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PRESS RELEASES 2010

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Current items to be incorporated in the Press Release on Sunday evening 18 July 2010

Press Release - Sunday 18 July 2010

Following the win in the Bob Vise at home against Harperbury last week, Welwyn and District visited Harperbury in the Herts County League on 12 July. Chris, Phil, Barry and Mike were missing (on County Fours duty) so we fielded a weakened team. Despite that we came away with five points.
Malcolm Baldwin, Graham Hart, Ron Carr and Dave Ratcliffe drew 23-23 with Jim Terry, Bob Young, Vince Tamara, and Les Roberts.
John Lee, Gerald Papworth, Graham Daniels and Ted Webb won 19-12 against John Gilson, John Hill, Lou Hoskins and Peter Noden.

Welwyn Ladies won a friendly match against Potters Bar on 11 July. 55 shots to 35. The top Welwyn rink of Janet Tickner, Jillian Jennings, and Mary Clements won by 26-3.

In the Ranson Cup clash between Welwyn and District and Rosedale the away team managed to hang on for an 18-18 draw, whilst the home team won 26-15. Overall score 43 - 33 to Welwyn.

Having suffered our first defeat of the season on 29th June ( 45-18) to the Much Hadham Eagles, Welwyn Harts turned the tables last night with a 52-21 win over their Hawks team. A great turnaround, and a welcome return to form. Maybe some of us are just getting used to their notoriously tricky green. That gives the Harts 34 points from 9 games.....good but not good enough if they are to win the league. There are 36 points points still to fight for (6 games) so they need to do their utmost.

Welwyn Stags travelled to Hertford for their East Herts League match against Hertingfordbury and came away with six points having won on both rinks. This brings their total to 38 points from seven games.

An otherwise successful week in league and county bowling was spoiled by a defeat at the hand of near neighbours Hatfield in the Club 10 Competition. Both clubs won two of the four disciplines, but Hatfield won on overall shot difference.

In individual events, Ian Snook has reached the semi-finals of the County Unbadged Singles, beating Ted Webb at Shire Park on Friday evening; and Chris Read and John Lee won their EHBL Pairs game on Thursday morning by 27 shots to 15. They are now in the quarter final which is to be played by latest 6th August.

Press Release - Sunday 11 July 2010

The Bob Vise Trophy match between Welwyn and District and Harperbury on 7 July had a dramatic ending with Welwyn winning a measure on the last end of the last match to give them a two shot overall win. Ted Webb got the evening off to a good start with a 21-19 win in the singles, but then the pairs (Nigel Woor and Ian Snook) slipped to a 19-25 loss. Next to finish were the Fours (David Ratcliffe, Chris Read, Barry Smith and Chris Sherriff) with Welwyn losing by one one the last end, 14-15. In the Triples (John Lee, Sam Smith and Phil Russell) tension was high as Phil bowled the last wood of the evening, sadly falling short of the head, but a tight measure revealed that Welwyn had won the end and the Triples had won 20-13 . Two disciplines each and 74 shots to 72 overall in Welwyn's favour.
Welwyn Stags beat BSP at home in the East Herts League division 1 on 8 July by 53 shots to 20, and thus gained another six points, making 32 from 5 matches. John Lee, Ron Carr and David Ratcliffe beat Ken Grethe, Dave Miller and Mac McCarthy 27-6, while Mike Poole, Ted Webb and Phil Russell beat Joe Caruana, Jim Hadland and Gary Smith 26-14.
Dorothy Henton, Margaret Holdcroft, Sylvia Ducat-Brown and Jean Webb won the Potters Bar B.C, Ladies Gala Day on 9 July, and on the same Ted Webb won through to the quarter finals of the County Unbadged Singles, despite at one stage being 6-16 down to Richard Hale of Watford. In the quarter final which is to be played at 6:00 pm on 16 July at Shire Park. which he will meet Ian Snook, also of Welwyn and District, who beat T. Streeton of Bushey at Townsend St. Albans. In the National Over 55s pairs fourth round at Havers Park, Michael Poole & Chris Sherriff beat Ronald (Ray) Cracknell & Colin Dyer of Havers Park 19 shots to 13.

Press Release - Sunday 27 June 2010

On Tuesday 22 June, the vistors at Welwyn and District Bowls Club were Harpenden, in the Herts County League. As always with Harpenden the game was very tight right up to the last end, and Harpenden ran out the winners by one shot. For Welwyn, Dave Ratcliffe, John Lee, Sam Smith, and Chris Sherriff, won 24-22 against Tom Muir, Ted Pentecost, Simon Burgess, and Woodie Donoghue. Mike Poole, Ted Webb, Barry Smith and Phil Russell lost 21-24 to Colin Driscoll Kevin Brazier,John Osborn and Tony Redford.

On Wednesday, Welwyn Bucks were hosts to previously unbeaten Parkside in the East Herts League division 2. This resulted in a win overall for the Bucks by 61 shots to 16, wins on both rinks and another 6 points. That give the Bucks 28 points from 7 games....enough to keep them very nicely placed near the top. Next match for the Bucks is at Much Hadham on the 29th.

