Thursday February 19th

Starred Player List Updated

The 2009 Starred Player List can now be seen via the Starred Player page by clicking on the appropriate link in the box above.

Monday February 9th

Hot "Higgy" tops points list after another Flyers victory despite the cold

It was another cold day at the Flyers on Sunday and it says a lot about the dedication of the players who turn up to play each week.

The tournament was won by the player who has been the most consistent during this session, John Hignett jnr. His hard fought win in the final against John Jones took him to the top of the points table.

Hignett won two of his last three games by the closest of margins, 21-20. In the quarter final he just scraped through against Anthony O'Neil and he then accounted for Mick Andrews. Meanwhile Jones had a close game with Eddie Clayburn in the quarters and he then beat Bill Atkinson in the semi.

The final was very close throughout but Hignett again held his nerve and came from behind to snatch victory.

Results:

Quarter finals: J. Jones 21, E. Clayburn 19; W. Atkinson 21, R. Fitzpatrick 16; M. Andrews 21, T. Walker 16; J. Hignett jnr 21, A. O'Neil 20.

Semi finals: Jones 21, Atkinson 14; Hignett 21, Andrews 14.

Final: Hignett 21, Jones 20.

For the second week running the weather was so bad that no subsidiary event took place.

Sunday February 8th

Thank You

I would like to thank all Club Secretaries and Treasurers for their help in returning the registration forms and first accounts to me before the January 31st deadline.

Friday February 6th

Wirral & District C.G.B.A. Team Cup Draws 2009

For all our Wallasey sides taking part in the Wirral & District C.G.B.A. team competitions, please see the draws below.

Sunday February 1st

Gerry ignores cold in excellent Flyers win.

It was good to see so many players turning up for the Flyers on Sunday. It was held in Birkenhead but felt more like Siberia; it was no surprise that none of the fabled brass monkeys turned up to play.

At the end of the day Gerry Riley had come through a really strong field to record his second win of the session and in doing so he went to the top of the points leader board. In the final he had an excellent win against Jamie Fitzpatrick and this followed wins over John Lloyd and then Colin Mounsey in the quarter and semi final. Fitzpatrick had to overcome John Hignett jnr and then his brother Robbie in the semi final.

Results;

Quarter Finals: J. Fitzpatrick 21, J. Hignett jnr 16; R. Fitzpatrick 21, N. Woodward 16; C. Mounsey 21, N. Hughes 17; G. Riley 21, J. Lloyd 17.

Semi Finals: J. Fitzpatrick 21, R. Fitzpatrick 16; G. Riley 21, C. Mounsey 11.

Final: G. Riley 21, J. Fitzpatrick 14.

 The Tixall Bowling Club are holding the Carlsberg-Tetley Tixall Classic on the Spring Bank Holiday Monday, May 25th.

The prize money is excellent and the tournament is open to both ladies and gentlemen, the entry fee is £10.

Play gets underway at 10.00am, 9.30am to practise. Players who wish to enter should contact Robin May on 678 0613.

Thursday January 29th

British Crown Green Team Championship

Wallasey C.G.B.A. 1st Division Champions, West Kirby Victoria, will once again be representing Merseyside in the British Crown Green Team Championship at Irlam in March and April. The full draw can be seen below.

22nd March

No. 1 Green.

Fishwick Ramblers, Preston   v   Castlefield B.C.,         Shrewsbury Dearne Sports, Rotherham   v   Bedworth B.C. Coventry

No. 2 Green

Lower Hopton, Mirfield   v   Greville Arms, Solihull     St. Georges, Telford   v   Esclusham, Wrexham

29th March

No.1 Green

Springbank, Oldham   v   Chadsmore Prog., Cannock   Sale Excelsior, Sale   v   Meersbrook, Sheffield

No. 2 Green

Alverthorpe, Wakefield   v   Meir Social, Stoke on Trent   Lloyds Hotel, Manchester   v   M & B Cheslyn, Willenhall

5th April

No. 1 Green

St. Josephs, Chorley   v   The George B.C., Birmingham     Old Whittington, Chesterfield   v   Houldsworth, Denton

No. 2 Green

Brighouse Sports, West Yorkshire   v   Moseley C.C., Solihull   Woodfield, Wolverhampton   v   Bar Lane, Bolton

12th April

No. 1 Green

West Kirby Victoria, Wallasey   v   Tonge B.C., Manchester    Swadlincote, Derbyshire   v   Middleport B.C., Stoke on Trent

No. 2 Green

St. Asaph B.C. Denbigh   v   Bradfield B.C., Sheffield           Copswood B.C., Coventry   v   Garswood Hall, Wigan (-8)

Finals Day is on Sunday 19th April

Tuesday January 27th

Divisional Cup Draws

The pressure is beginning to tell early this year, with my mistakes starting to emerge. I had put the dates for all the Divisional Cup Finals as Saturday July 4th on the pages for the Association, Harold Jones and Sheppick Cups. The correct Final dates are, Association Cup (July 4th), Harold Jones Cup (July 11th) and Sheppick Cup (July 18th). Apologies. I will have an earlier Hospital check up this year than last to try and eliminate regular mistakes although I do know Paul Saville does thrive on my errors.

