Men's Captains' Report 2017

We started the season with the President vs Captains game which was well attended with all six rinks being used.

Our first away fixture against East Preston had more than enough names down and we increased the rinks from 4 to 5, which was good news for the start of the season.

The next day the men played Marine Park Gardens in the first round of the PC Cup on 7th May. The green was very heavy and unfortunately we lost the game and so that was us out of the PC Cup. This year we are playing Middleton at a later date at home on Thursday 31st May, so hopefully we will be up and running on full cylinders by then.

In the Midhurst Cup our first game was against Graffam, we won 94-40. The next round was against Crablands and we had a very close game but we lost by just a few shots, so that was us out of the Midhurst Cup.

The Holbrook Cup final was to be held on the same Saturday as our finals day. In the past, the Sunday was also available but that was the day of our away game to Windsor. I contacted the organisers who confirmed that no other date could be used, so we decided to withdraw from the competition at the start. This decision was appreciated by them.

We hosted the VP’s on 26th May, at which time we were still having problems with the fox hole on A green. I asked ISS (the greenkeepers) if they could get B green ready which they did. It took a lot of work to get it into shape, double cutting and preparing the ditches etc. 34 players put their names down to play and we put out a strong team, unfortunately they also put out a strong team and we only won on one rink. Hopefully we can reverse the result next year.

WEST SUSSEX LEAGUE

We decided to have a selection committee for the A and B teams comprising 3 committee members for each. The B team had to take into account every player that had put their name down and we used 30 different players for the B team and we cemented our position in Division 2, so I would like to thank every person that played and our selection committee of Geoff Kendall, Norman Burchfell and Geoff Cook who undertook a marvellous achievement in keeping us in the 2nd division in our first year. Onwards and Upwards

The A team also used 24 players over the season and we finished in 4th position in Division 1, our highest position ever. Once again I would like to thank every player that took part and our selection committee of Keith Hellyer, Derek Ford and myself. In all 46 players played in these league games.

We will be losing a few of our players next year, what with the lure of Spain for Mike Phillpott and possibly Trevor Moore, also Tony Arnold has moved away and Tony Sayers has decided to go back to Chichester. We also sadly lost John Edwards who was sorely missed as a mainstay of our team.

But as with the losses we will also be regaining Bob Daley who is returning after his knee operation and two new experienced players Nigel Short and Jimmy Bremner. We also welcomed two new members towards the end of last season Brian Smith and Roy Wadey. We are constantly looking for new players and the new board that George and David organised, which we put out on match days, and the leaflets that Geoff made, have certainly helped.

My thanks also to Jean and Keith Taylor for running the Overton competition on Thursday morning. We have decided that next year you will not have to pay to enter this which we hope will encourage more people to join in. Same rules will apply but there will only be one winner.

We are also hoping to start a Monday afternoon league on B green. The reason for B green is, if we don’t use it we could lose it. Who would be interested in this? A show of hands please.

I would like to thank Pat Phillips and Tony Arnold for helping to coach our new members. Pat especially has spent a lot of time coaching our two new lady members and is always trying to get new members to join us. He also umpired on our finals day and the ladies double rink and top club games. It is because of his services to the club that I awarded him the loyalty cup this year which will be presented later.

I would like to thank all my committee for their help during the season and a special thanks to Norman who is stepping down from the committee next year. David Jackson has also decided to step down as match secretary this year. He has been match secretary for over 10 years and I would like to thank him for all his hard work and our appreciation to David Parker for taking over. Also to Keith Hellyer who organised the men’s competitions and got the prizes and trophies.

I would also like to thank our President Beryl who funded our top rink prizes this year. My thanks also to our spectators who come along and support.

We are active in planning out next years fixtures. The men will be entering the Top Club competition which involves 11 players playing 5 disciplines. We are also considering playing in the Brooks Motor league for 2019. We will also be organising a coach day out.

I hope the 2018 season will be successful and that everyone enjoys and looks forward to playing next year.

John Whitfield

Men's Captain 2017