Lindfield Bowling Club

Competition changes following the AGM

Following the AGM on 27th November, a few changes have been agreed to the club's competitions, which will come into effect from 2015 onwards:

• The 'Butfoy' Mixed Singles is now open to EVERYONE in the club, regardless of what you've won previously.
• The Mixed Pairs has been renamed to the "Drawn Pairs", and pairings will be drawn from two piles - leads and skips - and will not always be mixed. So we may have to men playing together, or two ladies, or a man and a lady.
• Finals Day will no longer be confined to the Bank Holiday Monday - although the details of this are still being discussed, the event is likely to be spread over two afternoons.

Very sad news

It is with deep regret that we have to announce that Chris Sugarhood died in tragic circumstances yesterday, while on holiday with her husband Norman in Cyprus. Chris was the ladies section secretary, and was a competitive and successful bowler, both indoors (for Grattons), and outdoors for Lindfield and Sussex. Our thoughts and prayers are with Norman, their families and their friends at this time.

Lindfield retain the John Ellmer Cup

In the annual derby between Lindfield and Buxted Park, Lindfield prevailed 4-1 at Buxted, winning the John Ellmer Cup for the fourth year in a row. Tom Palmer set the ball rolling with a convincing win in the singles, then Peter Elford, Peter Colbourne and Mick O'Donnell followed with a resounding 29-9 win in the triples.

Ken Anderson and Peter Gacsall closed out a fine game of bowls in the pairs against Alan Bradley and Ken Long, and Adam Harding skipped his team to a tense win against Neil Parrington's quartet in the four. The double-four was a different story, with both Lindfield rinks finding it hard to make headway against strong Buxted opposition, Terry Hughes's team eventually lost by a handful of shots to Peter Jepson's team, while David Glossop's team fared less well in their game. However the result was soon forgotten as Buxted laid on an excellent lunch, and old friendships were renewed over a glass of beer or two.

Finals day results

Two keenly contested singles finals at Lindfield saw Keith Holman (pictured below, right) successfully defend his title against Tom Palmer in a repeat of the 2013 final and Carol Watson collect the ladies crown with victory over Jennie Holland. In the men’s match Tom started well and if anything was the more consistent player early on but a count of four then put Keith firmly back in the game and he held on to a slender lead until earning his second championship title, 21-17.

The ladies final was also closely fought with nothing to choose between the players but a count of three gave Carol a crucial advantage at the death and she sealed the win minutes later with a finely judged shot to promote a bowl and claim a 21-16 success. The finals were played over two days due to torrential rain bringing a premature end to the scheduled finals day on bank holiday Monday so a vote of thanks must go to the competition secretaries Jennie Holland and Willy Bollschweiler for ensuring that all games were successfully completed.

Click here to view the winners and losers.

Finals Day abandoned due to rain

Finals Day was abandoned at 11:30 this morning due to the rain, with only 4 matches played:

• Peter Gacsall and Neville Congdon beat Bryan Derham and Ken Anderson in the Mens Handicap Pairs
• Mick O'Donnell and Julia Dearing beat Alan Gardiner and Carol Watson in the Mixed Pairs
• Mick Lewry beat John Foster in the Men's Backbone
• Sue Paterson beat Jennie Holland in the Ladies 100 Up

Gladys Rowland update

Lindfield ladies are one step away from successfully defending the Gladys Rowland competition thanks to a 20-13 semi final win against Norfolk. The team saw two changes due to holidays but Jennie Holland, Margaret Atkins, Dorothy Keogh and Carol Watson were still too strong for their opponents and the team will now play Crouch in the final at Burgess Hill on September 7th.

Ron Langridge hosted his first President's Day at the club on Saturday with the members playing a round robin group of games and a target bowls challenge all adding up to an accumulative score to decide the overall winners, which were the quartet of Peter Colbourne, Vera Stevens, Peter Elford and Tony Broadstock. An excellent meal after the bowling brought an end to the day's events.

