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16/09/24 Margaret Elliot Review


On Sunday, the DCSMBA hosted the Margaret Elliot Pairs down at Okehampton. This was our first competition of the formal winter season. The competition allows for non-county bowlers together as a pair or to be drawn alongside a county bowler. In the morning of the competition after players were drawn together, they were drawn into one of six mini groups. After a round robin stage, the winners and runners up of each group along with the 4 highest third place teams progressed to the knockout rounds.

This took place after lunch and players were quickly whittled down until there was only two teams. The two teams left were both from Christow, with Sean and Geoff Cleave facing off against Marcus Cattell and Steve Collins. The match was eventually won by Sean and Geoff, and they became the new Margaret Elliot champions.

ME Pairs Winners 2024

Margaret Elliot Pairs Winners Sean & Geoff Cleave


06/09/24 Call For Umpires

It has been drawn to the Committee's attention by Brab Hallows, Umpire Director for the English Short Mat Bowls Association , that there is a need for more umpires to support the game of short mat bowls.  The DCSMBA is keen to do all it can to encourage members to come forward to gain the umpire qualification.  If any members would like to know more about this please contact Brab Hallows by email  brab@esmba.co.uk or  brab.hallowes@gmail.com

28/08/24 County/National Fours Deadline Approaching

With the new season starting next month we would like to remind you that the deadline for the first County/National competition is fast approaching. This is the County/National Fours which will be held on the 5th October and like all our competitions it will be held at the Table Tennis Club in Okehampton. More details and the entry form can be found here.  Entries are open until the 6th September.

07/08/24 Margaret Elliott Pairs Deadline Approaching

With the new season fast approaching we would just like to remind you that the next competition at Okehampton is the Margaret Elliott Pairs on the 15th September. The competition allows Non county bowlers to be drawn and play with County bowlers as well as allowing pairs of Non county bowlers team up together if they prefer. More details and the entry form can be found here. Entry to this competition is still open but closes later this month on the 25th August.

22/07/24 Devon Three Wood Pairs Review

Yesterday saw the DCSMBA host the Devon three wood Pairs. This summer event was the first competition held at the Okehampton Table Tennis Club which is our home for the 2024/25 season. 28 teams from all across Devon entered with the hop of winning the Dick Boon Memorial Trophy.  With 7 groups, the winner of each group along with the highest runner up entered the main knockout stage. Whilst the remaining 2nd place teams and two of the highest  3rd place teams qualified for the plate competition.

Reaching the final of the plate competition was Julie & Ian Nichols who faced June Duff & Sue Williams. Julie and Ian pulled throught winning the plate final 9-2. The main plate final was contested between Geoff & Sean Cleave and Rose Morrison & John Steer. Rose and John were in control for much of the game and they eventually won and gained hands on the title with a 10-2 victory



Three Wood Pairs Winners Rose Morrison & John Steer


10/07/24 Food For Devon Three Wood Pairs (21st July)

The following items will be available on the day .

To enable us to offer food at a competitive price we would ask that pasties etc be pre- ordered by the 16th July

 MENU

Large Steak Pasty____________________£5.00 each

Large Sausage Roll___________________£4.00 Each

Baguette ham salad__________________£5.00 each

 

Tea/Coffee will be available all day______£.1.00 each

A range of biscuits/ snacks including gluten free snacks etc.

Please be aware that payment on day and is cash only.


Please forward your order to Trevor Tregillus including your name and club (email: swarearep@outlook.com  or phone: 07860898437) coincidently  if you have any requess for future additions to the menu please let Trevor know.


08/07/24 BACS Payments to Devon County

Please be aware that if you wish to pay for any County Competitions by BACS, the account name is Devon County Short Mat Bowling Association and this will need to be accurately entered. The Competition entry forms on the website have been altered to reflect this.

05/07/24 Player Registrations Sent Out

In the past few days our Registrations secretary (Dave Woods) who was appointed at the last AGM  has sent out registrations for the 2024/25 season to club contacts/secretaries. If you are a secretary/contact and you don’t think you have received an email from Dave then please do check your junk box to ensure it isnt in there.

