Archived League News 2023
President's & Consolation Cups
The final two matches of the 2023 season were played at Bridgnorth on Sunday 1st October. Many thanks to Bridgnorth for making their facilities available.
Congratulations to Islanders A on winning the President's Cup by 20 shots over Mortimer.
Congratulations too to Madeley Cricket Club who had a 33 shot winning margin over Highley B.
More details here.
1Oct23 by John PalmerCup Finals and League Prize Presentation
The President's & Consolation Cup finals will be played at at Bridgnorth Bowling Club on Sunday 1st October. The Consolation Cup will be played at 1pm, followed by the President's Cup at 3pm. Dress code will apply.
The finals will be followed by the League Prize Presentation at approximately 5pm. A buffet will be provided and all league bowlers are welcome. Donations of prizes for a raffle on the day would be much appreciated.
If anyone would be prepared to donate cakes for the presentation, they would also be appreciated. Please contact Jeanette on 01952 730339 if you can.
19Sep23by John Palmer
Doubles Finals
Many thanks to Much Wenlock for hosting the doubles finals on Sunday 10th September.
The division 1 trophy was won by Highley pairing Andy James & Frank Leek who beat Rob Renke & Brian Walters (Islanders) 21-11 in the final.
The division 2 final was an all Horsehay affair with Phil Harris & Darren Bailey beating Luke Fearnall & Des Conneely 21-14.
Full scores are on the results service: division 1, division 2 and more details here.
10Sep23 by John PalmerDoubles Finals
The finals of both the division 1 and division 2 doubles will be played at Much Wenlock on Sunday 10th September, 1.15pm scratch. The draws will be made on the day. Qualifiers:
Division 1
John Roberts & Gareth Jones Horsehay
Rob Renke & Brian Walters Islanders
Andy James & Frank Leek Highley
Geoff Wylde & Dave East Highley
Division 2
Phil Harris & Darren Bailey Horsehay
Mick Rhodes & Alan Ludlow-Rhodes Horsehay
Luke Fearnell & Des Conneely Horsehay
John Baines & Jeanette Bennett Stockton
6Sep23 by John PalmerPresident's & Consolation Cups - Semi Finals
The semi finals of both cups will be played on Tuesday 12th September. Draws & venues below.
6Sep23 by John Palmer
President's & Consolation Cups - Quarter Finals
Outstanding ties in the quarter finals of the cups are listed below. They are on different dates due to clashes with the Harris & Ashton Cups. Note that one match in each competition was played using the spare division 1 Tuesday on 1st August so Highley A are in the semi-finals of the President's Cup and Madeley in the Consolation.
The semi-finals will be played on Tuesday 12th September and the finals at Bridgnorth on Sunday 1st October.
12Aug23 by John Palmer
Doubles Qualifying
Twelve pairs entered the Division 1 and thirteen the division 2 doubles. Qualifying took place on Tuesday 8th August.
Updated with qualifiers highlighted. Scores for the division 1 qualifying are on the results service here and the division 2 qualifying are here.
The finals will be played at Much Wenlock on Sunday 10th September, 1.15pm scratch.
Division 1 at Bridgnorth BC
John Roberts & Gareth Jones Horsehay
Martin Beddow & Brian Durnall Highley
Dave Hill & Roger Jones Highley
Ollie Harris & Andy Garbett Horsehay
Rob Renke & Brian Walters Islanders
Andy James & Frank Leek Highley
Tim & Linda Lowe Broseley
Cheryl Caswell & Partner Islanders
Geoff Wylde & Dave East Highley
Tony Swales & Mervyn Jarman Much Wenlock
Matt Pritchard & Kev Carter Broseley
Jacob Ash & Bruno Heath Highley
Four to qualify, Rob Renke I/C
1Aug23 by John Palmer
Division 2 at Much Wenlock
Phil Harris & Darren Bailey Horsehay
Mick Rhodes & Alan Ludlow-Rhodes Horsehay
Cathy Warner & Karl Law Islanders
Luke Fearnell & Des Conneely Horsehay
John Pritchard & Steve Bishton Stockton
Rob Weir & Martin Bennett Stockton
John Baines & Jeanette Bennett Stockton
Guy Lewis & Mike Davies Stockton
Chris Massie & Brian Homer Bridgnorth
Tony & Debbie Jones Worfield
Joe & Lauren Burnside Mortimer
Lesley Burnside & Ryan Woods Mortimer
Nick Flatters & Graham Kitchen Mortimer
Four to qualify, John Palmer I/C
Singles Finals
Congratulations to John Roberts Jnr (Horsehay) on winning the Mark Bennett Memorial Trophy and to Darren Bailey (Horsehay) on winning the division 2 Trophy at Stockton last Sunday.
