County or National
National Competitions for men and women are run by Bowls England and the competitions for 2024 have now been drawn.
County competitions for men are run by Kent County Bowling Association and for the women by the Women's Section of KCBA . Entry dates and rules can be found on their respective websites. The Club organises entries on behalf of members through the Secretaries of the Men's and Ladies' Sections.
The KCBA divides the historic County of Kent into 4 Divisions. An interesting map shows it nicely.
Progress of all Canterbury competitors will be monitored as the season progresses.
Men's
Counties
The draws
The draws have been made for the Men's Counties and we can see a number of dates to be put in diaries for spectators wishing to watch at our home green.
The Counties start on 10 May and Colin Strouts' Over 55 Fours team kick off with a home fixture.
13 May has Alan Cornfoot, Pete Foster, Paul Causer and Steve Wells all at home in the Singles.
20 May sees the first Singles match for Mark Collison having had a bye in the first round.
21 May the Pairs starts and sees a number of our pairs playing each other, mostly at home. Chris Dawson, Isaac Tompkins, Matt Rich, Bryan Nicholson and Jeff Vane.
On 22 May the Triples starts and all our teams start their campaigns away.
23 May starts the Unbadged Singles and we have a number of our members playing at home. Darren Ellis, Tom Attaway, Mark Collison, Andy Ferguson, Bryan Nicholson and Damian Hone.
7 June sees Pete Foster and Alan Cornfoot both at home in the Fours.
We will pick up the results as they are played including those that have not had coverage above as they start their journey away.
8 July sees both Canterbury A and B playing each other in the Bert Cox Cup. The final of which will be played at Canterbury on Monday 5 August.
Ladies'
Counties
The draws
The draws have been made for the Women's Counties and we can see a number of dates to be put in diaries for spectators wishing to watch at our home green.
The Triples start on 30 May, but all our three teams are away (Chrissie Barr, Alison Macdonald and Sue Mates).
The Pairs starts on 31 May where Yvonne Gambrill is at home, but with Alison Macdonald and Sue Mates away.
The Singles start on 3 June when Leah Bamford is at home with a difficult match against Sharon Todd from Cheriton.
4 June The Senior Fours starts with Chrissie Barr at home and Christiane DeWeduwe away at Ashford Rail.
10 June Alison Macdonald is at home in the Singles against Mo Hayes from Ashford Rail, another tough one. Chrissie Barr starts her campaign away.
The Maude Woods competition has play by dates rather than fixed days so you will have to ask the competitors when they are playing, if you want to come and watch them.
The preliminary play by date is 26 May when Sue Close, Yvonne Gambrill and Sue Mates are at home and Jane Carey - Harris and Alison Macdonald are away. Karen Owen has a bye in the preliminary round and is at home in Round One to play by 9 June.
The Club are the proud holders of the Mollie Cleggett Trophy and start their new campaign on or before 9 July at home against Thanet.
Nationals
The draws have been made and the number of entries seems down on last year. Nationals have "play by" dates rather than the fixed dates of Counties so we cannot predict when a competitor you might want to support will be playing. Most Nationals don't get under way until late May or early June.
In the Men's singles we are represented by Steve Wells (away) and Alan Cornfoot (home). In the Champion of Champions Matt Rich will start his journey towards the end of May with a home draw.
In the Men's pairs we have the pairs of Colin Strouts and Chris Dawson facing each other in the first round. Alan Cornfoot's pair has a home draw.
In the Family pairs we have representation by Matt Rich, Darren Ellis, Joe Vandepeer and Colin Strouts, all playing at home.
In the Mixed pairs we will be following the fortunes of Steve Wells, Isaac Tompkins and Andy Ferguson. Only Andy is at home.
In the Ladies singles and pairs Alison Macdonald starts with a couple of away draws and Mandy Catt is also away in her Champion of Champions adventure.
In the Top Club competition our Ladies start with a home draw against Whitstable.
The Men have two teams with opponents away at Betteshanger and Sandwich.
Our B team are playing at home against Sandwich A on Saturday 18 May at 10am.
The Two Fours for men also have tough starts for their two entries against Birchington and Sandwich.
Our B team are playing at home against Sandwich A on Thursday 16 May at 6pm.
Finally, the two Men's teams have starting matches against Herne Bay and Lenham in the Tony Allcock.
We will also be monitoring our player's progress in the Under 25 County teams.