Warrington Ladies Afternoon Bowls League
Fixtures for 2026
Following on from the men’s fixtures below the first of the ladies’ fixtures have now been released for 2026 and they can be viewed via the links in the ‘Teams’ drop down menu as before. These fixtures commence on Thursday 21st May.
Newton and District Men’s League Fixtures for 2026
Please note that these fixtures have now been released and you can view them via the links in the ‘Teams’ drop down menu. Fixtures commence on Thursday 9th April.
Subscription Fees 2026
Subscription fees for the 2026 season are now due and it has been decided that the full season fee will increase to £40 and that the half season fee will increase to £20. The fee for non playing members will remain at £7 but junior members up to the age of 18 can now join for free. Please note that the half season subscription fee of £20 only applies to new members joining the Association after 30th June 2026.
Payment by BACS can be made as follows:
Payee: Croft Bowling Association
Sort Code: 01-02-46
Account Number: 24006904
Please ensure that you include “your name” and the word “fees” as your reference. Thanks.
Latest News
The Association’s in-house competitions for 2026 have now been added to the website and they can be found in the ‘What’s On’ drop down menu on the ‘Green Schedule’ page or on the ‘Association Competitions – 2026 page’. This year will see 10 competitions in total so please make a note of the dates as soon as possible and look out for the entry forms on the clubhouse notice board shortly before each competition is due to take place.
Newton Seniors League Fixtures for 2026
Please note that these fixtures have now been released and you can view them via the links in the ‘Teams’ drop down menu.
Croft Bowling Association AGM 2026
Please find below the agenda, the captains’ reports and the website report for the Association’s AGM which is due to take place on Friday 30th January 2026 at Croft Memorial Hall with a prompt start at 7:30pm.
AGENDA FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
1. Welcome by the Chairman
2. In Memoriam
3. Apologies for Absence
4. Minutes of the AGM held on 28 February 2025
5. Chairman’s Report
6. Secretary’s Report
7. Treasurer’s Report
8. Election of Officers and Committee for 2026/2027
9. Election of Auditor
10. Any Other Business
END OF SEASON CAPTAINS’ REPORTS FOR 2025
CROFT A (1) – LADIES TUESDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: ANNE LAMMING
The season was relatively short as the League stayed at three sections of eight. We extended the season by inviting Croft B to join us in playing “friendly” practice matches during April and September.
In the league we played 14 matches, winning 9 and losing 5. We came 4th in our section, 1 point behind Croft B.
We drew Croft B in the first round of the Challenge Cup and were beaten by the team that went on to win the Challenge Cup final.
Joan and Vicky played in the Player of the Year Competition, which this year was played over two Tuesday nights. Both played exceptionally well. Joan progressing to the second round.
Several of the team attended the Presentation Evening, although we had not won anything this year. However, we were there to support Croft B, when Linda collected the Challenge Cup Trophy.
CROFT B – LADIES TUESDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: LINDA OGDEN
The team had a good year culminating in winning the challenge cup. Thanks to those who make Croft a special place to bowl. It has been good to see members of team joining others for the Sunday competitions.
My only worry is that we may be short of players next season. We will be trying to find new members.
CROFT A – MENS MONDAY NIGHT
CAPTAIN: ANDREW HART / VICE-CAPTAIN: STEVE GRIMSHAW
A fantastic season for the ‘A’ Team on Mondays, winning the league and thus gaining promotion into the top division of the Warrington League.
Most players had a positive average with John Durrands, Steve Grimshaw, Paul Caddick, Rob Lean, Rob Gee, Andrew Hart, Rob Whelan and Chris McDermott all having good seasons.
The presentation night is on 7th February at the Irish Club in Warrington where the team will collect their trophy and winnings – I hope that all team members can attend.
Our end of season meal will be held on Thursday 29 January at the Kirkfield Hotel, Newton-le-Willows and anyone who played for us last season is welcome to join us.
More players are required for next season in order for us to stay in the top flight so, if you fancy stepping up and playing at the highest level then you would be made most welcome. Please contact our Captain Andrew Hart on 07714 184271 or Vice-Captain Steve Grimshaw on 07986 539429.
CROFT B – MENS MONDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: SAM HUGHES
I would like to thank all team members for their valued contribution and support throughout what has been a challenging season. The team this year is somewhat changed from 2024 with the loss of 5 key players. Our main loss was the passing of our charismatic captain and arguably our best bowler Paul (Renner) Reynolds. Understandably this was followed by Lee Reynolds and Dave Fox who travelled from the Stockport area to support Paul. Additionally, we lost 2 Mikes – Hadfield and Wate who decided to move on. However, all was not lost with the recruitment of 5 new players. Barry McCormack, George Ashurst, Kevin Thompson, Brian Berks and Ben Fitzpatrick. All good bowlers and it’s fair to say that without them we would have been in a spot of trouble number wise, so many thanks for joining the team.
