Club Competitions

The draws for all the club competitions have been made except for the John Hostler Trophy and are now up on the website here as well as in the clubhouse. Some very interesting pairings were drawn out and we look forward to finding out who triumphs. Please email your results to the club email address and good luck to all competitors. The website will be updated as the results come in.

The closing date for the John Hostler Trophy has been extended to allow more time for our new members to enter as well as any other member who has not previously won a club competition. It would be really good if you fall in that category to enter this competition so we can have a good turn out. Please contact Roger Fry or email the club and I will pass on your details to him if you are interested in playing or want more details.

This Week's Matches

It has been another successful week for Spa bowling. Starting with a win against Tewkesbury in Arctic conditions when consideration was giving to entering bowls into the Winter Olympics it was followed with the Mid-Week triples side maintaining their 100% record with a win over Sir Thomas Riches in bright sunshine. The win was matched by the Glevum League team the next evening over the same opposition and the week was rounded up with another win on a hot Saturday afternoon away at Falcon in Painswick. Many thanks to all the players who have made themselves available so we could fulfill all these fixtures and for bowling so well. Please keep being supportive as our new members find their bowling feet and hands and will be able to share in the workload.

Club Competitions

Reminder if any member hasn't got their entry form into Roger Fry for this year's club competitions you only have one more week to get in. We would really like every member to enter at least one of the comps. With the right draw who knows what can happen so please get your entry in. Details can be found here.

Glevum League

Unfortunately the success against City could not be repeated against a very strong Pineholt side on a bitterly cold April evening. The good news was the team manged to pick up a couple of points by winning two of the rinks and no one as far as we know actually got frostbite. The evening was rounded off with a pleasant time in their clubhouse with food and drinks and convivial company.

Mid-Week Triples

Steve Morgan kept his 100% record as captain with an 85-76 win at the Gloucester Co-op. The hope is not only the victories but the glorious sunny weather continues.

Glevum League

An early start to the Glevum League saw us taking on our neighbours City. The weather was good although unsurprisingly got cold as the evening wore on. A very competitive match played in excellent spirit by both sides ended with Spa triumphing 75-69. Both captains spoke afterwards of looking forward to the other matches between the two sides as well as a number of joint events planned for the season.

Mid-Week Triples

Steve Morgan started his captaincy of the mid-week team with a narrow victory over Caer Glow on a sunny afternoon. It was a match enjoyed by all and augurs well for the forthcoming season. Steve is always keen to hear from anyone of any age who fancies a friendly game of bowls. Most matches are played on Wednesday afternoons but we do have some matches on other weekday afternoons.

First Match Of The Season

An intrepid 15 bowlers made the journey to Painswick to take part in our opening match of the season. Particular thanks to those who agreed in the last day to help the club out and play. Despite the match ending in defeat the general feeling was pleasure at getting out on the proper green stuff and anticipation of an enjoyable season ahead.

Green Opening - Good Friday April 15th 2.00pm

After the traditional President's opening bowl there will be an afternoon of fun bowls to get the season properly started, followed by drinks and hot cross buns in the club house. New players are welcome.

End Of Season Get Together

The presentation of awards is taking place on Saturday 27th November from 7.00 for 7.30pm at the clubhouse. This will be a social evening including music and games. Please bring some nibbles to share. No hot food.

National Competitions Are Open!

You can now enter next year's National Competitions and if you put your entry in before 5pm on the 17th December you will be entitled to a discount on the entry fees so why not test your skills.

You will need to have a National Competitions account but you can register at the same place for an account if you don't already have one.

The link for making your entry is here. Entry Form

New Club Secretary

Following the AGM Chris Smith is taking on the role of club secretary. Many thanks to Sally Hall for her many years of great service.

Please contact Chris using the gloucesterspabowlsclub@gmail.com address if you wish to update the Website or have any other queries.

Finals Day 2021

Thanks to everyone who brought food for the American lunch/tea on Finals Day this year; it was tasty, plentiful and beautifully served - and perfectly complemented a great day's bowling.

On the Friday before Derek Tremeer beat Alan Dunn to win the Senior Citizens Cup.

During the morning of Sunday 12th September

Ross Guy and David Rolls beat Dave Kinghorn and Paul Phelpstead in an exciting contest that went to an extra end to win the Pairs competition,

Derek Tremeer beat Chris Prosser to win the Handicap Cup,

Mike Prosser beat Dave Brown to win the Men's Two Wood competition, and

Sally Rolls beat Margaret Webb to win the Ladies Two Wood competition

The afternoon session saw

Alan Dunn beat Paul Phelstead to win the Men's Singles Championship,

Sally Rolls beat Chris Prosser to win the Ladies Singles Championship, and

Dave Brown beat Mike Giddy to win the John Hostler Cup

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FOR SOME GREAT BOWLING

More Sad News UPDATE

It is with genuine sorrow that we must tell members that Joyce Nash passed away on Saturday last (24th July).

