Night League Report

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                                  Week 8: 26 & 27 October 2026

Boston’s bowlers progress to the next round of the Top Club competition

Bowlers from Boston Indoor Bowls Club played at Louth recently in the second round of the National ‘Top Club’ competition and came away with a 10-6 win and so progressed into the next round against Horncastle.

In the two singles games, Nathan Dunnington won 21-12 while Sue Hoyles lost, but only just, 21-19.

The Mixed Pairs rink of Matt and Louise Whyers won 19-15, after producing a strong finish with a 13-1 burst of scoring from the thirteenth end, having trailed 14-6.

Also victorious was the Mixed Triples rink of Katy Tointon, Scott Whyers and Martin Tomlin who won 31-13, having established their form early in the game after scoring six shots and seven shots on two ends.  Lastly, the Mixed Fours rink lost 21-16.

Back to the action in the Night League, of the top four teams in the Orchard Health Group First Division, only Strollers failed to score maximum points when dropping one against A40.

Keith Swain’s rink built their winning lead steadily throughout the game to be 20-9 ahead, while the second rink was shared 14-14 by Paul Flatters and Sue Hoyles after a tight game where the lead swapped back and forth.

Leaders Holland Fen beat Desperados on both rinks, 25-11 by Alex Tomlin and 23-16 by Martin Tomlin, and have a one-point advantage over Strollers in the table.

Invaders are third, six points behind Strollers, after winning against Dynamics with almost identical scorelines, 23-13 for Rod West and 23-12 for Scott Whyers.

IBC’s improved form this season continued with a 6-0 win over Golfers to keep them in fourth spot, seven points adrift of Invaders.  Dave Gill’s rink, with Dave Peacock and Richard Allam, were dominant in winning 23-6.

The other rink saw a closely contested game once Golfers had recovered from being 13-3 down to claim a one-shot lead 14-13 after 13 ends.  The final score was 19-18 to IBC, with the bowling competitive to the very end.

Breakaways hold onto fifth place in spite of losing 4-2 to a combative Nomads team, who won on Mel Maddison’s rink 17-13, also doing enough to ensure the extras for shot aggregate.

Breakaways built an early 12-1 lead on Mike Rymer’s rink but had to cling on at the end as Nomads chased them hard, the final score ending 14-13.

Optimists beat Parthians 4-2, winning 28-13 on one rink, while losing the other 27-16, to leave them tied on points in sixth and seventh.

The top two teams in the Cammacks Second Division both had 6-0 wins, Royal Mail beating Shipmates, 17-9 and 16-10 for Ivan Gill and Steve Boycott respectively, and Hotspurs beating third-placed Vikings, 22-15 and 21-12 for Derek Smith and Scot Gray.

Burtons won 6-0 against Woodpeckers and moved above them into fourth, with winning scores of 23-6 for Trevor Dunnington and 18-14 for Chris Hill.

Amateurs took four points from their clash with Vectors, Sandra Copeland skipping her rink to win convincingly 21-8.  Kevin Rockall won the other rink 19-10 for Vectors.

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                                  Week 7: 19 & 20 October 2026

Headline: Denny team off to a winning start in this year’s competition

The Men’s Denny squad at Boston Indoor Bowls Club made a winning start to this year’s National Team competition by beating Sleaford on all four rinks, posting an aggregate score of 114 shots to 53.

The home rinks were won 31-15 by Martin Tomlin and 23-20 by Alex Tomlin.  Martin lost the first end, then took the lead and never relinquished it again.  Alex’s rink was behind throughout, levelling the score on the 20^th end, then scoring three shots on the last end to grab the win.

The away rinks skipped by Nathan Dunnington and Matt Whyers at Sleaford dominated scoring from the off to win 28-8 and 32-10 respectively.

The next round is against Dunholme on 31^st October.

Action in the Night League in the Orchard Health Group First Division last week saw Strollers join Holland Fen at the top of the table on forty points, yet still behind them as a result of their inferior shot aggregate.

Strollers met Nomads, winning 4-2, Mick Hippisley’s rink claiming two points by winning 24-15 and ensuring the extra two points for the aggregate.  Keith Wilson won 16-13 for Nomads, with a strong finish after trailing 9-13.

Parthians beat Holland Fen 4-2 with an outstanding effort on Richard Keeling’s rink to win 26-8.  Les Feary’s rink won 22-10 to claim two points.

Two more tightly contested matches saw 4-2 results as Golfers beat Optimists and Dynamics overcame A40, each with a net shot aggregate of just one shot at the end.

Barry Wilson’s rink dominated the scoring to win 24-10 for Golfers, while Matt Whyers’ rink won 22-9 to give Optimists two points.

