Club News

On Thursday, Oatlands Park hosted a friendly bowls match against Walton & Hersham Walking Football. The weather was simply perfect and, after some lunch around midday and the all important draw for the pairings, we got underway around 1pm.
8 pairs played, each pair comprising one member from each club, with 4 pairs representing OPBC and 4 pairs representing W&HWF. 4 rinks over 12 ends was just right for all the newbies to the game, and delighted to see W&HWF running out 38-46 winners.
All the members from W&HWF played well & really enjoyed it; we look forward to doing it again next year!

In 2022, OPBC entered the NWSBA Mixed League primarily for new members to gain competitive match experience and to our delight, we won Division 3 in our first season. Last season, we finished midtable with a 50% win record so this this year, our aim was to push on and hopefully gain promotion.
With a squad of eight (including five original squad members), we managed to win our first two games but came back down to earth by losing the next two. The trend continued, in what was an evenly balanced competitive league: by halfway, we had won three from six.
At the business end of the season, playing well, we proceeded to win three consecutive games and were now firmly in chance of promotion, but with three difficult away matches remaining. First up, the league leaders, Hersham, which we won. Dramatically, our next match was postponed at warm-up stage due to a storm. Meanwhile, our rivals all played and lost, leaving us needing to win at Bishop Duppas to gain promotion. With our whole squad and other supporters in attendance, we didn't let them down and by winning, clinched a spot in next season's Division One.
We also won our last game at Horsell and so finished runners-up, just one point behind Hersham.
Our squad of Gus Romero, Jan Koehli, Gill Lindsay-Smith, Mike Farris, Barry & Jean Griffin, Claire Smith and Chris Koehli (pictured above) all contributed to a successful campaign.

Last Friday saw the conclusion the Friday Men's League for 2024, with Oatlands Park winning five of their ten matches this season. Although we lost the remaining five, four matches went to the wire with our losing each by fewer than four shots. Overall, we achieved 164 shots for and 133 against, so a satisfying season where we secured a very respectable third spot in the League. A big thank you to all players who took part: John Godliman, Barry Judd, Chris Koehli, Geoff O'Dell, Keith Pollington, David Rich, David Smith and Paul Stickney, all superbly organised by Men's Captain, Tony Pollington.

Mayor of Elmbridge, Cllr Neil Houston, visited Oatlands Park Bowling Club at the weekend and presented a cheque for £1,466 to Woking and Sam Beare Hospice, as proceeds from our 24-hour non-stop Bowlathon, held in June as part of our Centenary celebrations. Pictured L-R: Barry Judd, Club President; Cllr Neil Houston; Mrs Houston; Sam Jones, WSBH. All in all, a good day's (and night's) work!

On Sunday 14th July, as part of our Centenary celebrations, Oatlands Park held the inaugural competition for the Elmbridge Cup. Clubs from all around the Borough of Elmbridge were invited to compete in a one-day knockout competition, with play starting at 10.30am. After five rounds of play and a fine lunch, only two teams were left standing: Oatlands Park and Cobham (pictured above) and as hosts, Oatlands did the decent thing and won! The Mayor of Elmbridge presented the trophy and we look forward to the Elmbridge Cup becoming a regular annual event.

More pictures from the day can be viewed in the website Gallery.

On Thursday 11th July, a special celebration match was held at Cranleigh Bowling Club. It was attended by the President of Bowls England and numerous past presidents of both Bowls England and Surrey. Clubs celebrating special anniversaries were also invited including Imber Court, Wimbledon, Sutton, Croydon and of course Oatlands Park. Our team comprised: Lead, Gus Romero; 2, Bob Barton; 3, Paul Stickney and Skip, Keith Pollington. The format was three matches of six ends with the highest overall shot difference being the winner.

Out first match was against Imber Court (who had thrashed us in a friendly only days before. But revenge is a dish best served cold and we beat them 13-1!!! Next up was a combined Wimbledon Park/Croydon team who scored 1 shot on five of the six ends but we got a 5 on the last end so it was a draw. The final match was with a team of Bowls England past presidents. We won that one 9-4.

At the end of play, our scores were 27-10 so, with a 17 shot difference, Oatlands Park Bowling Club were declared the winners. Thank you to our hosts at Cranleigh - a really good afternoon and a great boost for Oatlands in the presence of 'Bowls Royalty.'!

Who would have thought that when the original idea of a 24 hour, day and night, non-stop Bowlathon was put to a sceptical committee meeting last year that a) the event would actually take place and b) be as well supported and successful as it has turned out to be! With an original fundraising target of £1,000, we eventually raised over £2,400 which will be divided between Woking and Sam Beare Hospice and OPBC. Ann O'Dell got us going with the first wood on Friday lunchtime and a total of 36 players continued in shifts, through sun, wind (and rain at 2am!) until Saturday lunchtime, when the last wood was bowled by Captain Paul as the midday clock struck. Everyone enjoyed a celebratory glass of bubbly and then got ready for the afternoon's game against Wingham Court; bowls NEVER sleeps! Many thanks to everyone who bowled, encouraged, spectated, sponsored or donated to the fundraiser. At the end of the day, all objectives were achieved in spades and the true spirit of Oatlands Park Bowling Club as a friendly, caring club shone through.

