KENT COUNTY SHORT MAT BOWLING
ASSOCIATION
Affiliated to English Short Mat Bowling
Association
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President Ted Messer |
Chairman Tim Rycraft |
Secretary Michelle Fitzgerald |
Date of last update: 22 June 2008
To contact the County Association click here
22 June 08. County 2008/09
winter fixture list published. Click here for
details
12 June 08. Kent win their ICC
Summer League fixture against Hampshire. Click here for
details
12
June 08. County
Ranking List for 2007/08 season published. Click here to view.
26 May 08. Linda Wynn
remembers her day at the English National Championships. Click here for
details.
18 May 08. Presentations made
to KCSMBA Founder Members at the 20th Anniversary Pairs Competition
held at Strood Leisure Centre on Sunday 18 May 08. Click here for
Competition results and photographs.
15 May 08. South East Kent League
and Maidstone & District Short Mat Triples League end of season league
tables published. Click
here for details.
15 May 08. Demelza House
charity event held on 5 May 08 raises just under £1000. Click here for a
report.
30 March 08. Jody Frampton,
partnered by Babs Morokutti, Essex, win the World Pairs Championships at
Herentals, Belgium. Click here for a
report.
March 2008. Two Kent players
receive call ups to the England squad for the 2008 World Championships to be
held in Belgium. Click
here for details
13.05.08. Photographs from
the County Squad End of Season Dinner now published. Click here to
view.
7.05.08. All County team and individual competition results for 2007/08 and previous seasons can be found in the Archive section. Click here for details.
6.03.08. Boughton
Monchelsea SMBC celebrates its 20th anniversary in March 2008. Click here for details
12.02.08. ITEMS FOR SALE. Surplus Mats for sale. Click here for details.
5.10.07. Snodland SMBC
host the Kent County team during the villages Festivities Fortnight during July
2007. Click here for
details.
27.09.07. South East League win the Inplay Trophy held at Snodland Community Centre on 22 September 07. Click here for details.
1.09.06. Take a walk down memory lane and view the Fashion Show held at Burham Village Hall in 2003. Click here.
Click
on links below for information required:
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The Kent County Short Mat Bowling Association was
formed following talks held in Blackpool in April 1988 between Ted Messer, Tony
Mulcuck, and Andrea and John Rycraft. Several independent short mat
associations and leagues were in existence within Kent at that time and the
co-founders of the Association were mainly playing in the Maidstone and
District Short Mat Triples League. The Maidstone league had been founded in
1987/88 and consisted of one division of six clubs. These clubs being Detling,
Langley, Rochester, Sutton Valence, Tovil & YMCA.
The Association held it’s first AGM in February 1989
and the following committee was formed:
President: Des Butters, Vice-Presidents: Tony Mulcuck
and Glynne Hibbert, Chairman: Ted Messer, Vice-Chairman: Ray Owen, Treasurer:
John Rycraft, Secretary: Andrea Rycraft, Competition Secretaries: Ray Owen and
Ted Pocklington.
Following disagreements with the English Short Mat Bowling Association it was decided to resign from the Association in 1990 but the County re-affiliated in 1992.
The first County team was formed in 1989 and played its
first game at home against the South West England Zone at Margate on 23rd
September 1989. The return match was played at Huish Episcopi, Somerset on 29th
September 1990, with Kent again losing, this time by 15pts - 33pts, 210 shots -
266 shots. Kent entered a team into the ESMBA Inter County Championships for
the first time in 1992/93 season. In that season Kent were entered into South
East Region and played against Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex. Then
from the 1993/94 season the County entered teams into the National Premier and
"A" team competitions. Success in these competitions soon followed
with Kent Premier team winning the national title in 1994/95, 1997/98, 1998/99,
2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03 and 2004/05. With these successes Kent became the
first county to win the national title three times in succession. The Premier
team were also National runners up in 1996/97, 2003/04 and 2005/06. The County
"A" team have won their national competition in 2001/02, 2005/06 and
2006/07 having been runners-up in 1995, 1996, 1999 and again in 2008. The
County "B" team was reformed in 1993 and then following a four year
break until 1997, have played a full fixture list of friendly inter-county
games.