Against A40, Graham Wilkinson’s Dynamics rink stood at 10-12 before they took control of the final ends to win 19-12.  Jean Cammack ensured two points for A 40 by winning the second rink 18-12.

Invaders remain in third after beating Breakaways 6-0.  Nathan Dunnington built an early 11-1 lead and consolidated it to win 17-9.  Scott Whyers trailed 6-9 after a cagey start, but scoring a five, then a four later on and a good finish put them ahead and they eventually won 23-15.

IBC took six points from their game against Desperados, their first maximum since week one of the season, with Dave Gill winning 30-8 and Steve Skelton 25-9, to move them into fourth spot.

The top-of-the-table clash in Cammacks Division Two saw Royal Mail beat Hotspurs 6-0 and move to the top.  Ivan Gill’s rink won 19-18, holding on as Hotspurs finished strongly.  Clive Newell’s rink was close for thirteen ends, but a good finish saw them win 20-12.

Third-placed Vikings beat Kingfishers 5-1, Clare Britchford winning 19-16, while Terry Marshall and Roy Stanley shared a 15-15 draw.

Woodpeckers remain in fourth, in spite of losing 2-4 to Vectors, with Sean Hutley winning them their points, 18-9.  Kevin Rockall’s rink won well, 22-7.

Shipmates best result of the season saw them beat Burtons 4-2, Jeff Ginsburgh winning 20-11, while losing the other to Keith Motley 11-17.

Stephen Boycott

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                                  Week 6: 12 & 13 October 2026

First round success in two National Competitions at bowls club

Bowlers at Boston Indoor Bowls Club have made an outstanding start to two National competitions after progressing through tough preliminary rounds against Lincoln.

The Under 30s Double rink won by 36 shots to 35, with the home rink of Freddie Knapp, Aidan Brickles and Katy Tointon winning 20-12, just enough to ensure the shot aggregate overall with the away rink losing 16-23.  The next round is against Spalding.

In the Top Club competition, Boston and Lincoln were tied 8-8 but Boston won through on shot aggregate, 88-86.  In the two-wood Singles, Helen Butler lost 19-21, crucially coming back from 10-19 behind, and Nathan Dunnington finished 15-21.

The Mixed Pairs, with Louise and Matt Whyers, won 21-13 after scoring seven shots over the last two ends.  The Mixed Fours won 16-13, while the Mixed Triples had a close game, losing the last end to be 17-18 behind.  The next round will be against Louth.

The Orchard Health Group First Division of the Night League saw three very close matches last week.  Desperados, newly promoted into this division, faced perhaps their sternest test so far against Invaders, runners-up for the last four seasons, but led on both rinks for much of the game.

Dean Harris’s rink was ahead 14-6 and later 22-12, but Rod West’s rink found their form over the final ends to leave the score 24-24.  Similarly, Dave Allen’s rink was 12-7 to the good, then 17-13 with one end to go, but Nathan Dunnington scored four on the last end to tie 17-17.  So, the points were shared 3-3.

Two more close games saw the extras for shot aggregate being awarded for having an advantage of just one shot.  A40 beat Breakaways 4-2, Lewis Skinner’s rink winning 21-14, the other going to Breakaways 15-9, leaving the shots total at 30-29.

Similarly, IBC beat Dynamics 4-2, scoring 36 shots to 35, Ian Smith winning 21-11 for IBC and Graham Wilkinson 24-15 for Dynamics.

Strollers continued their good start to the season when beating Optimists on both rinks to take all six points.  Andy Warne’s rink was 7-7 after seven ends before they powered away to win 23-10.  Paul Flatters was always ahead while building a 17-10 lead, eventually winning 17-14.

Holland Fen beat Golfers 6-0, winning Martin Tomlin’s rink 15-13, after being made to work hard to secure victory, and Chris Gill’s more convincingly at 31-6.

Parthians beat Nomads 6-0 with rink scores of 20-9 and 23-13.

In Cammacks Division Two, with Hotspurs having a bye, Royal Mail missed the opportunity to grab the lead in the table after they were beaten 2-4 by Woodpeckers.  Ivan Gill’s rink had a blistering start to lead 14-0, but then struggled, eventually winning 18-12.  A low-scoring game on the other rink was won 16-6 by Richard Cullen for Woodpeckers.

Vectors had their best match to date in beating Kingfishers 6-0, with scores of 20-10 and 15-14.

Vikings beat Shipmates on both rinks, 22-12 and 16-12, as did Burtons against Amateurs, 24-11 and 16-15.

