Ross Bowling Club Short Mat Bowling 2017-18
The summer started well with the Ross team of Elaine George, Pam Park, Dave Watkins
and Les Williams winning the Gloucester Open Fours event. After winning 4 of their
5 qualifying group games they defeated Hardwicke in the final to win the trophy.
Later in the summer the team of Les Williams, Dave Watkins, Ian Roe and Ian Park
took part in the Avon Open Fours in Bristol and, despite a disappointing start to
the tournament, went on to win the plate competition.
For the second consecutive season Ross 1 failed to reach the County Summer League
final after being drawn in the same group as the eventual winners, Woolhope whilst
Ross 2 finished 4th in their group.
The club once again ran a full programme of competitions across the winter season,
culminating in the climax of the club singles competition and an awards presentation
and buffet supper. The final of the singles competition was a match-up between the
previous year’s county singles finalists but not before each had to negotiate a tricky
semi-final. Ian Park, 3 times county singles champion, met Leo Hughes, last year’s
losing finalist, in his semi-final and after 10 of the 15 ends the game was tied
but Ian then pulled away with a couple of 3’s and a 4 to win with an end to spare.
Ian Roe came up against Peter Wright, this year’s surprise package, who was playing
his first season of short mat bowls with a 6 handicap. Peter had used this handicap
well throughout the competition, playing impressive bowls to keep lower handicapped
opponents at bay in the early stages of matches and never allow them to achieve parity,
let alone get ahead of him. In the semi-final, however, Ian won the first 4 ends
to overhaul his handicap deficit before Peter had scored and he never let his lead
slip despite Peter finding his composure later in the game to keep the game tight
and round off a memorable first season with a solid performance. The final saw Ian
Park dominate early on as Ian Roe struggled to find the pace of the mat but Ian Park’s
lead never got above 3 shots and as Ian Roe settled down he started to claw back
the deficit. A see-saw battle then ensued as first one and then the other led before
Ian Roe took 3 consecutive ends to establish a 5 shot lead which proved too large
a deficit for Ian Park to claw back and Ian Roe took his first club singles title.
Club president John Perks presented the awards for all of the club competitions which
had run over the winter season. The competition winners were:
Singles Ian Roe
Evening Triples Jillian Malsom, Maurice Leake, Ian Roe
Afternoon Pairs Ian Stephenson, Ian Park
Afternoon Australian Pairs Derek Griffiths, Ian Roe
Afternoon Triples (1) Pauline Mills, Betty Aubrey, David Millington Jones
Afternoon Triples (2) John Churchill, Rob Mann, Les Williams
After two very successful seasons in county competitions, this year was disappointing
for Ross players with the only final appearance resulting in a runners-up spot in
the Mixed Fours for Elaine George, Ian Roe, Pam & Ian Park. Ali & Ian Roe, Les Williams
and Dave Watkins narrowly failed to defend their Macmillan title, winning all of
their matches but falling 4 shots shy of consecutive victories. Five Ross players
did qualify to represent Herefordshire in the National Finals and Shaun Jones had
a fantastic run in the Pairs (playing with John Mills of Woolhope) to reach the semi-finals
and match the county’s best ever performance in a Nationals discipline. The full
list of qualifiers, with their position in the national finals, was:
Singles Shaun Jones Qualifying group
Pairs Shaun Jones & John Mills (Woolhope) Semi Finals
Ian Roe & Ian Park Qualifying group
Triples Ian Roe, Pam & Ian Park Qualifying group
Fours Kate Williams (with a Woolhope team) Last 32
The Ross A team finished in the runners-up spot in the county league for the 11th
time in 13 years, once again behind rivals Woolhope. The B and C teams finished 3rd
and 9th respectively in Division 2. Ross reached the final of the LEH Herefordshire
/ Gloucestershire club knockout competition for the second consecutive year but lost
out to Woolhope in a closely fought final, the outcome of which was in the balance
until the closing ends of the Fours with Woolhope eventually edging the match by
4 shots.
Ross entered a team for the second time in the National Club Championships and qualified
for the finals in Torquay. Despite securing their first finals victory against a
highly rated Southampton side, two defeats in their other matches meant a place in
the plate competition. After a win in the quarter finals Ross faced local rivals
Woolhope in the semi-final and Ross produced a dominant performance to win all 4
disciplines and progress to the plate final against Kingscliffe from Somerset. Despite
winning 2 of the 4 disciplines in a very closely fought contest, Ross were squeezed
out by a mere 2 shots overall in a thrilling finale nevertheless enhancing the reputation
of the club, and the county, at a national level.
The end of the season marked the end of an era as Les Williams, after serving as
club short mat secretary and captain for 25 years, decided it was time to step down
from the helm. Les has represented Ross and Herefordshire at short mat bowls at the
highest level over that time, including numerous appearances in the National Finals,
as well as doing more than anyone to promote and support the short mat game within
Ross club so, although he will continue to play, his leadership and guidance will
be missed. Les was honoured at the county’s awards dinner with the county association’s
Achievement Award.
Across the season 11 Ross players represented Herefordshire in the Inter County Championships
and Ian Park captained the county A team.