When Paul’s health was fading, we promised to do our best to maintain his legacy with his beloved Mondaynighters. I believe we have done that in securing 6th position in section C on 94 points after 16 games compared with 94 points after 18 games in 2024. A slight improvement. We also reached the semi- final of the Finlayson Cup winning £40.00 in prize money.
The new season however promises to be yet another challenging year with the potential loss of 3 more key players. We are hopeful that we can recruit replacements and endeavour to keep Renner’s legacy alive.
CROFT A – TUESDAY AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN: PAUL CADDICK
The Seniors Tuesday A team finished ninth in the Newton and District Seniors A division, a little disappointing after finishing fourth the previous two seasons.
The team has a small squad of players who are not always available making consistent team selection difficult, but on a positive note finishing ninth in a very competitive A division is no mean feat and hopefully, if the squad can grow, I would expect the team to be back challenging next season.
The outstanding player of the season was John Durrands having played 21 games and won 18 with an average of 7.29 which is an excellent performance.
Any members of the association who would like to step up to the A division would be made most welcome.
SENIORS B TEAM – MENS TUESDAY AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN: DAVE SAWYER
I took over as captain of the Croft Seniors B team for the 2025 season following former captain John Gregory’s resignation at the end of 2024. Our thanks go to John for all his hard work as captain over a number of seasons and it was a privilege for me to follow in his footsteps this year. The 2025 season proved to be a very successful one for the B team with the squad achieving the runners up spot in Division C of the Newton and District Seniors Bowling League for the second time in three years. The team won 19 of its 24 fixtures with Brian Clark brilliantly leading the way with 18 wins from 19 games. Tom Gittins was not far behind with 15 wins from his 18 games, and indeed the whole squad played consistently well with everyone making valuable contributions at various times throughout the season. The squad contained two players new to the Association in Steve Dodd and Rob Lean who both made major contributions to the success of the team during 2025. My thanks to them and also to Brian Cooper for his massive contribution throughout the season in what was a difficult year for him personally. My thanks also to Bev Friar and Carol Bond for their invaluable help with refreshments and to Mike Wate for all his support as vice-captain and cake maker in chief! Finally my thanks to those team members who I have yet to mention, namely Steve Caunce, Chris Morley, Ken Taylor and Stan Gittins who provided the backbone to the squad and were instrumental in finally getting us across the finishing line this year. The squad is now looking forward to the new season and the undoubted challenges to come. I’m confident that we will again do well during 2026, but whatever happens I know that I have a terrific group of players with a tremendous spirit and a determination to always play as well as they can for the Croft B seniors team.
SENIORS C TEAM – TUESDAY MORNING
CAPTAIN: SAM HUGHES/JIM LOGAN
The 2025 season was a significant improvement on the past couple of seasons. Statistically our performance in terms of matches won and points gained was a 100% improvement. This year we finished 6th from 13 in division C, winning 13 matches with 32 points. Whereas last year we finished 11th, winning 7 matches with 16 points. We were fortunate to have 3 new team members – Brian Wilson, Paul Monks and Keith Robinson join us this year which made a significant difference. Not to forget that we had several players unavailable due to ill-health, and we send our best wishes for their wellbeing and hope they may be back soon playing for the team in 2026. Special mention must go to Mr & Mrs Wilson. Brian for playing all 24 matches and winning 19 games and Barbara for looking after the refreshments so admirably especially my cup of tea and biscuit when I am making out the score cards. Overall, a pleasing campaign this season and my thanks go to all members of the C team for their valued contribution and support.
SENIORS D – MENS TUESDAY MORNING
CAPTAIN: NEVILLE GRIFFITHS
The team played well together and while we didn’t win many games there was a great friendship between all the team. and everyone came to our end of season meal which we had at the Culcheth Village Club. We present a trophy to the top scorer during the season and another trophy to someone who we consider has done a lot for the team during the season.
This year we presented a small plaque to David Leatherbarrow who is retiring for health reasons, but he is still hoping to come along to some home games to mark cards and meet up with the team.
Towards the end of the season we had two games where we were down to seven players so we need to recruit at least another three players.
CROFT A – MENS THURSDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: DEREK RYDER
The 2025 season started in April and the team had a difficult start losing its first 5 games of the 22 game season, leaving the team rooted at the foot of the table.
Following this difficult start the team then had a few good wins against stronger sides and had a fair run to the end of the season securing a respectable mid table finish.
There was one occasion when the team only had 8 players for various reasons and had to give away 42 points away from home. The team could not be made up from its emergency players due to short notice. There were quite a few times when the team only had 10 players.
