Club News
Wednesday 25th June
Gala drama
In a dramatic finish to the Ketton bowls club gala on Wednesday, home players took the top three spots in the 14-team triples event which raised vital club funds.
Shirley and John Suffling joined with Blackstones’ Paul Buckley to set a 27-point target in the event in which teams scored two points for a match win and a point for every end won.
But they slipped up in their last game against Roy Beard’s Barnack rink.
Needing a maximum 10 points from eight ends in their final section game to tie on points, the home rink of Paul Gallaway, Chris Middleton and Bob Warters duly obliged with a 14-0 win over visiting Houghton bowlers to snatch victory overall with a superior shots difference 28-13. Tony Dolby and Steve & Sheila Brown were third with 24 points.
Players from as far afield as Baldock, took part along with those from Carlby, Bourne and Houghton-on the Hill.
Entries are now available for the club’s next gala on Wednesday, August 27.
FOOTNOTE: Ketton became the first club to be guaranteed a player in the English Bowling Federation finals which start at Skegness in August, when both Shirley Suffling and Elaine Upton reached the final of the Northants Senior singles to be played at City of Peterborough BC on July 13.
In the semi-finals Suffling beat Miriam Hulbert (Stamford Town) 21-7 and Upton beat Linda Toms 21-17 at Burrows Court. Upton and John Suffling reached the final of the Senior Mixed pairs, defeating former winners Jane Needham and Martyn Dolby (Blackstones) 17-11.
Thursday 12th June
Market Deeping Royals have qualified for the quarter finals as second in Group A.
Tuesday 3rd June
Boor & Wainwright Shield Competition
All but one of the final matches in the round-robin group stage of this competition have now been played, with the following teams qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Group A: 1. Blackstones D, 2. Market Deeping Royals or Blackstones A (to be determined when Blackstones A have played their final match on 11th June).
Group B: 1. Market Deeping Regals 2. Barnack Vikings.
Group C: 1. Oakham A, 2. Greetham Poachers.
Group D: 1. Stamford Town Dragons, 2. Carlby Corgis.
Congratulations to all these teams. Details of the quarter final draw are on this website.
The results were clear cut in Group D, but in each of the other groups the qualifiers were not decided until the very last match on 2nd June. Blackstones D topped group A with 10 points from 6 matches, but the second qualifier Group A is yet to be decided. The top two teams in Group B were the only teams with 8 points from 6 matches, with their final positions determined by aggregate scores. Three teams in Group C scored 8 points from 6 matches, with Carlby Bees narrowly missing out to Greetham Poachers by just 3 shots difference in aggregate score.
Tuesday 29th April
National Titles for our Bowlers.
Ollie Jeapes and Martyn Dolby, representing Northants but qualifying out of Stamford IBC, retained their respective Under 25 and Over 60 national singles titles at Lincoln’s indoor stadium.
Another Stamford pair, Paul Dalliday and Simon Law, also claimed the men’s triples trophy, alongside Tristan Morton and, after a gruelling day, were losing finalists with Louise Harris in the mixed rinks.
For Jeapes it was a comfortable 21-16 win in the final while Dolby survived a 21-20 semi-final against North Cambs before beating home favourite Danny Brown 21-13.
Having already won the men’s Eversley Trophy for county executives - the women finished in a best ever second place in the equivalent Harry Carver Trophy - Northants set a new record of success.
For full results visit www.northantsbowlingfederation.co.uk
Sunday 20th April
Outdoor bowls clubs in the Stamford League, such as Wittering (see below), are preparing for the new season by opening their greens for practice before the start of the Boor & Wainwright Shield competition on Friday 9th May. As well as roll-ups, some clubs have arranged early-season friendly matches for additional experience for members in the run-up to the start of competitive bowling, as well as competitions over the holiday weekend. The sustained period of dry weather has left greens in much firmer condition than is usual at this stage in the year, with the promise of much faster rinks.
In the photo below, Wittering’s new President Dave Don casts the first jack of the 2025 season, with other club members looking on.
Back row: Ally McNaughton, Jim Mackay, Katie Bailey, Paul Bailey, Dave Roberts.
Front row: Billy Andrew, Mick Smith, James Henderson, Dave Pusch, Dean Wilkinson, Mike Anderson and Darren Middleton.
