Stowmarket Town Short Mat Bowls Club held their inaugural Five-Counties Triples Charity Tournament on Sunday April 7th. It was held in the recently built, spacious and well-equipped Woolpit Village Hall. 15 triples teams from Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Hertfordshire took part, and Hertfordshire were represented by teams from Greenwood Park, Letchworth and Shillington.

The tournament had a unique format with three competitions running simultaneously. There were integrated Club and County tournaments running in parallel with a target competition for individual bowlers. Unfortunately things did not go too well for the Hertfordshire teams. The County Competition was won by Cambridgeshire and the Club Trophy was won by an Essex triple from the East Hanningfield Short Mat Bowls Club. However, Hertfordshire got some consolation when Letchworth bowler, Alan Hare, won the Target competition!

The tournament raised over £300 for the benefit of the Alzheimer's Society. For a first major event, Stowmarket SMBC should be congratulated on staging a successful and very enjoyable tournament and there is no doubt that it will prove to be a very popular annual event in the future!