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SEASONS REVIEW 2017

Welcome to the Hesketh Arms Bowling Club Season Review 2017. The Club has enjoyed another successful season with several of our league teams achieving honours in their respective divisions and cup competitions.
The Officers and Committee would like to thank all the members for their continued support.
LV LEAGUE
In the Premier Division of the Southport LV League, the Eagles had yet another excellent season, again finishing as runners-up, this year just three points behind the champions, Scarisbrick NSC ‘A’.
The team will now be looking to go one better in 2018.
Premier Division                  Pts
1. Scarisbrick NSC ‘A’          242
2. HeskethEagles                   239
3. Mere Brow                            237
4. Fleetwood Hesk. ‘C’           206
5. Scarisbrick B.C. ‘A’               173
6. Ainsdale ‘A’                         166
7. London Tigers                       156
8. Zetland ‘B’                          143
9. Victoria Park                         137
10. Zetland ‘D’                         120
11. Sandbrook Park               84
Eagles Merit Winner :
Fergal Wright – 17 wins
Congratulations to the Falcons on winning the 1st Division title under new captain Jeff Brown. They will now be promoted to the Premier Division for the 2018 season.
The Harriers finished in 7th place, under the captaincy of Joe Parker.
1st Division                        Pts
1. Hesketh Falcons       193
2. Crowlands             183
3. London Lions              179
4. Zetland ‘A’                  168
5. Fleetwood Hesk.’B’      167
6. Scarisbrick B.C. ‘C’    159
7. Hesketh Harriers     155
8. Tarleton                    137
9. Ainsdale ‘B’                130
10 Scarisbrick NSC ‘B’ 95

Falcons Merit Winner :
Dave Bedford – 14wins
Harriers Merit Winner :
Peter Croston– 14wins

BURSCOUGH LEAGUE
The Club was pleased to enter a second team into the Burscough League for the 2017 season.
The Ospreys continued under new captain Mark Rowlinson, who once again took the team’s merit award with eight wins.
The new Vultures team, captained by Chris Harding, dominated the 3rd Division, winning all fourteen league games to claim the title and promotion to the 2nd Division.
3rd DIVISION                 Pts
1. Hesketh Vultures         123
2. Hoole Village Hall ‘B’  88
3. Burscough RBL ‘B’      79
4. Mere Brow                   79
5. Mawdesley ‘B’              75
6. Botanic Gardens ‘B’   62
7. Hesketh Ospreys         52
8 Crossens ‘B’                 23

Vultures Merit Winner :
KezAdams : 11 wins

Ospreys Merit Winner :
Mark Rowlinson : 8 wins

AUGHTON LEAGUE
The Club continued to run two teams in this men’s Wednesday afternoon league and they were once again captained by Richard Rawcliffe and George Hitchmough.

Having achieved promotion from the 2nd Division as 2016 champions, the Kestrels were competing in the strong 1st Division for the 2017 season and wins proved hard to come by. Despite some good results towards the end of the campaign, the team finished in 8th position. Next season the team will be looking to bounce back to the top division at the first attempt.

After finishing in 3rd place in Division 3 last season, it was predicted that the Hawks would make a strong challenge for promotion and this proved to be the case as they won the division by a clear 14 points from neighbours Crossens in 2nd place. Well done to captain George Hitchmough and all his team.
Congratulations to the team merit winners for our Wednesday afternoon teams, Jim Halsall for the Kestrels and Bill Bloor for the Hawks.
FINAL TABLES
1st Division              Pts
1. Zetland                116
2. Mere Brow ‘A’      108
3. Hurlston Hall         94
4. Burscough CC            88
5. Aughton Town Green 71
6. Freshfield                  70
7. Victoria Park ‘A’           67
8. Hesketh Kestrels              59
Merit Winner : Jim Halsall , 7 wins

3rd Division
1. Hesketh Hawks           133
2. Crossens                           119
3. Sandbrook Park           116
4. Kensington House           109
5. Ormskirk Park                   93
6. Cockbeck Seniors              93
7. Victoria Park ‘B’                  83
8. Tin Tab Seniors                 75
9. Lydiate Vets                         61
Merit Winner : Bill Bloor , 13wins