Bank holiday Monday brings the arrival of finals day at Lindfield and with a full day's play scheduled the organisers will be hoping for some fine weather to bring the curtain down on the internal competitions.

Ladies' Captain's Day report

Ladies captain Janine Scola held her captain's day on August 2nd with ten teams taking part in an afternoon of bowling and fund raising. All players entered in to the spirit of the occasion by dressing in green and yellow, the colours of the chosen charity St Peter & St James Hospice and a selection of stalls and a large raffle all helped to raise a magnificent sum of £700 which was presented to the charity's community fundraiser Carol Hughes at the end of the day.

On the green Crowborough Wolfe emerged victorious following a series of matches and thanks to some fine weather and a tasty supper to round off the event an enjoyable day was had by all.

Lindfield hosted their annual Jubilee Triples last week which began with 32 teams competing for prize money totalling over £550 kindly donated by the three sponsors Apex Windows, Haywards Heath Auto Centre and Masters & Sons.

Eight teams qualified for the final stages which saw an initial round robin group of games leading up to a final and third/fourth play-off. The 7 end final saw the Newick trio of Dave Trimmer, John Baker and Des Foord take on Preston's Terry Woolgar, Dave Bibby and Darren Anderson and it was Newick who dominated proceedings, leading 6-0 after 3 ends and 9-2 with only one end remaining. Preston decided to hope for a miracle on the final end but the chance of collecting 7 or 8 shots never offered itself and Newick were therefore the deserved winners of the event.

In the third and fourth play-off the St Francis team of Pat Costello, Geoff Carr and Doug Jones edged out Alex Keating, Martin Locke and Terry Worboys from Popes Mead. Thanks go to Chris Reynolds and his team of helpers who ensured the event ran smoothly and successfully throughout the week.

Lindfield clinch County Fours title

The Lindfield quartet of Graeme Geddie, Adam Harding, Ian Watson and Keith Holman (pictured) claimed the Sussex County Fours title for a third time following a hard fought win against Sidley Martlets at Popes Mead, on county finals day on Sunday August 3rd.

The first eleven ends saw a low scoring encounter with Lindfield holding on to slender leads of 7-6 and 10-8 before a count of 3 opened up the first meaningful gap of 13-8. Opposing skip Michael Stone kept Sidley Martlets in contention with some telling conversion shots but Lindfield won some important ends in the second half to maintain their lead.

On the 19th end Sidley decided to try and manufacture a count by playing a running bowl but despite trailing the jack it was Lindfield who won the end and with the score line reading 21-9 in their favour it was enough to close out the game.

Also in action were Chris Reynolds and Roger Green who contested the pairs final against Dave Wigdor and Darren Anderson from Hove & Kingsway. Darren was already on a high having picked up the triples title earlier in the day and this showed as he took the game to Lindfield by playing a number of accurate firing shots, one of which earned him 5 shots to take an early 9-1 lead.

Shots were hard to come by after that and with Darren continuing to play attacking bowls and getting positive results it was Hove and Kingsway who went home with the title, although Chris and Roger still progress to the national championships at Leamington on August 25th.

Lindfield ladies have it all to play for in the Nellie Mercer league as they enter their last game against Adastra. In the penultimate match they lost out to Southwater by a single shot, 34-35 but despite the narrow margin of defeat it was only enough to collect 2 points which gives local rivals Haywards Heath a genuine chance of winning the league as they now only trail Lindfield by one point.

Captain's Day report

Terry Hughes hosted a successful captain's day at Lindfield on Saturday July 19th with 12 teams playing a round robin group of matches leading up to a final and a third/fourth play-off. The visitors from Uckfield and Woodingdean were comfortably top of the pile after the group stage having won all their games and they went head to head in a final which saw only a single shot scored on each end. The win was sealed by Uckfield's Adrian Wainwright who drew the winning shot with his last bowl of the final.