Stephen Boycott

 

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                                     Week 5: 5 & 6 October 2026

Headline: Successful Open Drawn Triples Tournament at Bowls Club

The first Open Drawn Triples Tournament of the indoor season at Boston Indoor Bowls Club attracted a full house for a fun day’s competition sponsored by Boston Blinds and the club’s Bonus Ball.

Divided into twenty-four teams of three, they played three games, each one over ten ends maximum, scoring points for each end won and four points for winning the game.

Overall winners with 32 points and an impressive shot aggregate of +36 was the team of Aidan Brickles, Ann Quickfall and Sean Hutley who were in devastating form, winning each game by a significant margin, 14-0, 14-1 and 14-5.

Second and third both had 29 points and were split by shot aggregate.  Karl Pick, Yvonne Heppenstall and Michelle Billingsley were second, recording three good wins of 17-3, 12-5 and 10-5 for a shot aggregate of +26.  Third place went to Sandra Copeland, Ken Bainbridge and Pat Clarkson on +18 with wins of 9-2, 10-3 and 11-7.

The latest round of matches in the Orchard Health Group First Division of the Night League saw Strollers as the only top team to collect maximum points when beating Parthians.

However, with just the last end to be bowled on both rinks, the score stood at 4-2 to Parthians, but then Mick Hippisley’s rink scored five to snatch their game 19-18 and Andy Warne scored three for 23-17.

Holland Fen met Optimists in the match-of-the-round, winning 4-2 after a battle of high-pressure bowls on both rinks.  Martin Tomlin’s Holland Fen rink won with apparent ease 33-12, while Trevor Bannister’s Optimists flew off to a 14-4 start, but were brought back to 15-15 before Optimists ground out the win 20-16.

Invaders retained third place after beating IBC 4-2, Nathan Dunnington’s rink again dominating the scoring to win 25-7.  Dave Gill trailed 7-11 and 14-16, but finished strongly to take the win 21-16 for two points.

Breakaways stay fourth after their 4-2 win over Dynamics, Nick Whitmore’s rink bowling well to win 24-9.  There was some relief for Dynamics as Joe Mellon won the other rink 22-14.

Golfers and A40 both had good results moving them up the table.  Golfers claimed all the points off Desperados winning 25-16 and 18-11 to rise up to sixth while A40 moved up to eighth following their 4-2 win against Nomads, winning one rink 21-10 and just losing the other 13-14 in a close finish.

Hotspurs and Royal Mail continue to dominate the top of the Cammacks Division Two table after they each had 6-0 wins last week.  Hotspurs beat Burtons 14-13, after starting the final end tied at 13-13, and 19-9.  Royal Mail played Vikings and won with scores of 15-13 in a tight game and 19-11.

Amateurs moved up into sixth-place after their best performance of the season against Kingfishers, who are third, dominating the games on both rinks to win 22-9 for Sandra Copeland and 19-10 for Jeff Homewood.

Woodpeckers moved into fifth after beating Shipmates 6-0, Richard Cullen winning 25-9 and Bob Thompson 18-15.

Stephen Boycott

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                              Week 4: 28, 29 September & 1 October 2026

Headline: Busy week in bowls club Night League

Week 4 of the new Night League campaign at Boston Indoor Bowls Club saw two rounds of matches in the Orchard Health Group First Division with Holland Fen replacing Strollers to lead the table and last season’s runners-up, Invaders, moving up to third.

Holland Fen met teams that were previously third and fourth, Breakaways and IBC, and proved too strong against both, taking maximum points, the only team to do so.  Chris Gill had wins of 29-11 against Breakaways and 20-12 against IBC, with Martin Tomlin winning 25-16 and 33-10.

Invaders beat Parthians 4.2 and A40 6-0 to take ten points from the two games.  Against Parthians, Nathan Dunnington’s rink was closely contested and stood at 14-12 with two ends to go, but scores of five, then four, made the final score of 23-12 look comfortable.  Parthians bowled well to finish strongly on Richard Keeling’s rink, winning 21-18 for two points after trailing 10-18 after 13 ends.

A40’s lowly position in the table does not reflect how well they bowled last week, recovering from their poor start to the season.  While they lost 6-0 to Invaders, the game on both rinks was close, 18-17 and 14-10, giving Invaders a shot aggregate of just five shots.

Their improved form was again evident in beating Golfers to take all the points, winning 24-6 for Jean Cammack and 18-12 for Sue Hoyles.

Strollers took six points from their two games, winning 4-2 against IBC and losing 2-4 against Breakaways.  Mick Hippisley’s rink led 15-6 over IBC, eventually winning 16-12, while the other rink was tied 12-12 going into the last end, won by IBC’s Jim Gott to go 14-12.