Joyce and her husband Brian joined Gloucester Spa in 1998, along with Jean Knight, John Tandy and others from Pineholt BC, and quickly became a staunch member of both the ladies team and the club's Glevum League team. She gave sterling service as a club member (serving on the committee until 4 years ago) but also played a good many times for the Gloucestershire County Women's Bowling Association (as it was then) until her physical health began to make bowling difficult. Even then she purchased a bowling arm and insisted she would continue to play.

More recently she had been unable to play but continued whenever possible to support her club from the bank.

Joyce was a star that shone brightly and always had a positive attitude - she will be missed by many club members and across the county.

A private family cremation service will take place on 27th August, but will be followed by a celebration of Joyce's life at St Barnabas Church, Stroud Road at 12.30pm to which friends are most welcome.

8th March Member Update

The All Weather Green

Back in November a set of polypropylene covers (each 14 metres square - believe me that's big) were purchased to protect the all weather green from dirt, dust, rain and goodness knows what else - all of which had left the green in a filthy state in previous years. Although high winds from the north caused some movement on a couple of occasions, it seems that the covers have done their job well and, underneath, the green is looking good. So ........ you'll be able to use that green to get back into gear even when the grass green is still a little heavy . Use it, it's yours.

Our Belated Centenary

It was a shame that 2020 was so heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, mostly because of the horrendous cost of lives lost and health damaged, but a sad by-product of the coronavirus was that we were unable to celebrate the centenary of the founding of Gloucester Spa Bowling Club in 1920.

However, Denise has been able to keep our special fixtures against the Gloucestershire Bowling Association, the Royal Household (Windsor), and against the Friends of English Bowling. Despite everything these fixtures will continue, so be sure to get your names down for these special and prestigious events.

Open Days

This year it is even more important to encourage existing members to return to bowls , but also to make every effort to attract new bowlers to the sport we love.

Bowls England are making special support and publicity available at a national and club level through a major National Open Weekend from 28th to 31st May. We plan to supplement that event by holding our own Open Day over the bank holiday weekend at the beginning of May. Please keep your eyes open for opportunities to volunteer to help on these occasions. Obviously we shall need to stick to guidelines, but many people will find this one of the first opportunities to learn and play a new sport since the lockdowns began - so let's make it an enjoyable, friendly and challenging welcome.

The all weather green has a new look!

Rumour has it that management are planning to open an ice rink soon, but the fact is that the Joint Committee decided that it was worth protecting the AWG (from moss, algae, dirt, seagull droppings, pine needles and cones) to keep it in good condition over the winter. After all the hard work to get it back to such good condition, to let it go again would be a travesty.

So on Thursday 12th November, a small group from Spa and Malcolm Wathern from City worked together to put down a set of nine large waterproof but permeable covers over the whole green. These covers are used by some pretty big names in the sporting world so we are in good company. Clubs including Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea, Torino, Leeds Utd, Werder Bremen, Leicester City, Southampton, Everton and many more have installed such covers to protect their pitches. But ........... this is a first for synthetic bowls surfaces.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible 👍 👏

What a Wonderful end to the season

Sunday 13th September was full of sunshine, friendship and laughter

About thirty members, friends and family turned up to enjoy the chatter, an hour's worth of friendly (?) two wood , pairs and of course the now famous American Supper style food.

We were delighted to welcome seven new and prospective members who joined in the bowling and quickly became one of us

2020 Friendly Pairs League

Series 1 - all games have now been played but, due to poor weather, Alan and Mavis had a game in hand! And now we know the result of their last game ........ They won 14 -8 so clinch the title. Well done to everyone for a great series of games played in good spirit.

Series 2 has almost finished but there have been a few missed games, so it's still open for surprises! Watch this space

Team P F A W D L SD Points

Sally, Dave & Edward 6 54 31 3 2 1 23 8

Gill & Roger 5 48 34 4 0 1 14 8

Derek & Paul 4 33 27 2 1 1 6 5

Mavis & Alan 4 24 25 2 0 2 -1 4

Gordon & Ted 5 33 40 2 0 3 -7 4

Denise & Kevin 6 38 58 2 0 4 -20 4

Steve & Leigh 5 30 40 1 1 3 -10 3

Angela & Jackie 3 21 25 1 0 2 -4 2