Author: George Hitchmough

HESKETH ARMS BOWLING CLUB
JULY – SEPTEMBER 2018
Although the 2018 season has now passed the half way mark, there is still plenty of bowling to look forward to in the final months of the season.
On Saturday 28^th July, we will be holding the Chairman’s Shield. This will be a random pairs, starting at 12 noon.
Below are details of events planned for August and September. Please note that the President’s Cup, originally scheduled for July, has been re-arranged for Sunday 5^th August, again starting at 12 noon. This has been changed to avoid clashing with the FIFA World Cup.
Anyone interested in playing in the friendly fixture away at Emmanuel on Saturday 11^thAugust should email Mike Milne ( michaelmilne66@outlook.com ) or write their name on the list in the Clubhouse.
Two new club competitions are being introduced this season. On Saturday 8^thSeptember, the Ladies Championship will be take place alongside the Championship Cup (men only). We hope that as many ladies as possible will support this new venture.
The season will conclude with a new random pairs, The Last Chance Cup, which will take place on Sunday 23^rd September, with a 12 noon start.

Saturday 28th July	CHAIRMAN’S SHIELD (DOUBLES – PAIRINGS TO BE DRAWN)	12.00 pm start
Sunday 5thAugust	PRESIDENT’S CUP (SINGLES HANDICAP)	12.00 pm start
Saturday 11thAugust	FRIENDLY vs. EMMANUELB.C.	TBC
Saturday 8th September	CHAMPIONSHIP CUP (MEN’S SINGLES) LADIES’ CHAMPIONSHIP (LADIES’SINGLES)	12.00 pm start
Sunday 23rdSeptember	LAST CHANCE CUP (DOUBLES – PAIRINGS TO BE DRAWN)	12.00 pm start

HESKETH ARMS NEWSLETTER – JULY 2018

FRIENDLY FIXTURE AT EMMANUEL B.C.

The annual friendly fixture against Emmanuel Bowling Club will take place away at Emmanuel on Saturday 11^th August. If you wish to take part in this match please write your name on the list which can be found on the notice board in the Clubhouse or email michaelmilne66@outlook.com

Refreshments will be provided in the Parish Centre after the game.

SOUTHPORT FEDERATION

Southport’s June fixture against Cheshire Parks resulted in a narrow 19 points to 13 defeat.

In the home leg, played at Croston Subscription Bowling Club, there were wins for Alistair Adams (21-7), Mike Milne (21-19) and Chris Porter (21-18). The home team Man of the Match award deservedly went to Alistair.

Away from home, Southport had an excellent 7-5 win at Thornfield Park, Stockport. This included wins for Fergal Wright (21-14) and Mark Wilde (21-10). The team’s final fixture is in August, when the opponents will be local rivals Ormskirk ‘A’.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Saturday 28th July        Chairman’s Shield (Doubles – pairings to be drawn on the day) 12 noon start

Sunday 5th August        President’s Cup (Singles handicap) 12 noon start  NB – PLEASE NOTE RE-ARRANGED DATE FOR THIS EVENT

GREEN BOOKINGS

Please note that the green will be unavailable to members on the following dates due to green bookings. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. :-

Sunday 1st July – all day for a private booking.

Sunday 8th July – all day for a private booking

Thursday 9th August – all day up until 5.30pm for a bowling party.

CHURCHTOWN CONSERVATIVE CLUB – PRESIDENT’S TROPHY

The Churchtown Conservative Club held their annual competition at the beginning of June, when they were competing for the B.J.P.O’Malley President’s Trophy. Congratulations to Chris Harding, who won the event for the second year in succession, this time partnered by Mike Stevens. Runners-up were Heather Menzies and John Unsworth.

OPEN SINGLES 2018

Many thanks to everyone who supported the Club’s Open Singles on Saturday, including all those who helped out with measuring and marking.

The event attracted a full field of 32 competitors and was a good mix of our own members, local bowlers and players from all over the North West. At the end of a quality day’s bowling, the winner was Ray Bevington of Goldborne Sports (below right), who defeated Barry Davis from Our Lady’s , Formby 21-16 in the final.

30 members took part in the Club’s latest internal competition on Sunday which was the Coronation Cup singles handicap.

Having won the previous singles competition, Fergal Wright was playing off -2 but this didn’t prevent him from reaching the final with wins against Sue White (21-12), Mark Rowlinson (21-16), Norman Simpson (21-11) and in the semi-final, Kez Adams (21-13). This was comfortable progress considering Fergal was having to give a 6 or 8 start to each opponent.

In the bottom half the draw, Bill Bloor continued his good form by overcoming Jason Chapman (21-10), Wayne Graham (21-18), Dave White (21-7) and Peter Smith (21-17). This set up a chance for Bill to make up for his loss against Fergal in the Rose Bowl final back in April.

