Club News - Archive | Essex County Bowling Club

Latest Club News (April)

Club AGM - Tues 5th May 7pm
A reminder that this year's Full AGM is fast approaching, we hope to see you there.
The nomination sheet for Club Officers is currently up on the Management Committee noticeboard and will remain up for 1 more week - there are vital posts that will currently go unfilled as we stand, please consider standing if you can.

Outdoor Season Update
Confirmation that both our greens are opening this Saturday - thank you for bearing with us regarding this, it was vitally important to the season as a whole that we pushed back the opening as late as possible. We have a great number attending the Opening Day Drive, we hope you have an excellent day.

Mark Wilson Pairs - 2nd & 3rd May
This year's tournament is another sell out, featuring the usual mix of social and competitive bowlers (and everything in-between) - please make an effort to come at some point over the 2 days to see a vibrant and fun, yet very high-level tournament, it will be great to see the Club as busy as possible!
Also:
- Reserves are ALWAYS needed at the last minute, sadly some have to pull out without much warning, so it would be extremely helpful if you could be on 'standby' to fill in when this happens. Some players are coming from as far as Devon, Northumberland, Herefordshire etc, so it is very important they get at least 2 games at a minimum. If you can be on standby either or both of the days, please let Ed know.
- Raffle/Fundraising; the main ethos of the weekend is to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. As well as other fundraising across the 2 days, Natasha Patient will be running 2 LARGE raffles (one each day) and as such would greatly appreciate anything that can be donated.
- Mark Royal; for anyone who missed Mark last week, he will be back for the whole of this weekend, running his Jack and Bowl roadshow as well as playing in the tournament!

Indoor Summer Update
For a full update, please see our Indoor Summer page on our website
Indoor Summer | Essex County Bowling Club
A reminder, we have a programme of 3 internal leagues as well as a number of competitions, disc games, friendlies etc throughout the season.
Please note we have a carpet stretch on Monday 27th April am - the indoor arena will be closed until midday.

Latest Club News - April

Club Annual General Meeting - Tuesday 5th May 7pm
Please note the draft Agenda and Committee positions nomination form are now up on the Management Committee noticeboard.
The Committee are looking for at least 2 elected members, so please consider whether you can fill this vital role.
The nominations sheet will be taken down 7 days before the meeting and a final agenda will go up in its place.
Also note there are 2 motions this year to slightly reword our Constitution:
8.11 - a vote will need to be taken for any expenditure exceeding £25k (was previously £10k)
9 - a quorum for any meeting will be either 30 full members, or 10% of the relevant membership, whichever is fewer (was previously 40 full members)
All members are welcome and encouraged to attend the meeting, whilst only full members will receive a vote.

Outdoor Season Update
Opening Roll Ups - Due to additional and extensive work being required this offseason, the greens will NOT be open for roll ups prior to our official Opening Day of Sat 25th April.
We apologise for any disappointment this causes but our greenkeeping team require as much time as they can possibly get. We will also be limited to playing East-West for the first few weeks of the season.

Outdoor Upkeep - Monday 20th April from 9am
A working party are painting benches, gardening and various other small jobs needed to get us ready for the Outdoor season.
Many hands make light work, so please attend if you have some time to spare.

Group 6 Competitions - Entry forms for the Group 6 competitions are now pinned to the Group 6 noticeboard at the Club. The Singles and Triples are great competitions for any level of experience, good luck to all who enter.

And finally....
The Car Park drainage works are now complete. Whilst they were here, AC Eales also made preliminary repairs to the worst of the potholes - we will continue to monitor the surface of the car park in general. We appreciate members patience while these works were taking place.

Club News - April

Please see below news relating to both the tail end of the Indoor season and the start of the Outdoors, plus an important message from our of our longest sponsors (and members) Aaron Lyons...