Semi final results are on the Results Service here and here.
I must apologise for not attending the finals due to a family bereavement but thanks go to Jeanette & Martin Bennett, John Pritchard and John Baines of the host club for organising the competitions, running the raffle and providing the refreshments.
More detailed report here.
26Jul23 by John PalmerSingles Finals Reminder
The finals of the Singles Competitions - Mark Bennett Memorial and Division 2 Singles take place this Sunday at Stockton. All welcome. 1pm start for Division 2 and 2pm for the Mark Bennett Memorial.
20Jul23 by John PalmerPresident's & Consolation Cups - Preliminary Rounds
The draws for the President's & Consolation Cups are now on the Results Service and copied below. Ties take place on Wednesday 26th July although Worfield A v Mortimer will be played on Monday 24th July.
12Jul by John Palmer
Results Service - New Web Address
Please be aware that due to performance issues, Mike Beckett has set up a second results service and moved this league's results to it. The new address is bowlsresultstwo.co.uk and all the links on this site have been changed to reference it.
If you have any bookmarks saved which use the old address bowlsresults.co.uk please change them.
4Jul23 by John PalmerJim Palmer Memorial Veterans Trophy Played at Much Wenlock
The final of the Jim Palmer Memorial was an all Islanders & League Officers affair with League Chairman John Palmer just edging out Vice Chairman Rob Renke 21-19 in the final. 28 veterans of the league entered the competition. Full details here.
2Jul23 by John PalmerPresident's Cup Preliminary Round Results
The results from the preliminary round of the President's Cup are below. Unfortunately, the system didn't like having two preliminary rounds for the same competition and mangled the draw for the next round and when I deleted that draw to correct it, it deleted all the results as well - apologies.
The draw for the next round of the President's Cup is here and the Consolation Cup here, most venues are still to be arranged.
30Jun23 by John Palmer
Jim Palmer Trophy Sunday 2nd July at Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock's secretary Sue Mawditt has informed the league that due to Olympian events taking place on the same day, players should allow plenty of time to find a parking space.
22Jun23 by John PalmerDoubles Qualifying
Entries are invited for the Division 1 (open to all Highley League bowlers) and the Division 2 trophies (open to bowlers who have played fewer than 2 games in Division 1).
Qualifying (if required) will be on Tuesday 8th August (venues to be arranged depending on the number of entries). Finals will be played on Sunday 10th September, venue to be arranged.
Entry fee is £6 per pair which will be accepted on the day you play.
Entries accepted by email to highleybowlsleague@gmail.com or phone/text/Whatsapp 07460267265 by Tuesday 1st August.
21Jun23 by John PalmerSingles Qualifiers
Details are now on the Competitions page. Thanks to Bridgnorth, Bylet & Worfield for the use of their facilities and those in charge for organising the qualifiers. Finals (last 8's) are on Sunday 23rd July at Stockton, 1pm for Division 2 and 2pm for the Mark Bennett Memorial.
20Jun23 by John PalmerLeague Email Addresses
It has come to my attention that our internet domain registrar has unfortunately removed a previous facility for redirecting email addresses. Consequently addresses that we previously used of the form <something>@highleybowlsleague.org.uk were being rejected. I now have a workaround which redirects these emails to highleybowlsleague@gmail.com but you are advised to use the email addresses listed on the League Officers page if you need to get in touch.
20Jun23 by John PalmerPresident's Cup Preliminary Round
The draw for the preliminary round of the President's Cup is copied below. Ties take place on Tuesday 27th June. Squirrel have a bye into the second preliminary round where they'll be joined by the winners. Losing teams will be entered into the Consolation Cup.
A green fee of £8 per team should be paid to the host club.
15Jun23 by John Palmer
Another Reminder
Entries for the two singles cups need to be in by close of play on Tuesday.
11Jun23 by John PalmerLadies Singles
Congratulations to Cheryl Caswell (Islanders) on winning the Ladies Singles Trophy played at Bridgnorth Bowling Club on Sunday 11th June. Details here.
11Jun23 by John PalmerTwo Reminders
The Ladies Singles will be played next Sunday at Bridgnorth Bowling Club, 1.45pm scratch for a 2pm start. Entries taken on the day, £3.
Entries for the Mark Bennett and Division 2 Singles need to be in by close of play on Tuesday 13th June so that greens can be selected for qualifying on Tuesday 20th June. No league matches are scheduled for that evening.
