Author: George Hitchmough

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 2^nd and 3^rd 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 3^rd Division Championship with a 100% winning record, along with the 3^rd 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 6^th November. Non-members will be able to play on the green on payment of a £10 fee, which will cover the period from 6^th November 2017 to 31^st 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 7^th November) and the fee can be paid at these times.

From Saturday 11^th 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 20^th January 2018 – Awards & Social Evening (further details will be available soon)

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

GREEN CLOSURE
Please note that the green will be closed from Monday 2nd October in order that the essential end-of-season maintenance work can be carried out.
MIDWEEK ROUND ROBINS
The Officers and Committee of the Club would like to thank Peter and Lynne Smith for all the work they have undertaken this season in running the Tuesday and Friday Round Robins.
Peter and Lynne have asked that a special mention must also go to those members who have provided help at the round robins with tasks such as putting out chairs, making tea and washing up. This is greatly appreciated.
As well as providing our members with regular social bowling, the round robins bring in additional revenue for the Club, with over £400 having been raised so far this season. We would also like to thank those players who have donated their winnings from the round robins which has helped to boost this total.
LEAGUE TEAMS – A SUCCESSFUL SEASON
It is pleasing to report that the Club’s league teams have enjoyed a successful season. The following league and cup successes have been achieved by our teams. Congratulations to all those involved.
Eagles – Southport LV League Premier Division Runners-Up
Falcons – Southport LV League 1st Division Champions
Vultures – Burscough League 3rd Division Champions and Divisonal Cup winners
Hawks – Aughton League 3rd Division Champions and Divisional Cup winners
Hobbies – Southport Vets League 3rd Division Champions and Joe Bond Trophy winners
Maghull – Maghull League 4th Divison Cup runners-up

SOUTHPORT FEDERATION
The Southport team competed in the Federation Knockout Cup for the first time, which was held at various greens in the Huddersfield area at the beginning of September.
The first round saw the team overcome Cheshire Parks on aggregate, with Mike Milne and Fergal Wright both winning their games. This took the team into the quarter-finals, where they faced tough opposition in the form of 1st Division Champions Barnsley. Despite some good performances, Barnsley won this game 7-1 and they went on to finish runners-up to hosts Colne Valley in the final.
CHURCHTOWN CONSERVATIVE CLUB
At the beginning of September, the Churchtown Conservative Club used the Hesketh Arms green to hold their annual competition, playing for the B.J.P.O’Malley President’s Trophy.
Congratulations to Chris Harding and John McCabe who claimed the title with a 21-10 win in the final against Terry Corfield and Alex Rimmer

Congratulations to Hesketh Hawks on winning the Aughton League 3^rd Division cup for the second year in a row.

The Hawks beat Sandbrook Park 7:3

7 good wins but the performance of the day was by Laurie Townson, winning 21:20 from being 20:11 down

The team completed the double having already won the league.

JUNIOR OPEN SINGLES 2017

Saturday 2nd September saw the third staging of the Bernard O’Malley Vice-President’s Trophy which is an open competition for bowlers aged 18 and under.

This year, a change in format meant that the early stages were run as a round robin to ensure that all the players got a full afternoon of bowling. The top four then qualified for the semi-finals and these were Kyle Dawes and Fergal Wright from the host club, Matty Greenwood (Mere Brow) and Harvey Stansfield from Singleton Bowling Club. All four semi-finalists are junior county bowlers which ensured an extremely high standard of play.

The first semi-final saw the two Hesketh Arms players playing each other, in a repeat of last year’s final but on this occasion it was Kyle who gained revenge by winning on a last end decider to go through 21-20. His opponent in the final was Matty Greenwood from Mere Brow, who had recovered from 9-2 down to win 21-15 against Harvey Stansfield, the scores having been level at 15-15. The final was another high quality encounter which could have gone either way but it Kyle Dawes who deservedly took the title with a narrow 21-18 victory.

Many thanks to the Committee of the Hesketh Arms Bowling Club for allowing us to run this event, which is held in the name of our Honorary Vice-President, Bernard O’Malley, who has provided greatly appreciated support to our Club over a number of years.

A special mention must be made of Graham Pickavance, our referee for the day, who once again gave his time freely to ensure that the competition ran smoothly. Thanks also to those who came down to watch the bowling and helped out with marking and measuring and lastly to the bowlers who took part and provided a memorable and entertaining tournament.

