Outdoor - 2004

County League

The Club fielded two sides in the County League , which is organised on a zoned basis partly dependent on geographical area. The Mens ‘A' team played in South Zone Division 2 and the Mens ‘B' Team  in Central Zone Division 3.

Connaught ‘A'

Captained by Marc Tipton the team  played  well in a closely-fought division but had two unexpected defeats which cost them promotion. South Park adapted better than the home side on 7th July to wet and windy conditions and gained a deserved victory in a match reduced to 15 ends. Connaught redeemed themselves with a hard-fought maximum points win at Long Stratton on 14th July and continued the good work on 19th and 21st July with 4-1 home wins against Diss 'B' and Wortwell respectively. However, the team came down to earth with a bump on 28th July with a 3.5 to 1.5, 63 shots to 61, defeat at Shotford 'B', a side which on the night played way above their league position. Form returned on 4th August with a 4-1, 71 shots to 38, victory at home to league leaders Harleston Rec in Connaught's last match of the season. The Club still failed to secure a promotion slot be cause Wortwell's win  against Shotford 'B' gained them second place over Connaught by half a point. Disappointment was offset by an enjoyable season in an enjoyable league.

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Captained by Stan Groom, the team struggled at first to find its best combinations of players but resounding wins against Watton 'B' and Mundford showed that it was quite capable of climbing the table. Further wins, against Watton 'B' in the return fixture and then against Weeting, saw the team climb away from the bottom of the table. A resounding 1-4, 49 shots to 81, loss at Ashill 'B' on 21st July was unwelcome, however, especially when one block had a nightmare 6-38 defeat! On 28th July Connaught had two winning rinks against Thetford 'C' but a 16-32 defeat by the third block meant a 3-2, 64 shots to 60, defeat overall. The last match of the season, away to Mundford 'B' on 4th August saw a 5-0, 71 shots to 51, victory and a good end to the season. The team finished in a respectable position and showed much improvement after two poorish seasons.  

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National Top Club Competition

This is a knock-out competition for 11 players per team, comprising a four, a triple, a pair, a four-wood singles, and a two-wood singles. The Club met Thetford in a preliminary round at home and lost, after a close battle, to a club which is slightly stronger than us at present. Dick Passmore and Barry Ayton played well to win the pairs and were our only winners

Fermoy Cup

This is a knock-out competition for 8 players per team, comprising two blocks of four. One block plays at home and the other away on the same night. On Thursday 13 May we fielded two sides, one against Cromer (home and away) and one against County Arts (home and away). These were tough draws for Connaught , against strong opposition, and both matches were lost on overall shots. However, the home blocks played well, with a narrow loss against Cromer and a narrow win against County Arts . The away blocks were well beaten.

County Championships

These are the individual knock-out competitions for singles, pairs, triples and fours. John Winup, Mark Tipton and Ivor Moore (by no means the strongest triple in the Club and playing for fun) were soundly beaten by a strong Ashill triple. However, the same three, with the considerable added bulk of Ken Lawrence, narrowly lost 20-17 over 21 ends of fours away to an experienced Watton block. In the pairs, Marc Tipton and Mike Parsons played well against a pair from Ashill before losing by one shot on the last end. Ivor Moore and John Winup suffered a heavier defeat, against a pair from Hingham whose skip could do no wrong, but were happy enough with their performance.

OUTDOOR BOWLS EXTERNAL (LADIES)

The ladies of the Club fielded one team in the Breckland League and played these matches mainly on Monday evenings. Additionally they played in cup competitions and in individual competitions. Undoubtedly the Club's women players are stronger in their competitions than are the men in their equivalent competitions and the 2004 season proved the point once more 

Breckland League

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National Top Club Competition

Connaught won the first two rounds, beating Shotford away by a hefty margin and winning well at Sheringham in a close match. On Saturday 3rd July the ladies met neighbours Wymondham Dell at home in a County semi-final. The local derby produced a tense and very exciting match. Connaught won the Singles (21-17) and the Pairs (25-15); the Dell won the Triples (19-13) and the Fours (19-11). Two rinks each and all square on overall shots (70-70), the Pairs, Triples and Fours had to play one end each. The winner would be determined on rinks won; Connaught won all three to go through. The final was played against Acle on Saturday 17 July at the County Arts Bowls Club. Heavy showers throughout the morning disappeared and the match was played in glorious sunshine. This encounter also went to the wire, with Connaught winning the Fours by 31-12 and the Triples by 20-17; Acle won the Pairs by 30-14 and the Singles by 21-11 (Sue Passmore's first defeat in the competition). Therefore the outcome was decided on overall shots, with Acle winning by 80-76 and 4 shots. Well played, Acle, and good luck in the next match, against the Suffolk winners. To the disappointment of the team and their many supporters on the day, the Connaught run came to an end. However, the team can be pleased at its performances against good opposition throughout the competition. 

This is a Ladies' County Competition in which the Connaught entry of Lynn Makings, Vera Moore and Chris Taylor  battled through the early rounds to reach the semi-final at the Carter Centre on Monday 5th July. Connaught beat Suffield Park by the narrow margin of 15-14 and met another Cromer side, Marrams Bowls Club, in the final at the Carter Centre on Wednesday 18th August. To the great delight of the team and their supporters, the Connaught ladies won by 15-14, a score identical to that which won the semi-final. Chris Taylor kept her nerve to draw in with a tricky shot on her last bowl. Bad luck for Marrams who lost a second successive final.  This was one of the Club's best ever competition victories and  the triple will deservedly feature on the Club's Honours Board. The Bar Manager greeted the players in Attleborough with a two-bottle champagne reception; not untypically, he and the Club Treasurer managed to consume most of it!

The ladies played a series of friendly matches against other clubs, mainly on Wednesday afternoons but occasionally at other times. This gave an opportunity to new players and to players not regularly making the league sides. 

OUTDOOR BOWLS EXTERNAL (MIXED)

The Club takes part in several competitions where men and women play in the same team. In addition most of the Club's friendly matches, against tourists and against other local clubs, are organised on a mixed basis.    Details are:

Ashill Mixed League (Triples)

The league comprises four divisions and a match is three triples against three triples; each triple must contain two men and a woman or vice versa. The league is very popular with Connaught members and we field ‘A', ‘B' and ‘C' teams. With many people available, selection of teams this year initially was based on rotation of players. A series of bad results forced a harsher approach and all three teams recovered as the strongest blocks were selected. With hindsight, the Club would have done better with  tightly-knit squads from the outset. Subject to final decision, the Club will probably field four teams next year with a learning curve for an inexperienced 'D' team. A rather belated receipt of final league tables showed that the 'A' team avoided relegation and that the 'B' and 'C' teams eventually finished second in their divisions.

Ashill ‘A'

Captained this year by Russell Hales, Connaught are usually in contention for the Division 1 title and finished third last season. The team  struggled this season, however, as key registered players became unavailable through work and other reasons. A good 6-2 win at home on 20th July, against league leaders Thetford 'A', showed what might have been and the team continued a grim battle to avoid relegation. A 2-6, 46 shots to 50, defeat at home to Swaffham on 27th July was not good news, however. However, a maximum 8-0, 80 shots to 45, victory at home to Feltwell on 3rd August revived hopes considerably. The good work continued with a 6-2, 62 shots to 48, win at Thetford 'C' on 10th August (amazingly, the match was played in good weather when Attleborough itself was almost flooded out). Connaught lost their last match, 2-6 at home to Thetford 'B' on 17th August, but the good results towards the end helped the team avoid the ignominy of relegation!