Mal Smith qualifies as EIBA umpire

The 71-year-old, a bowler at both Stamford IBA and Blackstones, qualified after an intensive training course on procedures, the rules and measuring in which he comfortably exceeded the 90 percent pass rate.Says Malcolm: "I have always been interested in and enjoyed officiating and marking in a competent, unofficial capacity and when the Stamford indoor club suggested it needed a qualified umpire to represent it and complete the circle of coaches and officials at club level, I was delighted to take up the opportunity."

Among the tasks he had to complete was a 100-question written paper, 10 oral questions and 15 measuring exercises with using tapes, peg strings, callipers and gauges, some of which were very intricate.

Oddly, and unlike many new to bowls, Malcolm reveals he was introduced to the sport by his son Trevor, a former professional footballer with Stamford AFC and St Neots who also bowled for Blackstones and Greetham Valley.

Though it has a somewhat unfair reputation as being mainly for the older generation, Malcolm says: "Bowls is a really competitive sport for all ages with great social interaction."

His first official engagement as an umpire is to officiate at the Visually Impaired Bowls England (VIBE) Tournament at Royal Leamington Spa from July 9-13. BW