At the beginning of a season there are so many matches booked into the fixture list, that it is difficult to keep up with the reports. The results could be summed up by saying “Not a bad start to the season” in that we have played six, and won some of them!

The first fixture was an away match with Severalls Bowling club which is based in Crewkerne. At the half way point in the match, when tea is served, the scores were fairly even. There is a saying in bowling circle that says “everything changes after tea!” Well it certainly did, because Ottery could not maintain the score and ended up with a heavy loss
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Bitton Park from Teignmouth were the first visitors to our home green, but the familiar surroundings did not assist the home team in that Ottery lost by 20 shots. Only one of the home teams which consisted of Jo Hawes, Tony Luff and Mike Kelsey, managed to beat the opposition.

Our third game needed Ottery to make the short trip to Exmouth to play Madeira. Being a derby match, there is always a fierce determination to overcome the opposition, and the team consisting of Eric Richardson, Emma Bradshaw -Smith, Tony Bushell and Steve Bishop discovered their line and length to help Ottery to win by 9 shots.
 
Tiverton Canal, a new club formed by the amalgamation of two clubs, were the next visitors to Strawberry Lane, but they could not beat the resurgent Ottery Team, who won by 88 shots to 54. Charlie Griffin, Caroline Perry Peter Parnell and Tony Panzeri provided the backbone of the win by out scoring their opponents by 24 shots.

Phear Park from Exmouth were Ottery’s next opponents, and this proved to be a very close match with Ottery winning by just one shot. The top team from Ottery consisted of Ron Spedding, Sharon Kenny and Gerard McCarthy, but the highlight of the match was provided by Carol Keating, Brian Hammond and Jill Pond, who, on the last shot of the last game, succeeded in scoring a four which gave the win to the home team.

Finally Grampound Bowling Club made the long trip from Cornwall to round off a busy few days of matches. The winning way deserted Ottery as they lost by 26 shots to the visitors. On this occasion, Graham Ward, Marion Kelsey and Tony Panzeri being the top team.

It is traditional that at the beginning of a new season the entire playing membership comes out of hibernation and The Opening Drive commences.

Sunday the 13th April was the much looked forward day, and 70 members were present to start the new season. New president, Sharon Kenny, delivered the first bowl, and the green was immediately full as everyone was so keen to get back into the swing of bowling.

Captain of the day, Gerard McCarthy, was delighted that the weather, that can be so capricious in April,
behaved itself and the afternoon turned out to be warm and sunny, so there was no sign of winter fleeces or wet weather gear! A round robin tournament was played, which meant that opponents and rinks were
regularly changed which resulted in much confusion coupled with good natured hilarity! At the end of the day, the team consisting of Melvin Trayhurn, Jane Bishop and Charlie Griffin were pronounced winners,
beating all opposition by 5 clear shots.

A sumptuous tea then followed, as the playing members began to look forward to a new season
A quick reading of the fixture list shows that there is an extensive programme of matches to be played, which includes friendly matches against local teams, visits from touring teams and various internal
competition matches.

We are planning to run two open days in May in conjunction with Bowls Devon and Bowls England, so if you know of anyone who has never played the game and would like to give it a try, then do contact the club coaches (Gail, Sharon, Terri, Carl, Brian or Grant) or the Recruitment Officer (Viv) for further details. 

The Opening Drive, which signals the commencement of the bowling season, is nearly upon us. All the pre-season preparations are almost complete, and the members are looking forward to being outside, with friends, enjoying the sport that they love.

Such is the desire to get back on the green that all the early season matches are over-subscribed, and Club Captain, Gail Hawke, is busy ringing round other clubs to see if they can field more teams than was originally agreed. Long may this situation continue, as by the end of the season, when most players are all bowled out, then the selection committee will have difficulty in meeting our commitments!

Over the winter months, three of our members have sent themselves back to school, and they have studied for, and passed, level 1 bowls coaching course. This is not just an hour’s course, but it is a real return to the classroom, both mentally and physically. Their hard work has paid off, and they have all successfully passed, and are proud to wear the coaching badge. The three amigos are Carl Gilleard, Brian Hammond and Grant Hawes.

This now means that the club has six qualified coaches, so anyone wishing to learn a new sport will almost be able to have one-to-one coaching sessions!