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U25 Norfolk Juniors
From left to right
Edward (12), Jessica (16), Matthew (16), Dan (13) and Scott (13)
The photo shows Junior members of Acle Indoor Bowls who were selected to play for the Norfolk U25’s in the County Outdoor Federation League.
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School Bowls Festival 2010
The 2010 School Bowsl Festival was held at Acle Indoor Bowls green on Friday 11th June with six schools taking part, Acle, Fleggburgh, Freethorpe, Lingwood, Reedham and South Walsham.
At the end of the day a group were asked what they had learnt, the first answer was:-
‘To shake hands and enjoy the game together, with a smile on our faces at the end’
As a sports coach, what better answer, it made the day well worth while.
Full Report
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A Group to be Proud Of !!!
Danie ‘Spike’ Seaborne (Acle) and James Segolo (County Arts)
The week running up to Easter was a busy one for our junior players. Two contests were being held in close proximity, County Arts under 18 Junior Pairs on 28th March and North Walsham under 16 Pairs on Good Friday.
COUNTY ARTS:- At County Arts Norwich, 12 teams gathered for a new contest on the calendar for pairs under the age of 18. Acle had 2 teams entered and were one half of 2 more. Jessica Ward & Dan Mills, Edward Lambert & Lewis Moore all wore the Acle shirt while Mathew Sparrow teamed up with the lovely Sophie Blanche from North Walsham and Daniel Seabourne once again joined James Segolo from County Arts.
The format of the contest was 3 leagues of 4 teams. 3 games for each pair of 55 minutes or 6 ends, winners from each group would go through to the semi finals with the best runner up. To start the day off with a dilemma the organisers were confronted with a problem when a unscheduled team turned up. They took this in their stride and so as to avoid disappointment rearranged one of the leagues. This meant that Jessica and Dan would have 4 games instead of three and a complicated average score system was introduced for the runner up.
Dan and Jess started well with a 7-3 success, Mathew and Sophie were also victorious 12-0. Daniel and James had been drawn in the same league as Edward and Lewis and perhaps it was unfortunate that their played in the first round. It’s not easy playing your friends. Daniel and James came out the winners 17-1 but the score did not reflect the game.
Round 2 was intense. Dan and Jessica sat out due to the new arrangements while Matthew and Sophie narrowly lost by one shot to a team from Gallow. Edward and Lewis couldn’t find they touch and lost 2-5 to the Norfolk Bowls Club and there was also a surprising defeat for Daniel and James, 3-5.
After their rest Dan and Jessica were successful 12-1. Daniel and James rediscovered their composure and beat one the Gallow teams 13-1. Matthew, Sophie, Edward and Lewis all had differing rounds and both pairs lost 0-11 and 0-20 respectively.
Most of the teams had finished their round robins but group one with Dan & Jessica still had the two more to play. The first was with Sole Bay, the unknowns, our team was triumphant taking the match 12-1. The second would not be so easy and was up against one of the favourites for the competition. Rebecca Carter and Thomas Segolo from County Arts. Both Dan and Jess played well but seemed to have their hard work thwarted by an excellent last bowl or the jack being taken by an inspired shot. They lost 1-11 but once again the score did not reflect the game.
The semi final saw the Segolo twins play each other. It was a brilliant game, the standard was very high and it seemed a shame that it was not the final. Daniel and James came out on top 6-5 and proceeded to the final against Gallow. For 4 ends the result seemed predictable with Daniel and James well out in front however Gallow took 5 on the 5th which put the score on 7-5 which meant that it all came down to the last end. Gallow however could only take 1 and Daniel and James won 7-6. Well done.
It was a great day and I know all of us that were there would like to congratulate Nicola and Tony Segolo who organised the event took every curve ball circumstance through at them and although tensions was running high they kept the event calm and fun for the players. Pairs have already began to plan for next year. We also have to thank County Arts club for having us there and sharing their facilities. The under 18’s of Acle would like to propose that a Pringles Machine be installed at Acle, it was very popular.