 

HESKETH ARMS NEWS UPDATE – SEPTEMBER 2017
BURSCOUGH LEAGUE
Congratulations to the Vultures, who won the Burscough League’s 3rd Division Cup, with a 6-2 win in the final at Fleetwood Hesketh against Botanic ‘B’.

AUGHTON LEAGUE
Congratulations to the Hesketh Hawks, captained by George Hitchmough, on winning the 3rd Division of the Aughton Men’s Senior Citizens League, finishing a clear 14 points ahead of 2nd placed Crossens.

MAGHULL LEAGUE KNOCKOUT CUP
Commiserations to our mixed Monday night team on losing in the Maghull League’s 4th Division Cup final. Despite wins by Jeff Brown (21-10) and Bill Nowell (21-18), the team were defeated by neighbours Crossens at the Northern Club. Well done to Sue Davies and all the team on reaching the final and having enjoyed a successful league season, finishing in at least 3rd place in their division.

FRIENDLY V. EMMANUEL BOWLING CLUB
The third annual friendly match with our friends from Emmanuel Bowling Club took place in August and resulted in a 9-4 win for the Hesketh Arms team, thus retaining the Challenge Shield we won last year.
Thanks are due to Alan and Jill Lloyd for allowing us to use the Churchtown Conservative Club for the post-match hospitality and for their help in providing the pie and peas.
We look forward to the re-match next year for what has become an enjoyable addition to the Club’s busy calendar of bowling.

CHURCHTOWN CONSERVATIVE CLUB – PRESIDENT’S TROPHY
On Sunday 3rd September, we will again be hosting the Churchtown Conservative Club’s B.J.P.O’Malley President’s Trophy. Any of our bowlers who are also members of the Conservative Club are eligible to take part in this random pairs competition which will start at 1.00pm.

CLUB COMPETITIONS 2017
Many thanks to all those members who have supported the club’s internal competitions during the 2017 season. We have again enjoyed increased participation, with the number of entrants for the seven events totalling 227, an increase of 14 on the 2016 figure.
If any member has any comments regarding the Club’s programme of competitions or any ideas for additional events, feedback is always welcome and can be emailed to hesketharms21@yahoo.co.uk or secretary@hesketharmsbowlingclub.co.uk

GREEN BOOKINGS
Please note that the green will be unavailable to members on the following dates :-
Saturday 2nd September – all day – Junior Open competition
Sunday 3rd September – PM – Conservative Club competition
Thursday 7th September – 5.30pm onwards – Parks League KO Cup match
Thursday 21st September – all day – private booking
The Committee apologises for any inconvenience caused.

Congratulations to our Hobbies team who have won the 3rd Division Cup in the Southport Vets League.

CHAIRMAN’S SHIELD 2017

The Chairman’s Shield took place on Sunday and attracted sixteen pairs. The top half of the draw saw Brian Jones and Pat McArthur reach the final with wins against Deanne Moss and Ray Sutton (21-17), Jim Halsall and Mavis Thompson (21-15) and Janice Hobson and Ken Rimmer (21-14).

Their opponents in the final were Bill Bloor and Jason Chapman, who had enjoyed wins against Barry McArthur and Richard Rawcliffe (21-7), Chris Harding and Eileen Rawcliffe (21-20) and in the semi-final, Mike Milne and Noel Morgans (21-14).

The final was a closely fought battle, with Bill and Jason the pair to gain the advantage with a 15-11 lead after ten ends. Brian and Pat are both former winners of pairs titles at the Hesketh Arms, however, and re-gained the lead with a single and a four to lead 16-15. A three for Bill and Jason though proved decisive as they took an 18-16 lead and scored a further three chalks in the next two ends to win the final 21-16. Congratulations to Bill Bloor on winning his first Hesketh club event and to Jason on a second success, having won the Vice-Presidents Pairs with Fergal Wright in 2015.

The Plate competition was won by Mike Dunlop and John McCabe, with a win against Brian Sutton and Laurie Townson in the final.

Mike

HESKETH ARMS NEWS UPDATE – AUGUST 2017

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Sunday 6^th August – Championship Cup (Singles Handicap, 12 noon start)

Saturday 12^th August – Friendly v Emmanuel Bowling Club (see below for details)

Saturday 19^th August – Chairman’s Shield (Pairs to be drawn on the day, 12 noon start)

FRIENDLY V. EMMANUEL B.C.

