Members return for outdoor rinks
Desborough and Twyford resume club matches after closure
Desborough Bowls Club members returned to their outside rink at Green Lane last month after lockdown restrictions were eased by the Government to enable outdoor play.
While most of the club’s facilities at Green Lane remain out of bounds due to COVID-19, the club has been able to organise a series of competitions for its members and players from other clubs in the area. Singles, pairs and ladder league matches have been taking place outdoors, with the latter being held every Sunday morning.
Players from other clubs, including Maidenhead Town, Maidenhead Thicket, Windsor & Eton, Cippenham, Iver Heath and Twyford have been able to take advantage too.
“The club closure has been very difficult for all bowling clubs and we at Desborough are doing everything we can to ensure our members can enjoy the benefits associated with playing bowls outdoors,” said the club’s general secretary Roger Wyatt.
“It has been a pleasure to see the relief and pleasure on the faces of all the members who have now emerged from nearly three months of self-isolation, and to see them all chatting and smiling again, whilst maintaining social distancing of course.
“We are hopeful that, with the further relaxation of the lockdown rules, we will be able to plan for the reopening of all our club facilities, including the indoor green, ready for the next indoor season starting in September.”
Measures will be put in place at the club to mitigate against the risk of infection before it can fully reopen. This will include improved signage, hand sanitisation, hygiene screens and training for staff. The club is working closely with Bowls England and the English Indoor Bowling Association to come up with solutions to ensure the safety of members when the indoor season resumes.
W Twyford Bowls Club have also made a ‘hesitant’ return to the bowling green this month, following Bowls England’s recommendation that matches could be played provided safety was put at the top of the agenda.
Several club competitions are now underway to ensure there will be some sort of Finals Day at least, however, not everyone wants to play given the current circumstances, which is understandable, said Tina Scherer, and there is no pressure being put on members to get back involved.
The club is now playing singles matches in two sessions on Wednesdays, from 2-5pm, playing on every other rink, to ensure players are able to keep a safe distance.
Sunday’s results are as follows: R. Tomes 8 - C. Hancock 16; R. Dreesden 15 - D. Boles 11; K. Pope 15 - J. Walter 18; D. Luscombe 15 - C. Luscombe 19; D. Payton 17 - M. Merritt 15.
The Mixed Singles Handicap competition is also now back underway with Debbie Boles battling past Mary Wheeler for an eight-shot victory (24-16).