We are ready and looking forward to the new season which will soon be upon us and you will notice a few changes to previous years.
At long last we will be playing the Championships in May, with the 2021 County Champions contesting the Under 25 Singles, Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours at the Old Coulsdon Bowling Club on Sunday May 15th. The draws are on the website and if you are in the Pairs, Triples or Fours and didn't manage to play your quarter-final before the end of September 2021, you have until Sunday May 8th to play the game. Under 25 Singles and Singles contestants go straight through to Finals Day.
The Leonard Denny Cup in its new format of two leagues of four counties with Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Sussex making up Group 1 and Group 2 counties Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Kent and Middlesex, at last gets underway. The winners of each league will play off for the Cup.
At some time, most of the member counties of the asociation have had season's when they have been unable to fulfill their Under 25 fixtures or even enter the Bill Hatto competition, due to the shortage of under 25 players. The format, like the Leonard Denny Cup has been changed into two leagues of four counties. The counties in each group have been chosen to try and keep travelling distances shorter. To try and help counties get 12 - or 9 in the worst scenario - Under 25 players, sides can now be made up from players of any gender who are members of County Affiliated clubs.
The two groups are:
East Group - Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. Sussex will not be taking part this season.
West Group - Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
If any of these games are happening near you and you have a spare couple of hours, give them your support.