This emphasizes the need for at least 50% (i.e.15) more players needing to be registered to maintain a 10 man team. This means that hopefully will give cover for holidays, illness, and appointments.
Emphasis will be given in the teams January/February 2026 catch up to ensure we have enough registered players for the 2026 season.
CROFT B – MENS THURSDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: CHRIS MCDERMOTT / VICE-CAPTAIN: STEVE GRIMSHAW
The B team played in the Newton Premiership league again this last year and have managed to keep their place in the league by scoring a total of 96 points and being placed 9th out of 12 teams which entailed us playing 22 matches throughout the season. We only had two players who achieved a plus average and many congratulations to Adam Taylor who won 12 of his games throughout the season.
The season did prove to be very difficult with only having 10 regular players registered, so we have to thank Derek Ryder and his team for supplying players to help out when we were short.
CROFT A TEAM – FRIDAY NIGHT
CAPTAIN: SAM HUGHES
The WNCBA Friday League was reformatted into 3 sections of 10 teams this year. We were unlucky to be on the cusp in 10th position and so retained our position in section C. The new format was a great improvement from last year when we had to play 4 teams 3 times to make up a reasonable fixture list. This also meant that the new section C contained both Croft A & B teams which added a bit of spice to our fixtures. Although we had 17 registered players it was a struggle at times to make a team of 10 with 2 matches where we were 1 short. Results however were comparable to last year winning 9 out of 18 matches on 111 points against 10 from 18 on 113 points in 2024. Rob Gee was our best player winning 14 games out of 16 with an average of 20.5. Well done, Rob. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the team members for their valued contribution and support throughout the season. Looking forward to 2026 the team needs an additional couple of players.
WARRINGTON MIXED PAIRS SUNDAY NIGHT LEAGUE
Captain: Vicky Lock-Thorpe:07802 179712
Vice-Captain: Sue Dibben: 07717 838812
We are pleased to announce that Croft Bowling Association has applied to, and been accepted by, the above league. Games start at 18:00 on Sunday evenings and a team consists of 8 pairs. Sue and I are both relatively new to bowling, so don’t have any experience at being captains, but hopefully what we lack in experience we will make up for with enthusiasm. We are surrounded by people with lots of experience who we can call on for advice!
We have a list of people (and a WhatsApp group) who have already signed up to the team. If you’d like to join just let one of us know. No need to find a partner or commit to every week, we can work around these things.
WEBSITE REPORT 2025
At the last AGM in February 2025 the committee was pleased to report that since the Association had taken over full responsibility for running the website in January 2022 the visitor and viewing figures had continued to grow very strongly.
This progress has been maintained throughout 2025, and as we write this report in mid December we can see that the website has already attracted over 3,400 visitors during the year who have viewed between them almost 25000 website pages. In practical terms this means that 1000 more people visited the website this year than in 2022 when we first started running the website ourselves, and this is extremely encouraging news going forward.
To date those visitors to the website during 2025 have logged in from 37 countries which is 15 more than in 2024. Other than the UK the greatest number of views were once again those from Spain with 393. Other countries logging into the website included the USA with 328 views, Singapore with 66 views, Australia with 5 views, Cambodia with 2 views and even 1 view from Russia!
We fully expect that there will again be ten men’s teams and four ladies teams representing Croft in a variety of competitions during 2026. As in previous seasons we will link all of our teams to the appropriate league fixtures on the website once the new fixture lists have been announced.
Over the past two seasons we have added value to the website with the inclusion of the Warrington Sunday mixed league results which first appeared in 2024 and the Warrington Monday Pensioners League results which we added for the 2025 season. Both have proved to be very popular with over 700 views on the website during 2025, and we look forward to adding further items of interest to the website for our members to enjoy during the next few months. We would also remind members that we now have a Facebook page which is managed by Mike Hadfield, and our thanks go to Mike for his help in providing photos for the website during 2025.
Finally our thanks go to all of our members for their continued support of the website over the past 12 months, and we hope that you will find it just as interesting and informative during the forthcoming season which will only be two months away by the time we have held the AGM.
Dave Sawyer
December 2025
On behalf of the Croft Bowling Association Committee
The news below is from 2025 and will remain on the website until the start of the 2026 playing season.
Hi everyone……
Hi everyone and firstly our apologies that the website has not been at its best for the past few weeks. The good news is that everything is now fixed and we look forward to providing you with the best service possible going forward.
First up early in the new year will be the AGM. In the recent past this has usually taken place on the last Friday in February each year. However please note that the 2026 AGM is scheduled to take place approximately one month earlier on Friday 30th January from 7pm for a prompt start at 7:30pm. This earlier start is designed to give everyone a bit more time to put all the formal arrangements in place prior to the commencement of the league season at the beginning of April.
