British Wheelchair Bowls Association
It is said that retaining a Championship always takes
more effort than winning it in the first place. So it proved at the BWBA UK
Matchplay Singles Finals held recently at Stoke Mandeville IBC, Aylesbury.
The lure of BWBA national ranking points and good prize money brought wheelchair bowlers to the Buckinghamshire headquarters of the BWBA from the far north of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and all over England.
Players were drawn into four groups. Matches are the best of two sets with a tie-break decider if required. Winners from each group would play for the BWBA Matchplay title with the second placed bowlers playing off for the Matchplay Plate.
Wheelchair bowlers and their supporters traditionally travel some distance for the annual match between Worthing Pavilion BC and the BWBA. This year saw players trekking from Essex, Surrey and all the way from Bristol to this bowling hot-spot in Sussex-by-the-Sea. The BWBA popularity is reciprocated within the members of Pavilion, where several players have played in all the matches so far played. RESULTS
Februarys training weekend went very smoothly with Penny and Peter organising the weekend. The Kay Pipe Pairs Competition was well supported with very close games throughout the day. The BWBA would like to thank the Stoke Mandeville Indoor Bowls Club for organising markers, without them it would not have run. On the Sunday morning Penny and Peter were coordinating in training individuals and making sure other bowlers were paired off against each other. Go to 'bowlers news' for all the results.
Five of our bowlers were chosen to represent the BWBA in the Masters Tournament held at Gelding Indoor Bowls Club on 19th and 20th January.
There was three of our five bowlers reaching the semi final stages and two of our bowlers competing against each other in the final. The overall winner was George Ridgeon who had to beat of Lea Davis 15 - 8.
Further information will be with you shortly and I will inform you once I have the result sheets in the bowlers news.
British Wheelchair Bowls Association Chairman, Ian Blackmore offers a personal view on some of the issues affecting wheelchair access in bowls clubs.
A statement sometimes heard by wheelchair bowlers going to a bowls club for the first time runs as follows : “Oh, we haven’t had a wheelchair bowler here before which is why you couldn’t through the front door/onto the green/into the toilet (delete as necessary!)”
What is the Club to do? What do they have to do?
To find out more click here
BWBA
TOP TEN
National Rankings
1 Kevin Woolmore 482
2 John Appleton 443
3 Lea Davis 399
4 Percy Powell 304
5 Ron Rowden 304
6 Robert Dixon-Smith 282
7 George Ridgeon 247
8 Alan McArdle 185
9 Roger Wilton 180
10 David Smith 179
Updated on 18 July 2008 10:19:37