End of Season Newsletter

Hi Everyone

Our short season is coming to an end in September.

Hopefully everyone has enjoyed their bowls, the weather in general has been very kind to us.

We have had less friendlies this year due to not being able to fulfil last year’s friendlies.

We have managed to put full teams out this year with less effort, however we still needed to chase a few, luckily only on a few occasions.

The annual KCPPBA match at the end of July was a great day, with 48 athletes taking part! MBC fielding a full complement from our membership ranks we won the game by 30 shots, the green played really well and many favourable comments were received. We held a raffle and raised just over £200 for our local Hospice charity.

This does not happen by magic, the dedicated members led by Dick Comport who continue to give their time freely week in week out, help the club to remain financially viable. No payment is received; all time and effort are given freely.

We did email everyone seeking additional help from the membership in my previous correspondence, but alas no willing volunteers have so far come forward. Please help if you can, there is always something which needs attention, to keep our green, surrounds & clubhouse in good order.

We held our second Race Night on the 2nd August, sadly only 26 people turned up, compared to the previous event where nearly 50 attended. The club holds these events to get members together socially, have fun and to raise some additional funds for the club. We do plan to hold a Quiz night at some stage; this may be more suitable to some and encourage our members to support the club.

The club did ask for suggestions and was seeking thoughts and ideas recently on how we could improve the club going forward. Only one person took time to help, thank you Gill Errey, with some very useful suggestions. We would be delighted to understand what our members would like to see introduced or amended going forward, please pass on any ideas or suggestions?

Early in August three representatives from Marden travelled to Essex to play in a County friendly, it was a great day with Kent winning, the highlight was to see Ray Niblock receive his County Badge from the County President, well done Ray.

It has been a pretty mixed bag as results are concerned.

Weald League, due to illness, holidays etc and having only a few ladies, and luck not being on our side, sadly our stay in Division 2 has come to an end, relegated to Div 3 in 2026

Friday Night Triples A team. Runners up, only losing out by shot difference of 1 shot!

Friday Night Triples B Team.  Relegated to Division 4 in 2026

Maidstone League 4’s. Played 8 games, League Winners

Millenium League Played.7 Matches, Won 4, Lost 3

Friendlies.   Played 19 games, Won 9, Lost 8 (2 games yet to be played)

Bert Cox. Won 4 Rounds against Loose, Maidstone, Bearsted & Tonbridge but sadly lost in in the Divisional Section Final to Appleyard @Sheerness, who went on to win the County Final.

Smart Cup v Maidstone, M&D League Won

We played, the Stan Lovell pairs competition on the 16th August, it was a really good and enjoyable afternoon with some great bowling, sadly again only 16 of our members took part. The committee believed it was an opportunity for members to play in a friendly competitive environment, as we had a free date, and no fixture, however due to the lack of enthusiasm and numbers it does bring into question should we try and organise additional events in the future!

The Maidstone & District Finals are being held at Loose BC on Sunday 31st August, we have members playing in the Pairs & Fours, also in the Bert Wright competition, all support would be welcome. Play commences @9.30am , going on throughout the day.

The club’s remaining competitions are drawing to a close, please come along and support your fellow bowlers at Finals weekend on the 13th & 14th September. Details to follow.

A big thankyou to those members who have supported the club this season, by making themselves available, volunteering when the captain asked and those few dedicated members helping in or around the green, we really do have one of the better greens in the area. We hope to encourage like minded bowlers to join us next season, to enjoy, and play on our cared for green.

As the outside season draws to an end, the clubhouse is transformed into the short mat arena. We set out the two mats and enjoy healthy exercise, friendship and laughter throughout the winter months. Every Marden member is welcome, as are visitors, so we have three sessions on offer; Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; ready to start at 2pm until 4:30pm. (We have a tea break at 3.) This autumn we will finish off our club championship matches that failed the ‘away-on-holiday’ test last April, before embarking on some new ones. Sometimes we arrange friendly matches against other clubs as well, but all of these are purely voluntary.

If you’ve never tried short mat, come along for some fun. Help is always on hand and light-hearted banter in constant supply. This is a great way to lift the spirits!

For those who do not play indoors or Short Mat, we wish you well, stay healthy and Winter well, and hope to see you next season at our Spring meeting in early April. Details and information will be sent out for this meeting in March 2026.

Kind regards

Colin

Marden Secretary, on behalf of the Committee