Sale and Urmston Bowling Association

The chairman welcomed delegates to the meting and handed over running of it to the secretary.

Delegates stood for a few moments in memory of bowlers who had passed away. These included Ted Chapman and Bill Parker of Bowling Green, Sue Kinsella of Oughtrington and Noelyne Crutchley and Mike Gresty of Sale Excelsior.

The minutes from the previous meetings were on the website and copies were available. The minutes were accepted.

Flixton Cricket had again won the Monday league comfortably. Flixton Conservative and Davyhulme Park battled for second place, with the rest some way behind. The new Roebuck team was as promised mainly made up of beginners. They finished bottom, but not far behind Humphrey Park. Flixton Conservative and Davyhulme Park were also the finalists in the knockout, with the Conservatives winning.

On Wednesday Roebuck were again dominant, winning league and cup, though Beech House were nibbling at their heels. The rest of the Division 1 teams were fairly evenly matched, except for newly promoted Partington. Oughtrington, now with two teams, won the second division with their A team. Nursery just beat Urmston Men’s for second place and return to the first division. The new Quarry Bank team were a close fourth. Mersey Vally B won the knockout in a close final and a triumph for the handicappers.

Both knockouts were affected by rain falling on greens which hadn’t seen any all summer. Matches had to be hastily rearranged and in some cases played all on one green, or over two nights. However they did all get played.

Competitions
There were only eight entries for the Merit, which wasn’t played. It was scheduled for the bank holiday at the end of May. We had the same plan in 2024 and there were 17 entries then, so it wasn’t clear what the answer might be. On the face of it, the Monday league players should all be available, and with LV matches that night the Wednesday players should also be available.

The Pairs did better: we had 17 entries and a full competition. It was won by the Lecks from Davyhulme Social.

For this year, there is no change on Mondays. At the meeting in November we accepted Hale and Hermitage on Wednesdays. Based on their position in the Knutsford league in 2025, they should go into Division 2. We then need to promote an extra team to balance the divisions. Only five chalks separated the second, third and fourth teams, but it’s Urmston Men’s that go up. That gives us two divisions of 12 teams. Roebuck want to enter another development team, and it’s really frustrating that we can’t fit them in.

Discussion
The consensus was that we should avoid bank holidays for competitions.

Development
The secretary welcomed Josh Pendlebury to the meeting. Josh outlined the work he and the BCGBA were doing to promote the sport. After the meeting he met various clubs to discuss possibilities.

The accounts summary had been circulated, and further copies were available. The treasurer summarised the main points. Most items were similar to last year. Insurance had increased again and prize money reduced because of the lack of a Merit. Income increased because of an extra team on Wednesdays. Another silver trophy (from the Sale league) had been found and had been sold for £221. This was a significant contribution to the overall surplus of around £400.

The auditor reported that he had studied the accounts and supporting documentation. He was satisfied that the accounts were accurate and he congratulated the treasurer on his work.

The meeting agreed that the secretary’s honorarium should increase to £250 (from £200) and the treasurer’s honorarium should continue at £100.

The Division 2 representative was from Nursery, who would now be in Division 1, so a new representative was needed for Wednesday Division 2. Dave Appleton of Davyhulme Park agreed to take on the job. All other officers were willing to continue.
President: Brian Brooks
Chairman: Geoff Dixon
Secretary: Ross Kavanagh
Treasurer: Graham Price
Committee:
Monday: Mel Fry
Wed D1: Steve Crowder
Wed D2: Dave Appleton

The chairman noted encouraging signs of teams trying to get new bowlers into the sport. He wished all members a successful season.