Indoor Leagues & Competitions
A reminder that the Presentation Evening will be held on Tuesday 14th April, immediately following the conclusion of the Mens and Ladies Singles finals (roughly 8pm).
The results of the internal leagues can be found below - can each team try to make sure there is someone attending to collect your prize.

	WINTER INDOOR	2025/6 SEASON

	WINNERS	RUNNER UP


A	A6 GRAHAM LAMB	A5 GEOFF BAKER
B	B7 RICHARD SPRIGGS	B1 DENNIS MILLER
C	C9 CHRIS GATES	C8 GARY ROBINSON
D	ECBC LIONS	RAYLEIGH EAGLES
E	E8 JOHN STEWART	E4 JON LLOYD
F	F1 EDDIE ROBINSON	F4 TONY WARWICK
G	G9 GRAHAM PARKER	G3 JON LLOYD
N	N4 JOHN ANDREWS	N8 SHARON KYPRIANOU
P	P2 GARY CLEASBY	P1 IAN DUDLEY
Q	Q3 MAGGIE WALSINGHAM	Q4 LYN MARTIN
R	R7 ALAN HOBBS	R3 BRIAN HALL
S	S3 TONY JACKS	S2 JON LLOYD
T	T6 DEBRA ROSE	T1 SUE FOXALL
U	U8 JOHN ANDREWS	U5 LAURENCE COLLIN
V	V6 ALISON MARTIN	V2 LESLEY TRENAMAN
W	W8 CHRIS RIDGWELL	W7 ROWLAND KING
X	X7 SARAH DECORT	X8 MICK PARROTT
Z	Z7 CHRIS SORRELL	Z6 STEVE KERLEY

Outdoor Volunteers Needed
- We are looking for volunteers again this year to help with gardening tasks throughout the summer. This can be anything from watering and weeding to planting, whatever time you can spare will be much appreciated. If you are interested please contact Nigel Smith or anyone on the Committee. Alternatively you can put you name and contact details on the sheet on the Outdoor Notice Board.
- Phil Sams has been the Mens Outdoor Competition Secretary for sometime and has done a great job however he has decided this will be his last summer in the role. We would very much like to thank him for everything he has done and also take the opportunity to introduce his replacement to the role in the next few weeks so they can benefit from shadowing Phil before taking on the role for 2027. If you are interested please contact Phil or anyone on the committee to find out more.

Dear Fellow Members,

I hope you’re all enjoying the season on the green!
As many of you know, I have been a proud member of our bowls club for some time, and I am also celebrating a very special milestone this year: our 20th anniversary in business right here in our local community.
To celebrate two decades of local support, I wanted to reach out to my club friends with a special offer.
With gold and silver prices currently at historic highs, there has never been a better time to clear out your jewellery boxes or drawers.I am interested in buying any: Old or broken jewellery (even single earrings or tangled chains) Unwanted gold or silver items, Silverware or coins.
By selling locally to a fellow member, you can avoid the hassle of high-street shops or online gold-mailing services.
I pride myself on offering fair, transparent, and competitive "clubmate" rates, ensuring the value stays within our community.
If you have anything tucked away that you’ve been meaning to get rid of, please feel free to catch me at the clubhouse for a no-obligation chat, or give me a call on 01702 343726, Tuesdays to Saturdays between 10am and 5pm to arrange a private valuation.
Thank you for being part of such a fantastic club, and here’s to many more years of success—both on and off the green!
Warm regards,

Aaron Lyons
Aaron Lyons Goldsmiths
118 Hamlet Court Road
Westcliff On Sea
Essex
SS0 7LP

Latest Club News (March)

Car Park Renovations
We have received notice from our contractors, AC Eales, that they will commence works on repairing the drainage channel on Tuesday 7th April.
This was our preferred time, due to league matches having completed by then, however they will still carry out these works without full closure of the car park. Naturally anyone attending the Club, please just take some extra care coming in or out.
We appreciate everyone's patience with this matter.

