ON THE GREEN

                                          Oakham Bowls Club Update W.E.17.9. 23

The Thursday team welcomed Fleckney to the Vale for this weeks friendly match, played on five rinks over eighteen ends  Whilst  only winning on two rinks Oakham secured a narrow victory  holding  78 shots to Fleckney’s  70 shots.

Colin Wagstaffe skipped on rink one with Jackie Cole as lead and Eddie Owen at two. Five ends had been played before Oakham opened their account at which point Fleckney had a five shot lead. By the eleventh end Oakham had closed the deficit to just 1 shot but it widened again  as  the visitors scored 6 shots. from the next two ends  Although Oakham won three of the remaining five ends the game was won by Fleckney with the scores standing at Oakham on 14 shots, Fleckney on 20.

Bob Swarbrick was the lead on rink two with Graham Cole at two and Ray Gregory as Skip. After losing the first two ends  Oakham were holding a 6 shot lead at the halfway point in the game. 8 shots from the next three ends increased it to 14 shots. Despite only scoring two more shots from  the remaining six ends  they won the game with the final  scores, Oakham with 20 shots, Fleckney with 11

Rink four had Adrian Wilkinson as lead, Barrie Payne at two and the Skip was Janet Horwood. With the game level after five ends Fleckney won the next three taking a 5 shot lead. Not to be outdone Oakham added 5 shots and levelled the game after ten ends and by the twelveth they held  a 1 shot lead. However, Fleckney fought back and with one end to play had a 4 shot advantage.  A last effort from Oakham gave them 3 shots from the final end, just 1 short of Fleckney’s winning score  Oakham finished with 15 shots, Fleckney with 16

Chris Wallis  skipped rink five with David Tomlison as lead and Graham Scothern at two. Fleckney established an early lead but Oakham fought hard to stay in touch .and by the eleventh end they had levelled the score at 7 shots each. Fleckney won the next three ends opening up a 3 shot lead. Oakham took the next two ends and with two to play the scores were tied. Fleckney won those last two ends and the game  with Oakham on 10 shots, Fleckney on 14.

Rosemary Gregory was the lead on rink six with Alan Jones at two and Bob Spence as Skip  A solid performance from the Oakham team gave them   early control of the game. and after nine ends they had a 5 shot lead. With three ends to play it had increased to 12 shots. Fleckney won two of the final three but the game was won by Oakham who finished holding 19 shots to Fleckney’s 9

Holwell was the venue for the Saturday Team’s match. It was played on five rinks over eighteen ends ending in a win for Holwell by 18 shots. Oakham 62 shots, Hollwell 80.

Rink one for Oakham had Mary Smith as lead, Tara Kelly at two and Graham Cole as Skip. Oakham were slow out of the blocks, not registering a shot until the sixth end. They continued to struggle against the opposition, never getting close to them. The game ended with Oakham on 7 shots, Holwell  on 17.

Denis Smith skipped on rink two with Jackie Cole as lead and Barrie Payne at two. Again, a very slow start for Oakham who finally opened their account with 3 shots on the sixth end then  went on to win the next six creating a 6 shot lead. Holwell won the next two ends but Oakham won three of the last four ends and the game with the final scores, Oakham with 19 shots, Holwell 10 shots.

Julie Healey was the lead on rink three with Adrian Wilkinson at two and Chris Wallis as Skip. Another slow start for the visitors but after five ends the match was level at 5 shots each  However, at this point Holwell took control of the game, establishing a healthy lead. 4 shots by Oakham on the sixteenth end helped to reduce the deficit but the game ended with Oakham on 12 shots, Holwell on 23.

Rink four was skipped by Alan Jones with Liz Naylor as lead and Ray Wilkins at two. Once again, four ends had been played before Oakham won their first end. They kept in touch with Holwell for the first half of the game but thereafter were only able to add a further 3 shots to their score. Oakham finished with 8 shots, Holwell with 16.

Mike Creffield  led on rink five with Geoff Rudkin (Holwell) at two and the Skip was Derek Harper. This time it was Holwell who were slow to start, not scoring till the sixth end.by which time Oakham had a 3 shot lead which after twelve ends had increased to 8 shots .The next three ends were won by Holwell  closing the gap to 2 shots. Both teams took 3 shots each from the remaining ends  but Oakham maintained  their lead. resulting in a win with  Oakham on 16 shots, Holwell on 14.

