Quiz Night

A quiz evening was held on Friday 29th May. Although there were not as many teams taking part as might have been hoped it was an entertaining evening with a well-supported bar. Quizmistress Di had been scrupulously fair in compiling the questions with no perceivable bias towards the bowling community. It was therefore unsurprising that the winning team were not bowls club members, partly because the bowls club members underperformed at answering music questions on anything post 1970.

Altogether it was a successful evening with the raffle and bar helping to contribute to club funds.

Barn Dance

A great evening was enjoyed at the barn dance. The Catsfield Steamers were brilliant, and the caller just about kept us under control. We do-si-do’d and stripped the willow before pausing for a delicious ploughman's. The bar flowed freely to keep us hydrated. Thank you to everyone who got the hall ready, Jeff for the bar, but especially Mary for all her organising and providing supper. A disappointingly small proportion of members felt able to support the event, but some support from guests provided adequate numbers for dancing and there was at least enough room to "swing your partner!"

2026 Millennium Cup

Since the Millennium, with the exception of the Covid years, an in-house competition is played on a Saturday in July. The number of entrants varies from year to year, but this year's entry of 19 is on the good side. The competition is played as four round robin groups, the winner of each progressing to a knockout stage with semi-final and final. This could be an organisational nightmare with the number of entrants being able to vary only a few days before the event, but the competition calculator here and competition designer here make it a doddle. These facilities are publicly available on this website! The 2026 Millennium cup can be seen here.

Stop press! After a last minute withdrawal, the competition went ahead with 18 entrants. Well done, James, the winner.

The 2026 season

The 2026 season has now finished with a good win against Ringmer. The last event on the green is the club event which will take the form of a hastily arranged singles competition with a group stage, semifinal and final. This will be played on a green which has survived the fierce sunshine very well and has been the envy of our opponents.

The competitive games show a results list with more red than green but all players who have made themselves available for matches have been able to play on almost every occasion and the games - which are all "friendlies" - have been played in the usual sporting spirit of which the club has always been proud.

Brian Potter Cup

Michael Freestone

Our first competition result of the 2026 season. Winners Brian and James pictured with the runners up Mike and Audrey. However, the final score does not belittle the bowling skills displayed by the contestants. It was a tough match.

An entertaining afternoon was had by all 16 entrants which was rounded off with a handsome tea that included sandwiches, cakes, sausage rolls and scones.

Coaching Day

In early May we had a well-attended Coaching Day organised by Michael. Roy Williams and Robin Yetman, from West Hoathly conducted both indoor (theory) and outdoor (practical) well-prepared sessions covering many aspects of bowling. As well as introducing recently-joined members to some of the etiquette and the responsibilities of players in the various team positions, some of our more experienced members benefitted from some useful reminders.

An outdoor session covered basic skills - bowling a jack and delivering bowls - before a lunch provided by Mary with contributions from other members.

Another indoor session after lunch covered tactical play before a final outdoor session covering measuring and some bowling practice with set up heads. Roy and Robin were persuaded to finish the day by playing a couple of ends with some of the attendees.

The Club

Frant Bowls Club is a village bowls club maintained as a CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club) by its members. It is easy to find the green by Frant Memorial Hall on the Bells Yew Green Road on the opposite side to the cricket pitch. The post code is TN3 9ED or go to the location page for a map or directions. Or use What3words ///reject.ships.closes

Indoors

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.

Tuesday Cup

On Tuesday roll-up evenings, we run a season-long competition for which a cup is awarded to the winner at our awards dinner in November. The rules are such that members can play as many of these games as they wish, with the shots scored by their team in their best 8 games counting to their season total. There is a larger element of luck than is usual in bowls games because teams are drawn randomly from those who want to play each week. The format can be pairs, triples or even rinks on up to three rinks. If we have an odd number of players we can even end up with the dreaded three-against-two arrangement! These rules mean that everyone is required to play in the position drawn and may have the advantage of being teamed up with strong team mates or struggling with weaker bowlers. It evens itself out over the season and as long as enough games are played, the low scores don't count anyway. Good character-building stuff! The latest uploaded scoresheet can be seen here.

The Green

After wintering well with the additional swishing paying dividends, the green looked healthy and verdant with a good covering of the usually thin corner by the clubhouse. The ongoing hot weather with no rain has resulted in it now looking a bit parched despite much watering. It still compares very well with the greens we have visited so far this season.

This website

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