NORTH WALSHAM:- On Good Friday we once again assembled for a contest. This time the age had been lowered and it is sad to say that many of the Acle team are to old to take part. Dan Mills (12) paired up with Scott Watson (15) in his first ever contest while Edward Lambert remained with Lewis Moore and the victors from County Arts, Daniel Seabourne and James Segolo were together again.
The format was very much the same 4 leagues, 3 games for each team of 55 minutes with the winners and runners up from each group going through to quarter finals.
Dan and Scott had a loss in the first round 4-9 as did Lewis and Edward 3-16. The second was better for them both with wins of 22-3 and 12-3. In the final round Dan & Scott had another convincing win of 18-2 while Lewis and Edward fell by 9-16. Dan and Scott therefore went through to the quarter finals. In the meantime Daniel and James had results of 28-3, 7-7, and 9-8 and also made the quarters.
After lunch the next stage began with Dan and Scott losing 6-11 to the eventual finalists from Mid Suffolk. Daniel & James reached the semi’s where they once again met James’s twin Thomas and Rebecca Carter. This was an superb match with a very high standard of play. The result again went to Daniel and James 11-10.
A new twist to the contest this year saw the 3rd and 4th placed pairs from each league go through to compete in a separate competition for a Silver Plate. Edward and Lewis won their quarter final but unfortunately lost 4-11 in the semi’s.
Both contests saw good solid performances from all the players from Acle. As a club Acle should be proud of everyone of them. They all played well and took the pressure that contesting brings brilliantly. One person who had come to watch from the club remarked that although he was not any of players parents he was nervous watching them and was amazed at how calm and determined the youngsters all were and the standard they achieved.
As a parent myself I have to note, yes, I have the nerves and yes I have to deal with the disappointment but nevertheless I have to say that I am incredibly impressed by the dedication and sprit shown by every player we took to these competitions. They may not all be in the winning team but they encourage and support each other and have high expectations of their own abilities. So if they do lose they are willing to go back to try again the next time. This can only bide well for the Acle team in the future.
Daphne Townsend
April 2010
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Pentney 16 -25 Singles Bowls Competition
Jessica entered the Pentney 16 -25 Singles Bowls Competition on Sunday 7th February 2010.
She faced some very tough competitors, Ben Russell from Cambs losing 7 - 4, Carly Moris from Sutton St. James losing 9 - 4 and from Spalding Lincs Ben Willis 11 -2 against.
Despite playing well herself luck was not on her side!
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English Youth Bowls Development Scheme, School of Excellence
On Sunday 31st January three of the clubs young bowls, Jessica Ward, Lauren Seily and Dan Mills went to Norwich Bowls Club for the Round Robin stage of the English Youth Bowls Development Scheme, School of Excellence.
The first round saw Jessica narrowly loosing to Thomas Critoph from Browston 4-6 were as Lauren won her match 7-3 and Dan followed suit with a 10-2 victory.
In the second round went Jessica had an outstanding win of 11-2. The other two were drawn against each other and saw Lauren confidently match her older team mate but narrowly lost to him by 13-2. She vowed never to speak to him again but this did not last!! The 3 final matches brought Dan a 7-4 win, Jessica 1-7 lose and Lauren a well played 7-4 victory.
The format of the tournament awarded 10 points for a win and 5 for a draw. These points were then added on to the previous skills totals with the top four from each age group playing off for the title and the right to go through to the next round. Lauren’s final total in the under 14’s was 79 with Dan reaching 77. In the older under 18’s group Jessica hit a score 72. It was not quite enough for this year but Lauren finished 5th and Dan joint 6th.
They will be Back……………….
Daphne Townsend
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Sunday 24th January will live long in the memory of friends and family of our 3 young stars - Dan Mills, Matty Sparrow & Daniel Seabourne.
The stage was set, the stand was packed full of eagerly awaiting bowls followers. Our 3 lads took to the green, in what was an intimidating atmosphere and proved to be a real credit to Acle Indoor Bowls Club. The day started with 2 of our boys having to choose different Bowls to play with so to accommodate the TV cameras and watching public. Matching coloured Bowls were required and despite playing without their own woods our lads still took to the green in confident fashion. The game started very brightly with all 3 lads finding their form straight away, a count of 4 on the first end was swiftly followed with 3 shots on the next end and the Acle followers were gleaming with pride. Unfortunately the wheels came off soon after and the opposition from Mid Suffolk took control of the game and dominated proceeding from thereon, with the final score being 15-8.