Before then however there is the small matter of Christmas and New Year, and may we wish everyone a really happy Christmas and our very best wishes for 2026.
More Success in 2025!
Following on from our article last week regarding the success of two of our men’s teams we are pleased to report that there is further good news regarding one of our ladies’ teams.
The Tuesday B team has won the Warrington Ladies Evening Bowling League Division C Challenge Cup with victory over Grappenhall B. Well done to all the team and to the captain Linda Ogden who in addition to her cup success finished top of the Division C averages with 13 wins from 14 games.
Closing Main
Congratulations go to Anne Lamming and Kevin Thompson who were the winners of the Closing Main which took place at a wet and windy green on Sunday 5th October. Well done also to runners up Margaret Gray and Adrian Lee.
Our thanks go to Derek Ryder and Bill Gray for organising the main and also to Jane Middleton and Vicky Lock-Thorpe for the buffet which was sponsored by the bowling committee members.
The Closing Main marks the conclusion of the 2025 season and the green is now closed until the commencement of the 2026 season next March.
Success in 2025!
Now that the season is almost done we are pleased to report that two of our men’s teams have enjoyed a successful 2025 with promotion for both.
Firstly well done to Croft men’s Monday night A team who were the winners of the Warrington and North Cheshire Bowls Association Section B by 8 points from runners up Grappenhall A. A special mention goes to Rob Gee, Rob Whelan and Chris McDermott who all appeared in the leading players chart as shown below. Well done to them and to the whole of the squad under the captaincy of Andrew Hart.
Congratulations also to the Croft Seniors Tuesday B team who ended the 2025 season as runners up in Division C.
A special mention goes to Brian Clarke, Tom Gittins and Rob Lean who won 41 of the 47 games played between them as shown below. Well done also to the rest of the squad under the captaincy of Dave Sawyer.
Warrington and District Senior’s Bowls League
As you probably know several of our members play in the Warrington and District Seniors’ Bowls League throughout the summer months and a few of them will be taking part in events during the final week of the season.
First up on Monday 29th September is the Battle of the Sexes charity match which takes place at Woolston Social Club on Manchester Road commencing at 1pm. This year’s sponsored charity is the St Joseph’s Family Centre in Warrington which provides a range of services for local families. The match itself will consist of six pairs and eight singles matches all played to 15 up and spectators are very welcome to attend and bring along a raffle prize if possible. Play will commence at 1pm and everyone is welcome.
The season concludes with the Player of the Year competition which takes place at Grappenhall Ex-Servicemen’s Club on Tuesday 30th September and Wednesday 1st October when the most successful players from each of the three divisions during 2025 will compete for their respective trophies. Once again play will commence at 1pm each day and everyone is welcome to attend.
Chairman’s Trophy
The Chairman’s Trophy took place on Sunday 14th September and well done to the winners Jane Middleton and Adrian Lee and to the runners up Jill Hillam and Brian Wilson. Thanks also to our Chairman Chris McDermott for providing the buffet and to all the ladies who baked cakes for the occasion.
Our final mixed pairs competition for 2025 is the Closing Main which will take place on Sunday 5th October. If you wish to take part then please make sure that you have added your name to the entry form which is located on the notice board in the pavilion.
Finally our thanks go out once again to the Monday morning volunteers for all the hard work which goes into keeping the green and surrounding areas in great shape throughout the year. Their hard work ensures that we all benefit from a terrific playing surface set in wonderful surroundings, and if you are able to give two hours of your time on a Monday from 10am until 12 noon then please go along to the green where you will be made very welcome.
Winter Bowling 2025/2026
We’ve just received this message regarding the arrangements for winter bowling from our events coordinator Rob Gee. Please reply to Rob directly if you are interested in joining the winter bowling group. Thanks.
‘Good Morning everyone, I’ve been on the phone to Chantelle this morning and I’m pleased to announce that it’s a thumbs 👍 up for Winter Bowling this year. Toilets will once again be opened up for us on a Monday Night and Subs are as follows: The youngsters, myself included will have to pay £52 , those of a certain age , I think it’s 60 years of age and over its £36 . This entitlement is Bank Park and Victoria and St Elphins. I don’t need any details for those who have joined us in years gone by, but any new characters wishing to try their luck then forms have to be filled in which I’m picking up this week . All subs need to be paid to Mr Gee before the end of September please. Also after meeting John Bradshaw last night , he’s also continuing the success of last year in running the Sunday morning competitions on Victoria. Cost last year was £6 to enter. Also Damian Morrison is running an open competition on Victoria but a date has yet to be confirmed.