Sunday January 25th

Tommy Walker plays brilliantly all day but is upstaged by Robby Fitzpatrick in Final

Robbie Fitzpatrick had his first Flyers win of the new session today, when he beat Tommy Walker in the final. Again the tournament was played in excellent conditions; perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to complain about the weather. Fitzpatrick beat Dave Harper in the quarter final and then had an excellent win against Mick Andrews. Though Walker was beaten in the final he had done very well to get so far having to play, and beat, the home team player, Colin Portis, in the quarter final and then John Lloyd in the semi.

Results: Quarter final: J. Lloyd 21, R. Griffiths 14; T. Walker 21, C. Portis 18; M. Andrews 21, R. Jones 19; R. Fitzpatrick 21, D. Harper 16.

Semi final: Walker 21, Lloyd 19; Fitzpatrick 21, Andrews 16.

Final: Fitzpatrick 21, Walker 10.

Friday January 23rd

League Fixtures Posted

The 2009 League Fixtures have now been completed and updated and can be seen via their respective pages. Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances, teams in the 3rd Division will have a blank date where their original fixture against Greasby should have been. I apologise in advance for the lack of League fixtures in Division 3 and can only hope that Greasby, who incidentally have honoured their payment commitments to the Wallasey Association, may be able to reform in the near future.

Friday January 23rd

Queens 27

Unfortunately, due to the close of the 27 Club in Wallasey, Queens 27 have had to fold as a team but have instead merged with the Wallasey Royal British Legion Bowling Club, who will now operate a "B" team to take over the Queens 27 fixtures in Division Three. This does mean that Wallasey R.B.L. will now have to star 12 players for their "A" team and that Wallasey R.B.L. "B" will take the place of Queens 27 in the Association Cup draw.

Sunday January 18th

More farcical goings on at British Parks C.G.B.A.

At the  British Parks C.G.B.A. EGM. held on Saturday January 3rd the draws for the various team events were made. Unfortunately due to an oversight the North Staffordshire entry in the Inter county club KO event was put into the pot at the start of the draw when in fact, the rule states that they should have had a bye with them being the host Association. Consequently at the B.C.G.B.A. AGM held yesterday the officers met and a redraw was made. The draw can be seen below and unless one or other of the Counties involved decides to call another EGM. because they feel aggrieved about their placing ( as happened with the Senior County Championship) the new draw will supercede the original.

Sunday January 18th

Gerry takes the tough route to Victory

Today’s Sunday morning “Flyer” at Birkenhead Park was played in lovely sunny conditions and it was good to see so many players taking the opportunity to enjoy some competitive bowling. The eventual winner was Gerry Riley who defeated John Jones in the final. On his way to the final Riley had a close game with Bill Atkinson before then beating Dave Motley Jnr. in the semi final. To get to the final Jones had two difficult games beating last week's winner John Hignett Jnr. in the quarter final and then Robbie Fitzpatrick in the semi. 

Results:

Quarter Finals: J. Jones 21, J. Hignett Jnr. 14; R. Fitzpatrick 21, M. Andrews 16; D. Motley Jnr 21, L Gorman 19; G. Riley 21, W. Atkinson 18.

Semi Finals: Jones 21, Fitzpatrick 18; Riley 21, Motley 16.

Final: Riley 21, Jones 16.

Thursday January 15th

Association Cup Draw

As previously published, the Association Cup has been reorganised this season into a three group round robin qualifying stage, with the three group winners and the best runner up, qualifying for the semi finals and the semi final winners meeting in the Final on July 4th. The groups were drawn out at last night's Merseyside County Annual General Meeting and are as follows. The dates of the group matches will be decided shortly.

Sunday January 11th

Wallasey C.G.B.A. Division Three

With the unfortunate late withdrawal from the Association of Greasby Bowling Club, we have re-organised this season's Association Cup into a round robin competition consisting of three groups of three teams who will play each other once on neutral greens. The three winners of the groups and the best runner up will then play in the semi finals with the two semi final winners meeting in the final. The five teams not reaching the semi finals will be entered into the Wallasey News Cup. This is the only way we can compensate the Division Three teams for losing the two scheduled League Fixtures against Greasby. I apologise to all the teams in Division Three for these alterations but unfortunately they are due to circumstances beyond our control. The original Association Cup draw has now been scrapped and the three groups for the round robin will be drawn this coming Wednesday evening.

Sunday January 11th

John takes a liking to the warmer weather

It was a welcome return to slightly warmer weather this Sunday though the green was very wet. When he reached the Final again Eddie Dutton must have been hoping for a second successive victory but his hopes were dashed by John Hignett jnr. who was in superb form in the final game winning 21-10.

Both players had a series of hard matches to reach the Final with Hignett accounting for John Jones and Bill Atkinson in the Quarter final and the Semi while Dutton beat Anthony O'Neil and Mick Andrews.

Results: Quarter Finals: J. Hignett 21, J. Jones 16; W. Atkinson 21, J. Motley 10; E Dutton 21, A. O' Neil 20; M. Andrews 21, R. Fitzpatrick 19.

