A couple of days later than I’d intended – apologies.

For those of you who are on Facebook there is live streaming for every match through the World Indoor Bowls Championship 2024 page.

If you’re not on Facebook, then you can watch the matches on YouTube – search for World Indoor Bowls 2024.  The matches get uploaded there after the live streaming has finished and you can catch up on matches from previous days.

The complete schedule is here but you’ll need to zoom in to read it – unless you have exceptional eyesight!

https://www.pottersholidays.com/world-bowls/schedule/

The Pairs is now through to the Final stage – Paul Foster & Jason Banks v Stewart Anderson & Darren Burnett – lots of Scots and no Englishmen!  Our favourites – Greg Harlow & Nick Brett went out in the quarter-final.

Anyway, the Final will be on BBC 2 starting next Monday 15th January.  Hooray!

The Singles have started and it was interesting to read that “plasterer” Harry Goodwin, in his debut at the World Championships, put out “painter and decorator” Wayne Wilgress – last year’s finalist.  Maybe practical careers allow for a bit more time to play and practice than sitting in an office all day?!  They do have to earn a living.  Bowls doesn’t command the salaries or appearance fees of other sports.  Hmm, it’s more likely that you actually to have the single-mindedness, determination skill and dedication to improve, improve, improve to reach the top.  Harry’s grandad took him to the local bowls club when Harry was just 6 and he’s been playing ever since, a mere 19 years – probably a lot longer than most of us at Cambridge Park!

Harry won the Eiba Under 25 singles in 2023 amongst other indoor and outdoor titles in the last couple of years. He’s just 25 and one lad to follow.

On Wednesday afternoon, Egham’s Jon Wilson starts on his singles challenge v Jamie Chesney – not exactly an easy start to the championship but these are bowlers are at the peak of their indoor game and great to watch their skill on the difficult portable indoor rink.  No Vector VS or Lazer or other straight bowls on this green.  All the players are playing with stronger bias bowls, Henselite Tiger seem to be popular as are DP Professionals and Taylor Ace or Blaze.  Gym would like it!

I think the commentator said the rink was running at 17.4 for a full length jack.  That is over 2 seconds slower than Cambridge Park, which is one of the fastest in this area.  Our green is shorter than most though, so visitors have to learn to pull back so they are not constantly in the ditch, whilst we have to remember to give our bowls an extra shove (technical term!) to make the distance at Egham, Century, etc.

So line up for Wednesday 10th January:-