Please send me a text or ring 07539214111 if you are interested in joining the success of winter bowling and once again thanks to everyone for your continued support.’
Green Bookings for September and October 2025
Please note that the green will be closed for social bowling on the following dates during September and October at the times shown as follows;
Sunday 7th September between 2-4pm for a private event booked by Terry Lee.
Wednesday 10th September between 6-8pm for an evening with the Cubs. Please note that volunteers are still needed to help on the night.
Sunday 14th September between 9:30am-5pm for the Chairman’s Trophy mixed pairs competition. The entry form is available on the notice board in the clubhouse.
Wednesday 17th September between 6-8pm for an evening with the Cubs. Once again volunteers are still needed to help on the night.
Sunday 5th October between 9:30am-5pm for the Closing Main mixed pairs competition. Look out for the entry form which will be posted on the notice board in the clubhouse shortly.
Brian Lythgoe Memorial Trophy
The Brian Lythgoe Memorial Trophy took place on Sunday 17th August and our congratulations go to the winners Janet Bevin and Steve Caunce who defeated Norma Massey and Jimmy Potter in a closely fought final. Our thanks as ever go to everyone who helped to make the day a success and we now look forward to the next mixed pairs competition on Sunday 14th September when members will compete for the Chairman’s Trophy. Look out for details which will be displayed on the notice board in the clubhouse shortly.
Paul Reynolds Memorial Competition
The Paul Reynolds Memorial Competition took place on Saturday 2nd August with 32 entries competing for the Yamas Trophy. Congratulations to the winner Chris McDermott who defeated John Durrands in a well contested final, and also a big thank you to organisers Rob Gee and Steve Caunce for all their hard work on the day.
Everyone agreed that the event had been a great success and it is very much hoped that the competition will become an annual event along with the Danny Woodward Jnr trophy which was held for the first time in May.
President’s Trophy
Croft Bowling Association’s annual President’s Trophy mixed pairs competition took place on Sunday 20th July and our congratulations go to the winners Jackie Tattersall and Mike Hadfield. Well done also to runners up Jo Walker and Chris McDermott. Thanks to everyone for all your help and hard work in making the day a success.
The next regular mixed pairs competition will be the Brian Lythgoe Trophy which will will take place on Sunday 17th August. Before then however the Association will be holding the inaugural Paul Reynolds ‘Yamas’ Trophy which will take place on Saturday 2nd August. Details of both competitions are currently displayed on the notice board in the clubhouse.
Horseshoe Trophy
Croft Bowling Association’s annual Horseshoe Trophy competition took place once again on Sunday 22nd June and despite some indifferent weather over 50 members had an enjoyable day of bowling. Congratulations go to winners Linda Billing and Mike Hadfield and well done also to runners up Jill Hillam and Chris McDermott who put up a good fight before eventually losing 8-3 in the final.
Our thanks go to Henry Coakley from the Horseshoe for kindly sponsoring the event by way of a very enjoyable buffet and also for presenting the trophy and the prize money. Henry’s contribution to the Association was invaluable and we look forward to further successful events in partnership with the Horseshoe in the years to come.
Thanks also to committee member Vicky Thorpe for baking some excellent cakes and to our former chairman Derek Ryder for running the event with the help of Bill Gray.
The next mixed main competition will be the President’s Trophy which will be held on Sunday 20th July. Please look out for the entry form which is currently displayed on the notice board in the clubhouse.
Danny Woodward Jnr Memorial Trophy
The inaugural Danny Woodward Jnr Memorial Trophy singles competition was held on Saturday 31st May and will become an annual event which is open to all members. Mr and Mrs Danny Woodward Snr kindly donated towards buying the impressive trophy and came along to present the prizes to the winners.
A very pleasant afternoon of competitive bowling, in lovely weather conditions, was enjoyed by all. The event was organised and run very efficiently by Rob Gee, who also very kindly provided some additional prizes.
The winner was Steve Grimshaw, beating Janet Bevin in a closely contested final. The losing semi-finalists were Adam Taylor and Mike Hadfield. Besides the prize money, £100 was raised for Prostate Cancer UK which was greatly appreciated by Danny’s parents.
Well done Rob for organising the event and to Chris for helping on the day.
Green Bookings 2025
Please make a note of the following times and dates when the green will be unavailable for social bowling. Thanks.
Wednesday 18th June – closed for maintenance until noon.
Sunday 22nd June – Horseshoe Trophy 9:30am – 5pm.
Wednesday 25th June – WI match 9am – noon.
Sunday 20th July – President’s Trophy 9:30 – 5pm.
Wednesday 23rd July – Croft 1 Ladies 13:00 – 17:00.
Saturday 2nd August – Paul Reynolds Trophy – times tba.
