 Stamford youngsters Ollie Jeapes (10) and Owen Aspinall (11) continue to gain valuable experience of bowls and having learned the basics and honed their competitive matchplay ability are working on specialist areas of the game. Their latest successes came at the weekend in the English Bowls Youth Development Scheme (EBYDS) area finals at Grantham IBC. The competition consists of a round robin of three 7-end matches followed by a series of skills including delivering the jack specific distances, drawing bowls to the centre line, drawing to beat a jack in the ditch and bowling a running wood that has to split the bowls and sit on the jack. Points are awarded for each match won or drawn and for executing the skills within specific parameters. In the junior (under 14) section three groups of four children from Stamford, Spalding, Sutton St James and Boston competed. Both Ollie and Owen won all three matches in their respective groups giving them maximum points going into the skills section in which Ollie scored 56 on his debut in the event.Owen added 41 points in the skills so both automatically qualify for the regional EBYDS finals to be staged at Melton in April. FOOTNOTE: Both Ollie and Owen will be among the Stamford contingent competing in the Lincs Under 25 Open singles at Their home club on February 23 when at least 12 other players are expected to attend from local indoor clubs. After the knock out, best of three 7-end sets format, four players will qualify for the county semi-finals at Spalding on March 28. COUNTY LEAGUE DOUBLE HEADER Both Stamford A and Stamford B are in action away from home on Saturday (February 1) in the Lincs County men's league first division - one bidding for the title and the other aiming to stave off relegation. The senior squad travel to Louth, where the slower surface has never been the kindest to them and is a potential banana skin to their hopes of regaining the championship they won in 2017-18, while the second string visit Boston A, seeking valuable points to keep them clear of the drop zone. Stamford A ( Louth, 2 pm): D Hudson, M Linnell, J Earl, M Dolby; W Aspinall, G Knights, N Wright, A Warrington; Mal Smith, M Ramsden, J Travis-Jenner, T Collins; R Allam, M Wallace, M Humphreys, R Martin; A Romaine, O Aspinall, D Miller, P Bailey. Stamford B ( at Boston A, 2pm): D King, D Cave, M Hewitt, K Vinter; D Edwards, D Henshaw, C Jones, A Barnes; R Blake, Mick Smith, A McNaughton, T Christie; P Linnell, R Graham, D Middleton, M Owens; T Barwell, D Heffernan, K Rippin, R Montgomery. Res D Bruce. CHARITIES BENEFIT Those who attended the funeral services of Ketton and Stamford IBC bowler Peter Edwards will be interested to know that from the collections taken, the charities Action Bladder Cancer UK and British Heart Foundation each benefitted to the tune of £400. |
News >