The Club

Frant Bowls Club is based in Frant, East Sussex. Its green is adjacent to Frant Memorial Hall and is on the Bells Yew Green Road on the opposite side to the cricket pitch. For GPS users the post code is TN3 9ED. Please go to the location page for a map or directions.

Have you had enough of cricket or golf, knitting or flower-arranging? (No gender sterotyping here - anyone can do either.) Consider lawn bowls next. A chance to get outdoors and be competitive (but not too seriously) with a sociable crowd.

Everyone - experienced or absolute beginner, young or old, is made welcome to the club. Equipment is supplied and all we ask is that you wear shoes without heels. If you are new to the game then we are able to offer unofficial coaching by experienced bowlers.

Ordinarily matches are played most Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings during the outdoor season, which starts around the middle of April and continues until mid September. Informal roll-up sessions for members and non-members are normally held from 4.30pm on Tuesdays. Please feel free to contact one of the contacts listed.

There is an associated short mat club which is based in Frant Memorial Hall where roll-ups are held on Tuesdays during the winter season. The short mat club is not playing league matches this season.

2022

The season has been unique. As well as it being the year we celebrated our centennial we joined in Frant's celebration of the late Queen's platinum Jubilee. Although we haven't held our traditional annual Race Night for the last three years we have nevertheless had a very successful social event - the Curry Lunch in October made possible by our Secretary Norman's culinary expertise. This was the second iteration of the event and it is the committee's intention (and we hope Norman's) to have more in 2023.

The Green

Frant Bowls Green March 2023

Mowing with the summer mower has started and the old winter mower is in the process of being cleaned up and made presentable ready for sale. The new watering system controller is now commissioned and ready for use. We now have a plan for maintenance of the green in 2023 and so far it is looking good as the above picture shows. This plan pretty much accounts for the green budget for the year which is similar to last year's. It allows for feeding, scarifying, aerating and killing of infestations of moss, pearlwort, fusarium etcetera. Fingers are crossed that we don't have to contend with any other unforeseen pestilence!

Awards Evening

by Michael Freestone captain@frantbowls.uk

There they were. The glittering prizes, the silver cups and trophies to be awarded this evening.

On the 25th November Frant Bowls Club held its Awards Dinner at the Crowborough Beacon Golf Club. Twenty eight members and their partners attended. It’s always a good turnout for our winter social gathering.

The Awards Dinner is an important event in the Club’s calendar. It recognises the winners and runners-up in the internal competitions which are usually held each year. However, the cups and trophies were not awarded during 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid epidemic.

To begin with everyone gathered at the bar for an informal drink. Our Chairman, Barry Dean then invited us to take our seats at tables that were nicely arranged. During the meal Barry gave a special welcome to David and Val Oliver who moved from East Sussex to Flintshire for family reasons some two years ago.

David was, at various times, Treasurer, Chairman and Club Captain. He greatly influenced the Club in terms of gamesmanship and bowls green management. Both David and Val were excellent bowlers winning many competitions. Barry continued by stating that 2022, the Club’s centenary year, had been quite successful winning many of its matches against other clubs.

The results of this year’s Club competitions, which were open to all members, comprised the following:

1. The Two Wood - Winner - Audrey Hall

2. The Drawn Pairs - Winners - Audrey Hall and Jeff Holloway

3. The Open - Winner - Michael Freestone

4. The President’s Cup - Winner - Elizabeth Holloway

5. The Captain’s Cup - Best improved team member - Diane Young

The Club President Bob Garrett and Club Chairman Barry Dean presented the Cups to the winners and certificates to the runners-up, the recipients of which were roundly applauded.

Captain Michael - Open singles winner

All these competitions were played during the season usually when good weather prevailed but sometimes played in the rain. Some results were surprising, other matches were over quickly and some were very close taking a few hours to complete.

There is an always an air of mystery over one particular cup - the Captain’s Cup. This is awarded solely at the Club Captain’s discretion. The idea is that the Cup recognises a member’s contribution to the club during the season. This can take the form of support in matches, help with the maintenance of the club but above all showing the greatest improvement in match play plus a high degree of sportsmanship.

This year the Captain’s Cup was awarded to Diane Young who in her first season has showed great promise, interest in the club and a willingness to have a go at either Lead, Second or Skip.

Diane Young - Captain's Cup winner

After all the awards had been given, the Chairman thanked all who attended and wished everyone a Happy Christmas and New Year and looked forward to the 2023 season hopefully welcoming many new members.