Ormskirk Bowling Club

The Spring Pairs Trophy was played for today in beautiful sunshine and there was a good turnout of 22 bowlers.

The tournament was played as a round robin with two groups and each pair in the group playing each other, 5 ends on the grass (which was running beautifully) and 5 on the artificial.

In Group 1, favourites Mike Fagan & Steve James narrowly went through to the final, ending on the same points as Jacky Denning & Les Farrell, but Les & Jacky had just scored less in their matches.

Group 2 saw Dave Roper & Kev Maher run away with the group on 8 points, nearest challengers Ross Muller & Marg Copeland and Chris Webster & Peter Bailey both finishing on 4 points.

So to the final and birthday boy Steve James led superbly on the artificial to make it an uphill struggle for Dave & Kev by the time they swopped to the grass. Steve & Mike continued with their good form and with 2 ends still to go they clinched the 2024 Spring Pairs title. Congrats to both Steve & Mike, but the real winner was the bowling itself.

The British Crown Green Bowling Association is trying to get the views of all bowlers in a series of questionnaires. Please take the time complete the first one by clicking on the link below.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHgnk-s0DyY80RdxAJqRaA7P6bf4KAkuJDLkdv_-X5N6Afwg/viewform

Our Ormskirk Academy team that plays on a Wednesday afternoon would like two or three extra players, either to play or just to be on standby in case they are short. As it is for ‘senior’ players you need to be 55 or over to play. If you are interested please contact Graham Lucy on 07816 560 278.

Just a reminder that our first club competition is this Sunday. Pairs chosen randomly with a £3 entry fee per person. Please arrive by 12.45 for a prompt start.

We will be holding the above competition which is the first of the year. Sheila Rogers has kindly volunteered to help run it but I’m sure there will be plenty of members there to help out. Pairs to be drawn out of a hat and £3 entry fee per person. Please arrive by 12.45pm for a prompt start.

Our Ormskirk Castle team that plays on a Tuesday evening in the Ormskirk League is looking out for around 3 players to bolster their numbers. Anyone interested in joining the team please contact Joey Copeland.

1st Prize Graham Lucy £40

2nd Prize Steve James £25

Congratulations to this month’s winners-your winnings are on the way. The draw was conducted on 10th April by David Croft. To those existing and new members who would like to support the club, details to join and pay £5 a month per ticket are on the 100 Club tab on the club website. Your contributions are/will be greatly appreciated.

The club held its Wnter Finals Day yesterday, featuring both the singles and pairs knockout finals. There was a great attendance, particularly given the blustery conditions. First up, on the undercard, was the deciding game in the Division One Winter Singles League featuring Steve James and Aaron Backhouse. Aaron only needed to score 15 points or more to win the league. However, the club chairman ran out from 12 v 11 down to win 21 v 12 and retain the Winter League Division One title he secured in 2023. Both Steve and Aaron won ten out of eleven matches played, but Steve secured a crucial losing bonus point in his defeat to Mike Fagan. Congratulations to Steve.

Next up was the Knockout Singles final between Ted Baker and Lorraine Birchall. Lorraine started with four points on the card but didn’t need the handicap as she played the tricky conditions superbly to win to 11. Ted was gracious in defeat and really didn’t do much wrong in the final. Congratulations Lorraine.

Last up was the Knockout Pairs final featuring Haydn Preece and Ste Halliwell v Irene Kermode and Mike Kellett. The latter pair pulled away but were pegged back by some tenacious bowling from Haydn and Ste. However, Irene produced a ‘worldy’ to seal the match by 21 to 18. Congratulations Irene and Mike.

The photos show the three winners from the morning proudly holding their trophies.

As ever at OBC, bowls was the real winner and a good day was had by all who braved the wind.

We really have some great volunteers at our club who come along and do jobs without being asked and without asking for any reward. They are too many to name everyone, but Peter Grimes has been doing so much work recently with our machinery and fixing things that he does deserve a specific mention.

Also, just today, Frank Rogers spent all morning by himself clearing the gutters around the grass green and they now look absolutely fantastic. A big thank you to everyone that comes along and does their bit, and we now have a good number of volunteers to help with all the greenkeeping work.

The Club will be holding its first Junior Bowling session at 10.30am tomorrow (Saturday) morning. A further session will be held on Thursday evening at 6pm.

Anyone you know aged between 5-16 is welcome to attend. No special clothing is required other than wearing trainers or flat soled shoes. The cost of each session is £2 and £1 for each additional sibling, although the first trial session is free for those that haven’t been before. Junior membership prices are just £10 for the whole season and sessions are free for members.

For further details contact Ian Gill, Club Coach on 07500 918 081.