This was a remarkable season of success for Wadebridge Bowling Club on and off the bowling green, so it’s worth noting down for posterity just what we achieved. Not everything will get written on the Honours Boards.
We are a bowling club, so let’s start with the bowls.
The leagues
Ladies Tamar League – Winners
Ladies Rippon League – 3rd
Men’s League Group 2 Division 1 North - 2nd (A Team)
Men’s League Group 2 Division 2 North – Winners (Helson Trophy) (B Team)
Men’s League Group 2 play-off – Winners (B Team)
(Since the other Groups do not have B Teams playing fours, this implies WBC are Cornwall champions by default. No trophy, though. )
Group 2 knock-out competitions
Croydon Marks Trophy – Winners (A Team)
Jimmy Hopper Trophy – Winners (B Team)
Other competitions (National and County)
Men’s Captain’s Shield – Group 2 Winners and County Runners-Up
2-rink fours – County Runners-up
Men’s U-25 Singles – County Runner-up (George Tinker)
Secretaries Singles – County Runner-up (George Tinker)
Father & Son – County Runners-up (Craig and Dontai Joseph)
Golden Years – Group 2 Runners-up (Barbara Bell and Pat Archer)
It was a success off the green as well.
It began with President David Atfield expressing and promoting the club values Welcoming – Supportive – Inclusive, which set the tone for the whole season. You can read David’s own reflections on the season here.
Membership increased from 42 to 72, including doubling the number of lady members, after a very successful Taster Weekend. Some of the new players reached such a standard that by the end of the season they were being selected for league teams. At the AGM in October, several new members stepped forward and were elected to official roles in the club.
The Sunday evening Bowls Blitz competition proved a marvel, attracting non-members as well as members to play a four-end knockout singles, with an open bar and hot dogs and burgers available, and a prize for the evening's winner. We were approached by other clubs wanting to use the format next season.
Social events took place throughout the season, and are continuing into the off-season.
Bar takings more than doubled, partly through events as described; partly through Bar Steward Kevin Jones’ innovative approach, naming the bar “The Extra End” and devising new and interesting cocktails week by week; and partly by just being open for all or most matches thanks to the bar sub-committee. This, among other work for the club, led to Kevin being voted “Member of the Year”. Sometimes on the way home from away league games, people would discuss going to the pub, but then decide “Nah, let’s go to the club.” Guinness 0.0 came from nowhere to be drink of the season.
The whole club seemed abuzz. As a slightly aged committee member, your scribe found it wonderfully refreshing to be able to make a suggestion for something to do and immediately have others pick it up, improve it and run with it.
It’s a great club to be part of.