Visitor No:
Reset on 7/10/09
THE E S M B A
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Visitor No:
Reset on 7/10/09 |
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THE E S M B A |
Content reviewed 23/9/11
A condition of membership in our Association is that members affiliate to both the ESMBA and the NESMBA
For details of the ESMBA National Championship Heats and Finals go to NATIONALS
THE ENGLISH SHORT MAT BOWLING ASSOCIATION (ESMBA)
The ESMBA is the national governing body for our sport and was formed in 1984. They are run by a management committee of 15 (elected annually at the AGM). Usually 6 Committee meetings are held each year with 2 of these being full weekend "seminars". An AGM is held in July.
The ESMBA are responsible for setting the standards of our game (Rules, Umpires, Coaching, Discipline etc) as well as the future development of it. They organise the National Inter-County Competition (ICC), the National Championships and select and manage the England team. In 2009 they introduced a National inter-club competition to replace the summer ICC for which support had fizzled out. They also run an annual open fours competition (the Millennium Trophy) and a national competition for under 18s (the Woodbridge Trophy) as well as U18 select matches against county teams and/or training days.
In the 2003/04 season there were 38 member counties with a total of 26,352 registered players - a rise of just 95 over the previous year. Member counties varied in size from Devon with 2322 players to Durham who only registered 51. North Yorkshire is currently the 11th largest county with 899 registered players.
Every affiliated club in the country (1,020 in 2003/04) has been issued with an "ESMBA Information Pack" containing full details of all committee members, a copy of their Constitution, an up to date copy of "The Laws of the Game" plus other useful/interesting information such as details of their Insurance and Loan schemes and guidelines for dealing with young players. Updates to this are issued annually and should be available to all clubs around Christmas each year.
The ESMBA maintains its own web site as do several of its member counties. For convenience, links to these are provided on a separate page - OTHER SITES
November 19th/20th 2011 DUMFRIES SCOTLAND - British Isles Championships. This is an annual 5 way contest between England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man with each fielding a team of 26 players consisting of the Internationals (a team event of 4 Rinks) and the Individuals (one each of Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours). Our team was selected from the full England squad of 52 (see http://esmba.co.uk/senior_squad_141.html ) and included both Bronagh Malone and Gareth Townend. Everyone gets 4 games (one against each of the other countries) over the weekend and historically the Irish have dominated the competition with England last winning in 1992.
Gareth (playing lead) and Bronagh (at No 2) were in different Rinks both of which won 2 and lost 2 of their games. However, overall the Rinks won 10, lost 5 and drew 1 in the Internationals. England, Ireland and Wales all won three of their four matches and it is great to report that it was England who squeezed out Ireland by +107 shots to +93 (with Scotland on +32). In the Individuals England also took the Singles and Triples crowns (coming 3rd in the Pairs and the Fours).
Our 5 squad members are now eagerly awaiting to see if they have been chosen for the WORLD Championships which take place in Balleymoney in Ireland in March.
October 1st/2nd 2011 - This historic match between the newly formed England ladies team and the ladies from the NI Armagh Zone took place over 2 days at the Bridgman BC (Harrold - Sat) and Kempston IBC (Bedford - Sun). Four sessions were played on each day and although the bookies had the experienced Irish team down as hot favourites, the England team performed well above expectations to clinch victory by 63-49 points. This convincing score line however, disguises the very close nature of the match which if judged on overall shots would still have gone to England by just 51 shots - 609-558. (Note that the very close 667-662 score line announced at the end of the match is to be double checked in view of the recorded session scores listed below)
This result is quite remarkable considering that this was a newly formed team in which none of the players had played alongside each other ever before.
Session 1 England 13 Armagh 3 119-68
Session 2 England 6 Armagh 6 62-53
Session 3 England 7 Armagh 9 83-94
Session 4 England 4 Armagh 8 48-65 Day 1 England 30 Armagh 26 312-280
Session 5 England 12 Armagh 4 104-90
Session 6 England 8 Armagh 4 58-49
Session 7 England 8 Armagh 8 81-91
Session 8 England 5 Armagh 7 54-48 Day 2 England 33 Armagh 23 297-278
Bronagh and Rose played in all 8 sessions whilst Jacinta and Pat played in 6 sessions.
Bronagh SINGLES 17-8 13-18 9-17 PAIRS 22-3 FOURS 15-5 9-10 12-4 4-11
Rose SINGLES 9-13 14-12 15-12 FOURS 11-7 16-3 4-12 9-7 11-6
Jacinta FOURS 15-11 16-3 4-12 15-10 11-4 11-6
Pat TRIPLES 12-8 13-6 14-8 6-13 FOURS 11-8 6-8
Apart from the bowling, the teams enjoyed a meal laid on at the Bedford Golf Club on the Saturday evening followed by a very enjoyable and informal gig laid on by Bronaghs fiancee, Sean Conroy. Sean, whose group ISHKA are well known on the Scarborough club/pub circuit, then performed a half hour of superb card illusions for a group of bowlers staying at his hotel. Fantastic!