Paul Flatters’ rink was 8-14 down against Breakaways but they finished well, taking the last four ends to win 16-14.  Breakaways Mark Brown mostly had the lead in a tightly fought game on rink two, eventually winning 16-11 for two points and the aggregate.

Optimists took ten points beating Dynamics 6-0 and Nomads 4-2 to move up four places in the table to fifth.  Aidan Brickles led from the seventh end against Dynamics to win 20-16, while Andy Reeson was trailing 6-10 before finding a good finish to win 18-10.

Aidan’s rink won well against Nomads 23-8, while Allan Richardson skipped Nomads to victory on the other, 14-11.

Newly-promoted Desperados managed two points from both their games, Adam Hodgson beating Nomads 18-15 and Dave Allen coming back from 9-15 down to win 18-17 against Dynamics.  The other scores were 24-19 for Nomads and 29-15 for Dynamics.

Finally, Parthians beat Golfers 4-2, Keith Nix skipping to win 24-12.  Barry Wilson ensured two points for Golfers, winning 20-16.

Three points separate Hotspurs and Royal Mail at the top of Cammacks Division Two after Hotspurs beat Woodpeckers 5-1, winning 25-17 and drawing 15-15, and Royal Mail beat Amateurs on both rinks, 27-11 and 21-11.

Kingfishers beat Shipmates 25-11 and 18-13 for six points, while Vikings beat Vectors 4-2, winning one rink 31-3 and losing the other 11-24.

Stephen Boycott

Boston Indoor Bowling Club (Bibc)

Evening League Report                                           Week 3: 21 and 22 September 2026

Headline: Boston bowlers win National Pairs title

Scott Whyers and Jonathan West, top bowlers at Boston Indoor Bowls Club, have just triumphed in the Open Pairs category of the EIBA Summer competition to become National Champions for 2026 after playing at the Finals Weekend at Melton Mowbray.

To reach the Finals Weekend they had progressed through four rounds of qualifying during the summer months against opponents from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.  In the quarter-final at Melton, they saw off two Welsh international bowlers from Bristol, 22-12, then convincingly beat a pair from Northampton 21-9 to reach the final.

In the final they started slowly against two good bowlers from Hartlepool but quickly found their rhythm and played strongly to win 20-11.  Becoming National Champions is a fantastic achievement given the quality of the bowlers taking part in the competition.

A recent tradition at the start of a new indoor season at BIBC has been the Gents vs Ladies match, played across six rinks with forty-eight bowlers taking part.  The Gentlemen won overall with five rinks victorious and an overall advantage of seventy shots.  The best men’s rink was skipped by Nathan Dunnington as they dominated the game to win 40-4.  Sandra Copeland’s rink gave the Ladies some cheer as they won 16-12, having led throughout.  Of the other winning men’s rinks, the closest game saw Alex Tomlin victorious by 20-18, having been 2-15 down at half-way.

Action in the Night League last week saw Strollers maintain their two-point advantage over Holland Fen in the Orchard Health Group First Division as they both recorded 6-0 wins.  Strollers beat Golfers 21-15 and 18-13, while Holland Fen were too good for Nomads, winning 25-9 and 21-12.

Breakaways are clear in third after taking 4 points from their game with Desperados, Nick Whitmore’s rink winning convincingly 29-10.  Dave Allen took 2 points for Desperados, his rink winning 22-15.

A40 beat IBC 4-2 to claim their first points of the season, but IBC’s two points were enough to keep them in fourth spot.  Andy Scotney’s rink won 19-13, enough to also ensure the extras for shot aggregate, while Richard Allam won 13-11.

Invaders took all the points when beating Optimists, with Nathan Dunnington and his rink putting in a masterly performance to win 24-5, Scott Whyers also winning 23-14.

Parthians won 29-9 and 19-13 for all six points against Dynamics.

Hotspurs are top of Cammacks Division Two after beating Kingfishers 6-0, with wins of 20-13 for Scot Gray and 15-11 for Mike Long.  They have a cushion of four points over Royal Mail in second who took all the points against Burtons, with Phil Knapp’s rink winning convincingly 25-8 and Ivan Gill’s 17-13.

Woodpeckers beat Amateurs 4-2, Sean Hutley having a very good game skipping his rink to win 19-7.  Amateurs took the other rink 15-10 to record the first win for Tom Wickes, bowling with Les Penniston and Michelle Wickes.

Vectors beat Shipmates 4-2, both teams scoring their first points of the season, with Kevin Rockall winning 29-6 and Mick Ross, 23-10.

Stephen Boycott

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.