SITE MAP

EMAIL Webmaster

North Yorkshire Short Mat Bowling Association

Visitor No:

Hit Counter

Reset on 10/10/10

COMPETITIONS & HOLIDAYS

Content reviewed 10/10/10

All the listed competitions are OPEN for entry by any member of the Association

Various REPORTS on Short Mat Holidays appear at bottom of this page

(For further details, including Competition Reports and Rolls of previous winners, click on the highlighted links)

ORGANISER COMPETITION REMARKS
     
NYSMBA Heats for  National Championships 6 disciplines
NYSMBA County Championships 6 disciplines
NYSMBA Little Cup (formerly Inter-League Cup) 20-24 fours
NYSMBA Cameo Shield Discontinued in 2006
     
NESMBA Inter-County matches (2 teams) 10 Home & 10 Away
NESMBA Northern Counties Championships 4 disciplines over 2 days (Barnard Castle)
     
North Duffield SMBC North Duffield Triples Usually 24 triples
Kirbymisperton SMBC Kirbymisperton Triples Variable
Kirbymisperton SMBC Kirbymisperton Pairs Variable
Scarborough SMBC Scarborough Pairs Variable
BSA SMBC Swinton Triples Variable
BSA SMBC Swinton Pairs Discontinued 2010
Easingwold SMBC Easingwold Triples Variable
St. Cuthberts SMBC Ampleforth Pairs Discontinued 2006
BSA SMBC Swinton (formerly St. Cuthberts) High Fives Teams of 5 (triple + pair)
Yoredale SMBC Yoredale Triples Discontinued 2007

Short Mat Holiday Reports

POTTERS LEISURE RESORT September 2nd - 5th 2011

After last years  trip to Norfolk (organised by the NYSMBA - see below) a group of 20 North Yorkshire bowlers travelled independently this year to the Potters Leisure resort on the Norfolk coast. The primary objective (apart from having fun) was to take part in the Potters Cup, an annual competition organised by Teresa and Selwyn Goldsmith (of Norfolk CSMBA) now in its 11th year.

On the Saturday, 61 triples took part playing in the main hall on 21 mats with all entrants getting 4 games (9 ends). The top 2 then played in the Final for the Potters Cup with the next 2 playing another (consolation) Final for the Potters Shield. At the end of the day only 5 triples had won all their games and based on shot difference Rose Haynes, Roger Green and Jan McClintock (Norfolk) found themselves in 5th position so were unable to vie for one of the 2 prizes.

On the Sunday, 60 Pairs then took part in the optional Cash Pairs - this time all playing 5 games (7 ends). Rose and Roger were again undefeated, this time ending in 3rd place, just ahead of Jim & Jean Weatherall who ended in 4th. Derek & Pat Beardsley were also undefeated but with 1 draw, including a win over England's David (Minty) Lamb (who they had also beaten the previous day in the Triples with Jean Weatherill).

Thus concluded a successful weekend for the North Yorkshire contingent who also managed to find time to eat three good meals a day, drink many a bottle of wine, enjoy the excellent in-house entertainment and generally have a very good time.

See PhotoGallery and also the Norfolk web site for a fuller report -  http://shortmatnorfolk.co.uk/latestnews.aspx

2010 Norfolk Weekend September 24th-27th 2010

In September 2007, a party of bowlers from Norfolk visited Yorkshire for a social weekend which included a match against a mixed NYSMBA team at the Galtres Centre (see Warm-up Day 2007/08). This party was made up of bowlers from the “Norfolk Over 60s” – a very active group who over the past 10 years have toured together all over the British Isles as well as abroad to Turkey, Cyprus and Malta. In September 2009, the same group returned for a second visit and another match, this time at the Y&D IBC (see Warm-up Day 2009/10) at the end of which their organiser, Teresa Goldsmith (the wife of Norfolk’s Chairman) repeated her invitation to our county to pay them a return visit. No NYSMBA county side had ever toured before but a canvass of the players present at this second match showed enough support for basic plans to be put into motion. To boost numbers, the trip was opened up to all our clubs and finally, 40 players (with 5 partners) made the trip over the weekend of 24th-27th September. The party included players from 10 of our clubs and with about half never having played at county level before, the accent was to be primarily on a fun weekend with no great expectation of much bowling success.

