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Owen Aspinal (front centre) and manager Phil Knapp with the successful Lincs A team.
Spalding Lightning which included four Stamford Club members, Louise & Stephen Harris and Karen and Brian Martin
Quartet of national champions
Quartet of national champions
Stephen and Louise Harris, Karen Martin and teenager Owen Aspinall who play their domestic matches at Stamford Indoor Bowls Club, combined to achieve a national title double at Nottingham IBC at the weekend.
While Martin and the Harris brother and sister pairing were in the same rink as members of the Spalding Lightning squad that won the prestigious Egham Trophy for the first time, Aspinall (17) skipped one of two rinks representing LincolnshireTigers that claimed the English Under 18 inter-county title.
After the defeat of Solihull in the Egham semi-final, Louise and Karen were drafted in as lead and No.2 to Stephen’s rink alongside skip Jordan Philpott against Ilminster.
Strolling to a 23-16 win they were part of a clean sweep of all four rinks as their opponents crumbled 87-52.
For Aspinall it was a second major success this year having collected a gold medal in the British Isles Under 18 pairs in Scotland. He also reached the final stages of the EIBA Under 18 singles.
Joining Chloe Bland and Aiden Bickles, the trio won 32-6 against Gloucestershire on the way to an overall 41-22 win across two rinks of triples. The team was managed by Phil Knapp from Bourne, also a member at Stamford IBC.
FOOTNOTE: Chris Ballard has reached last 16 of the Novice singles at Nottingham on April 9 for players who have never previously reached the final stages. He plays Kevin Rolfe from Risbeygate, Bury St Edmunds.
County U-turn over league format
County U-turn over league format
After just one season of men’s and mixed teams reverting back to chasing promotion and avoiding relegation, Lincolnshire Indoor Bowling Association, has agreed a U-turn and clubs will compete on a regional basis for the 2026/27 winter programme of fixtures.
Grouped geographically north and south, clubs first contested men’s, mixed and men’s over 60s leagues experimentally after the Covid pandemic to reduce travel. League winners then played off on a neutral green to decide county champions.
It suited clubs at the extremes of the county, including Stamford who won the men’s play-off against Lincoln in 2024. But after a controversial vote it was established the original format would return for the 2025-26 season.
Now, however, with the game’s age profile and travel costs increasing - and some clubs finding it increasingly difficult to field competitive teams with longer distances of upto 80 miles - the league has agreed to revert to the geographical format for the 2026-27 season.
Meanwhile Stamford Men’s ‘B team completed its latest Lincs IBA Division Two fixture at the weekend - a round trip of more than four hours to Scunthorpe - returning with only two out of a possible 14 points to show for it.
Captain John Suffling struggled to raise a team but was grateful to several bowlers, including Mick Porter, Steve Brown, Charlie Jones and John Pearson, who stepped in at the last minute.
And it was the rink of Ken Rawlins, John Wallace, Clive Parker and Martin Hewitt who snatched two shots on the last end to claim their points.
Lincs Men’s League Division Two: Scunthorpe 91 (12 pts) Stamford B 51(2) Stamford names only. K Rawlins, J Wallace, C Parker, M Hewitt won 20-19; C Jones, G Hulme, J Suffling, A Hynes lost 13-29; J Pearson, J Howarth, M Dye, M Porter lost 10-27; P Shaw, S Brown, B Orme, JV Pearson lost 8-26.
*Stamford’s women’s team completed their League fixtures with a 63-85 home defeat by Boston but two points were enough to retain second spot behind Lincoln in the southern section final table.
FOOTNOTE: Stamford IBC’s annual meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 15 (7.30 pm) with the club finals on successive Sundays (April 12 & 19).
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