17/06/24 DCSMBA Open Day & Parking

On the 30th June we will be holding an Open day at the Okehampton Table Tennis Club for any member to pop along throughout the day to see our new venue. The day will start at 10am and will end with our EGM to verify last years accounts at 3:30pm. The County mats will be out so please bring your bowls and shoes and see how they play at our new venue! There will be tea and coffee available throughout the day. The post code and address of the venue can be found here.

The parking at the venue is limited but there is a public car park just 7 minutes away that can be used throughout the season. More details about this and illustrated directions from the car park to the venue can be found here.

14/06/24 Three Wood Pairs Closing Date Fast Approaching

The first competition to be held at our new venue the Table Tennis Club in Okehampton is fast approaching with the three Wood Pairs  being held on Sunday 21st July. We would just like to remind you that there is just two weeks to go to get your entries in. The competition is limited to 32 teams.  Entry forms were sent out to club secretaries and can also be found here.

Also on the 30th of June is our open day which will be followed by the EGM at 3:30pm to verify the accounts from last year. Next week details and directions to the venue will be posted on the website.

08/06/24 Catering Secured for 2024/25 Season

The committee have secured catering for next seasons county competition events with a local bakery in Okehampton.   Food options will consist of pasties, sausage rolls, baguettes and sandwiches with prices ranging from approximately  £2.50-£5.00. Participants and any guests will have to pre order and pay for their food before the day so that we know how much of each item  will be required and the committee are now looking into the best way of achieving this. Tea and coffee will be available throughout the day. The hope is that we can trial the catering at our first competition which is the three wood Pairs on the 21st of July. More details about the catering will be announced here once known.

24/05/24 Competition & Open Day Details Emailed Out

As many of you will know Devon this season have a new County Competition secretary and general secretary following new appointments at the AGM in April. Both Diane Shepherd (County Competition Secretary) and Graham Shepherd (Devon Secretary) have in the past few days emailed all secretaries/contacts with details of the County Competitions and the Open Day. If you are a secretary/contact and you don’t think you have received an email please do check your junk box to ensure it isn't in there.

22/05/24 County Team Trials & Squad Days

The County Team management are always on the lookout for new talent who would like to play for the Devon County Teams. If you are interested in  representing your county then a trial form can be downloaded here. These can then be sent by post/email to Richard Ivings (county team Coordinator - ivings_r@hotmail.com) or Robert Ivings (A team Coordinator) - robert.m.ivings@hotmail.co.uk)

The trials day will be held at Okehampton Table Tennis Club on the 18th August. Dependent  on numbers this will be extended to players who have played in the County Squad last season. There will be a further County Squad day on the 8th September. The County management team will in the next week or so be sending out invites to last year’s county players as they continue planning for next season.

20/05/25 County/National Competition Forms Released, Open Day & New Summer Competition Announced

We are pleased to announce two further dates for your diaries. On 30th of June we will be holding an Open day at Okehampton’s Table Tennis club which is ofcourse our new venue for the 2024/25 season. The day will start at 10am and will end at 3.30pm with the scheduled EGM to verify last seasons accounts.

Also on the 21st July we will be hosting the Devon Open 3 Wood Pairs at the Table Tennis Club. This new competition is priced at £10 per team and is strictly limited to 32 teams. Entry forms for this competition as well as the National/County Competition forms can be found on the Competitions page.

These new dates have been added  to the Diary of Events and  a downloadable PDF version of the diary can be found here.

17/05/24 DCSMBA Diary Released

We are pleased to announced that wee are now in a position to release our diary for the 2024/25 season. This can be found on the diary page. Please be aware there are a couple of more dates for the summer to be announced including an open day at our new venue (Okehampton Table Tennis Club) which was announced last month. The EGM to verify the accounts will also take place on at the open day.

19/04/24 DCSMBA AGM Review & New Venue

Tuesday night saw the County AGM held in Christow. It was poorly attended with only about 8 clubs in attendance. During the AGM it was announced that we are leaving the Manor House Hotel and from next season the county venue for short mat bowls will be the Indoor tennis club in Okehampton.

We are grateful to the Manor House hotel for their hospitality during the season, however we did listen to our members who had expressed concerns about the flooring and the temperature.   More details about the new venue will be forthcoming but the plan is to again hold an open day for members to see the new venue.

There will also be a need for an EGM during the summer to review the accounts as the accounts are not back from the accountancy firm yet so we were not able to scrutinise them. Details of the EGM will be communicated to members once known.

