Bob Underhill has been running the very successful mixed umbrella competition at Sidmouth Bowls Club since October 2018, almost five years of dedication, and for that, all members are very grateful to him.
During this 2022/23 season, some 79 members have participated for the club, which all adds up to a sizeable proportion of the membership and includes many newer members, as well as the more experienced.
It is so popular that Bob runs three sessions throughout the day on around 25 Mondays during the season, running into early April. With not too many more weeks to go, at the top of the table is Jim Wrench, closely followed by Joan Crook.
Teams are chosen on the day through a lottery system. Points are awarded to the winning rinks by the margin of shots they win by. For example, plus 1 to 5 shots equates to 6 points, and up to plus 21 shots amounts to a very useful 10 points.
Well done to Bob and all the competitors for another great year of mixed umbrella bowls.
There was great news for Andrew Lowe, who has been awarded his indoor Devon County Badge. Andrew is a great singles player and, over the last few years, has done very well in both County and National Competitions.
He received his badge at a County game played at Taunton Deane, which was Andrew's club before moving to Sidmouth. Congratulations to Andrew from everyone at Sidmouth Bowls Club.
The Ladies Indoor County Finals will be played over this weekend at Madeira bowls club. On Saturday, the finals of the 4's, triples and pairs will be played, and on the Sunday morning, Sidmouth’s Jill Bishop will play the semi- final of the Champion of Champions.
Jill, who won the Sidmouth Ladies Championship last winter season, is automatically entered into this Competition, along with other Devon Ladies Club Champions.
Jill will be playing against Sue Evans from Honiton in the semi-final and hopefully the final in the afternoon against either Pauline Howe from Isca or Sue Harriet from Madeira. We wish Jill all the very best and for those that wish to watch, there should be some good bowling over those two days. It is really good to see so many from East Devon Clubs represented in these finals.
Last Saturday saw the final of the Men’s Devon InterClub match against Madeira. SBC enjoyed an excellent result at home with both rinks winning. John Richards, Phil Meadows, John Mason and skip Don Smith won 21- 18, while Brian Deam, Allan Davis, Clive Brook and skip Mick Cox triumphed 23 - 14.
This gave the away rinks a reasonable cushion of 12 shots. However, at one stage, the Sidmouth rinks were 25 shots down, but what a great recovery for them to finish just five shots in arrears, which is an excellent result away. The final score for this final InterClub match of the season was Sidmouth 83 Madeira 76. Great result and their first overall win in this league, so onwards and upwards for next season.
Sidmouth Bowls Club are once again holding a ‘Taster Day’ as we approach the summer season. This will be held on Saturday, April 1 (no fooling) from 11am until 1pm and from 2pm until 4pm. Why not just come along and try your hand at this great sport?
Bowls will be supplied but you need to bring flat shoes, or trainers, with clean soles please. You will get a free half-hour session on the indoor green at Sidmouth Bowls Club. This will be with one of the experienced coaches and, if you enjoy it, then you can sign up for three coaching sessions before you make your mind up whether to join. No obligation, what's the harm in giving it a try?
By Carol Smith
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