortably by 20 shots to 2 with a concession after just 10 ends. They will play again in the Second Round tomorrow morning

Also this afternoon was the Second Round of the Men’s Senior Fours and Mark Brocklebank, Steve Van Wyk, Derrick Fulker and Peter Ward of Ringwood had a very good last few ends to defeat Kent by 17 shots to 12. That puts them into the Quarter Final tomorrow morning when they will face Lincolnshire

Congratulations to Steve Stockley of Alexandra who, together with a partner from Surrey, won the Disability Bowls England Pairs at the weekend

This afternoon also saw the start of the Men’s Junior Singles where Jake Palmer of Banister Park was drawn in the First Round against Oxfordshire but unfortunately was defeated 12 - 21

21 August 2023- Leamington - Day 12

Today was the continuation of the Women’s Single and there was a very good start this morning for Margaret Holden of Alton Social in the Second Round as she defeated Buckinghamshire by 21 shots to 10. In the Third Round this afternoon she faced Surrey in Round Three and the success continued with a 21 shots to 19 victory. That puts Margaret into the Quarter Final tomorrow morning when she will play Essex

This afternoon was the start of the Men’s Senior Fours and the Ringwood team of Mark Brocklebank, Steve Van Wyk, Derrick Fulker and Peter Ward made it a perfect day for Hampshire with a victory by 17 shots to 16 against Somerset. They will play again tomorrow afternoon in the Second Round

20 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 11

The Second Round of the Men’s Fours took place this morning but the Boscombe Cliff rink of John Coxon, Mike Squires, Tim Orr and Nick Jones were defeated by Sussex losing by 8 shots to 15

The Women’s Singles First Round matches also started and there were mixed results. Kim Tavener of Moordown was defeated by Gloucestershire, losing 6 - 21 but success for Margaret Holden of Alton Social who won 21 - 8 against Essex and will now play again tomorrow morning

19 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 10

Our only representation today was in the start of the Men’s Fours this afternoon where both rinks were from Boscombe Cliff. The team of Chris Weekes, Adam Broom, Ben Paulley and Perry Martin lost 14 - 20 to Lincolnshire but better news for John Coxon, Mike Squires, Tim Orr and Nick Jones as they defeated Derbyshire by 17 shots to 14 and will return for the Second Round tomorrow morning

18 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 9

The Senior Competitions started today but there was an early defeat in the First Round for Pete Daw and Stephen Watt of Milton Park in the Men’s Senior Pairs who lost by 6 shots to 21 to Hertfordshire. At the same time Peter Ward of Ringwood and Chris Daniels of Boscombe Cliff played Dorset and in a closer match were also defeated by 16 shots to 20

Meanwhile in the Quarter Final of the Men’s Triples Championship the Boscombe Cliff team of Chris Weekes, Ben Paulley and Perry Martin were up against Derbyshire but unfortunately they were defeated by 18 shots to 20 in a close finish  

The other competition to start in the afternoon was the Women’s Senior Pairs where Carol Broomfield of Bournemouth and Sharon Varndell of Ringwood faced Northamptonshire and won through by 16 shots to 14 in the First Round. Later they were drawn against Surrey in the Round of 16 but were defeated 11 - 20

17 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 8

The Men’s Triples Second Round was played this morning and there was a 23 shots to 11 victory for Chris Weekes, Ben Paulley and Perry Martin of Boscombe Cliff over Herefordshire. They play again this afternoon in the Third Round against Cornwall

In the Third Round the Boscombe Cliff Triple faced Cornwall and despite the score getting close they had a good last few ends to secure a 19 shots to 12 win which puts them into the Quarter Final tomorrow morning when they will play Derbyshire

16 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 7

This morning saw the later First Round matches in the Women’s Pairs take place and we were represented by Sue Hurley and Ngaio Mapes of Lymington who faced Wiltshire but unfortunately they were defeated by 11 shots to 21. In the Second Round at lunchtime Hazel Marke and Margaret Holden of Alton Social were up against Hertfordshire but sadly their run also ended with a 10 shots to 16 loss

This afternoon was the start of the Mixed Pairs but the disappointing run of results continued as Sharon Varndell and Peter Ward of Ringwood were defeated by Kent in the Round of 16, losing by 11 shots to 15

On the busiest day of the Championships the late afternoon session is the First Rounds of the Men’s Triples so hopefully there will be more positive news to report later. In the first match, Miles Belcher, Geoff Tebby and Ray Costin of Mayfield Park faced Hertfordshire but the result was another loss by 8 shots to 18. There was finally some more positive news as the Boscombe Cliff Triple of Chris Weekes, Ben Paulley and Perry Martin picked up our first win of the day with a 18 - 15 victory over Suffolk. They will play again in the Second round tomorrow morning

