New Competition Invitation Added

Detail of the "Off The Cuff" 3 Wood Triples Tournament at the Derwent Hotel Torquay on 4th June have been added to the Competitions page. Application form and further details will be available via the clipboard at Christow.

Bishopsteignton Friendly

Bishopsteignton would like to arrange a couple of friendly evenings for the Summer. They bowl on Sundays at 6.45 to around 9pm and would like to visit us on a suitable Wednesday evening. I will check dates with the club on Sunday before getting back in touch with Bishops.

Willand Triples Competition

Good luck to, Steve, Brad, Ralph & Chloe who are all playing in the A & F Jarrett Tournament at Willand today.

Exeter League looking for New Clubs to Join

Anyone reading this who belongs to or has contact with clubs not currently playing in the Exeter League, please consider entering a team/s. The matches are 2 wood triples played over 17 ends including 2 trial ends. Currently Broadclyst, Christow, Exeter Nomads, Exminster, Silverton & Wonford have teams involved, some with up to 3 teams. More information and contact details can be found by clicking on the Exeter & District Short Mat Bowls link at the top of this page. Hopefully see you on a mat in the future.

Exeter League AGM Report

Last night Tom, Edwin, Janet, Neil, Brad, Ralph, Chloe and Ava attended the Exeter League AGM at St Thomas Cricket Club. All clubs of which there are 6 (more on this later) attended the meeting. Key points to note from the meeting are as follows:
1. Rob Gayton (secretary) & Brian Glanvill (treasurer) are to carry on in their rolls for another 12 months as no replacements have come forward. Should there still be no replacements for their positions found in the coming 12 months it was suggested that the roll of secretary could possibly be rotated on a 12 month basis between the clubs as is currently the case with the position of Chairman. Next seasons Chairman will be from Exminster.
2.There are now only 6 clubs involved in the League now that Cheriton Bishop have withdrawn their team for next season. Also some clubs have reduced the amount of teams they will be entering next season i.e Nomads. It is possible that only 1 division will run later this year. Daniel Gooding (Chairman) asked if all clubs could approach other clubs they have contact with to encourage them to enter a team or teams into the League.
3. Any ideas on how the League can be improved will be gratefully received.
4. Registration and Competition fees are to be kept at the current levels.
At the end of the meeting the Trophies and prizes were presented.
Division 1 winners - Nomads 'A '  Runners up Wonford 'A'
Division 2 winners - Christow 'B'  Runners up Silverton 'B'
K.O Cup winners - Nomads 'A'   Runners up Exminster 'B'
Win Graham Shield Winners - Wonford  Runners up Nomads

Buckland Friendly

A friendly match has been arranged for Tuesday 16th May at Buckland. They play from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. A minimum of 8 players but the more the merrier.

Bowls Dates For Your Dairy

Their will be NO bowls at Christow on Wednesday 17th May due to the hall being booked by the Theatre Group. Also to note is that the last booked evening is Wednesday 31st May. Bowls will continue through the summer though on Wednesday evenings. Details will be confirmed nearer the time.

Teignbridge League Commitee Meeting Report

On Monday 24th April a meeting was held at Buckfastleigh by the Teignbridge League. Points of interest:
1. Money raised for ELF (Exeter Leukhemia Fund) by the Pairs and Fours Tournaments was £350.
2. The date was set for this years Pairs Tournament at Christow. It will take place on Saturday 11th November.
3. A new Charman and Treasurer are required due to the resignations of Alan Charge and Val Beer respectively.
4. The pre season AGM will be held on Monday 2nd October at 7.30pm. Fixture dates will be set by club captains immediately after the meeting.

Buckland Friendly

Janet Brooks from Buckland has invited us to play a friendly match at their venue on a Tuesday evening in May. The dates she has given are 9th - 16th - 23rd - 30th. If you could check your diaries and let Neil know which dates are suitable. I will then get back to her with the details.

Abbotskerswell Spring Fours Report

On Saturday 22nd April, Ralph, Brad, Trevor and Neil took part in the Spring Fours at Abbotskerswell. 12 Teams entered and played 4 games with a break between each and lunch (Bangers & Mash) at the halfway point. Tea & coffee with selections of biscuits and cake were available all day at no extra cost. We won our first 3 matches comfortably against Okehampton, West Hill & Buckland but came unstuck when we met Moretonhampsted  in out last game as had Winkleigh who met them earlier. The top 3 teams at the end of the day finished on 9 points out of a possible 12, so it all went down to shots scored. Winkleigh finished 1st with Buckfast 2nd and Christow 3rd. The mats were challenging but very enjoyable to play on and made for a very nice day of bowls which was well organised and run.