SOUTHPORT PARKS LEAGUE
The Kites continued to compete in the 1st Division of the Southport Parks League in 2017. Under new captain, John Unsworth, the team was in contention for promotion until the last game season but in the end had to settle for 3rd place. Hopefully, the foundations have been laid for a serious promotion bid in 2018.
The battle for the team merit award also went down to the wire with both Wayne Graham and Jim Doherty winning an impressive fifteen games. However, Wayne’s slightly better aggregate of +109, compared to Jim’s +102 was enough to earn him the Kites’ Merit award for 2017.
1st Division                    Pts
1. Zetland‘A’                178
2. Zetland ‘C’                161
3. Hesketh Kites               147
4. Victoria Park ‘A’            135
5. Tarleton                    131
6. Crowlands                    119
7. Holmeswood ‘B’            109
8. Ainsdale ‘B’                  102
9 Scarisbrick B.C. ‘B’              99
10. Sandbrook Park ‘A’          87
11. Botanic ‘B’            84
Kites Merit Winner :
Wayne Graham, 15 wins

SOUTHPORT AND DISTRICT MEN’S VETERANS LEAGUE
Following a successful 2016 season, which saw the Merlins gain promotion to the 2nd Division of the Southport Men’s Veterans’ League, the Club was pleased to enter a second team into this Monday afternoon league due to the number of members wishing to play.

The new team, named the Hobbies, was ably captained by Roger Van Beever and it is pleasing note, included several players new to league bowling, along with one or two more experienced campaigners. The Hobbies enjoyed a fantastic season, winning sixteen out of their 22 league games to take the 2nd Division Championship by six points from 2nd placed Sandbrook Park. In addition, the team won the Joe Bond Trophy to achieve the league and cup double.
The Merlins, captained again by George Hitchmough, also performed well in the 2nd Division, winning 13 games to finish in 4th place. This is a great effort in their first season at a higher level.

Our two Vets teams can now look forward to their ‘derby’ games in 2018!

2nd Division                                    Pts
1. Formby Park ‘A’                     180
2. Formby Holy Trinity ‘A’           180
3. Botanic ‘A’                                   165
4. Hesketh Merlins                        155
5. London Sphynx                          146
6. Hesketh Bank                                142
7. Northern                                   140
8. Crossens                                      134
9.= Scarisbrick B.C. ‘A’                      116
9.= Fleetwood Hesketh ‘B’              116
11. Our Lady’s ‘A’                              109
12. Victoria Park ‘B’                          48
Merlins Merit Winner:-Bill Bloor : 20 wins

3rd Division                                           Pts
1. Hesketh Hobbies                             170
2. Sandbrook Park                                  164
3. Hoole Village Hall ‘B’                        160
4. Ainsdale ‘B’                                          149
5. Scarisbrick NSC ‘B’                                146
6. Botanic ‘B’                                         146
7. Formby S & S                                      138
8. Formby Holy Trinity ‘B’                       132
9. Freshfield ‘B’                                         118
10. Formby Park ‘B’                                  103
11. Scarisbrick B.C. ‘B’                                103
12. Our Lady’s ‘B’                                       95
Hobbies Merit Winner :Jeff Brown : 16 wins

MAGHULL BOWLING LEAGUE
In 2016 our team in the Maghull League finished 3rd, just six points short of a promotion place and enjoyed another good season in 2017.
Captained again by Sue Davies, the team finished just five points behind of 2nd placed Meadows 1, this time finishing 4th. It is surely only a matter of time before this team gains promotion to the 3rd Division.
The team merit was closely fought with Jeff Brown and Pat McArthur winning 11 games, but the winner, with 12 wins out of 14 played, was Jim Halsall.

4th DIVISION
1. Crossens                         133
2. Meadows 1                    126
3. Brooke Hotel 2                  122
4. Hesketh Arms                       121
5. Ormskirk BC                           108
6. Legion Burscough 2               84
7. Formby Park 2                          81
8. Northern 2                              65
9. Our Lady’s 2                            51
Merit Winner :- Jim Halsall, 12 wins

CLUB COMPETITIONS
The Committee has again organised a programme of club competitions during the 2017 season. These have been well-supported and proved to be very enjoyable afternoons.