Lindfield's quartet skipped by Mick O'Donnell edged out West Hoathly to claim third place but more importantly a tremendous sum of over £800 was raised for The Chestnut Tree House charity. The club was busy again the following day when they hosted The Lindfield Club for the annual charity match and in the spirit of the occasion the Lindfield Club, as non-bowlers were awarded a 2 shots to 1 handicap and this proved just enough for them to retain the trophy. A bumper raffle followed and thanks to all those concerned over £300 was raised for the Children's Trust at Tadworth.

Lindfield's run in the Tony Allcock over 60's mixed double fours came to an end at the last 16 stage with an away defeat at Homefield Park, Worthing but in the national over 55 pairs Ian Watson and Keith Holman came away from White Rock with a 5 shot win against Keith Cheetham and Trevor Logan to keep alive their interest in the event.

In the Nellie Mercer league the ladies moved to the top of the table thanks to an away win at Haywards Heath but with 3 games still to play the destiny of the league title is still undecided.

Both weekend games cancelled

I'm sad to say that Preston have cancelled their game with us this coming Saturday (26th July) because they are unable to raise a team.

Incredibly, we have had to cancel our game against Redhill the following day (Sunday 27th) for the same reason - we were unable to find the 12 players needed to form a team.

Mid-Sussex Times report

Chris Reynolds and Roger Green stormed into their first county pairs final thanks to a convincing 21-10 semi-final win against Henfield's Roger Turner and Mick Patching. The Lindfield pair opened up a slender lead early on before Henfield clawed their way back into the match to level the scores but some intelligent reading of the heads by Chris and the subsequent conversion shots from Roger helped Lindfield pull away again and they took control of the contest during the latter stages. With two ends to play they held a seven shot advantage and a well played 20th end saw them pick up a further 3 shots to close out the match. They now play Dave Wigdor and Darren Anderson from Hove and Kingsway who got the better of Mike Philpott and Mat Ives in the other semi-final.

In the county fours semi-final Graeme Geddie, Adam Harding, Ian Watson and Keith Holman were involved in a tight battle against Pulborough with the result not decided until the last bowl of the match. Lindfield held a four shot lead with two ends to play but the visitors converted the 20th end to reduce the deficit to one and take the game in to a final end shoot-out. Pulborough played a good last end, leaving Holman facing a match lie but he played a well-controlled bowl on the swinging hand to score the shot and seal a 23-21 win. Sidley Martlets will provide the opposition in the final after they defeated West Hoathly.

Lindfield ladies are one step nearer to the Gladys Rowland final after defeating local rivals Burgess Hill on their own green in another close finish. The teams were locked at 16 shots each after 18 ends but Lindfield dug deep to win all three remaining ends, scoring a single followed by a count of 3 and 2 to seal a 22-16 victory. They now play a team from The Drive (Brighton).

Mid-Sussex Times report

Chris Reynolds and Roger Green earned a place in the county pairs semi-final after securing a hard fought one shot win against Andy Batchelor and Dick Berry from Ringmer. In a game that could have gone either way the 20th end proved decisive. With the Lindfield pair trailing by three shots they picked up a count of 5 to move 18-16 in front and managed to cover any potential danger on the last end to restrict their opponents to a single. They now play Henfield's Roger Turner and Mick Patching tomorrow night (Thursday 10th) with the winners not only qualifying for the county final on August 3rd but also the national championships at Leamington.

In the fours quarter-final Graeme Geddie, Adam Harding, Ian Watson and Keith Holman recovered from an early deficit against White Rock to win by 4 shots and they now take on Pulborough on Friday 11th in the semi-final at Lindfield.

There was disappointment in the triples though as Harding, Watson and Holman began the last end of their quarter-final against Worthing leading 18-17 but dropped two shots to lose the match.