Latest news from Joan Stott
Our new season commenced with the first of our mixed pairs mains which took place on Sunday 6th April. Our congratulations go to the winners Jill Hillam and Steve Grimshaw and well played also to the runners up Carol Bond and Mike Waite.
The second mixed main took place on Sunday 18th May when members played for the Sharpe Trophy. Once again our congratulations go to the winners Sue Dibben and Rob Gee who beat runners up Jane Middleton and Adrian Lee in an entertaining final.
Our next mixed main competition will take on Sunday 22nd June when members will compete for the Horseshoe Trophy. The entry list is already on the notice board in the Pavilion and it will remain there until a few days before the competition when it will be taken down to enable the draw to be carried out. If you have added your name to the entry list only to find that you are unable to play on the day then we would ask that you advise the organisers as soon as possible please. As you can appreciate this will greatly help with the smooth running of the competition and reduce delays at the start of the day itself.
By now most of you will have noticed our new all-weather shelter which has kindly been donated by Steve Caunce. Our sincere thanks go to Steve for his generosity in providing the Association with the shelter and also for supplying the picnic tables in the new seating area along with our former chairman and now Association president Derek Ryder. Also a big thank you goes to our Monday morning volunteers for helping to set everything up – a great job by everyone. As always our thanks go to our green keeper Jim Potter for his hard work throughout the winter months to provide us with yet another superb playing surface this season.
Finally if you feel that you can spare two hours of your time on a Monday Morning to help with all the maintenance work that is needed to keep everything looking so good then please go along to the green from 10am where you will be made most welcome.
CROFT BOWLING ASSOCIATION -UPDATE APRIL 2025
The Association held its Annual General Meeting on Friday 28 February 2025 at Croft Memorial Hall. The meeting commenced with a minute of silence to remember those members that we have lost over the previous twelve months. The evening was well attended and everyone enjoyed the cheese, wine and general chat once the meeting had concluded.
2025 has brought about quite a number of changes to the Committee. Derek Ryder announced his retirement as chairman and he was thanked by a number of members during the evening for all his hard work in support of the Association over the past nine years.
Chris McDermott was subsequently elected as the new chairman and Steve Grimshaw as deputy chairman at a special committee meeting a few days later. They are joined by new committee members Sue Dibben, membership secretary, Carol Walsh who takes over as our new treasurer and Mike Hadfield who is responsible for social media. New committee member Adam Taylor and existing committee members Gail Grimshaw, secretary, Joan Stott, Anne Lamming and Dave Sawyer complete the lineup for 2025.
As usual during the winter season quite a lot of work was carried out by the Monday morning volunteers including the construction of a covered seating area and the siting of a new picnic area next to the pavilion. The volunteers do great work and would welcome as much help as possible during the coming months – so if you feel that you could give two hours on a Monday morning from 10.00am to 12.00 noon to help then you would be made very welcome by the team. Thanks also to our green keeper Jimmy Potter who has produced a brilliant playing surface once again for the new season.
Finally don’t forget to check all the latest information here on our website and also on Facebook – and here’s wishing everyone an enjoyable season in 2025.
Green Opening 2025
Good news that the green will re-open after the winter break on Saturday 22 March at 10am. Everyone is welcome to come along whether it be for social bowling or simply to practice for the new season. Best wishes to everyone for the 2025 season.
Annual General Meeting 2025
Don’t forget that the 2025 AGM will be held at Croft Memorial Hall on Friday 28 February. The hall will be open from 7pm to ensure a prompt start at 7:30pm. One important matter that we need to bring to your attention at the AGM relates to our proposed Facebook profiles. In that respect we will shortly be starting to use Facebook as an extra tool to communicate with members and the wider community. There will be a Facebook page entitled ‘Croft Bowling Association’ which will be public facing and visible to everyone. This will be used to publicise the club and inform people about events etc. There will also be a Facebook group entitled ‘Members of Croft Bowling Association’ which will be a private group open to members only. This will be used to announce news, results, fixtures, cancellations etc. Members will need to request to join this group.
It is anticipated that photographs may be published on these Facebook forums. However if it is your wish that you don’t want your photograph to be published then a slip similar to the one shown below will be available for you to sign and hand in to the Membership Secretary on the night.
Name ……………………………… I do not wish my photograph to be published on social media or the website for the foreseeable future.
Signed …………………………….
Mixed Mains competition dates for 2025
6 April – Opening Main (Mixed Pairs)
18 May – The Sharpe Trophy (Mixed pairs)
22 June – Horseshoe Trophy (Mixed Pairs)
20 July – President’s Trophy (Mixed Pairs)
17 August – Brian Lythgoe Trophy (Mixed Pairs)
14 September – The Chairman’s Trophy (Mixed Pairs)
5 October – The Closing Main (Mixed Pairs)
Our first update for 2025
The Association sends its best wishes to all its members for 2025.
