(Content reviewed 6/10/08)

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). At the 2006 AGM our own Chairman, Noel Clark, was elected as a general committee member (with no portfolio).

Usually 6 Committee meetings are held each year with 2 of these being full weekend "seminars".  An AGM is held in July. They 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 Competitions (one in the winter and one in the summer), the National Championships and manage the England team. They also run an annual open fours competition (the Millennium Trophy) and a national competition for under 18s (the Woodbridge Trophy) as well a several U18 select matches against county teams.

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 1025  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.

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

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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)