15 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 6

This morning saw the continuation of the Women’s Triples where Donna Taylor, Sue Dyson and Allyson Flint of Cove were playing Surrey in the Quarter Final. Sadly this proved to be the end of their run as they were defeated by 11 shots to 21

At the same time Zac Miller of Basingstoke Town and Lewis Brimble of Knyveton Gardens were playing Durham in the second round of the Men’s Junior Pairs. After starting well they went into the last end one shot down but holding a good one until the Durham lead fired the jack into the ditch with his bowl and frustratingly they picked up a second shot to defeat our pair by 15 shots to 14

Early afternoon saw the start of the Men’s Champion of Champion’s Singles where we had Bryan Cherry of Milton Park as our representative. The draw was not favourable as he faced Tom McGuinness of Buckinghamshire and sadly was defeated by 4 shots to 21

Late afternoon also saw the opening matches in the Women’s Pairs and there was better news as Hazel Marke and Margaret Holden of Alton Social had a comfortable win against Cornwall as they won by 25 shots to 6. They will play in Round 2 tomorrow afternoon

14 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 5

Today saw the continuation of the Men’s Pairs where the Boscombe Cliff pair of Ben Paulley and Perry Martin faced Leicestershire in the Round of 16. Unfortunately they were defeated by 14 shots to 17

At the same time the Women’s Triples reached the second round where the Cove Triple of Donna Taylor, Sue Dyson and Allyson Flint faced Somerset. After a slow start they pulled back a ten shot deficit before winning the tie on an extra end. This afternoon they played Northumberland in the Round of 16 and built a comfortable lead which they kept until the opposition conceded after 16 ends when we were leading 17 - 6. The Cove Triple will return tomorrow morning when they face Surrey in the quarter final

This afternoon also saw the start of the Junior Pairs Championships. In the first round of Women’s Championship, Molly Firth and Grace Read of Milton Park were drawn against Suffolk but were defeated by 8 shots to 16. There was a better result for Zac Miller of Basingstoke Town and Lewis Brimble of Knyveton Gardens as they defeated Berkshire by 19 shots to 12 and will play again tomorrow morning    

13 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 4

This morning saw the start of the Men’s Pairs Championships. In the first round the Alexandra pair of Paul Lawrence and Steve Feilder were up against Sussex but were defeated by 7 shots to 24. There was better news for our other pair of Ben Paulley and Perry Martin from Boscombe Cliff who played Berkshire and won through by 24 shots to 13 to set up a second round match against father and son Tom and John McGuinness from Buckinghamshire. A good win by 18 shots to 11 has seen them through to the third round tomorrow morning when they will face Leicestershire

Early afternoon the Women’s Triples also started and the first match saw Lesley Johnson, Hazel Marke and Margaret Holden of Alton Social playing Suffolk in a very close and low scoring match which ended 12 - 12 after 18 ends. After turning a short wood in Suffolk held the shot they needed for victory and frustratingly the bowl was still there at the end of the extra end so our triple narrowly lost by one. There was better news for the Cove triple of Donna Taylor, Sue Dyson and Allyson Flint who got off to a quick start against Leicestershire and led by 13 shots to 2 after 7 ends. A comeback reduced the lead to just a couple of shots after 13 but winning the next 4 consecutive ends increased the margin again and we ran out 21 - 15 winners. They will now play Somerset tomorrow morning in the second round

12 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 3

There is no Hampshire representation at Leamington today

11 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 2

In the second round of the Men’s Singles this morning, Perry Martin of Boscombe Cliff faced Buckinghamshire but sadly was defeated by 15 shots to 21

The Family Pairs also started this morning and Leo May of Alton Social and brother Paul of Sports Centre were drawn against Wiltshire and won their first round match by 21 shots to 9. That put them into the Quarter Final this afternoon but unfortunately they were defeated by Somerset, losing by 9 shots to 16

This afternoon also saw the opening matches in the Tony Allcock Mixed Double Rinks and we were represented by Cove who faced Old Coulsdon in the Quarter Final. In a close match both sides won on one rink but it was Old Coulsdon who won through by 33 shots to 30

