Night League Report

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                           Week 1: 7 and 8 September 2026

Headline: Knock-out competition kick starts the new season at indoor bowls club

Summer’s ended and the nights are pulling in, so it’s time for the new indoor season at Boston Indoor Bowls Club to kick off.  The first week saw the traditional opener, the Drawn Pairs competition, sponsored jointly by Duckworth’s and the club’s Bonus Ball, which was won by Sharon Druce and Martin Tomlin who beat Ian Pryke and Allan Richardson in the final, 75-35.

Attracting 68 bowlers, this knock-out competition saw five rounds played over four evenings.  Games were played over ninety minutes each, scoring ten points at each end for the four bowls closest to the jack, 4 for the shot wood, 3 for the next, then 2, then 1.  Several matches saw winning margins of between 2 and 8 points in the early rounds, up to the largest of over 60 points, and the quality of the bowling at this early stage was a hopeful sign for the months of competition ahead.

The first round of the Night League competition has also been played.  In the Orchard Health Group First Division, of the top three at the end of last season, only the champions Holland Fen made a faultless start, beating A40 to take all the points.  Martin Tomlin’s rink was utterly dominant in recording a 36-2 win.  The other rink was closely fought, two shots separating them with two ends to go, Holland Fen winning 20-15.

Invaders, runners-up last season, were beaten 4-2 by a resurgent Nomads squad, for whom the rink of Kate Maddison, Sam Richardson and Allan Richardson won convincingly 23-11.  Scott Whyers won the second rink 20-13 to claim two points for Invaders.

Optimists, who claimed third spot at the end of last season, had a reality check as they were beaten 6-0 by IBC, another team hoping to fare better in the new campaign.  Ian Smith’s rink was in control from the sixth end to run out 22-11 winners, while Steve Skelton led throughout to win 15-11.

Newly promoted Desperados had a dream start to life in this division, taking all the points off Parthians, and showcasing their best form of last year.  Both rinks saw closely contested games, Dean Harris winning 20-18 and David Allen 16-14.

Strollers, fourth last time, beat Dynamics 21-14 and 19-15 for all six points, both rinks securing victory after dominating the final ends.  Breakaways beat Golfers 4-2 in a close encounter, Nick Whitmore winning 18-12 and Barry Wilson 25-20.

In Cammacks Division Two, Burtons, Vikings and Hotspurs all made perfect 6-0 starts to the season.  Burtons were much too good for out-of-sorts Vectors, Mandy Cook winning 33-4 and Chris Hill 20-8.

Vikings beat Amateurs, winning 15-10 for Terry Marshall in a tight game and 22-7 for John Millership.  Once into their groove, Hotspurs took control of their rinks against Shipmates, Derek Smith winning 22-14 and Scot Gray 19-14.

Kingfishers met Royal Mail, relegated last time, playing two competitive games, Ian Pryke winning 21-18, the other rink being drawn 15-15 with four shots scored on the last end.

Stephen Boycott

 

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                           Week 2: 14 and 15 September 2026

Headline: Holland Fen and Invaders have early showdown in bowls club Night League

Week two of the new indoor season at Boston Indoor Bowls Club saw one of those eagerly anticipated encounters in the Orchard Health Group First Division as the champions and runners-up from the last five seasons met, Holland Fen beating Invaders 4-2.

Alex Tomlin with lead Ian Clark and pin Karl Pick had a convincing win, 26-9, restricting Invaders’ scoring to the occasional winning end.  The second rink was much closer, Invaders winning 15-12 with Andy Dunnington, Harry Allerton and Nathan Dunnington having the better finish, taking the last seven ends 7-2.

Strollers sit at the top of the division one table, just above Holland Fen, after completing their second 6-0 win of the new season, this week against the promoted team Desperados.  Keith Swain, Alan Everitt and Paul Flatters dominated the scoring on their rink to run out 24-4 winners, while the scoreline for Mick Hippisley’s rink was somewhat closer in winning 23-12.

Breakaways have started the season well, this week taking all the points off Parthians to be third in the table.  Mark Brown’s rink dominated the scoring to win 26-8, while Mike Rymer’s was ahead from the eighth end to finish 14-10 at the end.

IBC are fourth, level on points with Breakaways and Holland Fen, after beating Nomads 4-2.  Steve Skelton’s rink controlled their game to win 17-9 for two points.  Keith Wilson, for Nomads, built a good lead to be 21-7 ahead after 12 ends, but IBC finished well to leave the final result 23-19, thereby doing enough to ensure the extra two points for shot aggregate.

Optimists recovered from their disappointing start last week to dominate A40 for all six points.  Matt and Louise Whyers led the way, with Lucy Allerton leading, to win their rink convincingly 33-7.  Aidan Brickles’ rink controlled the scoring throughout to win 19-10.

Golfers beat Dynamics 6-0.  The score on Barry Wilson’s rink went back and forth in a tight game finishing 21-20, needing to win the last end to claim victory.  Ian Drury’s rink led throughout to win comfortably 25-12.

The battle for promotion from Cammacks Division Two is likely to be tense given the results after the first two weeks of this season.  Hotspurs, second in this division last season, are at the top of the table with eleven points after beating Amateurs 5-1.  Mike Long’s rink dominated scoring to run out 24-7 winners.  A close game on the other rink ended in a draw 16-16, a fair result after the score had changed hands several times.

Vikings beat Burtons 4-2 to be second on ten points.  John Millership’s rink was very good when winning 28-9 for two points and ensuring the extras for shot aggregate.  A close game on the other rink was won 16-14 by Trevor Dunnington for Burtons.

Kingfishers beat Woodpeckers 4-2 to maintain their good start, Brian Hardy winning 22-10.  Richard Cullen’s rink took 2 points by winning 17-13.

Royal Mail bowled well to beat Vectors 6-0, winning the rinks 23-9 and 22-11.

Stephen Boycott