Short mat bowls is a relatively recent variant on the ancient sport of lawn bowls,
played indoors on a specially manufactured, pre-marked mat. The sport, which is played
socially and competitively in village halls and other community spaces, does not
require a permanent location as the portable mats are rolled up and stored when not
in use. The sport is played by all ages, sexes and abilities who can compete together.
HSMBA is the organising body for short mat bowls in Herefordshire. We are affiliated
to the ESMBA, the governing body in England, and we run leagues, county teams and
open competitions as well as generally promoting and developing the sport within
the county.
A good place to start for newcomers is our Introduction section where you can find
out more about the game, how to start playing or how to go about establishing a new
club. Enjoy looking around our website and please use the Contact page to provide
feedback or to find out more.
Latest News
St Martins are looking to replace a slow mat with a faster one. If anyone has, or
knows of, a mat that might be available could they please contact Richard Walden
(rwalden@shakaprocess.com)
Congratulations to Gloster Knights on winning this year’s LEH Competition, defeating
Woolhope 46-29 in the final
Congratulations to the Ross team of Sue Dix, Kate Williams, Dave Watkins & Les Williams
on winning the County Mixed Fours, defeating their club mates Elaine & Rob George,
Pam & Ian Park in the final
A set of Size 3 Taylor Ace woods and a number of sets of older woods have been added
to the For Sale page. There are bargains there, maybe if any clubs wish to supplement
their stock of club woods
The county Premier team progressed straight to the semi-final stage of the ICC Consolation
Competition but were defeated 25-15 by West Sussex Premier Team
A pair of brown Size 8 bowling shoes has been added to the For Sale page
The county ‘A’ team lost their ICC Competition quarter final to Buckinghamshire in
the first ever meeting between the two counties. Despite a very strong start the
performance couldn’t be sustained and Buckinghamshire ran out 23-17 winners A
Team
Congratulations to John Mills (Woolhope) & Joe Loveys (Gorsley Chapel) on winning
the County Pairs, defeating Sheila Whittingham & Peter Wright (Larruperz) in the
final. The plate competition was won by Les Barlow & Dean Rudman (Gorsley Chapel)
who defeated Sue Dix & Pam Park (Ross) in the final Details
The semi-final line-up for the LEH Competition is now complete. Forest of Dean play
Woolhope and Tewkesbury play the Gloster Knights. Ties to be played by 6 March. LEH
The latest county champions have been crowned: In the Triples the Lea team of John
Snow, Stephen Kite and Merion Attwood defeated the Gorsley Chapel team of Les Barlow,
Dean Rudman and Joe Loveys in the final. In the Fours the Weston team of Gillian
Gange, Doug Knowler, Sheila Clapson and Heather Foulkes were victorious with the
Fownhope team of Carole Rowland, Pam Griffiths, Sue & John Stannard runners-up. Details:
Triples Fours
Congratulations to the winners of the National Qualifiers: Singles: Ian Park; Fours
and Mixed Fours: John Mills, Joe Loveys, Shirley & Becci Cox; Triples: John Mills,
Shirley & Becci Cox; Pairs: John Mills & Shaun Jones; Over 55 Pairs: Ian Roe & Ian
Park; Under-18s: Dominic Rogers. These winners together with the runners-up in the
Triples (Dave Watkins, Ian Roe, Shaun Jones) and the Fours (Dave Watkins, Kate Williams,
Ian Roe, Shaun Jones) go forward to represent Herefordshire at the National Finals
in March and April.
The county Premier team qualified for the finals of the ICC Rinks competition from
a tightly fought group in which they lost to Cheshire but defeated Kent to progress
in second place. The A team failed to qualify from their group.