To start the year we will be holding our Annual General Meeting at Croft Memorial Hall on Friday 28 February 2025 with doors opening at 7pm for a prompt start at 7:30pm. This will be followed by cheese and wine and an opportunity to catch up with friends.
The first competition of the new season will be the Opening Main which will be held on Sunday 6 April. All of the competitions that the Association organises throughout 2025 will be played on a mixed pairs basis and everyone is welcome to take part. An entry list will be available to sign at the meeting or on the notice board in the pavilion and this will be taken down a few days before the competition to enable the draw to be made.The opening date for the green will be announced at the AGM to enable those who wish to practice to do so.
As always a big thank you to our green keeper and the Monday morning volunteers for all their hard work keeping everything in such good order. If anyone has time and is free on a Monday morning to offer help from 10.00am to 12.00am then please come along and join the team – you will be made very welcome and your help would be very much appreciated.
We now look forward to seeing everyone on Friday 28 February 2025. From Joan Stott.
A Birds Eye View
A big thank you to our intrepid aviator Steve Grimshaw for two fantastic photos of the green as you’ve never seen it before! Unless of course you’ve been lucky enough to be a passenger with Steve in the past! The photos were taken on the day of our latest mixed main which was the Horseshoe Trophy held on 23rd June, and we hope you enjoy these unique views of our green and the clubhouse. Thanks once again Steve.
We would like to thank Jim Logan for his help in providing us with some great photos for the website. Our photo stock was relatively low until recently and Jim’s hard work has helped enormously.
Please contact Dave Sawyer if you would like us to include any topical association news on this page.
END OF SEASON CAPTAIN’S REPORTS FOR 2023
(Please note that these reports will shortly be archived on the Men’s Teams previous reports page)
CROFT A – MENS THURSDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: DEREK RYDER
The Thursday night ‘A’ team in the Newton and District Bowling Association league had a poor season finishing at the bottom of section ‘A’.
It is not yet known whether the team will be relegated to section ‘B’ until such time as it is confirmed how many teams will be taking part in the 2024 season.
A couple of long established players have left the team for 2024 and we now have 15 players for a side of 10 of which 2 of them are emergency only players giving a core team of 13. It may be that there may be times when the team might struggle for a team of 10 because of holidays etc.
CROFT A (1) – LADIES TUESDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: JANET BEVIN
As we went to only 2 sections this year instead of 3, we had a much longer season, playing 22 matches. We won 11 and lost 11 resulting in us coming 5th out of 12 teams. Well done to our team as we were quite short of players some weeks for various reasons – and we will be happy to welcome 2 new players next year – Vicky Thorpe and Sue Dibben.
Viv Rush once again represented us in Player of the Year and played extremely well as usual.
She reached the Semi Final and collected her prize money at the Presentation Evening – well done Viv.
Several of our team attended the Presentation Evening and buffet at Monks and thoroughly enjoyed it although, unlike last year, we didn’t collect any trophies this time!
A big thank you to all our team who are so supportive and helpful.
B TEAM – MENS TUESDAY AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN: JOHN GREGORY
Last season was an excellent year for the Croft B team, winning nineteen out of the twenty-four matches. This allowed us to finish second in the division and hopefully gain promotion after being relegated the season before. Three matches stand out in the memory. On a rainy cold afternoon we won at Rainhill, followed by a spectacular second half display at the Red Lion, after being well down. The jewel in the crown must be an away win at Butts Park, the runaway winners of the league, in one of the closing matches of the season which helped us to the runners up spot.
I would like to thank all the members of the team who played and loyally supported home and away, creating a great team spirit and a big thank you to Barbara who looked after us with refreshments.
CROFT 2 – LADIES THURSDAY AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN: ANN WAITE / VICE: VIV RUSH
The B team had a fair season and finished in a reasonable position in the league.
All games were enjoyed, and we look forward to next season.
CROFT B – MENS MONDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: PAUL REYNOLDS
The Croft ‘MondayNighters’ ‘B’ team enjoyed another winning season by claiming Division ‘D’ in the Warrington Monday Night League. This achievement carried on their success from 2022 where we had won Division ‘E’.
During our drive to winning the Division the team put together a run of 16 consecutive wins from game one through to game 16, showing to all that we were a team full of togetherness and a winning determination second to none! Steve Caunce and Frank Wilson had a battle royale for the Average winners with Steve claiming top spot with 14 wins from his 16 played and with Frank just missing out with 13 from his 16 played.