A new committee was voted on and the new committee details can be found here.

04/03/24 DCSMBA AGM

The 2023 DCSMBA AGM has been scheduled for 17th April at 7pm at Christow Short mat bowls club.  All posts except for the Premier County team Manager are up for election. The majority of the committee are willing to stand however this does not preclude any members for standing for a post. All nominations must be received by the 3rd April

Full details have been circulated to all clubs and can also be found on the AGM page here. We look forward to seeing you all at the AGM

04/03/24 Devon Heartache In ICC Semi Finals

Devon suffered double heartache in the ICC semi finals with both Devon premier and A losing. The Devon premier team who beat Hampshire in the quarters faced Norfolk who had beaten Cheshire in their quarter final match. Devon has a tough start to the day in the Singles and Pairs with Devon only gaining 2 points in one of the Singles matches. The second session was also tough with Devon losing one of the Triples and one of the Fours but gained draws on the other two mats. This left the half time result at 12-4 to Norfolk. In the third session Devon won one of the pairs, but with defeats on all the other three mats Norfolk gained the required points to win the match. With the scores at 22-6 to Norfolk Devon conceded the last session. Norfolk will face the West Midlands who beat Dorset in the final.

The A team also had a very tough day. In the first session Devon A only won one game which was a tight win in one of the Singles. The second session was more even with Devon winning a game in both the triples and the Fours but lost on the other two mats. This left the half time score at 10-6 to the West Midlands. The third session was another one dominated by the West Midlands with Devon only winning one of the Singles and losing on the three other mats. This meant Devon needed wins on all mats in the final session as well as gaining the bonus points in the Triples and Fours. However unfortunately Devon could only muster a draw in one of the Triples and saw defeat on the other mats. With the West Midlands winning all the bonus points the final score was Devon 9 (146 shots) West Midlands 31 (205 shots). The West Midlands will now contest the A team final against Norfolk who narrowly defeated Hampshire.

01/03/24 Devon ICC Semi Finals Teams Announced

Both Devon County teams are in action on Sunday in the ICC semi finals. Devon Premier travel to Solihull where they face Norfolk with the winners facing either Dorset or the West Midlands in the final. Players have been asked to be at the venue for 9:30am with the match starting at 10am. Details of the venue can be found here.  The following players have been selected for the match

Premier Team: Mike Avery (Yarnscombe),  Gill Cawrse (Exeter Nomads),  Gareth Hill (Totnes Creameries), Richard Ivings (Exeter Nomads), Elliott James (Yarnscombe), Graham James (Winkleigh), George Main (Yarnscombe), Tony Main (Yarnscombe) Rose Morrison (Totnes Creameries),  Eric Pavey (Sidbury), Adam Perris (Exeter Nomads), Thomas Perris (Exeter Nomads), Paul Pomeroy (Musbury), John Steer (Slapton),), Paul Weeks (Great Torrington), Richard Williams (Exeter Nomads), Dave Woods (Totnes Creameries), Kim Wright (Sidbury), Rachel Wright (Sidbury), Nick Wyatt (Bow)

The A team travel to Bristol where they take on West Midlands with the winners facing either Norfolk or Hampshire. The match starts at 10am and details of the venue can be found here. The following players have been selected for the match,

A Team: Rob Bartlett (Exeter Nomads), Elaine Clements (Great Torrington), Budgie Hallows (Ottery St Mary), Jayne Hayter (Totnes Creameries), Hilary Iley (Exeter Nomads), Barry Mcphillips (Sidbury),  Ian Nicholls (Christow), John Parnell (Abbotskerswell), Shirley Parnell (Abbotskerswell), John Redstone (Winkleigh), Diane Shepherd (Winkleigh),  Graham Shepherd (Winkleigh), Colin Sowden (Great Torrington), Ann Summers (Totnes Creameries), Dave Summers (Totnes Creameries), Stewart Weighill (Totnes Creameries) Sandra Weston (Sidbury), Roger Wilson (Winkleigh), Ray Young (Exeter Nomads), Sue Young (Exeter Nomads)

20/02/24 Grenville Gerry (Barney) Sadly Passes Away

It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Grenville Gerry (Barney)  Barney who passed away on Sunday was a former Devon County bowler. He also regularly competed in County competitions and was a regular in the North Devon bowling leagues. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Bowlers are welcome to attend. The funeral will be held at Buckland Filleigh church on Wednesday 6th of March at 2pm.