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Kent Premier team 2004-05 |
In December 1995 Kent competed, as English National
county champions, in the first Team Challenge between the champions of England
and Ireland. Their champions, Western Zone, represented Ireland. The Challenge
Match was held at the Arrow Valley Social Club, Redditch and the result was a
win for the Irish. In 1997 Wales was invited to compete and in December 1998
Kent travelled to Tenby, to represent England against the Welsh, Pembrokeshire
and Irish champions, Limavady. In 1999 and 2002 Kent hosted the tournament at
Hartsdown Leisure Centre, Margate. In both events Kent were unable to beat the
Irish champions and finished second. In December 2005 Kent once again hosted
the British Isles Team Challenge. The match was played in Folkestone between
Kent, Pembrokeshire and the Irish champions Oriel with the Irish once again
winning with Kent finishing second.
Domestic league competition has flourished in Kent and
the County Association embraced most leagues. To encourage competition between
the various leagues, Inplay Ltd donated the Inplay Challenge Trophy. This
trophy was first competed for at the end of the 1990/91 season and is played
for annually. Teams of triples from the winning teams of the competing leagues
play each other, generally in September, at venues hosted by each league in
turn. Originally the competition was between the Maidstone & District;
Malling and South East Kent leagues. In 2000 the competition was extended to
embrace the Swale and West Kent Leagues.
The County organises individual competitions each year.
The County Championships are competed for in Singles, Pairs, Triples and Fours.
In addition a Club Championship is also played for annually with clubs entering
a team of triples made up of players who have not gained their County badge.
The County teams are selected from players who qualify for County badges by
appearing on the ranking list. The ranking list is compiled from points
obtained from winning games in
the four domestic individual competitions.
Kent players have over the years attained individual
English and national honours and Tony Mulcuck was the first Kent Player to
obtain England recognition. Tony was selected to take part in the 1st
ever international between England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland at Lytham St.
Annes in 1986. Playing in the individual fours, which Tony skipped, he was part
of the winning team, beating the Irish in the final.
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David Smith - Langley SMBC |
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Richard Stagg - Wye SMBC |
In 1993 Struthers Brown, Grain SMBC, became the first
Kent county short mat bowler to be selected to represent Scotland in the
British Isles Championships.
In 1994 eighteen year old David Smith, Langley SMBC,
became the youngest Kent county short mat bowler to gain national recognition
when he played for an England squad against West Sussex on Sunday 13 February
1994.
In 1996 at the age of 19, Jody Frampton, Hamstreet
SMBC, gained national recognition when he was selected to play for England in
the British Isles International against Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man and
Wales. Playing in the individual fours Jody was part of the winning team,
beating the Irish in the final. In the following year Jody was again a member
of the fours that retained the fours championships, which was held in Dumfries.
The final was again against the Irish. In 1998 Jody was again selected for
England, this time to play in the pairs in the World Championships were he and
his partner came second to the Irish pair.
In 1998 Richard Stagg, Wye SMBC, became Kent's youngest
bowler to be selected for the England National squad. At the age of 15
Richard's initial squad selection was to lead to a number of international
selections including, in 2000, representing England in the World Championships
held on the Isle of Man when he was 17 years old.
Since 1996 a number of Kent players have played in Full
and "A" internationals and have included Len Frampton, Tim Rycraft
and Gary Best.
Along with England honours, Kent players have been successful in the individual National competitions and a full list of international and national honours can be viewed at www.kentshortmatbowls.co.uk/honours.html
In 1999 Ted Messer, KCSMBA President, was elected Vice
President of ESMBA, a position he held for two years. Ted then became the
England team assistant manager, a position that was held for 2 years before in
2004 becoming team manager. Ted remained as England team manager until 2007.
In 1992 the County was awarded the first of two grants,
totalling approx £18,000, from the Foundation for Sports and Arts to purchase
bowls and office equipment.
In 2008 Jody Frampton, Hawkinge SMBC, was the first
Kent player to gain an International title. Jody was picked to represent
England and played in the pairs competition, at the World Short Mat Bowls Championships in Herentals, Belgium.
Jody was partnered by a former Kent player, Babs Morokutti, now playing
for Essex, and they won the World Championship Pairs title.
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Ted Messer receiving his memento from the County
Vice Chairman Derek Carpenter. |
Founder members Ted Messer, Tony Mulcuck, Glynne
Hibbert and Andrea and John Rycraft. |
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
formation of the County Association an open pairs competition was held at
Strood Leisure Centre on May 18th 2008. During an interval in the
play a presentation of a memento was made to five of the eight founder members
of the association.