To my team: A well done everyone, let’s all hope 2024 sees us bringing along the same determination that has brought us the success we’ve enjoyed over the last 2 seasons, and I’d like to also add, on behalf of the team, a very special thank you to all those who came and lent their support both around the green and back in the Pub at de-briefing time during the season, it’s always very much appreciated!!!
CROFT C TEAM – TUESDAY MORNING
CAPTAIN: SAM HUGHES/JIM LOGAN
A disappointing season as far as results go. We had a very slow start to the campaign losing our first 8 matches which proved difficult to recover from. The team however finished 10th in Division C winning 7 matches out 24 in all. Special mention should be given to Phil and Frank who won 12 and 11 games respectively. Our results were all the more disappointing as it was Eric’s last season in charge as Captain and the team were desperate to do well for him. All members of the team would like thank Eric for his leadership in running the team for 20 or more years during which time we can recount many memorable moments. We would also like to thank Audrey for her support and providing the refreshments for the team. We wish them both well for the future.
CROFT A TEAM – FRIDAY NIGHT
CAPTAIN: SAM HUGHES
Having gained promotion from Section D to Section C our main objective in 2023 was to establish ourselves as a genuine competitor in our new section. Thanks to the efforts of all team members, we won 9 matches from 18, finishing mid-table in 5th position with 102 points. Special mention must go to Jim Thomason and Rob Gee who both won 11 games each. However, the highlight of the season was beating the eventual champions King & Queen home and away. The team also reached the semifinal of the Stan Bann Cup and received £55.00 in prize money. Overall, it was a credible performance with all team members making a valuable contribution which we hope to build on in 2024.
CROFT 1 – THURSDAY AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN: JANE MIDDLETON
Croft 1 afternoon team has had the very good fortune to have gained 5 new team players in 2023, which helped us to again promotion to Section 1. We won 11 games out of 14 for which we received £65 at Presentation Night.
CROFT A – TUESDAY AFTERNOON
CAPTAIN: PAUL CADDICK
The season turned out to be highly successful finishing fourth in very competitive league in which many ex-county representatives are playing.
As in previous seasons the team started slowly but due to having a larger squad of players, we soon started to gain momentum and picked up points regularly and finished strong winning the last eight games of the season.
Leading aggregates for the season:-
Danny Woodward 7.08
John Durrands 6.59
Paul Caddick 6.55
Steve Grimshaw 4.36
Hopefully we can keep the same squad of players together and perhaps a couple of new players would also help to improve our position for the 2024 campaign
CROFT A – MENS MONDAY NIGHT
CAPTAIN: ANDREW HART / VICE: STEVE GRIMSHAW
Our first season in the top division in Warrington proved successful with us finishing in 6th place.
Just surviving in the Premiership is an achievement in itself.
Our best performance was beating St.Oswalds at home 9-3 with some famous named top Warrington bowlers sent home sulking after receiving a battering at Croft.
Our best performers over the season were Ross Hackett, Danny Woodward, John Durrands, Adam Taylor, Andrew Hart and Adrian Steele who all averaged over 17 chalks, with Ross achieving an incredible average of 19.3 chalks. However, everyone played their part and contributed to help us achieve a very respectable league position.
Well done to all our players. We look forward to another season in the topflight, and with the addition of Rob Gee to our squad this coming season, we hope to further improve our league position.
CROFT B – MENS THURSDAY NIGHT
CAPTAIN: CHRIS MCDERMOTT/VICE: STEVE GRIMSHAW
Success in the Premiership is all about survival ……and we survived, just, finishing 3rd from bottom.
It was another tough season in the topflight with all our players having to be on top form to achieve a team win.
A couple of great away wins, at Lane Ends and at Windle, certainly helped us to survive.
Our outstanding players this season were Adam Taylor and Danny Woodward who were our only two players that achieved positive averages.
Nevertheless, everyone contributed so may I thank all our players, including the ones that stood in at the last minute when we were short – you know who you are.
If anyone fancies the challenge of playing at the highest level then please come forward and join us – you would be made very welcome.
We all look forward to another season in the top division when we can hopefully take advantage of our wonderful green and improve our league standing.
Having teams in the top divisions of different leagues, combined with our fantastic green and facilities, is making Croft stand out from the crowd – we now need to reflect that achievement with our results on the green.
CROFT B – LADIES TUESDAY EVENING
CAPTAIN: LINDA OGDEN
We had an enjoyable season finishing mid table. We tried to find new players but neither of them actually took up bowling. We will have to try again this year.
Our players of the year Linda Ogden and Sue Charlton attended the league player of the year competition at Crossfields.
Thanks to Croft Bowling Association for providing us with a green and surroundings that in the words of one of my players we can be proud of.
Croft Bowling 