End of season round-up

Introduction

Competitive bowling at VPBC for 2020 concluded recently with the Ladies and Gents singles competitions on 20th and 27th September. They were both played in good weather and were excellently managed by Sue Mountford and Ian Goulding respectively.

The final Round Robin event took place on Saturday, 26th September. We ‘Round Robiners’ owe a big debt of gratitude to John Sawyer, Dave Spratt, and the volunteers that kept this very popular event going during these extremely difficult times.

Our most recent newsletter gave details of off-site winter bowling – The Dunes, Ormskirk (on artificial green), Zetland, and Moorside Park. We plan to give monthly updates on these to let you know how the VPBC teams are faring.

Last winter a number of members met once a week in the clubhouse for various social activities but sadly, COVID means this will not be possible.

The committee will try to find alternative activities that comply with the government’s requirements. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Sadly, the pandemic is likely to be with us for quite some time. We do hope that everyone keeps safe and well by following HMG regulations.

It is important to your health to continue to be active; Walking is a good exercise and Victoria Park is an ideal place for a walk, as brisk as you can manage.

Men’s Singles Championship

The Men’s Singles Championship was played on Sunday, 27 September. The competition started at 11am on a cool but sunny morning under a cloudless sky – ideal bowling weather. The greens were in a lovely condition and so the omens were good for an enjoyable day’s bowling – and so it proved.

We started with a Round Robin played in the morning across both greens which was enjoyed by all, and produced some interesting results. The group winners progressed to play in a knockout phase for the Championship on green 1 in the afternoon, whilst runners up played in a parallel consolation competition on green 2.

In the main competition there was some good bowling on display, with Alan Hatton and Andy Muchall losing out to John Ashcroft and Paul Crummey respectively in the semi-finals. This left John and Paul to fight it out for the title. We were treated to a superb display of bowls in a game which was closely fought throughout, and a real treat to watch. Eventually Paul crossed the winning line first, and was a worthy winner.

The final of the runners up competition was also played on green 1 at the same time and featured our youngest member Simon Tinsley against one of our more experienced members, David Miles. This too was a closely fought game in which David demonstrated his prowess with the long jack; Ultimately, age and experience triumphed over youth, and David ran out the winner. Never mind Simon, your day will come!

I would like to thank Sue Mountford for helping out in so many ways during the day, and the ladies who brought cakes (mmm I like cake). Thanks also go to Margaret Ashcroft who manned the kitchen and kept us supplied with hot drinks.