Rosemary Gregory was delighted to see twenty two bowlers for Wednesday’s chummy. Additionally two other attendees were receiving coaching from one of the clubs qualified coaches. A mixture of pairs and triples were closely contested with Julie Healey, Clive Morris and Jon Wheat emerging as joint winners on 20 points. A sunny  morning attracted sixteen bowlers for Sunday’s chummy. Some very competitive ends resulted in a win for Barry Drain on 24 points.

 

       

 History of the OK TROPHY 

The 'OK Trophy' was born in 2003.

As Fixtures Secretary I had already instigated 4 annual fixtures with Keyworth - Home and Away on Thursdays and Saturdays.

We had a very friendly and competitive relationship and, as it was my Presidents year, I thought it would add spice to the Fixtures if we had something to play for.

I had built up a good rapport with the Keyworth President - John Cowley - who sadly is no longer with us, and it was decided between the 2 of us to inaugurate a Trophy to play for.

It was decided that a cut glass vase would be appropriate and the 'OK TROPHY' was born, paid for 50/50 by the 2 Clubs.

These Fixtures became extremely popular and very keenly contested.

This year would have been the 20th year the 'Trophy' would have been played for - if Covid hadn't intervened and taken away the Fixtures in 2020 and 2021.

For 15 years things went along smoothly with Oakham leading 9 - 6 inthe matches.

Unfortunately in 2018 Keyworth decided to drop the Thursday fixtures as they clashed with their Nottingham League commitments.

This was a great shame with us now playing only in the 2 Saturday fixtures in our last 3  years of competition.

In the 3 years when we have only played 2 matches per season Oakham have won twice and Keyworth once making the current score for the 18 years of matches 11 - 7 to Oakham 

However the competition for the 'Trophy' remains strong,and hard fought over, as shown this year with Oakham winning by the narrow margin of 16 shots.  

Long may the OK Trophy continue to flourish.

Here are the results from the start: 

4 matches per season

2003  Oakham       +52 shots

2004  Keyworth     +50    "

2005  Keyworth      +22   "

2006  Oakham       +29    "  

2007  Oakham       +122  "

2008  Keyworth      +18    "

2009  Keyworth      +43    "

2010  Oakham        +16   "

2011  Keyworth       +26   "

2012  Keyworth       +13   "

2013  Oakham        +12   "

2014  Oakham        +47   "

2015  Oakham        +19   "

2016  Oakham        +39   "

2017  Oakham        +117  "

2 matches per season2

2018   Keyworth     +29  shots

2019   Oakham       +16    "

2020   Not played - Covid

2021         "                "

2022    Oakham      +16    shots

TOTAL TO DATE  OAKHAM  11    KEYWORTH  7

Chris Wallis

Friendly Fixtures Survey 

Thank you for the excellent response to Alan’s recent survey concerning Friendly fixtures.  Not quite 100% response, but very close.  The answers have all be collated now and were discussed at last week’s Executive Committee meeting.  We plan to have a Members’ meeting at the end of August when the bowling diary is less congested, to discuss our proposals.  But, in the meantime, these proposals are:

Thursday Mixed Interclub Friendly matches:  Keep as they are.  Advise opposition that we will be playing with mixed teams.

Saturday Mixed Interclub Friendly matches:  We will not cancel the remaining fixtures this year, and play as many as we can, if we can get a team.  Advise opposition that we will be playing with mixed teams.  For next season we propose to consider cutting down the fixtures and playing only those clubs we have a good relationship with.  Maybe only playing on a Saturday every 3 weeks or so.  However, there must be the opportunity for members to play on Saturdays if they wish.  Although only 9 members have committed to play on a Saturday on a regular basis.  This will then free up Saturdays for other things, e.g. playing of club comps.

Ladies’ Interclub Friendly matches:  We will not cancel the remaining fixtures and will see how it goes for next season.  Whether or not other clubs will in fact have enough ladies to play these matches remains to be seen.

Sunday Mixed Interclub Friendly matches:  There appears to be no problem getting a team for these fixtures.  They will stay as they are.

One other question you might like to consider before the August meeting.  Do you prefer to play in the daytime or in the evening?

Please do continue to put your names down for as many matches as you can.  Ladies, why not try the Thursday and Saturday games for a change?  I have thoroughly enjoyed my games this year.  They are friendly, competitive and fun.

Also, at the August meeting we will consider the dress code for next season.  Do we stick to Whites for our home matches or switch to Greys?