Semi Finals: Hignett 21, Atkinson 18; Dutton 21, Andrews 15

Final: Hignett 21, Dutton 10.

Saturday January 10th

Greasby cause chaos with late withdrawal

Unfortunately, for the 2nd season running, a club has withdrawn from our Association after the deadline date of 7 days prior to our Annual General Meeting. Whilst having every sympathy with the Greasby Bowling Club over their dwindling number of players which, they feel will probably mean the winding up of their Club, I do feel badly let down that once again all the hard work entailed in planning for the new season, including all the League Fixtures and Cup Draws has been thrown into chaos by a late resignation decision. Greasby had given me no indication whatsoever that they might be resigning from the Wallasey Association, even though they did resign from the Birkenhead League before their Annual General Meeting. This late resignation has meant that our Division Three has now been reduced to just 9 teams meaning only 16 League Fixtures for those teams. I feel this is totally inadequate and we are looking into ways and means of increasing the number of games for the teams in Division 3 with a couple of options already being discussed via the reorganisation of the Association Cup or a possible 3rd League fixture between teams on maybe a 6 home and away basis. As soon as I have any more information for you on this issue, I will inform the Division Three Club Secretaries. I repeat, I have every sympathy for the Greasby Club members but still feel that earlier notification might have led to us being able to help them out, as we have with a couple of other Clubs over the last couple of seasons.

Thursday January 8th

Divisional Cup Draws completed last night

The Harold Jones, Sheppick and Association Cup draws were completed at last night's Executive Committee meeting and can now be seen via their respective pages accessed via the Team Competitions page.

Sunday January 4th

Cold, Wet & Miserable but Eddie is made of stern stuff

The Sunday Flyers restarted in Birkenhead Park this morning and the 1st competition was won by Eddie Dutton who. it seems, must enjoy playing in the very cold and wet conditions as he won all three of his matches fairly comfortably. In the Final he beat Tony Ryding and it was good to see different players competing for the winning spot. Tony Ryding beat the winner of the Christmas Tournament, Roger Griffiths, in the first round and then proved to be too good for John Lloyd and Jamie Fitzpatrick in the quarter and semi finals. Meanwhile Eddie had accounted for Dave Harper and John Hignett Jnr. Dutton then won the final 21-14.

Results:

Quarter Finals: T. Ryding 21, J. Lloyd 13; J. Fitzpatrick 21, G. Riley 08; E. Dutton 21, D. Harper 11; J. Hignett jnr 21, B. Hodgson 06.

Semi Finals; Ryding 21, Fitzpatrick 17; Dutton 21, Hignett 12.

Final: Dutton 21, Ryding 14.

Sunday January 4th

British Parks C.G.B.A. Fixtures 2009

All the British Parks Fixtures for 2009 concerning Wallasey representatives (County Championship, Vets Knockout and Club Knockout) have now been updated to the British Parks Competitions page.

Sunday January 4th

2009 Provisional Calendar of Events

The 2009 Calendar can be seen below: Some dates have been changed from the list sent to Clubs last week because of the restructuring of the British Parks Senior County Championship. The County matches will now be played on Sunday May 17th v St.Helens, Sunday July 19th v Warwickshire and Sunday August 16th v Cheshire.

This has meant that the Wallasey Individual Merit competition will now be held on Sunday June 14th instead of the original date of May 17th.

Calendar of Events 2009

 Wallasey Festival & Junior Merit still to be allocated dates.

Saturday January 3rd

British Parks C.G.B.A. Extraordinary General Meeting

This morning's British Parks C.G.B.A. Extraordinary General Meeting, saw the Wallasey C.G.B.A. Senior County Championship Team placed in Division Three for the 2009 season. After originally being placed in Division Two at November's British Parks A.G.M. and then placed in Division One after the revision of the Divisional set up following the A.G.M., 26 delegates turned up at this morning's E.G.M. in response to calls from Yorkshire, Central Lancashire, East Midlands, North Staffordshire and Greater Manchester to have the agreed set up changed because of anomalies in the scoring system used to rate sides on the form from 2004 / 2007. After lengthy and sometimes confusing debate on a sensible Divisional set up for 2009, the two thirds majority required, (17 votes this morning) to accept a proposal, decided on the following 2009 County Championship set up.

The delegates at the meeting also voted to change the dates of all the Senior County Matches for 2009 to Sunday May 17th, Sunday July 19th and Sunday August 16th, once again overturning the original June, July and August dates originally selected.

In season 2009 the bottom two teams in Divisions One & Two will be relegated, with the top two teams in Divisions Two and Three being promoted. It looks very likely that this system will only be in operation for one year as several Counties intimated proposals for a one up and one down promotion and relegation system will be in force for the 2010 season.

Once again Wallasey will be entering 3 teams in the Veterans County Knockout Competition to be held in Yorkshire on Monday July 27th and the group draws were made this morning.

The British Parks Club Team Knockout Competition to be held in North Staffordshire on Sunday September 13th pairs last seasons Joint Champions, Meersbrook (South Yorkshire) and West Kirby Victoria (Wallasey), together in the Quarter Finals. The full draw can be seen below.