Although it was not to be their day,the 3 Acle juniors can only benefit from this type of experience and can look forward to a very bright future in the game! The boys showed tremendous Sportsmanship at the end of the game and applauded their opposition during the presentation ceremony. I would like to thank everyone who came and supported the lads, they really appreciated the fact that so many people from the Acle club gave up their time to support them.
Thank you so much!
Tony Seabourne,
U18 Team Manager.
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Acle Juniors to Appear on World Stage
If footballs mecca is the hallowed turf of Wembley, then the bowls world equivalent has to be the "Blue Carpet" at Potters Leisure resort, the current home of the world indoor bowls championship. Three of Acles Junior members have qualified this weekend to earn a place in the final of Potter Junior Tournament, and with it the opportunity to perform on the worlds stage next Sunday 24th January, just prior to the World Singles Final itself.
Dan Mills 12 yrs old, Matthew Sparrow (15) and 13 yr old Daniel Seabourne (Spike) will realise a dream when they walk out onto the blue carpet against opponents from the Mid-Suffolk Bowls Club.
Their road to the final was not an easy one especially when our trio found themselves having to play an extra end, in their first round game against the White Oak team from Kent. Looking like they were going out of the competition with Spike having the last wood of the game, he bowled an exceptional drawing wood with the aid of a slight touch on a front bowl and saw his effort rest adjacent to the jack to win the game.
Their next game was against a mixed team from the city of Ely Bowls Club, and after losing the first 2 ends our boys rallied and proceeded to win the next 8 ends on the bounce to earn their place in the semi-final. After a break for lunch, our team were then pitted against a team from Browston, skipped by the experienced Thomas Critoph. Our Lads didn't let up in the semi-final and had a convincing 6 shot win, thanks in the main to some exceptional lead bowling from Dan Mills.
Acle also had 2 other teams of juniors, competing in the same event, one team consisted of Edward Lambert, Lauren Siely and Lewis Moore who unfortunately lost in their first round game against the eventual finalist Mid-Suffolk. Our other team consisted of 10 year old "Debutant" Hannah Seabourne playing in her first competitive match and 14 year olds Emily Lambert & Jade Josh. They were also unlucky with the draw and lost out the experienced trio from Browston.
My thanks to all our competitors and supporters for their help and support.
By Tony Seabourne |
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School of Excellence.
This years, English Youth Bowls Development Scheme, School of Excellence was held at the Norfolk Bowls Club, Unthank Road, and attracted a total of 46 entrants from around the county. The ages ranged from 9 years to 16 years. The entrants were divided into two groups, 28 Juniors up to 13 years and 18 seniors, 13 to 16 years. The competition is in two sections, the first being the Skills section, and those who qualify go through to a Round Robin Knockout stage. There were four exercises, rolling the jack to a certain distance, Bowling to the centre line, beating a bowl 2 metres and from the ditch, and a controlled weight shot. Each exercise was carried out from two different mat positions, and each competitor had only four bowls and one attempt at each exercise, Acle were represented by four bowlers. Three in the Juniors and one in the seniors.
Lewis, who was entering for the first time, and had not had a lot of time to practice, scored a very creditable 37 points, but just failed to qualify. Well done Lewis. Lauren and Dan both qualified for the round robin stage, scoring 59 and 47 points respectively. Congratulations to both of them on a fine performance. The top score in this section was 77 points. In the Senior section we were represented by Jessica who qualified with a score of 62. Well done Jessica. The top score in this section was 86.
The Round Robin stage will be held at The Norfolk Bowls Club on 31st. January 2010.
By “Bob the Bowler”
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Another First For Acle Indoor Bowls Club
On Friday 4th December at Acle a GCSE test took place. Four young bowlers turned up to take part. Matty was the one taking the test. Matty made out the scorecards and explained to the Examiner, the way a game is arranged and scored. The usual niceties of the game ensued and Matty along with his friends, Danny, Tom and James begun the game. The examiner made her assessment, during the progress of the game.