19/02/24 Devon v Hampshire Review

The Devon Premier team travelled to Solihull on Sunday to take on Hampshire in the Quarter finals of the Inter county Championships. It was the perfect first session for Devon with wins in both Pairs and Singles games. The second session was also strong with wins on 3 of the four mats, with the sole defeating coming from  a 9-10 loss in one of the Fours. This left Devon in a strong position at half time with the score 14-2 to Devon.

The match was secured in the third session with another perfect session with wins on all four mats. With the final session being a dead rubber Devon dropped points in the Triples but won both of the Fours.  With Devon winning the bonus points in all four disciplines the final score was Devon 34 (210 shots) Hampshire 6 (151 shots).

The Devon Premier Team next face Norfolk in the Semi finals and will take place at Solihull on the 3rd of March. On the same day Devon A will face West Midlands A in Bristol also in the Semi Finals

19/02/24 Winkleigh Win County Team Event

On Saturday Devon Hosted the County Team Event at the Manor House Hotel in the final domestic county event of the season. With 13 teams attending teams were split into four groups with the winners of each group going through to the semi finals. In the first semi final Yarnscombe beat Totnes Creameries, whilst in the second semi final Winkleigh beat Exeter Nomads. In the Final Yarnscombe took an early lead in both games. However Winkliegh slowly clawed their way back before winning the Singles by three shots and eventually overcoming the deficit in the Fours to win the title.



Winkleigh County Team Championships Winners


14/02/24 Devon v Hampshire Team Announced

On Sunday the Devon County Premier team travel to Solihull where they face Hampshire in the Quarter Finals of the Inter County Championship. The winners will face Norfolk or Cheshire who play their quarter final on the same day. The match starts at 10am and selected players have been asked to be at the venue by 9:30am. Details of the venue can be found here. The following players have been selected for the match:

Premier Team: Mike Avery (Yarnscombe),  Gill Cawrse (Exeter Nomads),  Gareth Hill (Totnes Creameries), Richard Ivings (Exeter Nomads), Elliott James (Yarnscombe), George Main (Yarnscombe), Tony Main (Yarnscombe) Rose Morrison (Totnes Creameries),  Eric Pavey (Sidbury), Adam Perris (Exeter Nomads), Paul Pomeroy (Musbury), James Smith (Exeter Nomads), John Steer (Slapton), James Trott (Exeter Nomads), Paul Weeks (Great Torrington), Richard Williams (Exeter Nomads), Dave Woods (Totnes Creameries), Kim Wright (Sidbury), Rachel Wright (Sidbury), Nick Wyatt (Bow)

 

05/02/24 Devon v Hertfordshire Review

On Sunday Devon Premier travelled to Bristol where they faced Hertfordshire in the Preliminary round off the ICC. Devon started off very strongly with wins on three of the four mats in the first session. The sole defeat coming in one of the pairs. The second session was also another strong session with three victories. The single defeat coming in one of the Triples. This left the half time score 12-4 to Devon. Devon strengthened their grip and won the match in the third session with wins on all matches and also secured the bonus points in the Singles and Pairs. The final was again dominated by Devon who brought home a further three victories. With Devon securing the bonus points in all four disciplines the final score was Devon 34 (235 shots) Hertfordshire 6 (131 shots).

The Devon Premier team now face Hampshire in the Quarter Finals at Solihull on the 18th February.

05/02/24 Brian Medland Mixed Fours Review

On Saturday the Manor House Hotel hosted the Brian Medland Mixed Fours. After an enjoyable day bowling the final was contested between the rink from Exeter Nomads comprising of Hilary Iley, Rob Bartlett, Gill Smith and James Trott and the rink from Great Torrington comprising of Paul Weeks, Teresa Walter, Elaine Clements and Colin Sowden. The Exeter Nomads rink was victorious winning 12-5.

There was also a plate competition for teams that didn’t quite make the main knockout stage and this was won by the Christow rink of Tom Archer, Claire Lloyd, Ava Cattell and Steve Collins.