Indoor
The 2025-26 Club Competitions finals schedule has been uploaded to the Club website and can be found around the Club - please come and support the players!

The 2026-27 season County Competition entry form has also been uploaded to the website and hard copies have been placed on the wall in the Indoor arena just beyond the session desk - you have until the start of May to enter.

A final reminder the Annual General Meeting for the Indoor section is being held TONIGHT at 7pm, we hope to see you there.

Outdoor
The Tuesday Morning Triples and Friday Morning Fours leagues have been created and all sponsors have been sent their rotas, opening games will be held on 28th April & 1st May. A few teams would like to take one or two more players, so if anyone is interested in joining these leagues please let Ed know in the Club Office.

The Mark Wilson Pairs competition has only 4 spots left at the time of writing - Club members have supported this extremely well in previous years so get an entry in if you haven't yet!

Entertainments / Social

On Saturday we hosted a charity Race Night, with all proceeds going directly to the Motor Neurone Disease Assocation.
In total we raised £2,265 - a fantastic effort for 1 evening, thank you to everyone who attended!

And finally, Natasha Patient is running a large raffle over the Mark Wilson Pairs weekend - if you can donate anything at all, we would be most grateful.

Club News - March

Please read on for news relating to the final few weeks of the Indoor Season and the start of the Outdoors / Summer Indoors...

Membership Subscription Renewals
Renewals have been printed for Outdoors, Summer Indoors and Social memberships for 2026.
We are working on stuffing envelopes and expect all to be ready to collect from Wednesday onward - if you would like yours before then, let Ed know - the forms are already printed!

Indoor Season
As the season draws towards an end, a reminder to all members that the Presentation Evening will be held on Tuesday 14th April - the evening kicks off with the Mens and Ladies Championship Singles Finals at 6pm, with the presentations of all competition and league prizes following on - roughly 8:30pm but this has been earlier and later previously depending on the singles matches. Please come along to support what is always a great evening!
The Semi-Finals of the above mentioned competitions will take place on Wed 1st April at 6:30pm
The Semi-Final of the 2 Championship Pairs competititons will take place on Thur 2nd April at 6:30pm
The final of all other competitions will be held across the evenings of 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th April
Please come and support the players!

Outdoor Season
A reminder that the Club Competition forms are out now - deadline for entry is 10th May.
We still have a handful of spots left in the season-opening Roaming Jack Singles - we are limited to 32 entries in order to get the whole competition played in the first 2 weeks of the season, see Ed if you would like to play.
This year's Opening Day Drive will take place on Sat 25th April at 1:30pm - the sheet for this event is already up on the relevant noticeboard, along with the first 2 friendly matches, please add yours if you wish to play.

Entertainments - Race Night
A reminder we are hosting a charity Race Night this coming Saturday evening (7pm for 7:30pm start)
It will be a very busy evening, but please come along if you can, or see Ed in the week if you would like to own a horse but cannot attend on the evening.
All money raised will go directly to the Motor Neurone Disease Assocation.

And finally, congratulations to Nigel Riley for winning the Bowls for Beginners Singles - overcoming Luke Francis on the last bowl of the final!
Thanks to everyone who gave their time marking and running the event, which is key for giving our newer members invaluable experience.

Club News - March

Please read on for the latest news around the Club - note that summer subscriptions will be out in roughly 2 weeks, towards the end of March...

Indoors

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Indoor Section - TUESDAY 31st March 2026 - AT 7.00 PM

ANY MOTIONS ARE WELCOME BY SATURDAY 21st MARCH 2026

Please seriously consider standing for the positions shown as they are very important to the smooth running of the club. The positions are open to all adult members. Please see the notice board for copies of the Roles and Responsibilities or contact Lynne Daughtrey (chairperson), Alison Martin (secretary) or any member of the committee.

