Team Talk

Clwydian League: Vardre Deganwy ‘A’ Team

Matches are played on Tuesday afternoons.

Match News – 26th April 2022: The Team had a tough match (4th match of the season) Away to Dyserth with 3-wins overall. The first 3-matches of the season had been much closer in points difference underlining the strength of the opposition in this ‘A’ Division.

Match News – 19th April 2022: The Team won its first game on 19th April and is sitting comfortably in the middle of the ‘A’ Division Table.

2021:

Clwydian League: Vardre Deganwy ‘B’ Team

Matches are played on Tuesday afternoons.

Match News 17th May 2022: Great team performance, 7 winners – Gwyn, John, Carol, Hazel, Tom, David P, Ray and ably backed up by Ann’s 20 points against their current top player, we took the aggregate by 33 points, leaving us now 3rd in the Division with a 6-point lead on the team in 4th.  Well done everyone. _{(Photographs below courtesy of Elaine Beech).}

Match News – 19th April 2022: The Team had another win on 19th April and are now in 4th place in the ‘B’ Division, and they have the benefit of a game in hand over the three teams above them in the Table.

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2021:

North Wales Coast League: Vardre Deganwy ‘A’ Team 2022

Matches are played on Saturday afternoons. The first match of the Season was held on 23rd April 2022.

Match News 18th June 2022 – DYSERTH DISTRAUGHT!: The Saturday A team recovered to narrowly beat a strong Dyserth side by just 8 points for a 7-5 win. After a scorching few days since midweek, overnight drizzle had considerably reduced the pace of the green, whether that had been to our visitors’ advantage, we shall perhaps never know! Several of their team certainly bowled our green well, and they led 3-1 and +16 on the aggregate after the first 4 blocks. With 2 winners apiece in the middle order, a slight recovery was made, but our final pair got off to excellent starts, and turned the match in our favour at the death.

GOOD wins for Shan, Gwyn, Rhona, Bill and Ian. Doreen was unfortunately only beaten on some marks.  Diane, Tommy, Alan and John all came up against strong opponents, but they would admit disappointment, as they are all capable of greater consistency on another day – such is the game of bowls!! 

With Prestatyn Highbury losing and Abergele without a game, this latest win (our 4^th from 7 matches) lifted us back into exact mid-table position in the League. Our match away at a strong St. Asaph side next Saturday signals the half-way point of the 2022 season, and WELL DONE TEAM, we are making good progress. It will certainly not be easy, but a similar return through July and August MAY guarantee us a place in B Division for another year. UP THE VARDRE.   Captain Ian

Match News 11th June 2022 – WEST IS BEST: West of the Conwy estuary for the 3^rd time out of 4 away fixtures already, we crossed the Straits to the Llanfairpg (short version) green. On arrival, the “homesters” that were not practising were gathered around the sheriff’s office and saloon at the far side of the green, whilst our members appeared to be awaiting the next bus into Bangor, sheltering from the wind next to the road. Bear in mind that in our previous away fixture we scored just one point at Abergele, and our opponents had thrashed Holyhead 12-0 at this venue. We have little respect of form and reputation, and for the second time this season we produced an upset.

Great wins from Paul and Gwyn gave us an early lead, especially as Rhona and Shan had battled so hard to tip the aggregate our way. Three closer wins from Bill, Tommy and JC increased our lead slightly in the middle order. Diane was somewhat disadvantaged drawing the same opponent who turns out for Dwygyfylchi in midweek, but with honours shared in the final 2 games (Dave and Ian) we triumphed 8-4 (courtesy of our + 12 on overall aggregate after 6 winning cards)

YET another great TEAM effort, with individuals battling for every point, excellent support from the side and a thoroughly deserved win, which was sportingly recognised by the home captain, Geraint Booth, at the end. It only proves once again that on our day we are a match for anyone, I still believe that we shall be competing to stay in this B division in 2 months time, but we have now gained 2 unexpected results on our travels, which is a big bonus in our quest for survival. A rare home game next Saturday, before another couple of journeys – east to St.Asaph, and let’s say slightly north-east to Rhos on Sea!!!         IAN

Match News 28th May 2022: Not the best of afternoons at Abergele for the A team on Saturday, as the home side gained revenge for a 12-0 drubbing in the Wednesday League a fortnight ago, by thrashing us 11-1 in the Coast League fixture. To their credit they bowled their green very well, and we were caught out by the change of pace in the green depending on where the jack was sent. In most of the games the scores were level up to the half-way point, but the home players finished strongly and were deserved winners on the day. The defeat meant we dropped 3 places in the League table, but we always knew this was going to be a tough period as FIVE of our 6 matches through late May/early June are Away. Next match is on June 11th when we travel over to “Sir Fon” to play Llanfairpg (shortened version). Definitely a new venue possibly for all except 2 of our squad, but no problem, they only went and beat Holyhead 12-0 yesterday as we floundered at Abergele (and the Holyhead team must play quite regularly on that green!!)

