Express & Star Bowls Club
(2019 Season)
About
The Express & Star Bowls Club was founded in 1982 as part of a sports and social club for the benefit of staff of the local evening newspaper from which it was named. That connection and funding ceased some 10 years ago and the club is now fully independent and open to membership from any member of the local community.
We are a friendly, welcoming club situated to the Rear of Chris Jewkes Fitness, off Danescourt Road, Wolverhampton WV6 9BQ and we currently have around 60 active members, some of whom play socially and others who play competitively in one or more of the daytime and evening leagues in and around the Wolverhampton area.
Crown green bowling is an excellent spectator sport and there are a number of benches around the green for people to sit at while they watch the matches. Please feel free to come along and watch any of our games; there is no admission charge!
If you would like to find out more about playing crown green bowls then please get in touch and we'll arrange a taster session with one of our experienced members. They will explain the rules and give you some basic coaching. It's a really easy sport to pick up and play and suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Don't worry if you don't have any bowls of your own, the club have a variety of bowls of different weights and sizes which you'll be able to try out and use.
If you are keen to find out more about the sport of Crown Green Bowling or the Club, then please get in touch. Our Secretary's telephone number and the club's enquiry email address are shown below.
Opening Times & Facilities
During the bowling season (March - September) the official Green opening times are:
Monday - Friday 10 am - 9 pm
Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 2 pm
Toilet facilities and free car parking are provided by kind arrangement with the adjacent Chris Jewkes Fitness Centre. Toilet access and car parking are only available when the Fitness Centre is open.
Tea and Coffee making facilities are available in the larger of the three sheds, the Pavilion, all of which are secured and padlocked when not in use.
Useful Links
- Fixture Diary 2019 v2
- Heath Town & District Social Bowling League (Monday Night)
- Wolverhampton Seniors Bowling League (Wednesday Daytime)
- Bilston LV (Thursday Night)
- Heath Town & District Over 50s Bowling League (Friday Daytime)
- British Crown Green Bowling Association [BCGBA]
- Laws of The Game of Crown Green Bowls
- E&S BC Awards Night 2018
- 2019 End of Season League Tables & Averages
- Awards Night 2019
- John Collins Memorial Service
Latest News
'MAGIC LITTLE GRANTS' BID
November 2019
Thanks to the tenacious efforts of one of the Committee Members, the club has been awarded a Magic Little Grant through the partnership between Localgiving and the Postcode Community Trust.
The Postcode Community Trust is a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Localgiving is the UK’s leading membership and support network for local charities and community groups.
Keith Allen successfully applied for funds to enable us to build a second seated and covered shelter. The grant award was for £500 which is a very welcome addition to club funds.
Very well done Keith!! Many congratulations on all your efforts and hard work in pulling the bid together.
The club has also been able to find the funds needed to progress with the construction of the much needed toilet block, which will consist of a combined Ladies and Disabled facility along with a separate Men's toilet.
Both the toilet block, the shelter and the fitting of the sink in the Pavilion will commence towards the end of November and should hopefully be finished before Christmas.
The new shelter will be constructed to mirror the one that was
erected this year by Richard Holt and Bob Cartwright and generously funded by Maurice Blud, in memory of his late wife.
That first shelter proved very popular with club members, visiting players and spectators, providing welcome respite from the breeze, rain and hot sun (sometimes all in the same day!) so the second shelter will be a welcome addition.
External Links:
For anyone reading this who might be interested in applying for funding for their club or organisation, a link to the Magic Little Grants web site is provided below.
Links are also provided if you want to know more about Localgiving and the Postcode Community Trust
A link is also provided to The People’s Postcode Lottery website which provides a way for people to play and thus support more charities.
2019 Roll of Honour
'Round-Robin' Singles League 2019
'Players Championship' Knock-out Final
24th September 2019
The Players Championship Final was played on 24th September. The finalists were Mike Kirk and Jim Price.
The start was delayed due to a plague of worms which had surfaced all over the green following some treatment applied by the Groundsman, Mike Lewis, a day earlier. It took 6 of the members 45 minutes to pick them all up!!
Once underway, the final was a keenly contested affair with Jim Price eventually overcoming Mike's stubborn resistance to win 21:13.
Congratulations to Jim on lifting the inaugural Players Championship Trophy and for an excellent finish to the season.