A friendly match against Emmanuel Bowling Club will take place on Saturday 12^th August at the Hesketh Arms green, with refreshments at the Churchtown Conservative Club at the end of the game. The match will start at 1.00pm and anyone interested in taking part should contact Mike Milne (07752352065 / michaelmilne66@outlook.com) or add their name to the list which is available at the bowling club.

SOUTHPORT FEDERATION

The Southport Federation team completed their 2017 National League fixtures with the July match being against neighbouring Preston.

The home leg took place at Ainsdale Bowling Club and resulted in a 7-5 win. Among the winners for the home side were Mark Wilde and Fergal Wright, who won 21-10 and 21-19 respectively.

The away leg was held on the tricky Lostock Hall Conservative Club green and the Southport team were beaten 9-3. Alistair and Kez Adams, Chris Harding, Mike Milne and Jon Roberts from the Hesketh Arms were all selected to represent Southport at Lostock Hall.

The Southport team has enjoyed a much-improved season, winning all four home games and two overall aggregates. They now await the results of the last round of fixtures in August which will determine the final league placings.

LV INDIVIDUALS

Congratulations to Fergal Wright on winning the LV League’s Individual event, held at Fleetwood Hesketh on the 11^th July. On a great night for Hesketh Eagles players, Fergal narrowly defeated Ray Atkinson in the final. Ray had previously overcome John Hughes at the semi-final stage. Nearly 100 players took part in this prestigious event and to have three of our members in the semi-finals was an impressive achievement.

LV PAIRS

The Hesketh Arms was again strongly represented at the finals night of the LV Pairs competition. Mark Wilde, partnering John Greenwood from Mere Brow, overcame Chris Harding and Mike Milne 21-14 in the final to claim the title. Well done to all the Hesketh Arms players who qualified for the last sixteen of this event.

BURSCOUGH LEAGUE

Congratulations to our new Burscough League team, the Hesketh Vultures, on winning the 3^rdDivision championship. Captained by Chris Harding, they have enjoyed an outstanding season, winning all 14 of their league games. This team has attracted several new members to the club and it has been good to see them taking part in the Club’s weekend competitions.

GREEN BOOKING

Please note that the green will unavailable for members on the following date due to a private booking :-

Sunday 13^th August – 11.00am – 5.00pm (approx.)

HESKETH ARMS BOWLING CLUB
President’s Day 2017
Sunday saw the Club hold it’s 5th annual President’s Day when 29 members competed for the President’s Cup. Sadly, John Stennett, our 2017 President recently passed away but this year’s President’s Day was held as a tribute to John, who had done so much for the Club, much of it behind the scenes. It was pleasing that Sheila Stennett was able to attend to draw the raffle and mark cards. We feel sure that John would be pleased to see the Club continue to be go from strength to strength as he had been instrumental in helping the Club to progress over the last ten years.
The competition itself saw some excellent bowling with Alex Rimmer continuing the form that saw him win the Spring Pairs earlier in the season. He overcame John Catherall (21-6), Peter Smith (21-17) and Richard Rawcliffe (21-16) to reach the semi-final, where his opponent was one of the tournament favourites, Mark Wilde. Mark had beaten fellow Eagle, Mark Rowlinson in the last eight but wasn’t able to overcome Alex, who progressed to the final with a 21-12 win.
In the final, Alex faced two time Coronation Cup winner, Brian Jones. Brian had won three close games to reach the final, his opponents being Jason Chapman (21-17), Chris Harding (21-16) and Dave Bedford (21-16). It was Alex who started off strongly in the final, however, counting four 2s in the first seven ends to establish a 12-5 lead. This lead proved decisive as Brian was unable to significantly close the gap as Alex ran out a 21-11 winner. Congratulations to Alex Rimmer on winning his first Hesketh Arms singles title, having previously been runner-up in this event in 2013.

The plate competition for first round losers was won by Bill Bloor, who defeated Sue Davies 15-9 in the final.

Many thanks to George Hitchmough and his helpers for organising the refreshments and a raffle and to all those who donated cakes and raffle prizes. The sale of refreshments and the raffle resulted in net proceeds of £212.68, which included a donation left to us by John Stennett. Finally, a big thank you to Sheila Stennett for supporting the day in memory of John, who was such a loyal supporter of crown green bowls in Churchtown and is sadly missed by all his bowling friends.