Two “experts,” in the form of Paul and Alex both qualified and experienced bowls coaches, assisted the Examiner Julia by answering any of her questions about the game. This test does not require a written paper.
Despite the usual camaraderie of a game of bowls and all the players loving the game we could detect some tension in the air. Bowls is not a soft option for taking in exams, study is essential.
For Matty this test is only one part of his GCSE in PE.
Tom and James are also looking to use Bowls as a subject for their GCSE so this experience was also useful for them. They are at a school in Norwich but seem to be having some difficulty persuading the school to accept bowls as part of their examinations.
Bowls is a subject that is now available for use in exams at both A level and GCSE, however the schools must use the appropriate examining body.
A teacher’s certificate in Bowls is also available.
GCSE information is available at the English Bowls Coaching Scheme
By Alex Sumpter
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Acle Juniors in Action Again !
Acle had two teams representing the club in this years Anglian Junior League U16 triples held at Browston played over the weekends of 29th November, 2009 and 6th December, 2009.
The first of these teams consisted of Edward, Dan and Daniel playing against teams from the host club Browston, Beccles and Great Yarmouth.
The format of this event is that the top two teams in each group qualify for the semi finals to be played at Acle early next year.
29th November, 2009
Acle’s first game was against local rivals Great Yarmouth and in quite a tight encounter Acle managed to come out on top, both Edward and Dan laid the foundations and Daniel (Spike!) played some exquisite take-out shots to earn the victory.
Their second game was to be a much tougher affair against the Browston team, and so it proved to be. Browston’s ability to draw more bowls into the head was telling and despite our lads upping their game for this encounter our Juniors went down by 5 shots.
And so to the last game against a Beccles triple who had lost their first two games, and with Great Yarmouth playing a strong Browston team, it looked as though this was gonna be a tight finish and so it proved. The game started off badly for Acle as they dropped a 5 on the first end, but our boys showed great determination to get themselves back into it, and with some exceptional lead bowling from Edward, especially towards the latter part of the game they managed to draw level with one end to go. Meanwhile Browston on the next rink were winning handsomely against Great Yarmouth, so our boys knew that even if they lost, the final placings would come down to shot difference, and so it proved. Our lads were holding 4 shots with the Beccles skip having the last bowl but with a little bit of help from an outside bowl he managed to get shot, which meant Beccles won by one. On countback with 3 teams each finishing with 1 win each it was down to shot difference and Acle came out on top and so proceed to the next round.
The second of Acle’s Junior teams consisted of Lauren, Emily and Lewis making his debut for Acle playing at skip.
Also in this group were a very strong team from County Arts which consisted of the Segolo brothers and Rebecca Carter, a team from Norfolk Bowling Club and also Beccles.
And so to our first game, up against the tournament favourites from County Arts, who played consistently well and ran out convincing winners as expected. All good experience though for our youngsters who can only learn from playing against players of this quality and class.
Acle’s second game was a much closer affair and in a low scoring game against Norfolk Bowling Club the result was a 3-3 draw.
Down to the third and final game and our three young heroes just lost out on the last end to Beccles, although Lewis playing at skip nearly won the game with his last wood, narrowly missing the jack by a whisker, which would of meant our team qualifying.
So the qualifiers from the two groups who will contest the semi finals in January/
February 2010 will be Acle, Beccles, Browston and County Arts.
I would like to thank all our youngsters who took part in this event, and congratulate them not only on how they played but also their superb conduct on the green.
Beccles Junior Open Pairs Tournament, Saturday 5th December, 2009
Congratulations to our Junior Pairs consisting of Dan and Matty who finished a very creditable 3rd in this event. Well done !
Norfolk Womens Indoor Bowls - 16 and Under
Also congratulations to 16 year old Jessica who came Runner-up in the Junior Singles Ladies 16 and Under Tournament at North Walsham
By Tony Seabourne
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Acle Juniors Bring Home a Trophy !
