Year: 2021

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR MEMBERS, BOWLING FRIENDS AND COMPETITORS

AWARDS EVENING

The Club enjoyed a successful evening on Saturday when members gathered at the Churchtown Conservative Club to recognise individual and team achievements during the 2021 bowling season. 
The evening was again compered by our Chairman, Chris Harding, who announced the winners of the Club’s eleven competitions and thirteen team merits. These have been reported via the website and regular newsletters throughout the year. The final presentations are usually made to the Team of the Year and Club Member of the Year, which this time were done slightly differently. As some leagues ran shortened seasons or different formats due to the ongoing pandemic, it was decided not to declare an outright winner of the team award, instead recognising our three teams that ended the season as champions of their league or division. These were : –
Eagles – captained by Chris Harding, winners of the LV Premier Division for the third successive time. 

Falcons – captained by Jeff Brown and winners of the LV 1st Division for the second time in four years.

Merlins – captained by George Hitchmough and champions of the Southport Veterans’ League 2nd Division. 

In 2021, it was impossible to pick out an individual as Club Member of the Year due to the outstanding contribution made by the group of volunteers who ran the Bowls for Health sessions. This initiative introduced sixteen people to the game of crown green bowls and it has been pleasing to see interest continuing beyond the six-week course. Special thanks therefore go to George Hitchmough, Peter and Lynne Smith, Brian Sutton, Jim Halsall and Janice Hobson, who guided the participants through the course and not forgetting our popular poster models Jason Chapman, Chris Harding and Noel Morgans.

The awards were followed by a buffet, prepared by George Hitchmough and Sue Andersen and a quiz set by George. Many thanks to George and Sue for again doing an excellent job and for providing such an enjoyable and successful evening.
Thanks also to : –
The Conservative Club Steward, Gill and Brian Whitley for their hard work behind the bar on the night and the Conservative Club Committee for allowing us the use of their excellent facilities once again. 
Darren Edgerley and Fergal Wright for their help selling raffle tickets. 
Finally, thank you to all those who supported the evening by attending, bringing raffles prizes or sending donations. The evening made a surplus of £331.30 which was a slight increase on our last Awards Evening. Considering the ongoing circumstances, it is very pleasing that the Club continues to receive the loyal support of it’s members during difficult times. We look forward to seeing everyone again for another successful season in 2022. Watch out for news of our AGM and competition dates early in the New Year. 

HESKETH ARMS BOWLING CLUB  

SEASON REVIEW – 2021 

INTRODUCTION

​Following a very limited season of league bowling in 2020, it was pleasing for our team players to be able enjoy a fuller programme of fixtures in 2021, after a delayed start due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

Below is a review summarising our teams’ performances in the various local leagues. The full league tables can be found on each league’s own website but if anyone would like to receive a printed copy of this review, including the league tables featuring our teams, please contact Mike Milne : –

michaelmilne66@outlook.com 

For the 2022 season, we look forward to a first for the Hesketh Arms, when we are applying to enter a team into the Southport & District Ladies’ League. Fixtures for this team will take place on Thursday afternoons. 

SOUTHPORT LV LEAGUE 

The Club enjoyed another successful season in the Southport LV League, with both our teams winning their respective divisions. 

The Eagles, captained by Chris Harding, won the Premier Division for the third time in succession, finishing narrowly ahead of runners-up Fleetwood Hesketh ‘A’ by just five points. 

Jeff Brown’s Falcons also finished top in the 1^st Division, ahead of second placed Fleetwood Hesketh ‘B’. Well done to the Falcons, who previously won this title in 2017. 

Eagles Merit Winner – John Baker 

Falcons Merit Winner – Phil Kitchen  

BURSCOUGH &​LATHOM LEAGUE ​

Both our Burscough League teams had a fine season. In the highly competitive 1^st Division, the Vultures again finished 4^th, having done so in their first season in this division in 2019. They won 14 out of the 18 matches, just one fewer than champions Banks St.Stephen’s and runners-up Bretherton ‘A’. For much of the season they were in touch with the leaders and will be looking to make a strong challenge for the top positions in 2022.  

In the 2^nd Division, the Ospreys, captained by Mark Rowlinson, had their best season since the team was formed, having been strengthened by some new recruits. They won 9 out of their 16 games to finish 5^th in the division, only 9 points behind runners-up Zetland ‘B’.  

Vultures Merit Winner – Kez Adams 

Ospreys Merit Winner – Peter Smith  

SOUTHPORT PARKS LEAGUE 

The Kites, again under the captaincy of John Unsworth, had another competitive season in the Parks League 1^st Division. They finished 3^rd for the third time in four seasons, having been challenging for the top spot throughout the season. They will be aiming to push for one of the promotion places in 2022. The team also did well in the Knockout Cup to reach the final before losing out to London Sphynx ‘A’ at Scarisbrick Bowling Club.  

