First of all my apologies for the lack of regular updates on the site – work and bowls do not mix!

The start of our season was tinged with great sadness at the loss of our friend and President Bryan Magrath.  We were all aware of Bryan’s battle over the past five years and he will be greatly missed on and off the green for the inspiration that he was and still is.  The club can be proud of the support shown and the send off Bryan was given at his funeral.

LEAGUE

Both teams were due to play Dunbarton on the opening weekend but as a mark of respect these were postponed so it was week 2 on a wet and windy Saturday before our season got started properly.  The ‘A’ team were away to Ulster Transport and having been defeated on both occasions last year we were rightly wary of our opposition.  However, on this occasion Old Bleach emerged the victors lifting 6 points.  The ‘B’ team were at home to Malone and lifted a score of 5 points to also open their season with a win.  The third week saw the start of the IBA cups and with the ‘B’ team having a bye both in the league and in the opening round of the IBA Junior Cup it was the ‘A’ team who hosted Clarendon at Old Bleach.  At the end of the afternoon it was a comfortable victory for the home side but it was an enjoyable afternoon for both teams and we would commend Clarendon for the sporting manner in which the game was played.  The following Tuesday evening saw what would be the first of several big fixtures as the ‘A’ team hosted Ballymena at home in the second league match of the season.  Again it was a 6 point lift with the rink of Sam Barkley, Arnie Campbell, Robert Kirkwood and Michael Nutt having a very impressive victory against the Ballymena rink skipped by Nigel Robinson and helping to secure the overall points for the home team.  Saturday 16th – week 3 of the league programme saw the ‘A’ team hosting Ewarts at home and the ‘B’ team away to Belfast – another of Division 4’s new teams.  Both teams secured the entire haul of 7 points each securing a good start to the season.  A busy week of bowls started on the 17th May for both teams firstly for the ‘B’ team travelling to Dunbarton on the Sunday to fulfil the rearranged league fixture.  On this occasion it was Dunbarton who came away as the victors with the ‘B’ team securing 1 and a half points.  On Wednesday 20th the ‘A’ team hosted Dunbarton to also fulfil its rearranged league fixture and it was to prove a tight battle with the home team edging the game 4 points to 3 with Neil Booth’s rink securing an impressive victory over the rink of Conor McCartan.  It could so easily have been 6 points with James Talbot’s rink losing but just one shot and Michael Nutt’s rink all square playing the last end.  However, it was still a victory for the team and kept the unbeaten record going in the league.  Thursday saw the first of two meetings between Old Bleach ‘A’ and Belmont ‘A’ in the second round of the PGL Senior Cup having gained a bye in the first.  The past couple of years have seen Belmont gain the upper hand but on this occasion it was Old Bleach who were out of the blocks quickest opening up a 20 shot lead in the first half of the game.  This lead was extended during the second and Old Bleach came away victors by 44 shots and setting up a quarter final against Pickie.  On Saturday 23rd Old Bleach travelled back to Belmont in the second round of the IBA Senior Cup and what a difference a couple of days can make to the game of bowls.  This proved a much more closely contested and hard fought battle with Belmont fighting back from their defeat on the Thursday to secure a narrow 8 shot win over Old Bleach and knocking the cup holders out of the competition.  The ‘B’ team also had an away fixture and were off down to Bray for their IBA Junior Cup tie on Bray’s new synthetic green.  The ‘B’ team secured what was in the end a comfortable 20 shot victory helped in part by the impressive score of Billy Patton’s rink – of course taking nothing away from the other 3 rinks.  This sets the ‘B’ team up with a home match against Dunluce in the next round.  Tuesday 26th saw a return to the league programme with the ‘B’ team at home to in form Downpatrick and it was to prove the visiting teams game taking 6 points away with them and leaving the home team with just 1.  The ‘A’ team made the journey down to newly promoted Ards and were very wary that the fatigue of the previous week could become a factor in the game.  Thankfully this was unproven and the ‘A’ team came back up the road with all 7 points and all four rinks securing impressive victories setting up the biggest score of the season so far winning 108-41 shots.  This is 5 from 5 for the ‘A’ team who are currently sitting top of Division 1 but the league is not won in the first five games and there is a long way to go with lots of difficult games on the horizon.  The ‘B’ team will be looking to consolidate and improve their league position when they travel to Willowfield on the 30th May – for the ‘A’ team it is a free weekend and much needed rest before resuming at home next Tuesday also against Willowfield.

CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Ok so far the Championships have not proved fruitful for Old Bleach – with a change to the format and both singles and pairs being played off earlier in the season we have seen all entrants fall by the wayside with no Old Bleach players featuring in the latter stages this season.  In the Under 25 singles Stephen Kirkwood is the lone torch bearer for the club having secured victories in the first two rounds of the competition and will now travel to Pickie to play Jamie Watson in the Quarter Final.  All the other entrants, Sam Barkley, Adam Chesney, Robert Kirkwood and Jordan Millar were knocked out in the earlier rounds.  The triples has only just kicked off last week and with one triple in the prelim round it was unfortunately a  case of what might have been for the triple of Mark Tait, Joe Barkley and Jonny Millar going down to a one shot defeat in a tied against the triple of Stuart Bennett from Belmont.  The other triples having secured byes to the next round will compete next Monday 1st June.  The fours have proven to be a slightly happier hunting ground.  The rink of William Fullerton unfortunately lost to the Ewarts’ rink of Victor Atkinson but Michael Nutt’s rink secured a narrow victory at home against the rink of Andy Duncan strong contenders from Ballymena.  Robert Kirkwood’s rink also secured a narrow victory away to Ballymena against the equally strong rink of Stephen Coleman.  This Friday will see the start of the Youth Singles (Under 18s) and both entrants Jordan Millar and Sam Barkley will have competitive away fixtures but we wish them well.

I will try to keep the site updated as much as possible in the future.