Pairs Knock-out Competition (Finals Day)
3rd September 2019
The penultimate Knock-out Competition of the year was again blessed with fine weather. An expectant crowd gathered to watch the Semi Final and Final of the club Pairs Competition. The two Semi Finals were played at the same time, and in the first one, a keenly contested match between Jim and Diane and Joan and John saw Jim and Diane finally edge ahead to win 15:6. In the second Semi, another hard fought match saw John and Martin narrowly scrape through against Barry and Barbara 15:14.
To give the finalists a breather, a 3rd place play-off took place between the two losing semi finalists, and on this occasion, Barry and Barbara were triumphant beating Joan and John 11:6.
The Final was played to 21, and throughout the match John and Martin kept their noses in front of Jim and Diane, to eventually run out worthy winners 21:15. Well done John and Martin. Commiserations to Jim and Diane, who finished runners-up for the 2nd year running.
John is now in the running to complete an unprecedented treble of competition wins, as he has also made it through to the Round-Robin 8-Player Championship Knock-out, which will be contested towards the end of September.
'Round-Robin' Singles League 2019
'Players Championship' Knock-out Competition
The Round-Robin Singles League has now finished, and the final group places in each League is shown below.
Many thanks to all who took part in the Round-Robin Tournament this year. The main objective was to provide some additional competitive practice for members throughout the bowling season and to provide an opportunity to meet and socialise with other members.
Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, it wasn't possible for all the matches to be played, so a decision had to be made about how to determine the winners of a couple of groups, and also who the three best qualifiers were.
Following much thought and discussion, it was decided that the determining criteria would be 'points-for'. This would be used to both determine group winners and the best three runners up spots. In the event of a tie, the player with the greatest differential (who conceded the least amount of points) would go through.
On that basis, the qualifiers for the '8 Player Championship Knock-Out are:
Group Winners
1. Mike Kirk
2. Richard Holt
3. Jim Price
4. John Littleford
5. Roy Evans
Best 3 Runners Up
6. John Pearce
7. Graham Guest
8. Harry Cotterill
The draw for the quarter finals has been made, and is posted below. The Quarter Final matches have been pencilled in for the 17th September (2pm), with the Semi Finals and Finals to take place the following week (24th).
Quarter Final and Semi Final matches to be played to 15. The Final will be to 21.
Wolverhampton & District Seniors Bowling League Cup Competition
Division 5 Final
Express & Star 'D' vs Bradmore 'B'
27th August 2019
Congratulations to our 'D' Team for winning the Division 5 Cup Final, which was played at Swindon Crown Green Bowling Club.
The weather was fine for most of the time, the threatened thunder storm turned out to be a mere light shower that cooled things off a little by mid match, the score by then was Express & Star 63 shots against Bradmore 43 shots.
After tea Bradmore more than made up the difference and got one shot in front - Express & Star 84 v Bradmore 85. So the final result all depended on the last remaining pair left on the green, Mac Taylor finally overcame a tenacious Barbara Oliver 21:16, which resulted in Express & Star ‘D’ beating Bradmore ‘B’ by 4 shots - 105 to 101.
Superman may well known as the 'Man Of Steel', but our Mac has nerves of steel knowing that it was all down to him.
Pictures taken on the day are posted below.
Well done the six players that competed in the final (Gwen, Mac, Graham S, Graham G, Neil & Joan). And congratulations also to the other squad members (Bob A, Wasil, Michael L, Chris, George & Fred) for their participation and support.
A video montage of pictures taken on the day, with accompanying music, can be found by clicking on the link below.
Singles Knock-out Competition
20th August 2019
Singles KO Competition Finals Day was held on another fine, sunny day, on the 20th August.
The two Semi Finals were played to 15. The first Semi Final pitted John Pearce against reigning Singles Champion Brian Ellis. The second Semi Final saw the losing finalist from last year, Barbara Holt, play debutant Graham Guest. Both matches were keenly contested, with John and Graham eventually progressing through to the Final, which was played to 21.
Prior to the Final, there was a 3rd place play-off between Barbara and Brian to allow the finalist a chance to enjoy a well earned cup of tea. This was played to 9, with Barbara eventually running out 9:8. Well done Barbara. A reverse of last year's final.
After a very close and cagey opening few ends, John eventually ran out the Winner of this years competition. Congratulations John. See the photo gallery below for a visual record of the day.