Exeter League AGM Reminder

On Thursday 27th April at St Thomas Cricket Club (Marsh Barton) the AGM for the Exeter League is to be held at 7.30pm. It could possibly be the last as Rob Gayton is standing down as secretary and no one is found to take on his roll. The Trophies for this years winners of Division 1 and Division  2 (Christow B), along with the Win Graham and Knockout Cup will be presented at the end of the meeting.

No Bowls on Easter Sunday

There will be no bowls at Christow this coming Sunday 16th April. On another note, Mary and her team won the final of the long mat competition in Nottingham last weekend. Apparently there was an article in the Western News. If anyone has a copy could they save it for her please.

East Devon Jurassic Two Pair Fours Report

On Sunday 9th April, Steve & Sean together with Trevor & Neil travelled to Axminster to play in the east Devon Jurassic Two Bowl Fours. 48 teams were entered and played in 12 groups of four. 3 games were played before lunch with a break between each as the other half of each group played their matches. The winners from each group and best 4 runners up overall went on to play in the knockout stages. Sean played very well along with Steve but were unable to progress from their group, Steve did manage to get the extra bonus of a second Cottage Pie lunch which he shared with another bowler. Trevor & Neil managed to qualify as a runner up in their group after a shaky start. They met Drifters 2 (Winkleigh) in the first round of the knockout stage but were unable to repeat the success of earlier. A very enjoyable day for all.

Picture from Last Weekends Welsh Grand Prix in Cardiff

Steve and Tom played as a pair as did Brad who played with Mark Allen from Winkleigh in last weekends Welsh Grand Prix two and three wood pairs. Both teams played in Saturdays two wood competition and Steve and Tom stayed for Sundays three woods pairs where they fared a little better than Saturday making it through to the first round of the knockout stage. Brad and Mark made it to the last 16 of the plate competition on the Saturday I believe, please correct me if I am wrong.

Steve focused and in full flow during Saturdays two bowls competition.

Teignbridge League Captain to his Players

I must say I agree with Neil's report on last Thursday's celebratory dinner, it was a great way to wind up a great season, loved the Easter egg but Carol I would have preferred a large egg.
Although our last Teignbridge match was rather disappointing we had eleven matches producing a high standard of play.Everyone in the club played their part either as a player or just as importantly supporting the team at away matches. Well done everyone.
Finally I hope those of you playing outdoors have a successful season and to the rest -training starts soon!
Trevor Tregillus

Abbotskerswell Spring Fours Details

Group One – Ready to play 9:10  Start 9:15

1.  Okehampton

2.  Christow

3.  Buckland

4.  Moreton Hampstead

5.  West Hill

6.  Winkleigh
Group Two – Ready to play 10:05  Start 10:10

7.  Wonford

8.  Newton Poppleford

9.  Broadclyst

10.Bow

11. Buckfast

12. Chulmleigh

All games 2 woods, approx 8 ends, no jacks after 50 minutes, no trial ends. Please sign in 20 minutes before your first game.
ESMBA rules except: Skips not to remain at or visit the head. Jack off the mat: end played, 2 shots away. Three points for win, one for draw. Overall winners decided on points, then shot difference and then total shots.

Could Group One teams arriving just before 9 am please park in the rear car park.

Could Group Two teams arriving after 9am then use the front car park.

Look for car park attendants.
Please get in touch if you have any special dietary requirements.
Remember we are raising funds for Devon Air Ambulance Trust with a raffle and a small change collection. Please contribute a raffle prize if you wish.

End of Season Celebration Meal

Last night we gathered at The Travellers Rest near Tedburn to celebrate the end of a good season for Christow. Both the food and atmosphere were very good. Thank you to Carol & Steve for organising it all. If anyone has any pictures on their phone of the evening then please forward them on to me at christowsmbc@gmail.com and I will post them on here too.

Area Challenge Report

Yesterday the annual area challenge was held at ISCA. The three areas plus a team representing the county A team took part. On behalf of the south & west area I entered a team from various clubs, two bowlers from the each of the following clubs. Totnes Creameries, South Milton, Bere Alston, Abbotskerswell and of course Sean and Brad from Christow.
Both players had excellent results, Brad won two of his three matches the most notable being his win against the county singles player. Meanwhile Sean and his pairs partner Luis from Bere Alston impressed everyone with there standard of play. The first match was a draw the second a win and the third against the county pair Pam and what's his name from Christow ? With one end to go Sean and Luis had a one shot lead which they held until Neil picked up two shots and won the match.
It's worth noting that Pam and Neil won all their matches the only county team to do so.
The south&west finished second to the north but more importantly it was an excellent day for Christow bowlers.
Trevor.

Welsh Grand Prix Latest

Click here to see the latest news from Cardiff.