Kites Merit Winner – Jim Halsall 

MAGHULL & FORMBY MINI-LEAGUE 

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the local leagues were unable to start at the beginning of April as they usually would but the Maghull League, in a joint venture with the Formby League ran a “mini-league” which got under way on 26^th April. The league was for teams of eight and we were able to enter two teams. The Owls (“A” team), captained by Mike Milne, were placed in the 2^nd Division and Sue Davies was captain of the new Sparrowhawks team (“B” team) in the 3^rd Division.  

Both our teams performed well in this league. The Owls won 11 out of their 14 fixtures to finish in second place, one point behind champions Scarisbrick NSC. The Sparrowhawks only lost three games out of eleven played to end the season in a strong 3^rd place.  

Owls Mini-League Merit Winner – Peter Smith 

Sparrowhawks Mini-League Merit Winner – George Hitchmough  

MAGHULL LEAGUE 

Following the conclusion of the Mini-League, the regular Maghull League season commenced on 14^th June, with the league being split into two divisions for teams of ten players and two divisions for eight-a-side teams. As a club we had enough interested players to enter two teams of ten, which were again captained by Mike Milne and Sue Davies.  

The Owls (“A” team) were placed in the 1^st Division, which is considered to be one the toughest divisions in the area. After a difficult start, the team found it’s form and won three matches as well as putting in some strong performances against the top teams. They ended the season with 50 points, only six points off a mid-table finish.   

Sue’s Sparrowhawks (“B” team) competed in a strong 2^nd Division but won three matches, including the final game against Victoria Park, enabling them to finish above their local rivals by a single point.  

Owls Merit Winner – Jim Halsall 

Sparrowhawks Merit Winner – Jeff Brown 

AUGHTON SENIOR CITIZENS’ LEAGUE 

The Club continued to run two teams in the Aughton League on a Wednesday afternoon, with George Hitchmough captaining the Hawks in the 1st Division and the Kestrels being led by Mike Burrill the 2^nd Division. 

The Hawks put in a creditable performance to finish the season level on points with Victoria Park ‘A’ in 6^th position, while the Kestrels were runners-up to champions Aughton Institute ‘A’. Depending on the format of the league next year, this may see both teams competing in the top flight next season.  

Hawks Merit Winner – Peter Smith 

Kestrels Merit Winner – Brian Sutton 

SOUTHPORT VETERANS’ LEAGUE  

The Southport Vets League commenced it’s league programme in June and both our teams competed in the 2^nd Division.  

Congratulations to captain George Hitchmough and his Merlins team, on ending  the season as champions of the 2^nd Division. They won 12 out of the 16 games played to finish five points clear of runners-up Banks ‘B’. 

The Hobbies were again led by Roger Van Beever and they also enjoyed a good season, winning nine games to take a decent 5^th place in the final table.  

Merlins Merit Winner – Brian Sutton 

Hobbies Merit Winner – Dave Bedford 

We are holding our 2021 AWARDS EVENING on Saturday the 20^th of November.

Commences 7:30 to be held at CHURCHTOWN CONSERVATIVE CLUB.

Content:-

Awards to the league teams merit winners and winners and runners up in our Club Competitions. Team of the year, Club Member of the year.

BUFFETT, RAFFLE, QUIZ, and BINGO

All presented by our effervescent Chairman CHIRS HARDING

TICKETS ARE £5, please let me know if you are attending so we can plan the buffet numbers. (email, or text)

We would welcome your donations of Raffle Prizes.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOU CLUB

Regards

George Hitchmough  Secretary

07977500131

HESKETH ARMS BOWLING CLUB 

NEWSLETTER  – OCTOBER 2021 

SOUTHPORT VETERANS’ LEAGUE 

Well done to the Merlins on winning the 2^nd Division of the Southport Veterans’ League. They won 12 out of their 16 matches and finished five points clear of second placed Banks ‘B’. Congratulations to captain George Hitchmough and all the players in his team.  

ROUND ROBINS 

Many thanks to Peter and Lynne Smith and George for running the midweek round robins throughout the season. These events provide our members with an opportunity to meet up regularly and socialise with other members of the club. They are popular with new and experienced bowlers alike and bring in much needed additional revenue to help boost club funds. 

CLUB COMPETITIONS 

This year, we again organised a full programme of club competitions for members to take part in, which ran throughout the season, even adding an extra event for 2021. In addition to the five singles competitions already established, we held the inaugural Champion of Champions, when the competition and team merit winners from the previous season competed for the “Blowick Cup”. The first winner was Chris Porter, who completed a hat-trick of singles wins, also winning the Championship Cup and President’s Cup.  

