Ladies British Isles Championship 2023
Last weekend saw the England Ladies Squad take on the other three British teams at Melton Mowbray. Hertfordshire was represented by Pauline Taylor who played in the rinks match and Darren Stanford who is the England Ladies Assistant Team Manager. Read Darren’s report below of what sounds like an exciting weekend. If any of you Hertfordshire Ladies would like to be part of this competition next year then you need to join the Ladies Squad. Why not speak with Darren who can give you more details and will advise you of the next time the England Ladies Squad will be holding Trials for the 2024/25 season.
Darren’s Report.
The Inaugural Ladies British Isles Championship took place on the weekend of 7th and 8th October 2023 at Melton & District Indoor Bowls Club, host by the ESMBA.
Ladies teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales took part in two competitions, Championship Competition which is for individual disciplines (singles, Pairs, Triples & Fours) and the International Competition team game of 4 rinks.
Saturday morning started early with all the teams having team briefing over the British Isles rules which are different from the laws that are used in all four nations.
Following the team briefings, the formal opening ceremony began with the march on of the teams and Umpires. Following this was a welcome from Chairman of the BI Council and ESMBA Chairman Barry Hedges, this was very emotional as he explained that this was the vision of the ex-departed President of ESMBA George Clarke who wanted women to be more involved in the international game. Barry mention as the new chairman of the ESMBA he vetoed the forming of the Ladies Team as it went against the concept of a mixed sport, but eventually he backdown and the team was formed 8 years ago. Barry then invited the Presidents of the other Nations and the bowls club to say a few words. Finally, the Mayor and Mayoress of Melton Mowbray thanked all the home nations for taking part in the competition and using Melton as a venue. The Mayoress then bowled the first two bowls of the day. Teams then marched off and prepared for battle.
The first session was the international competition (10 ends) England v Scotland and Ireland v Wales. England started well winning 3 rinks out of 4 (E 2 points 46 shots – S 23 shots). On the other match Ireland followed England by winning the same number of rinks (I 2 points 53 shots – W 21 shots).
Session 2 Championship competition
Singles 18 ends: England 2 point 20 shots v Scotland 11 shots, Ireland 2 points 23 shots v Wales 11 shots.
Pairs 18 ends: Ireland 2 points 23 shots v Wales 3 shots, Scotland 9 shots v England 2 points 27 shots.
Triples 15 ends: Ireland 2 points 16 shots v England 10 shots, Wales 12 shots v Scotland 2 points 15 shots.
Fours 12 ends: Ireland 10 shots v Wales 2 points 12 shots, England 2 point 13 shots v Scotland 12 shots.
Session 3 International competition England played Wales and again won 3 out of 4 rinks (E 2 points 43 shots W 23 shots), Ireland played Scotland with Ireland winning all four rinks ( I 2 points 78 shots S 14 shots).
Session 4 Championship competition
Singles 18 ends: England 2 point 24 shots v Wales 10 shots, Ireland 2 points 22 shots v Scotland 8 shots.
Pairs 18 ends: Ireland 2 points 16 shots v England 12 shots, Scotland 2 points 15 shots v Wales 13 shots.
Triples 15 ends: Ireland 2 points 18 shots v Wales 8 shots, England 12 shots v Scotland 2 points 15 shots.
Fours 12 ends: Ireland 11 shots v Scotland 2 points 14 shots, England 2 points 17 shots v Wales 7 shots.
Session 5 International competition England played Ireland, Ireland won all 4 rinks (E 27 shots I 2 points 40 shots), Wales played Scotland with Wales winning 3 out of 4 rinks (W 2 points 55 shots S 31 shots).
End of day one
After hopefully a good night’s sleep day two everything to play for.
Session 6 International competition England v Scotland, England started well again by winning 3 rinks out of 4 (E 2 points 58 shots – S 26 shots). Ireland followed England by winning the same number of rinks (I 2 points 58 shots – W 21 shots).
Session 7 International competition England played Wales England won all 4 rinks (E 2 points 57 shots W 20 shots), Ireland played Scotland with Ireland won all 4 rinks (I 2 points 76 shots S 15 shots).
Session 8 Championship competition
Singles 18 ends: England 11 shots v Ireland 2 points 18 shots Scotland 2 points 15 shots v Wales 14 shots
Pairs 18 ends: Ireland 2 points 24 shots v Scotland 13 shots, England 2 points 23 shots v Wales 11 shots.
Triples 15 ends: Ireland 12 shots v Scotland 2 points 17 shots, England 13 shots v Wales 2 points 14 shots.
Fours 12 ends: Ireland 7 shots v England 2 points 12 shots, Scotland 9 shots v Wales 2 points 12 shots.
Session 9 International competition England played Ireland, Ireland won 2 rinks (E 42 shots I 2 points 50 shots), Wales played Scotland with Scotland winning 3 out of 4 rinks (W 2 39 shots S 2 points 41 shots).
The British Isles Championship comes to an end.
Teams line up for closing speeches and presentation of trophies. It was announce that due to the success of the first Ladies British Isles discussions will be held in November to where and when the next one will be held.
Results
Championship Competition
Singles: 1st Ireland 2nd England 3rd Wales 4th Scotland
Pairs: 1st Ireland 2nd England 3rd Scotland 4th Wales
Triples: 1st Scotland 2nd Ireland 3rd Wales 4th England
Fours: 1st England 2nd Wales 3rd Scotland 4th Ireland
International Competition
1st Ireland 2nd England 3rd Wales 4th Scotland