Bowling took place on all three days and because the venue at Lyng (Norfolks home venue) offered no evening entertainment, two Quizzes and a trip to the Norwich Theatre Royal had been arranged. The results of all these activities were as follows.

Friday “Fun Bowls” – The weekend started with an informal evening of triples with a special scoring system that only rewarded the 2 closest bowls but penalised anyone who hit the block, went off the mat or bowled too short or too long. After 4 ends all teams moved on to meet another triple and scores were accumulated. After 16 ends the “top dogs” were Robert Harris, Pat Jones and Joan Ramsden (23 points or thereabouts) whilst bringing up the rear were Ken Thompson, Jim Weatherill and Maurice Woodhouse (with around -6 points). The winners and losers all received “fun” trophies. 

Saturday versus the Norfolk Over 60s. After a welcome speech from Teresa Goldsmith and a reply from Pat Jones (our Vice Chairman) gifts were exchanged by all 38 players before the match got under way. The format was 6 Triples (10 ends) and 10 Pairs (15 ends) with games played over 6 sessions on 8 mats and everyone having 3 games. Although the Norfolk team only had 3 of their county team players on their side, they regularly meet and play together and so gave the Yorkshire “tourists” a tough time winning the day by 61-35 (586-471). The award for our “Best Triple” went to Rose Haynes, Eli Beardmore and Jean Smallwood who won all 3 of their games although Marion Rowbotham, Jo Hearld and Graham Davies were also undefeated with 2 wins and a draw. There were no undefeated Pairs but the “Best Pair” were Derek & Pat Beardsley who were the only couple to win 2 games. All 5 received “Star” trophies.

In the evening after dinner, most of the group got together in the bar to take part in a Quiz which consisted of 8 rounds of 10 themed general knowledge questions. The “Brains” of the night turned out to be Rose, Paul and  Lesley & John Bailey (guests who had joined us for the evening) who each received a bottle of wine and a £10 M&S voucher whilst the “Dunces” were Jim, Pat, Marion and Freda who had to make do with a Yorkshire Tea mug and drying up cloth each!  

Sunday versus the Norfolk County teams. After a “welcome” from the Norfolk Chairman, Selwyn Goldsmith, the Norfolk Team Manager, Lianne Mills exchanged commemorative plaques with Pat Jones. The Yorkshire “tourists” had been organised into two teams nominally called ‘Premier’ and ‘A’ (to match Norfolk’s nomenclature). No attempt had been made to concentrate all the experienced players into the ‘Premier’ team as this would have left the ‘A’ team considerably under strength. Indeed, most players in both teams found themselves playing alongside unfamiliar colleagues and often in unfamiliar disciplines. A defeat for both our teams was therefore quite predictable but nevertheless the day gave everyone a great bowling experience against excellent opposition which included 3 players who are in the current England National squad. Our ‘Premier’ team lost by 5-35 (127-197) and our ‘A’ team by 12-28 (137-207). In the ‘A’ team, Jim Adams and Pat Jones (Pairs) were the only players to remain undefeated whilst in the ‘Premier’ both Rose Haynes and Paul Williamson clocked up convincing wins against former England Manager John Turner. However it was Paul who ended with a slightly better shot difference and, along with Jim & Pat, were awarded an “Oscar” for producing the best performances of the day.   

After an early dinner, a short coach trip landed the “tourists” party at the Theatre Royal in Norwich for a performance of the musical revue “That’ll Be The Day” - a fabulous show now in its 25th anniversary year and a celebration of the hits of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The talented group of performers not only brought back many musical memories of our younger years but also performed some hilarious sketches which had the group crying in their seats. It was generally agreed that this was a great conclusion to a very enjoyable weekend.

Monday Finally, before departing for home, the final prize was awarded to the winners of the “Rogues Gallery” photo Quiz which consisted of a set of early photos sent in by many of those taking part in the trip. This provided a final piece of hilarity especially for those who had mistakenly identified the Queen as Joan Ramsden and an early photo of Jim Weatherill as Rose Haynes, Pat Beardsley and by 3 as Marion Rowbotham. Nice hairstyle Jim! Of the 22 photos, 11 were correctly identified by Derek and Pat Beardsley who went home with a Yorkshire Tea Caddy and a £10 M&S voucher apiece as a reward for their efforts.