We again held five doubles competitions which were a mixture of random and non-random pairs. Following the introduction of an evening doubles in 2020, we held this on a Saturday evening and it was very successful, attracting 14 pairs. Darren Edgerley proved to be the pairs specialist, winning a hat-trick of doubles titles with three different partners.  

In total, the internal competitions attracted 284 participants, an increase of 9% on last year. Three new winners were added to the Roll of Honour of Hesketh Arms’ club competition winners ; Len Southworth (Rose Bowl), Liam Gregson (Chairman’s Shield) and Roger Van Beever (Last Chance Cup).  

Thank you to all those who continue to support the club’s competitions. We look forward to another successful season in 2022. 

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS 2022 

We plan to hold the second staging of the Champion of Champions at the beginning of the 2022 season. All the club competition and merit winners from the 2021 season will be invited to take part. The qualifiers are as follows :- 

Kez Adams (Chairman’s Shield ; Vultures Merit)  

Sue Andersen (Ladies’ Championship ; Spring Pairs) 

John Baker (Eagles Merit) 

Dave Bedford (Hobbies Merit) 

Jeff Brown (Sparrowhawks Merit) 

Darren Edgerley (Spring Pairs ; Last Chance Cup ; Floodlit Trophy) 

Liam Gregson (Chairman’s Shield) 

Jim Halsall (Kites Merit ; Owls Merit) 

George Hitchmough (Sparrowhawks Mini-League Merit) 

Phil Kitchen (Falcons Merit) 

Mike Milne (Vice-Presidents Pairs) 

Chris Porter (Championship Cup ; President’s Cup ; Blowick Cup) 

Peter Smith (Ospreys Merit ; Owls Mini-League Merit ; Hawks Merit) 

Len Southworth (Rose Bowl) 

Brian Sutton (Kestrels Merit ; Merlins Merit) 

John Unsworth (Vice-Presidents Pairs) 

Roger Van Beever (Last Chance Cup) 

Fergal Wright (Coronation Cup ; Floodlit Trophy) 

MEMBERSHIP 

After an understandable drop in the Club’s membership in 2020 due to Covid-19, it was pleasing to see the number of paying members joining in 2021 exceed the pre-pandemic figure of 132 of 2019.  

Our total membership at the end of the 2021 season, including life and honorary members, stands at 140. This includes those who joined us after attending the very successful Bowls for Health scheme. We are pleased to welcome them to the Hesketh Arms and thank all those who helped organise and run the sessions.  

FLOODLIT TROPHYSaturday saw the second staging of the Floodlit Trophy, with a good turnout of 14 pairs taking part. The early stages were played using a group format with the winning pair in each of the four groups progressing to the semi-finals. The group winners were Darren Edgerley and Fergal Wright ; Mike Milne and John Unsworth ; Mike Dunlop and Peter Smith and last year’s winners, Phil Richards and Brian Sutton. 
The semi-finals were won by Mike and John and Darren and Fergal and the final was won convincingly by Darren and Fergal 11-3. This was Darren’s third pairs competition win of the season, having previously won the Spring Pairs with Sue Andersen and the Last Chance Cup with Roger Van Beever.

CORONATION CUPThe following day saw the conclusion of the Coronation Cup, which has been played throughout the season. The first semi-final was won by Roy Webster, who came from 20-15 down to edge out Chris Harding 21-20 and the second semi-final was won convincingly by Fergal Wright with a 21-8 win against Brian Sutton. Fergal continued his excellent form in the final, cruising to victory against Roy , the winning score being 21-5. Congratulations to Fergal on winning his second competition of the weekend. 

We would like to thank Matthew Butterworth for supporting or club by taking out an advertisement board.

We would hope that if you are looking for the services that Matthew can supply you will enquire with him.

HESKETH ARMS BOWLING CLUB 

NEWS UPDATE  – SEPTEMBER 2021 

GREEN CLOSURE

The green will close at 1900hrs on 4^th of October 2021 for Winter Maintenance.

FLOODLIT TROPHY 

Members are reminded that the Club’s final internal competition of the season will take place on Saturday 25^th September and will start at 5.00pm. Please register by 4.45pm. The early stages of this competition will be played using a group format, guaranteeing every pair a minimum of two or three games. The length of the games will be decided when we know the number of pairs taking part. This is a non-random pairs, so members can choose their own partner for this competition.  

CORONATION CUP 

The semi-finals and final of the Coronation Cup, the early stages of which were played earlier in the season, will be played this coming Sunday, 26^th September, starting at 1.00 pm. 