In the Gladys Rowland competition Lindfield ladies beat Buxted Park 22-12 which keeps the club on track to defend the cup they won last year, although in the national over 55 pairs Shirley Nelson and Sue Willmott lost out to White Rock.

The club's troubled start in the Mid Sussex league continued after they collected only 2 points in their home game against Newick and the early season progress in the John Spriggs league was halted following an away defeat at Popes Mead. In the Border League Lindfield currently trail the early pace setters Horsham, although they can close the gap tomorrow night (Thursday) when the two clubs go head to head.

Competitions Update

Lindfield will be represented in the quarter final of the county pairs, triples and fours following a successful week for their bowlers. In the pairs Chris Reynolds and Roger Green recovered from a 7-14 deficit to lead 19-14 against Preston's Phil Soper and Peter Morgan, although this advantage could have been wiped out on the 20th end when Preston held five shots. However Roger drew second bowl and Peter's resulting conversion attempt only managed to give Lindfield the shot and increase their lead to 20-14, at which point the Preston pair conceded the match. Chris and Roger now play Ringmer in the quarter final at Seaford on Thursday 3rd July.

Adam Harding, Ian Watson and Keith Holman secured a place in the last eight of the triples following a hard fought victory at Newick where only nine shots were scored in the first seven ends, but the Lindfield trio pulled away in the second half of the match and they will now play Worthing. In the county fours Graeme Geddie, Harding, Watson and Holman hit top form to lose only one end at Lewes with their skip, Alex Parsons shaking hands after only ten ends with the score line reading 26-2 in Lindfield's favour.

Arthur Mortenson, Roger Willmott, Peter Gacsall and Terry Hughes were also in action against West Hoathly and at 13-14 down had every chance to progress but it was the visitors who finished stronger to earn a place at Lindfield on Friday for the quarter finals.

The men are also through to the quarter final of the county double fours after a nine shot overall victory against Uckfield and they rounded off the week by knocking out West Hoathly in the National Double Fours by ten shots.

It was a busy week for the ladies too who were involved in a nail biting finish in their county double rink game against Adastra. The home rink recovered from 6-14 down at 10 ends to finish all square at 19-19 and with the away team tied at 19-19 with an end to play they had to score the shot to seal the win, and managed to do just that. They now face Uckfield in the next round.

The ladies also moved up to third in the Nellie Mercer league following an away win at Southwater. The club enjoyed a memorable evening last Friday when ten non-bowling teams took part in a challenge night with some hidden talent coming to the fore as representatives of 'Flowserve' came top of the pile.

Mid-Sussex Times report

Lindfield's interest in the men's county singles ended when Keith Holman was denied a place in the quarter finals by Preston's Andy Smalldridge and Peter Gacsall also fell agonizingly short of the last eight in the unbadged singles when he held a match lie with the scores locked at 19-19 only to see his opponent from Ringmer kill the end and then draw two good bowls a minute later to clinch the quarter final spot for himself.

In the triples Roger Willmott, Terry Hughes and Graeme Geddie also suffered the disappointment of holding a match lie without eventually winning the game when Ollie Ovett fired their shot bowl clean out of the head with the final bowl of their third round triples tussle. That leaves Adam Harding, Ian Watson and Keith Holman as the clubs sole survivors in the triples following their victory against Preston's Peter Morgan.

In the pair's Chris Reynolds and Roger Green continued their march to a possible quarter final date at Seaford by seeing off Geoff Clack and Trevor Vine 24-17 and there was a third consecutive away win in the fours for Arthur Mortenson, Roger Willmott, Peter Gacsall and Terry Hughes who tasted victory at Rottingdean. They now play West Hoathly's Andy Campbell on Firday 27th with the winners progressing to the quarter finals which will once again be held at Lindfield on July 3rd.