Internal Leagues 2026-27
A reminder the League Team renewal forms are available for sponsors to collect from the Indoor arena.
There are also forms for new teams and every league has availability to add more teams - if you need to know more about sponsoring a team please speak to the Club Office or directly to Lynne Daughtrey (League Sec).

Outdoors

Club Competitions
As mentioned above, subscription renewals will be out soon - in the meantime, Club competition entry forms are already available, both on the website and in the Club corridor - deadline is the 10th May.
We also will be running the season-opening Roaming Jack Singles again, full details will be out soon, but Ed is already accepting entries directly to the Office - £5 per person.

National Over 60s Mixed Inter-County Competition
There is a still relatively new event this summer for the over 60's, a mixed team event for any player that wishes to be selected, Essex vs Cambridgeshire, play dates are 16th June @ Newmarket, 14th July (TBA), 5th August (TBA), Semi final and final at Leamington Spa on 28th August, if anyone is interested please contact Kim Mitchell before 8th April and I will arrange for names to be put forward at the ladies council meeting

Ladies County Friendly Matches
We have now been advised of the County Matches for this summer that are being arranged by the ECWBA, dates are as follows:-
Suffolk 14th May - Brantham BC
Herts 21st May - Dunmow BC
Sussex 27th May - Elm Park BC
Middlesex 16th June - Buckhurst Hill BC
Kent 25th June - Halls BC (Dartford area)
Mixed ECBA 5th July - Wivenhoe BC
Kent 6th July - Aveley BC
Middlesex 15th July - Grovelands BC
Mixed ECBA 19th July - Mistley & Manningtree BC
Suffolk 21st July - Brightlingsea BC
Beds 6th August - Biggleswade Town BC
Mixed ECBA 9th August - Stansted BC
Herts 11th August - Bishops Stortford BC
ECBA vs ECWBA 15th September - Romford BC
If this is of interest to any badged ladies or colts, can you please contact Kim Mitchell prior to 8th April to note your interest.

Mens Competition Secretary - volunteer required!
Phil Sams, our current mens Competition Secretary will be stepping own at the end of the summer season and we are looking for someone to take over his role. It would be an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in taking on the role to shadow Phil before he steps down. Please contact Alison Martin (Secretary) or any member of the Committee if you are interested or need any additional information.

Southend & District Competitions
A final reminder that S&D entries should be submitted to the Club Office by 15th March (no extensions!)

Internal Leagues
A few members have asked for an update on the leagues - they are being worked on at present and sponsors details etc should be sent out soon, watch this space!

Handicaps
The list for 2026 has been agreed by sub-Committee and is now up on the noticeboards for viewing.

Gardening
We will be having a gardening working party again this summer. If you are interested in helping out please contact Nigel Smith, who is heading up the group.

Club News - February

Indoor Club Leagues 2026-27
(message from Lynne Daughtrey, League Secretary)

To Existing Team Sponsors...
The 2026/7 Sponsor renewal sheets have been placed on the desk just beyond the session desk in the Indoor Arena.
The sheets are in two piles, in alphabetical order, for Men and Ladies by Name.

This should give all sponsors enough time to check with your teams who will be playing with you next season before a number of you start playing elsewhere in the Summer season.

Please mark the sheet with any players not playing next year and add any new members to your team.

To all other Indoor Members...
We have space in every league to add new teams. This is vital to the ongoing success of our internal leagues, so please consider whether you could enter a team (or teams!) into any of our leagues.
If you would like to know more about what being a Sponsor entails (it's not as bad as you think!) please contact Lynne Daughtrey or Ed in the Club Office.
Forms for new teams are available from the table mentioned above in the Indoor Arena.

Summer Membership Subscriptions
Please note these will be made available to members around the end of March - a notice will be sent out accordingly.
The Management Committee voted on a slight increase of £10 at the February meeting. This was deemed necessary due to the increase in the majority of our costs over the past few years. This is the first increase in subscriptions for many years now as we strive to keep the Club incredibly competitively priced in every area.