Double Boost

The League is delighted to announce agreeing a second new sponsorship deal in just two months.

Hot on the heels of the £100 per annum two-year deal agreed with Local Print Pros thanks to Steve Reeves, we now have Shropshire Vertidrain & Turf Services Ltd on board too.

Directors and well know bowlers, Mike Humphries and Paul Beer, are going to sponsor this year’s Mid Shropshire Senior Merit by adding £100 to boost the prize money and an additional £25 for the highest break on finals day.

Said Paul: “We would like to see some return with bowling clubs using a local business such as ours in their end of season renovations and planned maintenance work they have.

“All clubs call on volunteers so much these days and it is increasingly hard to get the helpers at the right time. We are here to help.”

Mike and (right) Paul are PICUTRED presenting their cheque to League President Mike Potter at the February meeting, after the company received the sincere thanks of the League and its clubs.

And here’s a round-up from that meeting:

The League’s AGM is on Tuesday 8th March at SJBC (7pm start) when the key votes will be on 12 or 10-a-side matches on Friday nights, registered 8s or 6s and allowing bowlers to double up.

Once those decisions have been taken – and the votes look like being close so attendance at the annual meeting will be vital – clubs will have until midnight on Saturday 12th March, to inform the fixture secretary who succeeds Ric Hudson how many teams they will be entering on Fridays, Mondays and in the Dennis Lewis Thursday Division.

The aim is to return as close as possible to the pre-pandemic divisional set-up of 2019 – clubs need to bear this in mind when making their decisions – and publish this year’s fixtures well before the April meeting on Tuesday the 5th.

But clubs will NOT be able to make any changes to their player registrations on the website until the first set of fixtures for 2022 go live.

Provided the Friday divisions remain strong in terms of numbers, the aim is to start the division 1-2-3 season on Friday 8th April

The early good news in terms of teams is that Prince of Wales Hotel plan to carry on in the Thursday Division and Wrockwardine Wood have applied to field a second team in the unique 8-a-side division named in memory of former League chairman Dennis Lewis.

On the personnel front, former fixture secretary and chairman Steve Wall is willing to stand as vice-chairman as Dave Evans stands down, but a vote will be needed to see who the clubs want to serve them with regards to the fixtures.

Bylet stalwart John Palmer has put his name forward to follow his father Jim into a key role with the League, while current minutes secretary Rob Burroughs and county delegate Martin Gaut are making a joint bid.

Other things to bear in mind . . . 2022 Club Info Sheets need completed and returned by the AGM at the latest please; orders for scorecards (£12 per 1,000 last year) and captain’s books (75p last year) are needed by at the AGM, to  be distributed at the April meeting on Tuesday the 5th

The League made a profit of £436 on 2021 – and that’s without the £42.50 the now folded Elephant & Castle have returned after the League granted that amount to all member clubs in 2020 to try and help them get through the pandemic.