As part of Oatlands Park's centenary celebrations, the Club took on a specially-invited team from Bowls Surrey on Monday. It was a lovely day, the weather was perfect and as expected, we got thoroughly thrashed 72 - 132 ! But it was great to have all 6 rinks full with 48 players - and standing room only for the spectators. Everyone retired to the Oatlands Village Hall afterwards for a reception generously hosted by Howard Quinnell who put on an amazing spread while Robin Fudge gave an entertaing speech lauding Oatlands Park Bowling Club.
A special highlight of the day was the award of the Leopard Trophy - a high County honour awarded to persons who have given outstanding service to their club - to Keith Pollington (pictured above). A well deserved recognition of his devotion to Oatlands Park over the years!

In exactly two weeks' time - on Midsummer' Day - we shall be starting our 24-hour sponsored Bowlathon. It runs non-stop from noon on Friday 21st June until noon Saturday 22nd with 50% of proceeds going to the Club’s nominated Centenary charity, Woking & Sam Beare Hospice (wsbh.org.uk). If you would like to help raise vital funds for the Club and in equal measure support Woking & Sam Beare Hospice and the excellent work they do, please visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/oatlandspark

The sun was shining and the green was full on Saturday afternoon for the Club's annual Pairs tournament. 24 players participated, meaning that all 6 rinks were in action for an afternoon of fierce competition. It was Gus Romero and Jenny Miller who emerged victorious with a formidable overall shots score of 35, equating to an impressive average of 1.75 per end. Many congratulations to them both - well deserved winners!

Well, we have just played our last friendly match of the season and now we must wait until April until we start again. The season seems to have flashed past and in its course we have played matches, home and away, with more than 20 other clubs. All the results are on the Club Hub section of the website but we fell short of an overall success, having won 18, lost 23 and drawn one. However, this reflects the fact that many of our bowlers were relatively inexperienced at the start and it was good to see that their skills, and our win rate, improved significantly in the second half of the season. This augurs well for the future.
I would like to thank all our members who responded so enthusiastically to the call to participate in matches, and I hope they have all enjoyed the season as much as I have. I very much look forward to playing with you again in 2024, a very special year as we celebrate the Club's 100th anniversary.

Paul Stickney, Club Captain

The finals day for Club competitions was held on Saturday 26 August. The weather forecast was unpromising but at the start of proceedings, the sun was shining and there was a good attendance of Club members' friends and families who were able to watch a series of closely contested matches in the Mens, Ladies, Novices, Pairs and Handicap finals. All matches were hard- ought and the winning margins were small, all players emerging with credit.
The weather remained fair until a heavy thunderstorm at 4.00pm flooded the green and play had to be abandoned. The remaining two finals, the Two Woods and the 91’s, have now been played though it was disappointing that they couldn’t be played on the day.
As usual, the finals day was brilliantly organised by Geoff O’Dell and many congratulations to all the 2023 Champions, who are listed below.

Winner: Anthony Shelton
Runner-up: Gus Romero

Winner: Claire Smith
Runner-up: Sue Holden

Winner: Mike Holden
Runner-up: David Rich

Winner: Gus Romero
Runner-up: Claire Smith

Winner: Gus Romero
Runner-up: Keith Pollington

Winner: Paul Stickney
Runner-up: Clive Stevens

Winners: Sue Holden & Geoff O'Dell
Runners-up: Jan Koehli & Keith Pollington

On 23 July, we played the second leg of our annual match with Walton Bowling Club competing for the Derrick Plummer Cup. In the first leg on 12 July, Walton won with a lead of 9 shots which was carried forward to this, our home leg return. In fine, warm weather and in good spirit, Oatlands quickly erased the deficit and surged onward to achieve substantial wins on three out of four rinks with the final score being Oatlands 75 - Walton 53. Oatlands' captain, Paul Stickney, duly took possession of the cup (pictured left). Walton asked us to take good care of it because they plan to have it back next year. We have an alternative view.

A great turnout of 24 members gathered to contest the annual club Triples Tournament on Saturday 1st July. Eight teams played each other over 7 matches of 3 ends with a win scoring 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss nil. The weather was kind and the competition close. No single team dominated, with all achieving some successes and only marginal defeats. So much so that when the final scores were tallied, the lowest score was 5 points, five teams were equal on 7 points, one on 8, and the winner on 9 points. A very close run thing. The winning team was that of Geoff, Penny and Ann (pictured L-R), who picked up the Triples Trophy and a bottle of wine each. Win or lose, everyone enjoyed the afternoon immensely.