Lindfield ladies played White Rock in the first round of the inter club double rink and won the fixture with an end to spare after their opponents conceded on the 20th end. They now face Adastra in the second round. In the Tony Allcock mixed double fours the club followed up their opening win against Newick by knocking out Hurstpierpoint on Saturday although there was a double blow in the leagues last week when Uckfield took home the winning points in both the Mid Sussex and John Spriggs games.

The Border League side fared better at Popes Mead, winning 8-2 and the ladies earned a valuable win in the Nellie Mercer league, bringing back six points from Newdigate. On Friday 27th the club's recruitment team will be hard at work when they host a challenge evening at the club with the action starting at 6pm.

Lindfield progress in all competitions

In the men's county competitions Lindfield went to head to head against Preston last week and although Preston had home advantage in all the games it was Lindfield who came out on top.
First up were the triple of Roger Willmott, Terry Hughes and Graeme Geddie who won their second round match against Peter Meyrick and in the singles Keith Holman knocked out Phil Soper and will now play Andy Smalldridge, who beat Terry 21-15.

Peter Gacsall is on the verge of a county unbadged singles quarter final after he too came away from Preston with a win and he and Keith will both have home advantage this week.
In the county pairs Roger Green saved a match lie while playing an extra end decider at Uckfield against Adrian Wainwright in a game lasting over three and half hours but the win sees Roger and Chris Reynolds move in to the fourth round. In the fours Graeme Geddie, Adam Harding, Ian Watson and Keith Holman were tied 15-15 at West Hoathly after 16 ends but won four of the last five ends to progress, and also through are Terry's quartet who won away at Newhaven.

Lindfield's men successfully knocked out Woodingdean in both the county and national double fours last week without losing a rink in either game and now move on to the second round in both competitions. Peter Gacsall and Mick O'Donnell earned an impressive 21-11 victory at West Hoathly against experienced campaigners Dave Eastell and Tony Grainger in the National Over 55 pairs and in the ladies equivalent competition Shirley Nelson and Sue Willmott were 35-7 runaway winners against Ringmer.

The first week of the Mid Sussex and John Spriggs leagues saw Lindfield take on Hurstpierpoint in both matches but collectively Lindfield secured 18 of the available 20 points. In the Mid Sussex mixed fours competition Jennie Holland, Geoff Nelson, Carol and Ian Watson won their opening round tie at Haywards Heath, although there were defeats for Lindfield in the first round of the Border League cup and the Tom Francis mixed double fours.

Lindfield romp through in Tony Allcock trophy

In the second round of the men's county singles Keith Holman and Terry Hughes both registered wins at Preston with Keith beating Trevor Vine 21-14 and Terry clinching a nail-biter against Peter Morgan 21-20.

Peter Gacsall maintained his good form in the unbadged singles with an away win at Uckfield and all three players now travel to Preston for their third round matches. In the county pairs there were wins for Chris Reynolds and Roger Green at the Isle of Thorns and Keith Foxwell and Terry Hughes at Buxted Park, while in the triples Roger Willmott, Hughes and Graeme Geddie enjoyed a comfortable 27-4 home win, also against Buxted.

To cap a successful week of county competitions both the clubs entries in the fours came through their first round encounters with victory against Peacehaven and Preston respectively.

The club's first venture in to the Tony Allcock mixed fours competition ended with an emphatic 47-9 score line in favour of Lindfield against Newick, with Holman's rink losing only one end before the opposition called it a day. The club ended the week on a losing note though as they suffered a 4-1 home loss to Newick in the first round of the national Top Club despite holding the advantage in three of the matches as they reached the closing stages.

Lindfield ladies were in action in the second round of the Gladys Rowland competition but suffered a last bowl defeat at the hands of Horsham with the scores tied at 15-15 entering the final end.

Mid-Sussex Times report

In the second round of the Gladys Rowland competition Jennie Holland, Chris Sugarhood, Carol Watson and Sue Willmott eased in to the third round with a 28-8 home win against Victoria Drive. In the men's county singles Terry Hughes enjoyed a comprehensive 21-2 victory in the first round while Keith Holman was given a walk-over by last year's beaten finalist Ollie Ovett. Both players now travel to Preston in the second round.

