Playing Short Mat at St Mary's

Produced in April Issue, Tetbury Advertiser

St Mary's Primary School - Short Mat Format

The children of St Mary’s Primary School are very enthusiastic about learning to play short mat bowls as an after-school activity. Held on Mondays, our coaches really enjoy showing the children how to play this indoor variation of lawn bowls. The challenge is to deliver the bowl around a block placed midway down the portable mat rink to get close to the jack. It can be tricky to use the bowl’s bias to bypass the block, but there’s lots of excitement when they score a point! Once school ends for the summer, we hope to see them on the green playing in our junior section on Sunday mornings. If not, we’ll be rejoining them at school in the Autumn.

Members are looking forward to our opening gala on the 10th of April, which signals the beginning of the outdoor season. And we’re keen to settle into the newly remodelled premises that can accommodate even more people. This will make a huge difference when hosting matches, particularly county games, and touring clubs. A tremendous THANK YOU goes to our member volunteers who put so much time and effort into updating the facilities. If you’d like to take a look, the best time to visit is before 11am when the greenkeepers are there working.

Our first friendly midweek triples match will take place against Cam Mills during the afternoon of 21st of April. Don’t hesitate to stop by if you’re interested. Later in the month, we invite readers to give lawn bowls a try at our annual Play Bowls Day and, for those aged 9-18, our Junior Day (look for our ad). Last year, there was lots of laughter as families and friends tried the sport with bowls flying across the green. Why not add the Saturday the 30th of April and Sunday the 1st of May events to your calendar? We’d love to see you!

For more fixtures and events, visit: https://www.tetburybowlsclub.co.uk/fixtures-results

Susanne Knaus

Tetbury Bowls Club