Conceding 6 to Bill on the handicaps, Fergal needed a good start but it was Bill who started the stronger, scoring three 2s in the first five ends to open up a convincing lead. Fergal did win three consecutive ends to close the gap to 12-18 but another two at the 20th end followed by a single secured a 21-12 win for Bill.

The Diamond Jubilee Plate was won by John Unsworth with a narrow 15-14 win in the final against Sue Wignall.

This Saturday, 16th June, sees the Club host an Open Singles competition starting at 10.00am. The event has attracted bowlers from all over the North West and spectators will be welcome for what should be an entertaining day of bowling. Any help with marking and measuring will also be greatly appreciated.

HESKETH ARMS NEWSLETTER – JUNE 2018

CORONATION CUP
The next club competition will take place on Sunday 10th June, when we will be competing for the Coronation Cup. Please arrive by 11.45am for registration to allow for a prompt start at 12 noon.

OPEN SINGLES
The Club’s Open Singles will be held on Saturday 16th June, starting at 10.00am. The competition is now fully subscribed, with a waiting list. Anyone wishing to be added to the waiting list should contact Chris Harding (07761733024) or Mike Milne (07752352065).
The event has attracted a good mix of locals as well as bowlers from Goldborne, West Kirby, Kirkham, Chorley, Hyde and Liverpool. Spectators, markers and measurers will be very welcome for what should be an excellent day of bowling.

CHURCHTOWN CONSERVATIVE CLUB – PRESIDENT’S TROPHY
The Club will once again be hosting the Churchtown Conservative Club’s B.J.P.O’Malley President’s Trophy on Sunday 3rd June. This will be a doubles competition, with pairings drawn on the day. Anyone who is a member of the Conservative Club is eligible to take part and should report to the green by 1.00pm.

SOUTHPORT FEDERATION
The Southport Federation team continued their season on Sunday 20th May, when they took on Preston in a local derby. The overall match was won 18-14 by Southport and of the Hesketh Arms’ representatives there were excellent wins for Kez Adams (21-16) and Chris Porter (21-11).
The next fixture sees the local side taking on Cheshire Parks on Sunday 24th June. The home leg will take place at Croston Subscription Bowling Club.

LV INDIVIDUALS
Congratulations to Fergal Wright on retaining his LV League Individuals title, defeating Bill Taylor of Scarisbrick NSC in the final held at Fleetwood Hesketh.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Saturday 30th June Vice-Presidents Trophy (Doubles – pairings to be drawn on the day) 12 noon start
Sunday 15th July President’s Cup (Singles handicap) 12 noon start
Saturday 28th July Chairman’s Shield (Doubles – pairings to be drawn on the day) 12 noon start

GREEN BOOKINGS
Please note that the green will be unavailable to members on the following dates due to green bookings.
Sunday 3rd June – Churchtown Conservative Club competition, spectators welcome.
Sunday 1st July – all day for a private bowling party.
Sunday 8th July – all day for a private booking.
Thursday 9th August – all day up until 5.30pm for a bowling party.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

SPRING PAIRS 2018
Congratulations to Sue Andersen and Ken Rimmer on winning the Spring Pairs. The Club’s first random doubles of the season took place on Sunday and attracted 18 pairs, a record for this competition.

Sue and Ken had to overcome the disadvantage of being drawn in the Preliminary Round but reached the final with wins against Bill Bloor and Eileen Rawcliffe (21-11), Pat Miller and Peter Smith (21-18), Mike Milne and Sue White (21-5) and Laurie Townson and John Unsworth (21-14). Their opponents in the final were Rita Stanley and Fergal Wright, who had made comfortable progress with wins against Barry Pursall and Ray Sutton (21-12), Chris Harding and Bill Nowell (21-12) and Wayne Graham and Leo Tobin (21-9).

The final was a tight affair, with neither pair able to count more than ones or twos for the first 17 ends but having established a 16-12 lead, Rita and Fergal appeared to be favourites. A four for Sue and Ken at the eighteenth end, however, proved to be a turning point and they were able to count at four out of the next five ends to win an excellent final 21-17.

 

 

 

 

The plate competition was won by Terry Corfield and Dave White with a 15-13 win in the final against Pat McArthur and Richard Rawcliffe.

The next club competition will be the Coronation Cup singles handicap, to take place on Sunday 10th June, 12 noon start.

HESKETH ARMS NEWSLETTER – MAY 2018

SPRING PAIRS
The next club competition will take place on Sunday 27^th May, when we will be competing for the Spring Pairs Trophy. Please arrive by 11.45am for registration to allow for a prompt start at 12 noon. As usual for our doubles events, pairings will be drawn randomly.