4Jun23 by John Palmer
Mark Bennett Memorial & Division 2 Singles
Entries are invited for these two competitions before 14th June. Qualifying (if required) will be on Tuesday 20th June and you can pay on the day - £3 per entry. The finals will be played at Stockton on Sunday 23rd July.
Entries can be emailed to highleybowlsleague@gmail.com or phone/text 07460267265.
Players are reminded that they can only play in only one of these competitions, not both as they are played at the same time.
24May23 by John Palmer
One Day Competitions
Dates and venues have now been confirmed for the two one day league competitions. Both competitions can be entered on the day and the entry fee will be £3.
Ladies Singles
Open to all lady bowlers registered to play in the league.
Venue: Bridgnorth Bowling Club
Date: Sunday 11th June, 1.45pm draw for a 2pm start.
Jim Palmer Memorial Trophy
Open to all league bowlers over the age of 60.
Venue: Much Wenlock
Date Sunday 2nd July, 12.45pm draw for a 1pm start.
30Apr23 by John PalmerPost Match Refreshments
The following clubs have confirmed that they will be providing post match refreshments this season:
Much Wenlock A & B
Stockton
Chelmarsh A & B
The following have confirmed that they will not be providing refreshments:
Horsehay A & B
Islanders A, B & C
Madeley
Bridgnorth
Apologies if any clubs told me their decisions at the AGM, I've forgotten. Please let me know so I can post a definitive list.
19Mar23 by John Palmer2023 Fixtures are now available
The fixtures for the 2023 season are now published on the Results Service.
10Mar23 by John PalmerAGM Update
Stockton B's resignation from division 1 was accepted. Guy Lewis thanked the league and Stockton for accommodating them since they joined in 2013 as Horsehay C.
Horsehay & Much Wenlock's requests to enter B teams were accepted.
All clubs in attendance plus Shifnal later confirmed their team entries which means 21 teams for the 2023 season.
It was agreed that division 1 would consist of 10 teams and division 2 11. Fixture secretary John Palmer stated that this would mean that division 2 would start on Tuesday 4th April and division 1 a week later.
It was also agreed that in order to leave 10 teams in division 1, Highley B who finished second bottom last year would not be relegated. Shifnal & Much Wenlock A would be promoted from division 2.
It was decided that the President's Cup would be competed for this season. John Palmer pointed out that this would require an extra round and consequently, some matches would have to be played on Wednesdays.
Jeanette Bennett requested for the finals of the singles competitions (Mark Bennett Memorial) to be played at Stockton again and this was agreed.
Treasurer Jeanette Bennett asked for the donation per club to cover the end of season presentation to be increased from £10 to £20. This was agreed.
The league officers were reelected en bloc.
Following a couple of incidents last year, both President Bob Parry and Chairman John Palmer appealed to players not to enter qualifying for league competitions if they know that they won't be available to play in the finals.
Thoughts on the League Structure & Competitions to be discussed at the AGM
I thought I'd outline some of the options for this year's league structure prior to the AGM so clubs can give it some thought.
We'll need a deadline date by which clubs will have to confirm team entries - possibly Wednesday 8th March in order for the fixtures to be created and agreed with the Shrewsbury Ladies League (because both Broseley and Shifnal play in that league on Tuesdays). To date, we have had the good news that Horsehay and Much Wenlock want to enter second teams but that unfortunately, Stockton B are going to withdraw due to a lack of players. This means that if there are no other changes, we'll have one division of 10 teams and one of 11.
The division with 11, will have to start on Tuesday 4th April and finish on 26th September as it requires 22 match dates and we need four Tuesdays for the Singles & Doubles qualifying and the K/O first and second rounds; unless we play one of those on a Wednesday in which case, the league could finish on 19th September. The division with 10 will have 4 fewer match dates, possibly omitting 4th April, 2nd May, 27th June & 25th July. The latter date can be used for the K/O prelims (providing we don't play the President's Cup) whereas the division with 11 will have to play the K/O prelims on a Wednesday.
If we play the President's Cup, an additional round will be required which will have to be played on a Wednesday.
So, to be agreed then:
Do we play normal K/O's or the President's Cup?
Do we want the number of teams in division 1 & 2 to be 10/11 or 11/10? Last year it was 10/10.
Given that Stockton B are lost from Division 1, Worfield A are relegated and both Shifnal & Much Wenlock are promoted that would give us 10 in division 1. Should we not relegate Highley B who finished second bottom of division 1 or promote Stockton A who finished third in division 2? If we opt for 11/10, we'd have to do both.
If anyone has any comments or questions before the AGM, let me know.
John Palmer
Chairman
Season 2022 Archived
News articles from 2022 have been moved to the 2022 archive here.
13Jan23 by John Palmer