There is plenty of competition going on at Spencer Melksham Bowls Club even though the 2025 season is rapidly drawing to a close.
Friday evenings in July through to September have found us competing in the Roy Hawker Trophy, played in honour of a well-respected former member.
Six squads of players have been playing a new format of triples, based on sets, rather like tennis.
Each set consists of six ends and we play two sets followed by a ‘golden end’, making two and a half points on offer from the match.
With team names ranging from Chipmunks to Flamingos, it has been a good way to get as many players involved as possible and allowed us to integrate new members into the club.
One player took membership of his team so seriously he bought a flamingo shirt to prove his allegiance. Most of the competitive leagues have come to an end with some excellent results. The men’s three-rink team finished mid-table while the four-rink team was fourth, with only six points separating first to fifth places.
The ladies have had a strong season, winning the Bowls Wiltshire Triples B Division and securing promotion for the 2026 season. The Ladies’ Panthers Team won the Norwest Triples Division 2 and the Jaguars Team showed a lot of resilience to secure the two points needed to stay in Division 1 in the penultimate game of the season, going on to consolidate their position by taking five of the six points against a strong Devizes Team in the last match.
2025 was the first time we entered the Mixed Open Triples League, played on a Saturday morning. It gave us the opportunity to play new teams, many based in Swindon. The club finished mid-table but was only six points from finishing in third place. The Mid Wilts Open Triples League is yet to finish but, as things stand, the Lions Team have made a good start to life in the Premier League and are currently in third place, with the Tigers Team comfortably mid-table with two games to go. At a county level, Spencer’s has secured a spot in the final of the Mixed Double Rink, hoping to be crowned county champions when they play Amesbury. With this and the Club Championships still to be played, there is still much to play for this season.
Anne Hutchinson, Spencer Melksham Bowls Club
Pictured: Team members playing bowls for the Roy Hawker Trophy
