Category: News

Due to a rearrangement of the S&D women’s leagues, Hedge End Bowling Club ended up with a team in the B league (Hedge End 1), led by Anita and a team in the C league (Hedge End 2),led by Fay. Despite challenges facing both teams, they each put in a credible performance and should remain in their respective leagues for 2027.

Hedge End 1 

The team had a very eventful season, with several players from the original squad subsequently not being well enough or suffering injuries, which meant they were unable to continue. We were fortunate that several new members, many of whom had not played competitive bowls before, agreed to step in, and they all performed very well. In total, Hedge End 1 played 14 matches, winning 8 and losing 6.  Several of the matches, which we unfortunately lost, were very close, with only one or two shots between the winning team and us.  We finished in a very respectable 4th position in the league table, which means we should stay in the Triples B league.

Hedge End 2

2026 has been a very successful year for the men’s league teams. Because few members wanted to continue with the combination rinks it was decided to withdraw the team from the league and put a third team in combination triples. This resulted in our B and C teams being in the same league and therefore our first priority was to try and get one of the teams promoted. Our second priority was to ensure as many people got a game and the third was to finish as high up the table as possible.

The championship team after getting relegated last year came second in the league and will be promoted back to the top division next year

The A team in combination triples division1 also finished second so a very well done to them.

The B team having been relegated last season won the league and will now be promoted to division 2

The C team results did not reflect how well they had played. Although finishing in a bottom of the league, never the less had some very promising results that we can build on for next season.

The selectors accept the criticism that we did not always get it right; however, we all stand by our decisions and feel the results mostly justify the selections.

We look forward to next season and hopefully this will be as successful as this.

Last week was the final week of the men’s S&D outdoor season.

Congratulations to all four men’s teams, who each finished with a win.

In Thursday’s championship game, which finished on a 6-0 win at home against Lockswood,  there was a significant score on rink 2, where the team of Cliff Higgins, Tony Emberson, Mark Crompton and Ian Reeves won 30 shots to 2,  which was the lowest score ever against Hedge End in a Championship game.

Once again, congratulations to everybody who participated in the 2026 season.

The Etiquette and Rules Course on 24th July was well attended, and everyone learnt a lot.

It’s worthwhile for all to attend, both new and experienced bowlers

A big thank you to Coaches Donald McLellan, Eddie Poore and Chris Sirl for putting on the course

The sign-up sheet for the Gerald Miller Shield is now in the clubhouse. Any mixed pairs wishing to enter, please ensure you add your names.
Have you ever wondered how this competition came about? We asked the man himself to explain the competition’s origins.

The G. Miller Shield was started in 1992 to mark my President’s year. This was the second year after the club was formed. The format for the competition is based on a similar competition
that I played in when a member of Pirelli Bowling Club prior to the formation of HEBC.
I wanted a competition that would be of interest to both new and experienced bowlers, and I
think this format does that.
It is a day-long competition (Saturday 8 August 2026, 10:30 prompt start) with finals played on
the finals weekend (5/6 September or 12/13 September 2026). Originally, when it first
started, we played to a finish on the one day but found this to be a bit of a marathon. It is a
mixed pairs competition, which ideally needs 24 pairs to enable it to run smoothly and to
make it an exciting event. The 24 pairs are drawn into groups A and B and C and D of 6 pairs each, 
and these matches are played throughout the day until we are left with the two final teams.
This competition has been played every year since 1992 except in the year when the club
was vandalised and one year of rain.

As you can see from Gerald’s summary, this is a long-running competition at HEBC. We
would therefore encourage members to get involved for what is an enjoyable day of
bowls.

Crown Green Competition Day

On Saturday 30 May, 16 pairs, split into 4 leagues took part in a Crown Green Competition
at HEBC.
It has been a few years since this competition has been run, but everyone who took part had
a very enjoyable day, in the rather hot sunshine, trying their best to avoid bowls heading in
all sorts of random directions.
The finals were held in the afternoon with Malcolm Linn and David Mather against Peter
Stokes and Andy Mintrim. It was a close fought match with Malcolm and David being
crowned the victors.
Well done to you all and congratulations to the competition winners, Malcolm and David.
Thank you to everyone who took part , with a special thanks to Ian Holmes for organising the
competition and a big thank you to everyone who helped on the day to make this event such
a success. It was great fun and a lot of laughs were had.

The Winners