The successful competitors were :-
Winner(s)                           Runner(s)-Up
Rose Bowl               Fergal Wright                 Brian Sutton
Rose Bowl Plate      Peter Smith               Janice Hobson
Spring Pairs                 Alex Rimmer /              Wayne Graham /
Fergal Wright                      Phil Richards
Spring Pairs Plate      Jim Halsall /                            Chris Harding /
Pat Jones                                 John McCabe
Coronation Cup               Tony Wakefield             John Unsworth
Diamond Jubilee Plate Richard Rawcliffe              Derek Wignall
Vice-Presidents Trophy Margaret James /                 John Hughes /
Ray Sutton                              Pat McArthur
Vice-Presidents Plate    Kez Adams /                                    Bill Bloor /
Steve Lomas                                   Alan Bond
President’s Cup                  Alex Rimmer                      Brian Jones
President’s Day Plate              Bill Bloor                    Sue Davies
Chairman’s Shield                    Bill Bloor /                      Brian Jones /
Jason Chapman             Pat McArthur
Chairman’s Plate                    Mike Dunlop /                   Brian Sutton /
John McCabe                     Laurie Townson
Championship Cup                     Ken Rimmer                   George Hitchmough

OTHER EVENTS
FRIENDLY V. EMMANUEL B.C.
In August, we welcomed a team from Emmanuel Bowling Club for the third annual friendly fixture. The Challenge Shield was retained by the Hesketh Arms team, the winning margin being 9-4.

BERNARD O’MALLEY
HONOUARY VICE-PRESIDENT’S TROPHY – JUNIOR OPEN SINGLES
This event was staged for the third time at the beginning of September and was won by Kyle Dawes, who defeated Matty Greenwood from Mere Brow 21-18 in a high quality final

MEMBERSHIP
It is pleasing to report that the Club continues to attract interest from new and experienced bowlers alike, with our membership currently standing at 149. This is made up of :-
Full Members – 80
Social Members – 67
Junior Members – 2
New members are still welcome to join for the 2018 season. Please refer anyone interested to an Officer of the Club.

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Autumn News Update

HESKETH ARMS NEWS UPDATE – AUTUMN 2017

BURSCOUGH LEAGUE – VULTURES WIN KNOCKOUT TROPHY

Congratulations to the Vultures, who have won the Burscough League Knockout Trophy, defeating Division 1 Champions Burscough RBL ‘A’ by 15 chalks at Tarleton Bowling Club.

To win the Knockout Trophy, they also overcame the teams finishing 2nd and 3rd in the top division, Banks St.Stephen’s and Bretherton and it rounds off a tremendous first season for the team, captained by Chris Harding. The success completed an unprecedented treble for the Vultures, as they had previously won the 3rd Division Championship with a 100% winning record, along with the 3rd Division Cup.

CHAMPIONSHIP CUP

The Championship Cup, which was interrupted by torrential rain in August, was completed on the final weekend of the season. The winner was Ken Rimmer, who defeated George Hitchmough in the final. The losing semi-finalists were Sue Davies and Kevin McCormack. This is Ken’s first singles win at the Hesketh, having previously won the Spring Pairs.

WINTER BOWLING

Although the Hesketh Arms green is now closed to allow for maintenance work to take place, we have been informed that there will be winter bowling available at Botanic Gardens B.C.

Work is currently being carried out on the “winter” green but it will re-open on Monday 6th November. Non-members will be able to play on the green on payment of a £10 fee, which will cover the period from 6th November 2017 to 31st March 2018. A member of Botanic Gardens B.C. will be present at the green on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 11.30am and 2.30pm (commencing Tuesday 7th November) and the fee can be paid at these times.

From Saturday 11th November, a weekly Round Robin will be organised (start time 11.00am). There will be an entry fee of £2.00 to play and this will include tea / coffee and biscuits.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Saturday 20th January 2018 – Awards & Social Evening (further details will be available soon)

Saturday 2nd June 2018 – Race Night (further details will be available in the New Year)