(See PhotoGallery)
July 16th/17th 2011 - 78 lady bowlers from across the country (43 n Sat and 35 on Sun) attended the first England Ladies Trial in order for the ESMBA to pick a squad of 30 to play against the Armagh (Ireland) Ladies on October 1st/2nd. We had nominated 6 to attend but in the event only Jacinta Townend, Rose Haynes, Bronagh Malone and Pat Beardsley were able to go down (Kempston). Rumour has it that all four played well but the final selection will not be made until the ESMBA seminar weekend on 23rd/24th July. August 3rd - Jacinta, Rose, Bronagh and Pat have ALL been selected into the squad of 30. They will now attend a practice day on September 18th in preparation for the match against Ireland on October 1st/2nd. Very well done ladies - enjoy competing at the top level.
May 22nd/23rd 2011 - Trials for the England team were once again attended by a large contingent from North Yorkshire. In the Seniors, previous team members, David Newsome, Ben Render, Gareth and Jacinta Townend were joined by Joseph Newsome and Bronagh Malone. Competition was particular tough this year with around 75 attending for just 45 places in the squad. In the Juniors, last years team members, Matthew Jackson, James Clark, Jake Potter, Edward Townend and Nathan Kotek were joined by Cameron Breeze and Josh Burrows. Charlotte Clark who was unable to make this weekend will attend a further trial later in the year.
June latest - We now have 5 in the England squad - Bronagh joins David, Ben, Gareth and Jacinta. Unfortunately, Jo did not quite make the grade. No news yet regarding the Juniors.
November 20th/21st 2010 - David Newsome together with brother Jo and Ben Render took the ferry to the Isle of Man for this years British Isles Championships where David had been selected to play in one of our 4 Rinks. The BI is a 5 way fight between England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man and this year England ended in 2nd place behind Ireland. Dave had a great experience with his Rink winning 2 of their 4 games. (See PhotoGallery)
For a full set of results go to the ESMBA website at http://esmba.co.uk/bi_2010_results_144.html
October 2010 - From the 52 strong England squad announced on the ESMBA website, a team has now been chosen to play in the British Isles Championships in the Isle of Man on November 21st - 22nd. The format requires 1 Single, 1 Pair, 1 Triple and 1 Four and 4 Rinks - 26 players in total. David Newsome in his first year in the England squad was delighted to have caught the selectors eye and to be in this elite group. The full team is as follows.
Northants - Chris Hopkins, Edward Sawbridge, Leigh Hall
West Midlands - Simon Willies & Chris Willies
Cheshire - James Neil, Steve Proctor, Steve Burrows, Martin Walker, Grant Soller
Shropshire - Alan Williams, Chris Shakeshaft, Chris Williams, Warwick France
Oxfordshire - Trevor Brown
Warwickshire - Tom Millerchip, John Pitcher, David Haywood
East Sussex - Andrew Beard
Essex - Craig Burgess
North Yorkshire - David Newsome
Hampshire - Jason McLean (Hampshire),
Cornwall - Karen Watson
Devon - Lee Toleman, Michael Ivings
August 2010 - (28th/29th August) Gareth Townend attended the England trials for the 3rd year running and this year he was joined by 49 other hopefuls including his sister, Jacinta together with Ben Render and David Newsome. After a series of Rinks matches over the 2 days it is great to report that all 4 of them were invited to join the final squad of 44. (Update - October 18th - The final squad as recently published on the ESMBA website actually comprises 52 players)
They will all now play over the Presidents weekend in September as well as attending 3 coaching/team building days during the season and will all have hopes of being selected to play in the Britsh Isles Championships in the Isle of Man (Nov 21/21), a match against Wales in (Feb 13) and the British Isles A team Championships (Mar 19/20). Our best wishes to them all for a successful (and enjoyable) season at National level.
June 2009 - Gareth Townend has once again trialled for, and been accepted into the England squad.
June 2008 - 17 year old Gareth Townend (soon to turn 18), who has played since the age of 11 at North Duffield, attended the main England squad Trials held over in May. Here he was assessed over the course of 2 days during which he had to play a total of 8 games along with over 60 others who were hopeful of getting into the squad. The squad is selected afresh each year so he found himself playing alongside many regular and experienced England players from the past few years who were trying to hold on to their places. By his own admission, he played at his best and had an excellent weekend. His efforts were rewarded as he has just learnt that he WILL be in the team squad for 2008/09. This is great news for him, his family and his club as well as our county as a whole and just shows that nothing is out of reach if you just persevere and commit yourself. We wish him all the best in the opportunities he will now have, which include playing in next years British Isles Championships in Northern Ireland. Go for it Gareth and make sure everyone knows what part of the world you come from!! (See Photogallery)