The Herefordshire Short Mat Bowling Association came into being in June 1999. However,
the origins of the association go back to 1992 when five local clubs, three from
Gloucestershire and two from Herefordshire, formed a group to play the first Macmillan
Charity match. Lea and Fownhope from Herefordshire, together with Listers, Quedgeley
and Brockweir representing Gloucestershire, formed this group. Brockweir were the
first winners of the trophy.
These five clubs became the founding members of a joint
association of Short Mat Bowling Clubs in the two counties. The rules of the English
Short Mat Bowling Association at that time required a minimum of five clubs to form
a county representation. Because of this, recognition of a 'dual county' status was
sought.
Herefordshire and Gloucestershire SMBA was duly accepted by the ESMBA. The
inexperience of players, coupled with limitations because of club size, restricted
the group to playing friendly games in those early days. These included competitions
in conjunction with Worcestershire and Shropshire. They ranged from large clubs with
outdoor bowling greens to quite small clubs which met in village halls.
Norman Davies of the Lea SMBC (Herefordshire) was appointed as first chairman of
the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire SMBA which was appropriate as he was a driving
force behind the establishment and growth of Short Mat Bowling in the area. Others
on the founding committee were: Treasurer - Norman Allen of Fownhope SMBC (Herefordshire)
and Secretary - Tom Hughes (Gloucestershire). Norman always held that the joint status
of the original association would be temporary, however this arrangement remained
until 1999. At this date, by mutual agreement, both groups decided that they were
each strong enough to support individual membership of the ESMBA. This was duly acknowledged
by the ESMBA. Following this rearrangement both counties were accepted for the inter-county
‘A’ Team competition in the millennium year.
The HSMBA now comprises 18 registered clubs. The Association is managed by a Committee
of 12 elected annually from amongst its membership and serves to promote the sport
generally within the county as well as running a number of leagues and competitions
across the year. Herefordshire is affiliated to the English Short Mat Bowls Association
(ESMBA) and enters the national Inter County Competitions (ICC) with both Premier
and 'A' Teams as well as running qualifying tournaments for the National Championships
each year. Leagues run all year round with 13 clubs (20 teams) playing in the County
Double Rink League over the winter season and 8 clubs (11 teams) playing in the County
Multi-Discipline Summer League.