10 August 2023 - Leamington - Day 1

This morning saw the first of 18 days of the National Championships at Leamington. The first to play were the Women’s Fours but Hampshire did not get off to a great start as both our teams were defeated. The Milton Park Four of Lynda Gibbs, Tracy Hibberd, Min Wright and Kath Patrick were defeated 10 - 21 by Middlesex and the Lee-on-the-Solent team of Kim Francis-Ellis, Elaine Bennett, Chris Doig and Caroline Cuerden lost narrowly to Northumberland by 15 shots to 17

In the afternoon the Men’s Singles started and we had mixed results as Andy Anderson of Fleming was defeated by 12 shots to 21 by Warwickshire but better news as Perry Martin of Boscombe Cliff won his match against Middlesex by 21 shots to 7. Perry will now play in the second round tomorrow morning at 9.30am

07 August 2023

Competition Finals Weekend

The programme and timings for Competition Finals Weekend on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 September has been uploaded to the website

28 July 2023

Team Manager Positions

The contracts for the three key Bowls Hampshire Team Manager positions, namely the John's Trophy Manager, Middleton Cup Manager and Under 25 Junior Manager all expire this year. Bowls Hampshire now invites applications from those wishing to manage the teams following the AGM for the period 2024 to 2026

The Current Role Descriptions and Application process can be seen via the links below:

Team Manager Vacancy Application Process

Middleton Cup Manager Role Description

Johns Trophy Manager Role Description

Under 25 Manager Role Description

17 July 2023

Ken Graham RIP

We have just heard the very sad news that Ken Graham passed away last week. Ken will have been very well known to many bowlers as he was an enthusiastic supporter of Hampshire and was very often seen at many events. He was President of the Men’s County Association back in 2008 and awarded Honorary Life Membership of Bowls Hampshire when it was formed in 2010. He then served as Men’s President of the unified County in 2012 and was the first to then repeat his Presidency the following year in 2013. The funeral will be held at 3.15pm on Friday 11 August at Portchester Crematorium. The family have requested no flowers and the wake will be held at the Centre Point, 19a Five Head Road, Horndean, Waterlooville, PO8 9NW. He will be missed and our thoughts are with Ken’s family at this sad time   

15 July 2023

Senior Home Counties Champions

Well done to our Men’s Senior Home Counties Team who won the HCL League for 2023 today with a convincing 154 shots to 103 win over Berkshire in the final at Suttons BC

The rink scores were:

Dave Sims 21 - 19

Jason McLean 21 - 16

Andy Anderson 36 - 9

Richard Burgin 26 - 22

Paul May 22 - 22

Nathan Durman 28 - 15

08 July 2023

Middleton Cup

Our final Men’s Middleton Cup match away to Bowls Isle of Wight finished in a win by 125 shots to 100 and 18 - 4 on points. Unfortunately it was not enough to pip Kent as we finish the group in second place on 54 points

The rink scores were:

Colin Thresher 18 - 13

Jim Marsland 31 - 14
Nathan Durman 18 - 21

Gary Starks 20 - 23

Chris Daniels 20 - 16

Leo May 18 - 13

Johns Trophy

This afternoon was our third and final match in this year’s Johns Trophy as we faced Sussex at Banister Park. In a very close match we went into the last end winning by 2 shots and holding second wood which would have secured the win. However the final wood of the match from Sussex turned our wood out and they picked up the double to draw the match 117 - 117. As neither side could qualify for Leamington the extra end was not played and the points for the result were shared. As Sussex won on 4 rinks to our 2 they won 13 points to our 9. We finished the group on 29 points behind Kent

The rink scores were:

Janet Williamson 23 - 15

Sue Dyson 30 - 10

Hazel Marke 14 - 17
Alex Tymon 16 - 24

Margaret Holden 21 - 25

Lesley Taylor 13 - 26

25 June 2023

Balcomb Trophy

Sadly it was not to be as our Balcomb Trophy Double Rink team were defeated this morning in the Regional semi final by Buckinghamshire, losing by 27 shots to 36

Walker Cup

Our Women’s Walker Cup Double Rink team played against Oxfordshire this morning in the Regional semi final and won by 43 shots to 31. We will now play in the final this afternoon against Berkshire with the winners progressing to Leamington

In the final this afternoon unfortunately Hampshire were defeated by Berkshire as we lost 28 - 45   

24 June 2023

Middleton Cup

This morning our Men’s Middleton Cup team played their third league match at Cranleigh BC against Surrey and won the match by 115 shots to 104, and by 16 points to 6. This puts us on 36 points from the three matches with one left against Bowls Isle of Wight on 8 July

The rink scores were:

Ben Paulley 21 - 15

Jim Marsland 17 - 18
Nathan Durman 23 - 14

Gary Starks 18 - 20

Chris Daniels 13 - 25

Leo May 23 - 12

Balcomb Trophy and Walker Cup Regional Finals

Both our Men’s Balcomb Trophy and Women’s Walker Cup teams are in action tomorrow in the regional finals at Bromley BC and Egham BC respectively. More details can be found via this link

18 June 2023

Walker Cup

Our Women’s Walker Cup team made it three wins of three for the day as they defeated Middlesex by 46 shots to 39 at Cambridge Park BC this afternoon.  That puts us into the regional semi final next Sunday when we will face Bowls Oxfordshire at Egham BC

The rink scores were:

Sue Dyson 27 - 13

Margaret Holden 19 - 26

Home Counties Junior League

Our first game in this season’s Home Counties Junior League ended in a 61 shots to 53 and 6 points to 2 win against Buckinghamshire. Our next game is at home to Oxfordshire on Sunday 2 July

Balcomb Trophy

A good win this morning for our Men’s Balcomb Trophy Double Rink team who played Bowls Isle of Wight at Banister Park. Winning on both rinks we progress to the regional semi final next Sunday when we will face Buckinghamshire

The rink scores were:

Perry Martin 20 - 10

Leo May 16 - 13

17 June 2023

Middleton Cup

This morning our Men’s Middleton Cup team played the second league match at Banister Park against Middlesex and won a very close match by a single shot, 107 shots to 106, and by 16 points to 6. Our next match is next Saturday away against Surrey

The rink scores were:

Perry Martin 25 - 10

Jim Marsland 14 - 16
Nathan Durman 27 - 15

Gary Starks 6 - 28

Chris Daniels 17 - 21

Leo May 18 - 16

Johns Trophy

This afternoon we played our second Johns Trophy match against Buckinghamshire at Burnham BC. The result was a good win by 16 points to 6 and by 116 shots to 103. We now have one match remaining in the league against Sussex on 08 July

The rink scores were:

Janet Williamson 14 - 21

Sue Dyson 17 - 19

Hazel Marke 11 - 22
Alex Tymon 19 - 15

Margaret Holden 32 - 12

Lesley Taylor 23 - 14

14 June 2023

Bowls Hampshire Communication Co-ordinator

 

Bowls Hampshire are looking for someone who would be willing to coordinate the communication for the County via the website, Facebook and other communication mediums

The aim is to improve our web presence and promote the County with up-to-date news of what is happening within all areas of the county, particularly any team or member successes

Please contact info@bowlshampshire.com if interested in helping

11 June 2023

Amy Rose

Unfortunately our Amy Rose team was defeated this morning in the Regional semi final at Cranleigh BC losing to Kent B by 27 shots to 51

03 June 2023

Johns Trophy

This morning was the opening match for our Johns Trophy campaign as we hosted Kent at Banister Park. The game was close overall until a late surge from Kent saw them run out winners by 18 points to 4 and by 124 shots to 103

The rink scores were:

Janet Williamson 23 - 13

Sue Dyson 18 - 15

Hazel Marke 19 - 24
Alex Tymon 9 - 23

Margaret Holden 14 - 26

Lesley Taylor 20 - 23

Middleton Cup

In the afternoon the Men’s Middleton Cup also had their first match and also home against Kent at Banister Park. Unfortunately the outcome was similar to the morning as we were defeated by 121 shots to 130 and 4 points to 18

The rink scores were:

Perry Martin 19 - 30

Jim Marsland 17 - 25
Nathan Durman 26 - 13

Gary Starks 18 - 21

Ben Paulley 15 - 22

Leo May 26 - 19

27 May 2023

Senior Home Counties League

A second win this morning away to Middlesex picking up 16 points in a 128 shots to 105 victory

Rink scores were:

Adam Broom 19 - 24

Perry Martin 17 - 18

Ban Paulley 19 - 14

David Sims 33 - 16

Andy Anderson 22 - 14

Paul Cooke 18 - 19

28 May 2023

Amy Rose Team

Well done to our Amy Rose team of Grace Ready, Chloe May, Kiera Patel, Charlie Crook and Molly Firth, Heather Butler, Lorna Devonish, Emily Chadwick who won their preliminary round match against Bowls Oxfordshire today. Winning on both rinks and by an overall score of 43 shots to 32 that puts us through to the regional semi final on Sunday 11 June at Cranleigh where we will face Kent B in the morning

White Rose Team

Unfortunately the White Rose team did not fare as well in their preliminary round match as they were defeated by Kent, losing by 26 shots to 41