The semi-final matches are :- 

Chris Harding (+2) v. Roy Webster (+4) 

Brian Sutton (+4) v. Fergal Wright (+2) 

SOUTHPORT FEDERATION 

The Southport Federation team completed their 2021 National League fixtures with a convincing 24-8 win against Fylde ‘B’ last Sunday. 

The team had nine winners in the home leg, played at Hesketh Bank Bowling Club. Hesketh Arms’ successful representatives here were Chris Porter (21-16), Kez Adams (21-11) and sharing the sweep, Ali Adams, with an excellent 21-9 win playing at number 12.  

The away team also did well, winning 7-5 at the Marton Institute in Blackpool. Among the winners were Hesketh Arms’ players Ray Atkinson (21-14), Mark Wilde (21-13), Mike Milne (21-16) and sweep winner Darren Edgerley (21-9). Fergal Wright suffered a rare Federation defeat against a strong opponent, just losing 21-16. 

The Southport team has enjoyed an excellent season winning every leg home and away in the three matches they have played. This means they have won Division 7 of the National League, finishing a clear 21 points ahead of second placed Cheshire Parks. They will now be promoted to play in Division 6 for the 2022 season. 

SOCIAL ROUND ROBINS

The last social Round Robin will be held on Friday the 1^st of October 2021

END OF SEASON ROUND ROBIN. SATURDAY 2^nd of October 11.00am

There will be a end of season round robin on Saturday the 2^nd of October, open to ALL members. Please be there at 10.45 to register. £2.00 per entry

Please bring a Sandwich as it could go on a long time.

AWARDS EVENING 2021

We will be holding our annual awards evening in 20^th of November 2021 at the Churchtown Conservative Club, St Cuthberts Road, PR9 7NN commencing at 7.30pm

Tickets will be £ 5.00 and will include a finger buffet.

Evening will includes Awards for the 2021 season, a quiz, raffle and Bingo.

We would hope you would support this event.

Green Tidy up and Repair

We will be looking for help during the close season to repair and tidy up the green and surrounds.

We will be sending out email request

SOUTHPORT LV LEAGUE 

Congratulations to our teams in the Southport LV League on winning their respective divisions. The Eagles, captained by Chris Harding, retained their Premier Division title, finishing narrowly ahead of Fleetwood Hesketh ‘A’ by five points.  

Jeff Brown’s Falcons team also had an excellent season, repeating their success of 2017 by winning the 1^st Division championship. Well done to the players in both teams. 

FLOODLIT TROPHY 

Members are reminded that the Club’s final internal competition of the season will take place on Saturday 25^th September and will start at 5.00pm. Please register by 4.45pm. The early stages of this competition will be played using a group format, guaranteeing every pair a minimum of two or three games. The length of the games will be decided when we know the number of pairs taking part. This is a non-random pairs, so members can choose their own partner for this competition.  

CHURCHTOWN CONSERVATIVE CLUB – B.J.P.O’MALLEY PRESIDENT’S TROPHY 

The Churchtown Conservative Club held it’s annual competition for the B.J.P. O’Malley President’s Trophy at the end of last month. Congratulations to one of our members, Alan Lloyd, who won the competition partnered by Mike Stevens. The runners-up, also from our club, were Lynne Smith and John Unsworth. 

Bernard O’Malley Trophy – Open Pairs
Sunday saw a full entry of 32 pairs take part in the Club’s third open doubles competition, for which the winners are presented with the Bernard O’Malley Honorary Vice-President’s Trophy.
There was local interest all the way through as Jon Roberts, playing with Bill Roddan from the Zetland, reached the final with impressive wins against Steve McManus and Neil Noren (21-18), Noreen Lewis and John Townsend (21-14), Andy Carr and John Longshaw (21-12) and in an epic semi-final, Ian Grady and Tim Hodge of Skem Rebels 21-20.
Jon and Bill’s opponents in the final were Dave and Tracy Charlesworth from Preston and they had to negotiate an even tougher route. In the first round they overcame the fancied local pair of Ray Atkinson and John Baker 21-20, before beating Brian Fairclough and Dave Martindale (21-11), Andy Fleming and Tom Wright (21-15) and in the semi-final, holders Ray Bevington and Paul Clegg 21-13.
The final started off closely with Jon and Bill leading 8-7 after six ends but two successive threes and a two put David and Tracy in control of the match to lead 15-8, eventually taking the title with a 21-11 win. Congratulations to both pairs on producing some excellent performances throughout the competition.
Many thanks to all those who supported the competition and to everyone who helped with marking cards, measuring and calling games on to the green. Special thanks though to referee Graham Pickavance whose help was invaluable in ensuring the smooth running of the competition. The standard of bowling throughout the day was of the highest standard on a tricky, fast running green and was a fitting tribute to our Honorary Vice-President, Mr. Bernard O’Malley. We look forward to running this event again in 2022.