On Thursday, also in the East Herts League but in division 1 Welwyn Stags were at home to Bengeo Blues. Drawing on one rink the Stags took the overall match with a 27-14 win by David Ratcliffe, Ted Webb and Chris Sherriff.

On Friday, in the St. Albans Triples League, Welwyn played Rowley Lane. The home team just managed to win by one shot, but the away team of Normand Muller, Andy Scholes and David Ratcliffe won handsomely to give us maximum points.

Elsewhere, the ladies played a Four way friendly match against losing to Knebworth 15-23, beating De-Havilland 28-9, losing to Parkside (1) 20-22, and beating Parkside (2) 16-10 . Overall Welwyn won 79 – 64

Northaw & Cuffley were the visitors on Saturday, winning on three rinks and losing on two, and thus they were the overall winners with a score of 98 to Welwyn's 84 Welwyn's highest winning rink with a score of 21-11 was Norman Muller, Norma Carter, Sylvia Ductat-Brown and Ted Webb.

Finally, to round off the week Welyn and District visited Ware. Overall there were six rinks with Ware recording 116 shots and Welwyn scoring 125 shots. Welwyn's top ladies rink was Doris Atkins, Janet Tickner, Sybil Noel and Diana Barrett who won by 27 shots to 12. The top men's rink was the golden oldies team of Malcolm Marvell, Gerald Papworth, Chris Benson and Arthur Knight who won by 26 shots to 19. The two ladies rinks scored 45 shots v 35 shots. The men won on two rinks, drew on one and lost on one, with the overall score being 80 shots to Welwyn and 81 shots to Ware. However, three ladies, namely Lily Reilly (playing in her first match) , Nancy James and Norma Carter played for the men.

Press Release - Sunday 20 June 2010

On Tuesday 15 June seventy fours ladies from all over Hertfordshire came to Welwyn to contest the Welwyn and District Ladies Invitation Gala. After an entertaining days bowling the eventual winners were Kathleen Monk (skip), Marilyn Hedger and Val Batts representing Hatfield “A”. Runners-up were Riverain “B”, Lesley Ferry, Betty Lee, and June Clay; with Hertford's Dorrie Brown, Doreen Bunyan, Gloria Metcalfe only just behind in third place. Prizes were presented by the Welwyn and District President, Diana Barrett.  Winner of the “Spider” was Doreen Bunyan. (See "News" page of web site for photos)
In the men's Bob Vise Trophy match at home to Welwyn Garden City on Sunday, Welwyn won the Singles 21-9, Triples 27-12 and Fours 29-11, and drew the Pairs 20-20 giving a final result of 7 points to 1.
In the East Herts League division 1 match on Thursday 17th between Welwyn Stags and Castle Knights, Phil Russell's triple (Phil, Ron Carr and David Ratcliffe) won whilst Barry Smith, Sam Smith and John Lee were narrowly beaten. Final result Welwyn 4 points, Castle Knights 2.
Also on Thursday evening in the East Herts division 2 match between Welwyn Bucks and Stevenage Reds, Welwyn and District won on both rinks taking six points.
Friday night's Bucks away match against Ware was a real cliffhanger in miserable conditions with the Bucks losing on one rink, and drawing on the other, resulting in 1 point for the Bucks and 5 for Ware.
In a friendly match against Mill Hill on Friday W&DBC won on all 5 rinks. The overall score was 94 shots to Welwyn and 48 shots to Mill Hill. Welwyn's top rink was Jack Richardson, Sylvia Ducat-Brown and Mike Poole who won by 24 shots to 7.
On Saturday W&DBC visited Datchworth, losing by 78 shots to 95.

Press Release - Sunday 13 June 2010

Welwyn and District Bowls Club ended the week on a high note with a clean-sweep win over Abbots Langley B.C. in the County Team Ten competition on Sunday. This compensated a little for losing on Friday to St. Albans Townsend by 3 shots in the Eversley Inter Club team championship. John Lee, Club Captain, described Townsend as “our Nemesis club” after Welwyn lost to them again in the St. Albans Club Rink League match on Saturday, 15 points to 65.

Press Release - Sunday 6 June 2010

Welwyn and District Bowls Club brought the week to a successful end on Sunday when they beat Hartford Castles in the second round of the Ranson Cup. The home team of John Lee, Chris Read, Sam Smith and skip Chris Sherriff won by 6 shots, and the away team Mike Poole, Ted Webb, Barry Smith and skip Phil Russell won by 9 shots.
The previous day Welwyn had beaten Ware in a friendly match, the men winning by 89 shots to 72, and the Ladies winning by 51 shots to 27. This perhaps made up for a disappointing result against Oak Hill earlier in the week when Welwyn lost by 43 shots to 82.

Press Release - Sunday 23 May 2010

Welwyn & District win the Maurice Watson Trophy.