Brian Medland Winners James Trott, Hilary Iley, Rob Bartlett & Gill Cawrse


02/02/24 Devon v Hertfordshire Team Announced

On Sunday the Devon County Premier team travel to Bristol where they face Hertfordshire in the first knockout round of the Inter County Championship. The winners of this match then face Hampshire in several weeks time. The match starts at 10am and selected players have been asked to be at the venue by 9:15am. Details of the venue can be found here. The following players have been selected for the match:

Premier Team: Mike Avery (Yarnscombe),  Gill Cawrse (Exeter Nomads),  Gareth Hill (Totnes Creameries), Richard Ivings (Exeter Nomads), Elliott James (Yarnscombe),  Graham James (Yarnscombe), George Main (Yarnscombe), Tony Main (Yarnscombe) Rose Morrison (Totnes Creameries),  Eric Pavey (Sidbury), Adam Perris (Exeter Nomads), Paul Pomeroy (Musbury), James Smith (Exeter Nomads), John Steer (Slapton), James Trott (Exeter Nomads), Paul Weeks (Great Torrington), Dave Woods (Totnes Creameries), Kim Wright (Sidbury), Rachel Wright (Sidbury), Nick Wyatt (Bow)

31/01/24 New County Secretary Still Required & Registrations

Earlier this month it was announced that our DCSMBA Secretary Alan Woodacre was standing down with immediate effect. Since then, we have been trying to find a replacement for this position. So far we have been unsuccessful in getting one. We are still trying to fill this space and would like to ask our members again if anyone is willing to fill this post. The committee would again like to thank Alan for his continued support in this process. The committee would like to emphasise the importance of this post but also that the committee would be very supportive of anyone who would be willing to take up this role.

As a result of this, committee member Dave Woods will now be responsible for the county registrations. Any queries or requests for new registrations are to be directed directly to David. His details can be found on the committee page, and he has a new email address for registrations which is dcsmba.reg@outlook.com

If anyone has any questions regarding the County Secretary post, then please do not hesitate to contact any County Committee member and they will be happy to answer any questions

22/01/24 National Allocations

The ESMBA have provided us with the allocations for this years National Competitions. Devon has four spots in every competition with the exception of the Under 18's where we have two spots. The qualifiers for each discipline can be found here.

22/01/24 County National Pairs Review

On Saturday, the final Devon County/National competition of the season took place with the County/National Pairs Finals. 24 teams made it through to finals day and these were drawn in 6 groups of four for the round robin stage. The top two in each group progressed to the knockout stage which was completed after lunch. After several knockout rounds the final  was contested between Paul Pomeroy &  James Smith and Mikey Ivings & James Trott with Mikey and James producing a polished performance and retaining the title they won last year.  Also going to the Nationals alongside the two finalist teams are Adam & Thomas Perris and Rose Morrison & John Steer



James Trott & Mikey Ivings Devon County Pairs Winners

15/01/24 County National Singles & Triples Review

On Saturday 28 players travelled from across Devon to Okehampton to play in the final stage of the County/National Singles. In the morning there was an initial round robin stage with players randomly drawn into 8 groups. The top two players in each group progressed into the knockout stage which took place after lunch. Players were quickly whittled down until we were left with two players. These were Steve Collins (Christow) who faced last years champion John Steer (Slapton). It was a tight match and after 7 ends there was only one shot in it. However John slowly pulled away and eventually won 9-4



John Steer Devon County Singles Champion

In addition to Steve and John also qualifying for the National Singles was Graham Shepherd and Dave Summers.

On Sunday we returned to the Manor House Hotel where we held the final stages of the County/National Triples with 24 teams reaching this stage. Teams were split 6 groups with the top two teams in each group going through to the knockout stages.  Teams were knocked out until we were down to the final. The final was between Richard Williams, Gill Cawrse  & Nick Wyatt and Mikey Ivings, Thomas Perris and James Smith, with Mikey, Thomas and James producing a confident performance which saw them with the title.



County Triples Winners Thomas Perris, Mikey Ivings & James Smith


As well as the two finalist teams also qualifying for the nationals is Dave Brown, Graham & Diane Shepherd and Sandra Weston, Paul Pomeroy & Barry McPhillips.

12/01/24 County National Triples Venue & Start Time