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Anglian Bowls Championships
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From left:- Emily, Dan, Lauren, Tony, Daniel and Edward
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Acle’s juniors took part in “The Anglian Region” Tenth Annual triples tournament at Potters Leisure Resort on Sunday 8th November, 2009.
Representing Acle in the under 13 Category was 9 year old Lauren, competing in her first indoor Tournament, 12 year old Daniel (Dan), who had made his debut for Acle Mens “C” team the day previous, and 11 year old Edward playing at skip.
Acle entered 2 teams in the older age group (13 – 18) with an all girl triple, namely Rosie, Emily (another of the Lambert bowling dynasty) and at skip, Acle’s U16 Junior Girls Singles Winner from last season, Jessica.
The remaining triple consisted of 14 year old Rebecca at lead, 15 year old Matthew and recent U16 Norfolk Bowling Club Open Pairs winner Daniel, Age 13, playing at skip.
It was the younger triple that started the day off playing against a trio from Beccles, and despite a nervous start, they competed very well, but eventually lost by 15 shots to 3.
Their second game was a much closer affair, going down by 9 shots to 7 having been tied on 7 a piece going into the last end.
In their 3rd and final game, despite yet another spirited display they went down by 11 shots to 3 to a strong team from Mid-Suffolk.
In the older age group (13 – 18) our 3 young ladies took to the green in a somewhat of a nervous mood, but once on the green took it all in their stride, beating a triple from Sole Bay by 8 shots to 2. Rosie playing at lead, set the tone by ditching the jack and following through on the first end, and the girls extended their lead over the next few ends with Emily and Jessica adjusting to the different pace of the green very well. Unfortunately this was to be their only victory of the day, as they lost to two very strong teams from Gallow and Mid-Suffolk, in their remaining games.
Our remaining team in the competition, competing in the 13 – 18 year old group was 14 year old Rebecca (County Arts), Matty and Spike !
These three took to the green in confident fashion, defeating a team from Norfolk Bowling Club in their first game without conceding a shot and picking up a maximum count of 6 on one of their ends. This resulted in a 24 – 0 scoreline, which set them on their way.
Due to a team dropping out from their group, their second game was a winner take all affair against a more experienced triple from Mid-Suffolk, consisting of the brother and sister partnership of Josh and Lauren. In a tight game the Mid-Suffolk team had the best of the early exchanges and went into a 5 – 1 lead after 5 ends. Then on the next end both Rebecca and Matthew played great drawing woods to leave Daniel in a strong position, and he did not let them down. He played both his bowls to within inches of the jack to pick up a count of 4, and they followed this up with 2 singles on the remaining two ends to record a fine victory, which ensured their place in the semi-final.
Playing the semi-final, our trio picked up from where they started earlier in the day, and had an emphatic 9 – 1, with their opponents from Gallow conceding with one end to go.
So to the final, which was an epic encounter with the team from Lowestoft Railway, skipped by Ryan.
It was somewhat of a slow start, with the Lowestoft team taking an early lead, but both Rebecca and Matthew were playing well and Daniel unfortunately not repeating his earlier form. However the best was to come, 2 down going into the last end and with the opposition holding shot, Matthew played an exceptional “take out shot” to leave our trio holding the 2 shots they needed to tie the game, and despite the opposition skips efforts, and Daniel’s attempts to add a 3rd to win the game, the final went to an extra end.
Acle were holding shot with the two skips to bowl, with the shot wood some 7or 8 inches away from the jack. Ryan was the first of the skips to bowl and he drew the shot some 4 to 5 inches behind, and up rose his band of followers in the crowd with loud applause.
Not to be outdone and under enormous pressure Daniel followed this up with a great bowl of his own which just turned the opposing bowl out, but still left the head very close, but with Matty signalling he favoured his team, and so he was proved right ! Both Ryan (Lowestoft) and Daniel failed to alter the head with their last bowls, so the umpire was called on to decide the outcome, and amid great tension and anxiety gave the verdict to Daniel’s team.
Congratulations to all our Juniors who competed in this tournament, you were a true credit to the club, and I thank you for your support !
By Tony Seabourne
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