Pairs Knock-out Competition
13th August 2019
The First Round and Quarter Finals of the annual Pairs Knock-Out Competition was held on 13th August. We were blessed with another fine, warm and rain free day. There were 26 entries and a draw was made to decide who was paired with who. The four pairs who made it through to the Semi Final were:
John Pearce & Martin Phillips
Barry Jones & Barbara Holt
Joan Lillie & John Littleford
Jim Price & Diane Ellis
Congratulations to those who made it through to Finals Day, and many thanks to all who came along to compete and support for making it such an enjoyable occasion.
The Pairs Finals Day will be in early September. An email will be sent out nearer the time to confirm day and time.
The Nation's Biggest Sports Day 2019
The Club is once again supporting the Nation's Biggest Sports Day on Saturday 17th August by opening the green up to anyone interested in having a go at crown green bowling.
The event is an attempt to encourage more people to get out and try a range of sports in their local community, building on the inspiration and sporting legacy of the Olympic Games in 2012.
Please see poster below for more information about our event and useful social media links.
'Round-Robin' Singles League 2019
>> UPDATED 31st August 2019 <<
The 'Round-Robin' Singles League comprises 5 groups of 6 players. Within each Group, players will play each other on a round-robin basis over the Summer. The Winners of each Group, together with the best 3 runners-up across all the Groups, will qualify to play in the League Challenge Cup which will be held in September.
The Competition Rules are provided below. Results of matches played and current Group Tables are also shown.
'RYDER CUP' Team Challenge
2nd July 2019
Due to a re-arranged Cup match and a number of members being unavailable, the scheduled first round of the Singles Knock-out Cup was put back until 23rd July.
A Social Day was held instead, and the Bowling equivalent of the Ryder Cup was staged, between the 'USA' and 'Europe'.
Representing Team USA (Captain: Brian Ellis) were:
Graham W - Glenys - Gill - Roy M - Diane - Brian E - Mike K - Bill.
Representing Team Europe (Captain: Barry Jones) were:
Pat - Joan - Bob J - Graham G - John P - Barry - Brian T.
In typical Ryder Cup fashion, the contest was hard fought and very competitive and with just Mike and Brain T's match left to play, the scores were level at 3.5 points each.
Eventually, Mike ran out the winner by 3&1, so the Cup was won by Team USA. Congratulations to all who participated and to Brian E for providing raucous USA support with occasional shouts of "IN THE HOLE!!!"
Bilston LV 'Thursday Night' League
IMC Qualifying Round
20th June 2019
One of the qualifying rounds for the Bilston LV Individual Merit Competition was held at the Express & Star ground.
List of Competitors
John Elgerton; Paul Mills; Darren Pritchard; Reece Farr;
Barrie Sadler; Jackie Lane; Debbie Dyke; Matt Dyke;
Graham Page; Michael Thomas; Mia Benton; Tim Benton
Qualifiers were Reece Farr and Mia Benton. Congratulations to both on progressing to the finals.
'Nearest The Mat' Competition
15th June 2019
Another successful Club Social Day was held on Saturday 15th June @ 11am. The competition this time involved each player bowling to a mat on the green to see who could get their bowl the closest. Each competitor had two goes. Three rounds were held, and prizes were awarded to the winners of each round. 14 members entered, and the winners were:
Round 1 - Roy Evans
Round 2 - Keith Allen
Round 3 - John Littleford
Congratulations to Roy, Keith and John on their excellent precision bowling 👏🥇
'Round-The-Crown' Singles Competition
21st May 2019
Another Club Social Day was arranged for Tuesday 21st May @ 2pm. This time the competition involved a series of singles matches played around the four edges of the green. A jack and mat was placed along each side of the green, and competitors bowled from the mat to the jack, working their way around until two circuits (eight ends) had been completed. The winner was the person with the highest points score at the completion of eight ends. In the event of a tie, a play off end was used to decide the winner.
In all, 22 members entered the 'Round-The-Crown' Singles Competition, and in a keenly contested and hard fought final between Geoff Page and Mike Kirk, the Winner and Champion Bowler for this year was Mike Kirk. Congratulations Mike 👏 🏆
Typical British Weather (10th May 2019) - Hailstones 🌨️ and hot sun 🌞
Phoenix Day 4th May 2019
