Paul puts his Hart-ley into the last 16 of the nationals
Paul Hartley came out on top of the area two final of the national singles at Ferryhill, beating Hartlepool’s Andrew Kirtland 21-16 in a top quality game.
In the last sixteen at Nottingham, Hartley will face eitherAlfreton’sAshleyClipston or Louth’s Simon Reeson on March 28.
Hartley then teamed up with David Bolt in the area final of the pairs at Aycliffe, the Shields pair overcoming Hartlepool’sAlexPortwayand Glenn Skipp 17-10. Unfortunately due to a long-standing holiday, Hartley will miss the latterstages,butinthelastsixteen Bolt, who will need a sub, will face Acle’s Roger BarnbrookorNorfolk’sWayneWillgress on April 12.
Theareafinalline-upinthe over-60 fours has been confirmed, with Hartlepool’s Albert Ward facing Gateshead’s Brian Orrell.
The defending women’s over-60 pairs, Shields’ Maureen Charles, booked an area final tie with Aycliffe’s Jane Hewitson following a 19-13 win over clubmate Pam Carlin. The uneven north/south draw means the Shields pair will be playing their fourth game while the Aycliffe pair will be playing their first.
There was good news for the Vipers in the women’s Mason Trophy double fours, where a 36-23 win over Great Aycliffe secures a last sixteen tieagainstNottinghamorYork on March 4.
The Durham County seniorsreturnedtowinningways in the Midlands league, Durham easing to a comfortable 157-104 win at York.
Across the green Durham won on four of the six rinks, the pick of them Hartlepool’s Mark Jones cruising to a 368 win over S.Woodwark. The onlylosssawDarlington’sAlan Stephenson go down 18-14 to A.Gilbert, while Gateshead’s Alan Jobling played out a 2222 draw. The win, however, still leaves Durham 15 points adrift of leaders Nottingham, althoughDurhamhaveplayed a game less. Next up is Leicestershire again at York.
In the county seniors league, Stanley’s 5-0 (+53) thumping of Shields means Houghton Sancroft will have to beat Gateshead in their final game to ensure they get the home quarter-final draw in the play-offs.
Area 3 standings - Stanley 21 (+90), Houghton Sancroft 19 (+84), Gateshead 10, South Shields 5.
Houghton men return to inter-club action tomorrow as they take on Hartlepool. Houghton – currently top of the table – will be looking to bounce back from their 6-4 loss to Aycliffe while holders Hartlepool will be looking to build on the 8-2 win over Gateshead.
At Houghton (12.30 start) – T.Grimes, R.Thorpe, M.Baker,D.Wright,M.Wright, R.Jobling,F.Fletcher,AJDunn.
At Hartlepool (12noon start)–W.Roberts,P.Thomson, D.Armstrong, J.McAdoo, J.Sutherland, S.Tindale, P.Brickle, D.Todner.
TheBowlsEnglandawards evening takes place in Leicester tonight, with Bowls DurhamintherunningforCounty of the Year while New Herrington, Lyndhurst and Darlington South Park are in the Club of the Year category. In the Greenkeeper of the Year, Jarrow West End’s Ted Jameson makes the final six; it was surprising that Houghton Dairy Lane didn’t nominate their greenkeeper Ernie Hutchinson,astheDairyLane green is the best in the county. Darlington South Park’s Ken BousfieldisintheCoachofthe Year category.
Bowls England have confirmedthemen’sandwomen’s squads which will represent England at the Commonwealth Games. In the men’s squad Huntingdonshire’s Nicky Brett will make his Games debut alongside the DevonquartetofJamieChestney, Louis Ridout, Sam Tolchard and Jamie Walker. The women’s squad features the DevonduoofNatalieChestney andSophieTolchardplusSian Honnor (Kent), Amy Pharoah (Lincolnshire) and Jamie-Lea Winch (Leicestershire). Between the squads they have a total17medals.TheParabowls squad is made up of Craig Bowler (Bedfordshire), Kieron Rollings (Northants), Chris Turnbull (Yorkshire) and Alison Yearling (Devon).
The draw for the Sunderland&District3-2-1tripleswill see holders Silksworth tackle Roker Marine in the preliminary round with the winner facing a home clash with Seaham Town. Washington host Roker Park, Thompson Park face Sunderland, and North Biddick play Pemberton.
Fit For The Future
Launched in August 2021, Bowls England's strategy ‘Fit For The Future’ frames an exciting course for the sport. Thefive-yearplanhasbeendesigned with the ultimate goal ofgettingmorepeopleplaying and enjoying bowls.
It sets out a vision for the sport, plans to achieve a range ofobjectivesandwhatsuccess should look like in 2026.
Theprioritiesthataimfora target of one million bowls experiencesperyearby2026are:
*Building the brand of bowls by increasing focus on international and top domestic bowls, and utilizing opportunities such as Birmingham 2022 to achieve larger media coverage
*Ensuring the sport is truly accessible to all by offering different formats of the game whichsuitalltimeconstraints, as well as driving more people to clubs in new ways
*Creating positive playing experiences for everyone who steps on the green, both for casual and competitive players, as well as growing an eventscalendarandintroducing a Performance Pathway
*Putting volunteers first, asthelifebloodofthesport,by increasing support for clubs in order to empower them to thrive
*Leading the sport with purpose by developing Governance structures, diversifying revenue streams and working collaboratively with allthesport’skeystakeholders
You can read the strategy at https://www.bowlsengland.com/wp-content/ uploads/2021/10/BowlsEngland-Fit-for-the-FutureStrategy-2021-2026.pdf, or contact directly via ourfuture@bowlsengland.com.