Downend Short Mat Bowls Club

The Reverse Pairs competition (skips lead) finally reached it's conclusion on Thursday. A close contest saw John and Val just edge in front of Terry and Julie to take the title. Well done to all the teams who took part.

The new heating system in the hall came up trumps today. Since it is based on air source heat pumps it was simply a matter of running it in reverse and the heaters turn into air conditioners! This afternoon with outside temperatures hovering around 36°, in the hall it was a very acceptable 21/22°. Even a Red Extreme Heat Warning won’t stop Downend S.M.B.C!!

With the league season over, it’s a great opportunity for some friendlies involving clubs we don’t normally play. So, today Downend visited Pucklechurch S.M.B.C. for a friendly “triples”. It turned out to be a very close game. On Mat 1, Downend fell behind at the start but managed to pull things back and went on to take the game by one point. Mat 2 saw Downend draw ahead to eventually win by three points. Unfortunately on Mat 3, the visitors let the game slip away from them and Pucklechurch took it by five points which meant they won the match by a single point 43-42, Well done Pucklechurch but Downend will certainly be looking to turn the result around in the return fixture in a couple of weeks time…

This afternoon, Mike, Pete and John received the League “Runner Up” cups on behalf of Downend Colts at the Bristol and District Bowls League AGM. An 'end of term' competition involving most of the league teams took place either side of the meeting. The Colts won all their three matches in the opening round but lost out to Wellsway by one shot in the semi final. It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Mike won three bottles of wine in the raffle!

It was the Avon S.M.B.A AGM today, down at the Bristol Bowls Centre. The AGM is always preceded by a random trilples event. It was good to see three of our members represented in the winner’s enclosure: Gill (left) was part of the team that won the cup and Tim and Tracey (right) won the plate. It’s good to see Downend keeping up those winning ways!

It wasn’t an easy match to watch in the Parish Hall this afternoon as the Mustangs took on Midsommer Norton in the penultimate game of their League season. On Mat 1, Val, Tim and Tracey took an early lead but allowed the visitors back in, so by the fourth end it was back to all square at 5 all. The Mustangs drew ahead but by end ten the visitors had again pulled it back to 10 – 10. Despite the Mustang’s valiant effort to pull clear, Midsomer Norton were not giving up and at end thirteen it was back to level pe***ng at 13 all. Fortunately, four shots to the Mustangs on end fourteen gave Midsomer Norton a mountain to climb. Their skip made a brave effort on the final end but they could only manage one shot so the Mustangs took the game 17 -14.
Over on Mat 2, Gill, Mike and Sid made a confident start and by end five appeared to be cruising with an 8 – 2 lead. However, by this time Midsommer Norton were beginning to read the mat better and by the ninth end, they had taken the lead. This recovery was short lived as they lost all the remaining six ends resulting in a 17 – 9 victory for Downend and a well-deserved five points.

This afternoon the Colts played away at Warmley in their final league match of the season. On Mat 1, Julie, Dave and John had a very close first three ends until, in end four, they gained a hot shot! This was followed by a five in end seven which put them in a commanding position from which they never really looked back and went to take the game 12 – 19. On Mat 2 Tim, Pete and Mike took an early lead but Warmley were not giving up and by end six they were two points ahead. However, the Colts fought back and after taking nine shots from the next three ends, Warmley were in trouble and never recovered. The final score: Warmley 10 Colts 17. So in the final league table, the Colts end up a couple of points behind Wellsway Hawks, the league winners, and a definite feeling of “what might have been”.

Today’s was the penultimate game of the season for the Colts but with Wellsway Hawks having secured the league title and with the Colts holding an unassailable second place, the result was largely academic. Nonetheless, the Colts were determined to put on a good performance against Saltford Scamps. Julie, Pete and John got off to a shaky start on Mat 2, going four down on the first end but soon got their act together and only lost a single shot in the next six ends. Consistent bowling saw them cruise through to take the game 21 – 12. On Mat 1, Tim, Dave and Mike quickly drew ahead and after four ends they were 9 – 1 up. However, some excellent bowling from Saltford saw the visitors haul themselves back into the game and by the ninth end it was honours even on 11 all. Saltford thought they were in with a chance but the Colts had other ideas and took thirteen points off the next three ends and went on to win 25 – 13. Another good day at the office for the Colts!

Both teams were in action this afternoon with the Colts entertaining Whitchurch, whilst the Mustangs were off to Winterbourne to take on the Beavers. On Wednesday, the Wellsway Hawks took all five points against the Harriers so any hope of the League title has slipped away. Nevertheless, the Colts were determined not to let that upset their final push in the last few games of the season. On Mat 1, Sue, Dave and Mike quickly drew ahead and apart from a brief blip in the middle of the game, never looked in danger of losing and went on win 20 – 9. On Mat 2, Julie, Pete and John found it a lot tougher. They made a slow start only winning three of the first nine ends and at that point found themselves 6 – 10 down. Two good ends bought the Colts back into contention but they still went into the final end 12 – 14 down. The pressure was on. Fortunately, the Colts rose to the occasion and with two cracking bowls from John, it was three shots to the home side and another five points in the bag.
Over in Winterbourne, things started well with both teams taking an early lead. Unfortunately, on Mat 1, Winterbourne pulled back and Catherine, Gill and Ivor eventually went down 15 - 11. On Mat 2, Val, Gina and Sid fought hard to maintain their lead finally taking the game 9 – 14. So, overall victory to the Mustangs by one shot but just the three points this time.