NEW HANDICAPPING SYSTEM
From 2007 to the end of the 2017 season, the Club has run 64 competitions for club members. These competitions have produced 49 different winners – who will become the number 50?
During this time, the handicapping system was based on the team that a member played for in the LV League – the Club only had two LV League teams in 2007. As the Club’s membership has grown in the intervening years and the number of teams has increased to eleven across six local leagues, using this as a basis for the handicaps has become unfit for purpose and has resulted in some members being at a disadvantage. Also, some players were being handicapped for winning an event nearly ten years ago. For these reasons, it was felt that it was time to review the system used.
From the beginning of the 2018 season, the handicaps for the Club’s singles competitions will be :-
Ladies, male social bowlers and novices – +6
Male league bowlers – +4
Anyone winning a singles event will be deducted 2 points from their handicap. There will be no lower limit to the handicap but only the previous three seasons and the current season will be taken into account. Hopefully, over time, this will prove to be a fair system and more accurately reflect an individual’s performances.
For the doubles events, all pairs will play of +4. Hopefully, the random draw element will give everyone a fair chance of being successful during the course of the season.

 
SOUTHPORT FEDERATION
The Southport Federation team got their season underway on Sunday 22^nd April when they took on Menai from North Wales.
The home leg took place at Fleetwood Hesketh, with Southport suffering a narrow aggregate loss with six winners to each side. Of the Hesketh Arms representatives there were good wins for Chris Porter (21-14) and Chris Harding (21-20).
Away from home in Caenarfon, there were some creditable performances from the Hesketh players, with narrow defeats for Alistair Adams (20-21) and Danny Harding (19-21). The man of the match for Southport was our new social member, Jason Wright, with an excellent 21-8 win. Overall, Menai won the match by 23 points to 9.
Southport now look forward to their next fixture on Sunday 20^th May, when the opponents will be near neighbours Preston. The home leg will take place at the Sphynx, starting at 2.00pm and Alistair Adams, Kez Adams and Fergal Wright have all been selected to represent the Southport home team. Chris Porter and Mark Wilde have been chosen for the away leg at Fox Lane, Leyland. As ever, supporters will be more than welcome for what should be an interesting match.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Sunday 27^th May          Spring Pairs (Doubles – pairings to be drawn on the day) 12 noon start
Sunday 10^th June          Coronation Cup (Singles handicap) 12 noon start
Saturday 30^th June        Vice-Presidents Pairs (Pairings to be drawn on the day) 12 noon start

GREEN BOOKINGS
Please note that the green will be unavailable to members on the following dates due to green bookings.
Sunday 1st July – all day for a private bowling party
Thursday 9th August – all day up until 5.30pm for a bowling party

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Social Round Robin held on Sunday 6th May
A total of 18 members turned up on a glorious sunny day to take part in the Social Round Robin.
Following some competitive bowling the Winner with +24 was Wayne Graham, just beating Dave White in 2nd Place with +23.
The other money winners were Ray Sutton (+12) in 3rd Place and Alex Rimmer  (+11) in 4th place.
Thanks to all who took part and the spectators who turned upto enjoy the sun and bowling.

The next competition will be The Spring Pairs on Sunday 27th May commencing at 12.00 noon. Please register by 11.45am

Regards
George Hitchmough

ROSE BOWL 2018
The Club’s programme of internal competitions got off to a good start on
Sunday when 36 members took part in the Rose Bowl singles handicap.
In the top half the draw the holder, Fergal Wright, was drawn in the
Preliminary Round against Derek Wignall and progressed comfortably with a
21-7 win. He then overcame tough opponents in Peter Smith (21-13) and Laurie
Townson (21-13) to set up a quarter final clash with fellow Eagle and
Vulture, Kez Adams. This was expected to be a close game but with both
players playing well, it was Fergal who edged it 21-17 to reach the
semi-final, where he was to face Brian Sutton. This game proved to be
Fergal’s toughest test of the day as Brian, winner of the Coronation Cup in
2016, pushed him all the way, just losing out by a narrow 21-18 margin.
Fergal’s opponent in the final was Bill Bloor, who had got past Wayne Graham
(21-17), Rita Stanley (21-8) and Tony Wakefield (21-12) to reach the
semi-final where he was to play Jason Wright. This was Jason’s first
competition at the Hesketh Arms and he was highly fancied to make it an “all
Wright final” as he defeated Richard Rawcliffe (21-14), Mark Rowlinson
(21-16) and Chris Harding (21-7). It was therefore a surprise that Bill
enjoyed such a convincing 21-8 win to reach his first Hesketh Arms’ singles
final.
With Bill having shown such good form to reach the final, a close game was
expected and it was nip and tuck in the early stages until Fergal settled on
a shorter mark and ran out a 21-14 winner. Congratulations to Fergal on
winning the Rose Bowl for the third time in four years and to Bill for
reaching the final with some good wins along the way.
Under the Club’s newly adopted handicapping system, Fergal will now play off -2 in the next singles event.
Details of the new system will explained in the May Newsletter.

A Plate competition was held for players losing their first game and this
was won by Alex Rimmer who defeated Dave White 15-13 in a closely fought
final.

Don’t Forget we have a Social Round Robin this coming Sunday 6th May 2.00pm start. Please register from 1.45pm