Ian Watson was on the wrong end of the score line though as he slipped to a 16-21 defeat at Uckfield. Peter Gacsall and Mick O'Donnell teamed up to make progress in the national over 55 pair's and Peter is now the lone survivor in the county unbadged singles as he strives to earn a Sussex county badge.

In the county pairs there were first round wins for Keith Foxwell and Terry Hughes at Lindfield and Chris Reynolds and Roger Green at West Hoathly although Ian Watson and Keith Holman suffered a surprising defeat at Brighton.

The bowls club attracted plenty of interest on Saturday when it ran a target bowls stall during Lindfield village day and had club coach Mick O'Donnell on hand to give advice to those who ventured on to the main green to play a few ends. Many thanks to all the club members who helped out during the day.

Gladys Rowland campaign starts strongly

In the Gladys Rowland competition both Lindfield teams enjoyed first round wins with firstly Shirley Nelson, Janine Scola, Sue Paterson and Shirley Foxwell earning a 21-18 home win against Hollingbury and then Jennie Holland, Chris Sugarhood, Carol Watson and Sue Willmott recovering from 13-1 down to register a 24-22 victory at Worthing Pavilion.

In the ladies county triples Jennie, Carol and Sue have reached the last 16 thanks to a 21-15 and a 21-11 win against Ringmer and Haywards Heath respectively. Club champion Margaret Atkins got her season off to a winning start with a first round victory in the county unbadged singles and in the men's equivalent event there were home wins for both Bryan Mills and Peter Gacsall in the preliminary round, although Mick O'Donnell lost out to Preston's Dave Bibby.

Keith Holman has the chance to avenge last years defeat to Ollie Ovett when the two players go head to head in the first round of the county singles and there was a convincing win in the national double fours with Lindfield's men romping to a 52-12 away win at Mackie.

On Saturday 31st May the bowls club will once again run a target bowls stall during Lindfield village day and the club will be open for anyone wishing to try the game on the main bowling green, with a club coach on hand to offer support and guidance for those who are interested.
There is also an open evening at the club, starting at 6pm on Friday 6th June.

National competition teams announced

Lindfield have selected their teams for the Men's Top Club (vs Newick), Men's National Double Fours, and the "Tony Allcock Trophy".

The Men's Top Club team is as follows:
Two wood singles: Peter Gacsall.
Four wood singles: David Glossop.
Pair: Roger Willmott and Mick O'Donnell.
Triple: Arthur Mortenson, John Foster & Ken Eldred.
Four: Colin Stevens, Ron Langridge, Geoff Nelson, Peter Colbourne.

The Men's National Double Fours team:
Peter Gacsall, Terry Hughes, Ian Watson, Keith Holman.
Chris Reynolds, Adam Harding, Roger Green, Tom Palmer.

The Tony Allcock Trophy team:
Carol Watson, Sue Willmott, Ian Watson, Keith Holman.
Chris Sugarhood, Roger Willmott, Vera Stevens, Terry Hughes.

New season, new direction

The new season at Lindfield Bowling Club starts on April 19th with another full programme planned for the season. Following on from the success of previous years the club is keen to attract younger members and Saturday mornings between 10am and midday will see a new "One Direction" slot with children welcome to come and try the game under the guidance of some established club members. It costs just £10 to join "One Direction", and that includes a red and white shirt and a colour-coordinated cap.

There is also an open morning on Saturday May 10th for anybody who may be interested in joining or finding out more about the club. The start of season coffee morning will be held on April 26th and the social committee will be organising their usual selection of entertainment throughout the season to keep the members occupied on and off the green.

For those wishing to follow the fortunes of the bowls club during the summer this website will be regularly updated with news and competition results, with the competitive season getting under way in May.