Last night our mixed team was back at West End to play their ‘A’ team. Having just managed to beat the ‘B’ side there a few weeks earlier, we were expecting a tougher challenge this time. The match was once again played in a cloudless sky and our team looked in good form winning the first end by four shots.
Back came our opponents with a three shot win on the next, so all looked set for another close match.
Oatlands looked up for the challenge, winning four of the next six ends, with everyone contributing to lead our hosts 10-5 after eight ends, then winning the ninth end by five, which proved to be a defining moment in the match. West End ‘A’ never recovered, as Oatlands won seven of the last nine ends, to win the match 28-9. This was by far OPBC’s best team performance of the season. Congratulations to Jan, Gus, Chris and Mike.

After a convincing midweek win against Byfleet, Saturday's weather remained gorgeous, the setting was splendid, and the company convivial at our away match with Esher. The match had been reduced to 3 triples from 4 at Esher’s request. Rink 1 won comfortably 28 – 9 but rink 2 fell short losing 15 – 22 on a difficult green. On ronk 3, the battle was closer with Esher leading all the way up to end 11 when they led 11 – 7 but on end 12, Oatlands won an incredible 6 shots! Plain sailing from then on, winning the rink 18-12 and an overall match score of 61-43. We look forward to the return match with Esher in September.

Well it was never going to be easy away to Bishop Duppas, where recently Oatlands have not had the best of records. And so it proved, in a highly absorbing match for the mixed team last night. Oatlands took an early lead to 2-6 after 5 ends, 6-6 after 7 and then 8-8 after 11 ends. We then went 8-9 up only to give away 4 shots on the twelfth end. Was this the turning point? No - back we came and with one end to play we led 12-14. On the final end, BD hit the jack with an almighty crack, which could have gone anywhere. We lost 15-14 on a measure but gave it everything and and never gave up against very good opponents. So we now know what Division Two is all about. We’ve played two and lost two, but both games could have gone either way. We just need to find the steel to finish games off, when we take the lead.

Club members enjoyed glorious weather and equally wonderful bowls at the annual Pairs Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Emerging victorious were the pairing of Keith Pollington and Sue Holden. Many congratulations to them both.

The long-awaited first match of the new season arrived yesterday, away to Horsell, where we very seldom win. Would things be any different this time? The weather was dry but so much recent rain slowed the greens and Horsell were soon into their stride, winning two of the first three ends, to lead 10-5. Oatlands came back winning the fourth; was this going to be their year? Apparently not: the home team won the next three ends to stretch their lead to 28-15. However, Oatlands won the next two ends to reduce the deficit. Half time score Horsell 33 OPBC 23. Horsell extended their lead to 51-30 after thirteen ends and despite a late Oatlands rally, the damage had been done and the final score was Horsell 63 OPBC 46. Horsell once again proved excellent hosts, with after match drinks in their splendid Clubhouse being enjoyed by all!

Oatlands Park has announced two Open Days where you can come on down, meet the members and give bowls a try for free. Whether you are an absolute beginner or an occasional player, you are guaranteed a warm welcome. So why not come along at 11am on Sunday 23rd April or Saturday 20th May, say hello and give bowls a try? Just be prepared to enjoy yourself!

As March comes to an end, everyone is looking forward to the start of the new season and the first roll-up session of the year on Tuesday April 18th. Everyone is welcome - even if you have never played before! Come on down at 5pm and see what you've been missing!

Saturday Night's Quiz Night was another great success raising a total of £730 for the Club. Top honours this year go to 'The Quizzables' team, comprising Jenny, Penny, Sarah, Anthony, Mike and Roy, while runners-up in joint second place were 'The Cottagers' and 'ThePolyGodlyDukes'. Congratulations to all and big thanks to the O'Dell family for excellent organisation.

On 20th March, a party of 14 representing OPBC converged on the Potters Five Lakes Resort, near Tiptree, Essex, the attraction being a 4 day break, including a bowls tournament, enticed by those magic words, "All-inclusive". One big snag though: hardly anyone had played indoor bowls! Knowing this, within two hours of arrival, the party found themselves at a roll-up. What followed can best be described as 'interesting', but well worth the experience.

The bowls tournament, packed with experienced indoor bowlers, was always going to be a learning curve for the three OPBC teams entered. Nevertheless one of them made their way to the knockout quarter final stage, before losing a close- fought match. Not daunted, the OPBC bowlers turned up to practise even after the tournament ended. All improved their indoor skills and many gained valuable assistant from Gary, the resident coach.

With regard the rest of the Potters attractions, the group were unanimous in their praise for the accommodation, food, drink, other activities available and the first class professional entertainment each evening.