Stamford to host county Under 25 Open singles

Post date: Mar 28, 2019 12:15:36 PM

In line with its ambitions to continue to provide a facility for encouraging new bowlers, the Stamford Indoor Bowls Club will host the qualifying rounds of the Lincolnshire IBA Open Under 25 singles in February.

The county is already renowned for producing young talent in the game - and thanks to the efforts of its junior academy, the Stamford club has itself produced several players who have gone on to make their mark both nationally and internationally.

The event will take place on February 25, 2020 (from 12 noon) with players expected to compete from not only Stamford but Spalding, Scunthorpe, Louth, Lincoln, Horncastle, Sleaford, Skegness, Dunholme, Sutton St James, Boston and Grantham.

Entry forms are available to download from the website or from the WALL-mounted display slots opposite reception.

FINAL DEFEAT FOR STAMFORD WOMEN

Stamford's women bowlers completed their Lincolnshire (Trudy Bates) League A fixtures with a narrow defeat at Spalding, who overtook them to finish second in the table with 83 points - 24 behind Boston.

It was a chance for Stamford to blood two newcomers - Judy Barwell and Ann Sampy - both of whom showed promise at lead for next season's campaign.

Stamford had two winning rinks in an overall 111-105 scoreline in which they earn four of the 16 points at stake.

Results (Stamford names only):

Lincs A League: Spalding 111 (12 pts) Stamford 105 (4). J Lonslow, M Holden, E Wallace, H Holroyd lost 17-26; J Barwell, I Reading, S Moir, G Edwards lost 21-22; R Roberts, J Dye, S Henshaw, P Birch won 26-20; M King, J Brennan, S Suffling, C Ford won 26-16; A Sampy, M Holroyd, R March, D Mackie lost 16-26.

FOOTNOTE: On Saturday, Christine Ford lost in the semi-final of the Open Over 60 singles to Trevor Bannister (Sleaford). She held an early lead but a four-count halted her momentum and Bannister went on to win 18-11.

OWEN IN REGIONAL FINALS

Owen Aspinall, the ten-year-old Stamford junior, has been invited to take part in the EIBA youth development Midland Region competitions at Melton on April 7.

As well as matchplay against children in their age group, players compete in various skills, including bowling jacks to a specific length, driving and drawing to displaced jacks.

The following week, Owen competes in the national inter-county Under 18 finals in one of Lincolnshire's two triples rinks. Opposition is expected to be provided by Leicestershire, Kent and Somerset.

MIXED TEAM FINISH ON HIGH NOTE

With a 35-shot victory at Louth B, Stamford's mixed team finished their topsy turvy season on a high note, picking up all but two of the 18 points at stake with four winning rinks.

Sadly, while the 108-73 win puts them temporarily at the top of the Second Division table with 104 points from ten matches, it may not be quite enough to secure promotion back to the first division of the Lincolnshire Mixed League.

Their nearest rivals both have two games in hand with Scunthorpe needing just five points and Dunholme 16 to overtake them.

The rink honours went to John Suffling, Tony and Denise Mackie and skip Sue Moir who extended a narrow lead with seven shots in the last four ends, while Mick Smith, stand-in captain Shirley Suffling and Margaret and Derek King won by a similar margin with a late surge of scoring but with a slightly smaller total.

Results (Stamford names only):

Lincs Mixed League Division Two: Louth B 73 (2pts) Stamford 108 (16). J Lonslow, R Roberts, T Barwell, C Jones won 23-16; J Suffling, T Mackie, D Mackie, S Moir won 25-14; R March, J Brennan, A Lonslow, A March won 24-17; J Dye, I Reading, J Hayre, M Dye lost 15-16; M King, Mick Smith, S Suffling, D King won 21-10. BW