National Competitions for men and women are run by Bowls England and the competitions for 2026 are managed from here.
County competitions for men are run by Kent County Bowling Association and for the women by their website here . 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.
County competitions, as well as producing champions of the County in a particular discipline, also provide entry qualifications for the National events held in Leamington.
There are also Kentish team competitions which the club enters, such as the Bernard Annand Trophy/Shield and the Millennium Trophy and our progress, or otherwise, will be recorded at the end of this page.
County Competitions 2026 - Men
The draws have now been made for the 2026 outdoor season. Once again Canterbury has a significant number of entries across the range of competitions.
There are some cracking matches in prospect for spectators . As in previous years we will track the fortunes of our players as (hopefully) they play their way to the finals.
The scheduled dates for playing are:
Singles
The draw has slightly favoured Canterbury bowlers in the Singles (played on a Monday). Paul Causer, Darren Ellis, Colin Strouts (bye in first round), Tom Attaway, Mick Fisher, Andy Ferguson (the last two are both byes in the first round and are playing each other), Mark Collison (bye in first round), Steve Wells (bye in first round) and Jeff Vane start off their campaign at home, whilst Alan Cornfoot, Pete Foster and Isaac Tompkins have to travel. Pete and Isaac have byes in the first round.
Pairs
Pete Foster, Alan Cornfoot, Darren Ellis, Jeff Vane, Andy Ferguson are drawn away, Paul Causer, Tom Andrews and Bryan Nicholson start off at home. Matches played on a Tuesday.
Triples
The triples of Darren Ellis, Colin Strouts and Pete Foster are away Paul Causer (has a bye and could end up playing Pete Foster, if Pete wins away). Matches played on a Wednesday.
Unbadged Singles
Canterbury bowlers have the rough side of the draw in the unbadged with Mark Collison, Darren Ellis, Dean Ellis and Bryan Nicholson all starting away. Colin Strouts and Andy Ferguson are at home. Matches played on a Thursday.
Fours
Darren Ellis and Jeff Vane are away. Joe Vandepeer is at home.
Matches are played on a Friday.
Over 55 Fours
No entries this year.
Cox Cup
Canterbury A are away at Lyminge in round one, Canterbury B have a bye in round one but will then be away to Whitstable B or Herne Bay A.
Junior Pairs
TBA
Rules
Competition rules for the men's programme can be found here.
County Competitions 2026 - women
Two wood singles
TBA
Singles
Lin Riches is at home on June 1 and if she wins she would play Mandy Catt (a bye) in round two. Yvonne Gambrill is at home on June 1.
Pairs
Karen Owen and Yvonne Gambrill are away in the Preliminary round on 29 May. Mandy Catt is at home on 5 June.
Triples
On the preliminary round on 4 June Jenny Anderson is at home and Yvonne Gambrill is away.
Fours
In the preliminary round on 27 May Mandy Catt is at home, while Yvonne Gambrill is away in round one on 3 June.
Senior Fours
Jenny Anderson is at home in the preliminary round on 2 June. Christiane de Weduwe is at home in round one on 9 June and Yvonne Gambrill is away on that date.
Maude Woods
In these singles matches there are play by dates rather than a fixed date. The first round of matches need to be played by 16 May.
Alison Macdonald, Line Riches are home as are Jane Carey-Harris and Deborah MacVean who play each other.
Matches to be played by 30 May have Jenny Anderson playing Karen Owen and with Sue Close away and Yvonne Gambrill at home.
Mollie Cleggett
This double fours sees Canterbury playing New Romney (who beat us in 2025) on 14 July.
Rules
Rules for the above Ladies competitions can be found here.
National Competitions 2026
To be announced after March 1 closing date.
Men's Singles Over 60
Men's Pairs Over 60
Women's Singles Over 60
Women's Pairs Over 60
Mixed Pairs
Mixed Fours
Foundation Pairs
Champion of Champions
Men
Women
Family pairs
National team events
Men's Top Club
Two Fours
Women's Top Club
Over 60 Mixed Two Fours
Other major tournaments
Bernard Annand
Two competitions the Shield and the Trophy. The Shield is open to all club members, but the Trophy cannot have County badge players or members who have been part of a team who had previously won a Shield or Trophy competition.
Shield
Trophy
Millennium Cup
This is a competition run by clubs in Mid-Kent and to which we were invited to join a few years ago. We won the competition in 2023. The rinks are a two wood singles, a four wood singles, a pairs, a triple and a four. The scoring system is geared to winning at least three disciplines.