On Thursday 20 May a team of Chris Sherriff, Ted Webb, John Lee and David Ratcliffe went to Potters Bar B.C. To play in the St. Albans and District Maurice Watson Trophy Competition. Fourteen teams from the St. Albans area took part, W&DBC being drawn against Welwyn Garden City B.C.
At the half-way point, the team having established a useful lead, Chris Sherriff had to leave to go to Harpenden for the National Double Fours so Andy Scholes stepped in at number two, and John and Ted moved up the order. Eventually we won by 15 shots, but Hatfield BC had also won by 15. Both teams had won 15 ends in their games, so the tie was decided by the fact that W&DBC had the highest overall score. The last time that we won it was in 1999.

Maurice watson team

Press Release - Sunday 16 May 2010

Last week was an up and down week for Welwyn and District Bowls Club.
On Wednesday evening the men beat Amwell Rotary BC in the Ranson Cup, winning both the home and away rinks; final score 49-10 to Welwyn. This was followed by their first division 1 league match of the season on Thursday, when Sele Farm were the visitors. Again Welwyn won on both rinks; final score 38-24, and six points to Welwyn and District. But on Friday a very strong visiting team from St.Albans Townsend gave Welwyn a bowls lesson winning four rinks to Welwyn's 1 in the first round of the National Top Club Competition. The losing streak continued on Saturday, when the ladies visited Sele Farm, and suffered a defeat in the Ladies National Top Club competition. In the afternoon, victory reasserted itself although only in a friendly match against Hoddesden Rosehill when Welwyn won 107 - 101. The week was brought to a successful end on Sunday morning when the men visited Hitchen for the first round of the County Top Ten competition, coming out winners by 6 points to 2; 82 shots to 58. The reward for this will be another away fixture, against either Much Hadham or Abbots Langley

Press Release - Sunday 9 May

Saturday 8 May saw Welwyn men entertaining Shire Park men over four rinks. Welwyn & District won on two rinks, drew on one and lost on one. However the overall shot count showed a win for Shire Park by 89 shots to 83 shots. The top rink for Welwyn was Mike Poole, Colin Duxbury, Nigel Woor and Malcolm Baldwin who won by 22 shots to 16.

On Sunday morning the ladies of Welwyn and District played the ladies of Abbotts Langley BC in the preliminary round of the Ladies National Top Club, winning on all four rinks. They now face an away game at Sele Farm BC next Saturday.

Later in the day in an away friendly match at Whitethorn BC the ladies lost 24-41 and the men lost 45-90; overall score 69-131.

On Friday 7 May the club held an open evening at which interested members of the public could come and try their hand at the game. Despite a chilly overcast evening a number of people turned up and several expressed an interest in coming again and taking things further. There will be another open evening on Friday 21 May. The evening was rounded off with a fish and chip supper.

2 May 2010

Welwyn and District Bowls Club men got their season off to a double good side as they won their preliminary round matches in two National Competitions.

On Thursday evening they played close neighbours Welwyn Garden City BC 'A' in the National Two Fours, and won a keenly contested match which lasted well into the twilight, by 41 shots to 38. Chris Sherriff's rink (Chris, Sam Smith, Nigel Woor and David Ratcliffe) lost by 13 shots to 20 against G. Avery, N. Sharp, A. Evans and S. Budge; but Phil Russell's rink (Phil, Barry Smith, Ted Webb and Mike Poole) redressed the balance with a 28 shots to 18 win over M. Stephen, L. Brown, I. Stone and S. Parkhouse. The next round opponents will be either Harpenden or Welwyn Garden City 'B'.

On Friday evening Welwyn and District men went to Oak Hill for the preliminary round of the National Top Club, and apart from a loss on the four wood singles they won all the other four matches. The next round opponents will again be Welwyn Garden City 'A' if they beat St. Albans Townsend in the preliminary round.

Sunday saw the opening match for the Welwyn and District Ladies at Barton le Clay, where they lost 54 shots to 64. The top rink for Welwyn was Diana Barrett, Barbara Marvell and Janet Tickner, but mention must also be made of the rink of Sue Wingham, Dorothy Henton and new member Bette Philpot who, despite being 11-1 down at tea came back to lose by only a narrow margin.

Saturday 17 April 2010

Welwyn and District Bowling Green Opens for 2010 Season.


Over seventy members of the Welwyn and District Bowls Club gathered at the green at Ottway Walk on Saturday for the opening of the green for the 2010 season. Together with several of the sponsors of the club fixture book, the members sat down to a full English Breakfast prior to the formal opening by the President, Diana Barrett. In her opening remarks Diana praised Chris Sherriff, the greenkeeper, for his work in preparing the green, which for this stage of the season is in excellent condition.

Once the formalities were over, members were free to use the green, and for the next two hours everyone was able to make the best of the beautiful weather to get in some early-season practice.

The club has a full schedule of friendly matches and competitive games, and hopes to repeat their successes of last season.

On Friday 7 May, and again on 14 May the club is holding an open evening at which anyone who feels that they would like to try the game can come along and bowl,as long as they come in flat shoes. Bowls of every size will be available so newcomers will not need any other equipment.