PRESS REPORT - 14th September 2026

BATCHWOOD HALL BOWLING CLUB – PRESS REPORT - 14th September 2026

The Club Finals took place over the weekend with some extremely competitive games on display. There were 10 competitions taking place with 17 members participating. Some games were very close others not so.

The highlights of the weekend were the Ladies’ Championship with Joyce Hopkinson playing Sue Swain. The game was drawn at 19-all on the penultiimate end. Joyce then delivered a long jack and picked up two shots winning the game. Another close game was the Non-Winner Singles between Mez Setoudeh and Andy Pierce. The game was tied 13-all on 14 ends. Then Andy gradually pulled away eventually winning 21 – 15. Brian Parkes (Treasurer) has had an excellent year in competitions and played in five finals at the weekend, winning them all – many congratulations. He still has to play in the Mixed Pairs Competition which has to be arranged.

The competition winners & runners-up as follows:

Australian Pairs:

Winners Joshua David & Gary Costen; Runners-up John Turkentine & David Harris

Men’s Chamionship: Winner Brian Parkes; Runner-Up John Bell

Two Woods Competition: Winner Brian Parkes; Runner Up Chris Kelly

Fixed Jack Competition: Winner Brian Parkes; Runner-Up Joshua David

Open Singles: Winner Brian Parkes; Runner-Up John Bell

Drawn Pairs:

Daren Coates & Brian Parkes; Runners-Up Eddy Thackeray & Dave Richardson

The Ray Singh Cup is a new singles handicap competition. Ray Singh was a founder of Batchwood Hall BC and his son Ron wished his father to be remembered and kindly donated the Ray Singh Cup. OMNI Home Design Ltd, a bespoke home design service based in Harpenden, has kindly sponsored the competition by donating a cash prize for the first 3 places. The first three positions were won by:

Winner: Gary Costen; 2nd place: Mez Setoudeh; 3rd place: Eddie Clark who beat Ian Young.

The Trophies were presented by Noel Godman on the Saturday. Noel was a Founder Member of Batchwood Hall Bowls Club and will be 99 years young on Christmas Day. On the Sunday the Trophies were presented by Batchwood President Ian Connaughton. A big ‘thank you’ must also go to Chris Kelly the Competition Secretary who organised the competitions throughout the season. He also arranged Finals Day itself with umpires, markers, and Notice-board turners.

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The final of the Integra League took place on Thursday evening. Over 20 members participated during the season. It was a closely fought contest the Winner was Richard Cleal, 2nd place Rosemary McDonagh, 3rd place: Joshua David – see photographs. A buffet, prepared by Brenda Bennitt, was enjoyed by everyone after the game.

Tricia Gascoine

Press Officer