Thus ended the first NYSMBA tour, but will it be the last?   (See our PhotoGallery and also report on Norfolks website at   http://shortmatnorfolk.co.uk/latestnews.aspx )   

2005 Bodelwyddan - Only 7 of our bowlers took part this year. In the Singles the best performance was by George Cook (Bilsdale) who reached the last 16. George and wife Nancy also reached the last 16 in the Pairs whilst Eli Beardmore (Hambleton) playing with an unknown partner made it to the Quarter Finals. In the Triples, Pat & Brian Bennett with Margaret Mellors (Hambleton) were unable to match their success in previous years but still made it to the last 16 whilst Eli (with two unknown players one of which had represented Wales) again reached the Quarter Finals.  

2004 Potters - Three of our bowlers joined a large party from Surrey organised by "Bushells Bowls Breaks" to try out the Short Mat break at Potters Leisure Resort (with bowls organised by Anglia Bowls). The Pairs competition, with 114 entries, was played on a straight knockout basis over 10 ends. Roger Green teamed up with Bryan Fielder (Phoenix Nomads)) and had a good run in which they reached the Semi-Finals before succumbing in a scrappy game to the eventual winners. In the Triples, the 102 entrants played in 12 round robin groups of eight over 9 ends. Roger, this time playing with George Gray and Irene English from Cumbria were one of only three teams to win all seven of their matches to reach the last 16 when they failed to come to terms with a fast mat and were knocked out.

2004 Bodelwyddan - Our party this year comprised 32 bowlers.

In the Pairs there were 84 entrants organised in twelve round robin groups of seven. Two of our Pairs - David and Sheila Loraine (Barn) and David and Margaret Moore (Hambleton) came first and second respectively in their groups to reach the KO stage where they then found their first opponents too strong for them. 

The Triples had 52 entrants organised in round robin groups of four after which five of our trios qualified for the knockout stages. Of these, three reached the quarter finals. These were Josie and Roland Kendal from Barn (playing with a.n.other from Norfolk), David and Sheila Loraine with Jean Crowther also from Barn and Brian and Pat Bennett with Margaret Mellors from Hambleton. Unfortunately Davids trio and Brians trio were drawn to play each other in what turned out to be a close and exciting match in which Brian trailed the jack with his last wood to pick up 3 shots and force an extra end. In this Brians triple scored a single shot which enabled them to play in the Semi-Final (one step better than last year) where they  went down to the eventual winners.

For the Singles there were 78 entries and these were organised in groups of three. Bill Carter (Barn), George Cook and Nancy Cook (Bilsdale) and Barry Dixon (Bilsdale) all went into the knockout but fell to strong opposition. This discipline was won by Derek Grey from Durham for the third consecutive year.      

2003 Bodelwyddan - A party of over 40 bowlers from several clubs across our county took part in this years holiday Tournament at this popular location organised by "Short Mat Leisure Breaks". Competitions took place in Singles, Pairs Triples and players from our group featured well in all disciplines.

In the Pairs there were 104 entries (13 groups of 8) with each pair having seven round robin games. The winners and runners up in each group, together with the next best six from across all groups then went forward as the top 32 into the knockout stages. All games were fixed at 10 ends. Roger Green (Great Ouseburn) playing with Ron Casson (Barn) reached the Quarter finals whilst David and Sheila Loraine (Barn) went one better reaching the Semi-Final.

In the Triples there were 68 entries (17 groups of 4) with each triple having three round robin games. Winners and runners up qualified to progress to the knockout stages, although four of these qualifiers first played in a preliminary round to reduce the numbers to 32. All games were fixed at 8 ends. Our best triple was Pat and Brian Bennett with Margaret Mellors (Hambleton) who repeated their last years success by once again reaching the Quarter Finals.

The Singles were played over 10 ends but with only two woods. There were 96 entrants (32 groups of 3) with only the group winners progressing to the knockout stages. Our best two, Roger Green (Great Ouseburn) and Danny Brown (Hambleton) were unfortunate to be drawn against one another in the Quarter Finals with Roger going on to defeat in the Semi-Finals by a single shot.

The final Singles winner was Derek Gray (Durham) who beat David Robbins (Northants). In the Pairs, Neville & Val Ruff (Pembroke) beat Geoff & Diana Payne (Staffs). The Triples was an all West Midlands affair with  Lee Lowry, Gladys Miles and Alison Sollis going down to Rob Ridings, Keith Allders and Debbie Sollis. (Rob and Keith are both members of the England squad).