SATURDAY, March 8 saw Bow host its now-annual short mat bowls tournament.

Organised by Bow Short Mat Bowls Club, the event is in its second year following last year’s post-Covid restart.

The tournament saw 12 teams of four players from across Devon competing, with play overseen by Bow’s Devon and England player and referee Nick Wyatt.

Players arrived early for bacon rolls with members of the Bow Village Hall committee providing refreshments throughout the day.

The 12 teams were split into two groups of six playing round-robin, with the two group winners going into a final at the end of the day.

It was a busy day for both the bowlers and the village hall with matches continuing non-stop through the day across the three mats in the village hall.

Ploughman’s lunches were provided in two lunch sittings by the village hall with cake and tea available all day.

Play in the round-robin groups concluded just after mid-afternoon with the team from Goodleigh going into the final against combined team of players from Winkleigh and Exeter Nomads.

Many members of the other teams stayed on to watch the final, which proved to be a close-fought affair with neither team able to gain the upper hand.

Going into the last of the eight ends it was all to play for, with the Winkleigh and Exeter Nomads team eventually nudging ahead of Goodleigh to get the win by seven to five.

The raffle, organised by the village hall and with prizes donated by members of the Bow club as well as visiting players, raised £150.

The village hall raised £400 towards planned improvements of the hall facilities. £100 was donated to the Brain Tumour Research charity in memory of former Bow Short Mat Bowls club member Phil Harvey-Croft who provided the tournament trophies for last year’s event.

Bow Short Mat Bowls Club meets every Wednesday evening at 7.30pm in the village hall. New or returning players are always welcome. Come along to find out more.

Ian Lakey