Both A and B teams have byes next Saturday (June 4th) and so both squads will take part in an event commencing at 1-30pm at the Vardre green. Captain Ian Wilson

Match News 14th May 2022: The first expression was that of probably all our players as we approached the sadly-vandalised green of Holyhead, after almost an hour’s drive along the A55. What is a difficult green to read at the best of times with all its rises and dips over the entire green, suddenly became a “lottery” and a case of how many bumps you either avoided or caught. Perhaps also in its current condition, not as much an advantage to HOME bowlers either!!

We did get 4 good winners, and to their credit our losers battled throughout their games – sometimes it’s a case of “luck of the draw” that decides your fate. Holyhead certainly fielded a stronger side in their first home fixture, and as always, we were given excellent hospitality by a very friendly Club, on a gloriously sunny afternoon on the NW coast of the island.

I was happy with 4 points in the end as the home side certainly deserved their win, it will be interesting to see how other teams cope with the green during the season. Captain Ian Wilson

Match News – 7th May 2022: Another excellent team display saw our Saturday A team finish strongly to overcome a strong PRESTATYN HIGHBURY side on a glorious afternoon at the Vardre green. We had 3 defeats in the first half of the game, but triumphed 4-1 in the remaining 5 games, to run out eventual 8-4 winners, taking the aggregate score by a clear 26 points. With one 20 and two 17s among our losing cards, we amassed over 190 points for a 2^nd successive week, and the margin of victory “could” have been even better. Three consecutive wins now for Rhona, and she currently has the best individual record in the entire B Division, Diane missed out on a similar 100% record – this week her comeback fell one short, losing 20-21 (from 3-13 down at one stage). First appearances of the season for both Alan and Gwyn, neither having played competitively since 2019, good to have you both back, and special thanks to Gary who volunteered to help out when it looked as if I was likely to be one player short late on Friday.

FIVE of our next 6 matches are surprisingly Away, and with 2 blank weeks in the calendar also, our next home game is on June 18th, and after that – Sat July 9^th when we host Bangor City, as the fixture order becomes reversed. Without HOME green advantage, it will be very difficult to sustain our recent form, but the team is playing with renewed confidence, individuals are improving their game, and there is a splendid atmosphere throughout each match. Whatever the outcome, we aim to enjoy the experience in B Division. In Alan’s words “COME ON THE V..A..R..D..R..E” Ian

Match News – 30th April 2022: “A great team display and some outstanding individual performances in an unexpected 8-4 away success at Bangor (relegated at the end of the last season from the ‘A’ Division). Good wins from Rhona, John and Dave, aided by some battling games from Doreen, Shan and Tommy, kept us marginally in front. But it was the comebacks of Bill and Diane that probably changed the game. Bill recovered from 3-13 down to lose to 20 at the last end, and Diane (playing former Welsh Champion John Short) eventually won 21-19, having been 9-17 down at one stage. Ian and Paul ‘s opponents (playing at 9th & 10th) were too shocked to respond. The Bangor players were very complimentary of our team’s ethos and togetherness, and it is such a pity that their green requires so much attention – it certainly wasn’t an advantage to them on the day.” Report by an Wilson, Captain

Match News – 23rd April 2022: At the end of the 2019 Season, the ‘A’ Team won promotion to the ‘B’ Division in the League. Due to Covid, any matches played since then have been friendlies. Today the league resumed and the new team, made up of previous players and a few newbies, had its first match in the ‘B’ Division against one of the two teams that had been relegated at the end of 2019 from the ‘A’ Division. A tough start but the team had 4-wins and only missed out on the extra Aggregate points by 4-points.

2021:

The last game of the 2021 season. Everyone still going strong (above).

Ladies Team (non-League)

Team is on the noticeboard. Matches are played on Monday afternoons. The first match of the season was held on 18th April 2022 Away to Llandudno at their ground at the Oval.

Match News 16th May 2022: versus Llandudno at the Vardre Deganwy green:

Match News 18th April 2022: The Ladies Team had a good win in the first match of the season against tough opposition. There was also a very good turnout of supporters so thank you all for the additional encouragement. But nobody brought the Pom-Poms, nor had the lads devised a Cheerleading dance routine that they could have performed on the sidelines to make the day complete. Maybe next time.

Friendlies

Friendly doubles are held on Thursday afternoons. The Organisers will compile the doubles pairings to play against another club. This is a great way to play with a more experienced player and to gain experience playing a match against another club.

U3A and Club Member Coaching

Coaching for the 2022 Season commences 25th April and ends on 19th September. Coaching takes place between 10:00 and 12 noon on Monday mornings.

19th October 2021 Match