Year: 2025

Green Keepers Trophy

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The Green Keepers Trophy was played for this afternoon by 8 club members, who have given up their spare time to work on the green/ground this season. Despite the recent bad weather, the green looked great and played really well.

The competition was played for on a knockout out cup basis, starting at the quarter final stage. All three rounds were played over 6 ends, with the names & rinks being drawn out of a hat, at the start.
In the quarter finals, Rod bt Ivan, Geoff bt Lewis, Janet bt Tony & Colin bt Steve. In the semi-finals Rod bt Geoff & Colin bt Janet.

And so, on to the final – Rod v Colin. Rod won the first two ends to lead 3-0, then Colin won the next two ends to level the match at 3-3 after 4 ends. Colin then played a super end to take three shots & the lead 6-3 after 5 ends. Rod took one shot on the final end, but he couldn’t quite make up the deficit, so Colin ran out the 6-4 winner.

Well done to both players on making it to the final, but the spoils go to Colin. Many congratulations on your excellent victory. Watching the final was last year’s winner Charles, who presented Colin with the lovely trophy, which has been donated to the club by Marie.

Don’t forget, the single’s finals are both being played tomorrow afternoon (Friday 19th) at 1:30pm, followed by the Champions of Champions match & a roll up, starting at 5:30pm.

The Aussie Pairs final is being played on Saturday morning starting at 10:30am.

All spectators are very welcome. Once the Aussies Pairs match has finished, you are all very welcome to have a roll up, anytime you like until the green closes for the season at dusk.

Ivan Buss
18th September 2025.

Ralph Bentley Cup

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In memory of our late founder, Ralph Bentley, 15 club members today played in the annual Ralph Bentley Cup competition. Conditions weren’t great, but Lewis had done a cracking job preparing the green this morning, which looked & played really well – and nobody got wet!

The format was four rounds of four ends, with four teams of four players, each team being drawn out of a hat. Each player played two bowls each. The order in which the players were drawn became the order they had to play in. As we were one player short, two players had to play three bowls in one of the two matches in each round, so each team still played 8 shots. I’m not sure everyone completely grasped this concept, even after two hours+ of play, but we got there in the end and no blood was spilled (just)!

Thank you to Colin, for completing the scorecard in each of his four matches.

After two rounds, Tony led the way with 9 shots. Then, boosted by 9 shots in one of the round 3 matches, Steve was leading on 17 shots, with Ivan, Paul T & Janet close behind on 15 shots. So, with everything to play for, the last round of matches were crucial. With Steve & Ivan in the same team up against Paul T, Paul T needed to score 3 shots more than Steve to head the table. Sadly for him, he could only manage 1 shot more, leaving Paul T on 18 shots & Steve on 19 shots. That left a chance for Janet to tie with Steve if she could score 4 shots in the other match. It all came down to the last end, when Janet’s team scored an excellent 3, giving her 6 in total from that match, which in turn left her clear at the top on 21 shots, Steve 2nd on 19 shots & Paul T & Peggy tied 3rd on 18 shots.
That’s the first time Robert, Paul T & Peggy have played in this competition, so well done to you all. Janet wasn’t able to play in any of the club competitions this season, so how fitting that she played so well today and ended the season being crowned as our 2025 Ralph Bentley Cup winner.

Congratulations Janet & very well played.

Ivan Buss
16th September 2025.

The Timber Trundlers came to play

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It has taken three years, but finally, on Friday 5th September, Downton Bowling Club were delighted to host and play the Timber Trundlers at home in Downton.

After a week of heavy rain following a prolonged dry spell, it was touch and go if this match would actually go ahead, but the green recovered magnificently allowing the match to go ahead. As you can see from the pictures below, the match was played on a warm September afternoon with sunshine and almost no wind. We were able to make use of six rinks and the scores were:

RinkDownton (Home)ResultHomeAwayTimber Trundlers (Away)
Rink 1Janet/Marg/RodD1717Pam/Derek/Paul O
Rink 2Robert/Martin/IvanW1511Sheila/Ruth/Paul D
Rink 3Steve/Jenny/DawnL622Tina/Linda/Steve Dix
Rink 4Peggy/David/ColinW2413Ray/DL/John
Rink 5Lynda/Martin (TT)/Lew (TT)W217Mo/June/Bill
Rink 6Patrick/Neil/Paul BW1711Mike/George/David H

Final Scores: Downton 100, Timber Trundlers 81. Downton won 4, lost 1 and drew 1.

The Timber Trundlers have a tradition where, for the final end, each team swaps woods. This puts a different perspective on the last end and gives everyone a chance to try the different feel of wooden bowls. After the games, both teams had tea and biscuits in the clubhouse with our visitors only having to suffer three of Steve’s jokes.

The Timber Trundlers are a Lignum-Vitae Preservation Bowling Association. Lignum-Vitae is the name of the wood that is used to produce these bowls and it is one of the hardest and heaviest type of wood known. Those interested in these special bowls may wish to learn more about them by visiting https://thesportofbowls.co.uk/articles/article-4-lignum-bowls/

Bustards v Argyle D

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The Bustards’ final match of the season was at home against already-relegated Argyle D, which gave us the opportunity to finish third if we took all six points & other results went our way. We couldn’t have asked for a better day weather wise & the green looked & played great. Thank you to all of the Arygle team for making this such a lovely, friendly match to play in.

Rink 1 – Tony, Ann & Paul – W17-15. We won the first 3 ends to lead 4-0 & never looked back. In all, we won 10 ends, which included a 5 & 5×2. I was a bit worried when they scored a 3 on end 13 & a 4 on end 14 to lead 13-14, but we managed to recover & took a 2 on the last end to win the match 17-15. A very good effort.

Rink 2 – Janet, Steve & Geoff – W24-15. 10-0 after 3 ends which included 2×4, set the tone for a convincing victory. We won 10 ends, including a 5, 2×4 & a 3. The Argyle team never gave up & won 6 of the last 8 ends, but trailing 17-4 after 10 ends was always too much for them to make up. Well done team.

Overall score – Bustards 41 v 30 Argyle D. Bustards 6 points, Argyle 0 points. Final points total Bustards 61 points.

Yet again, delays in inputting the results meant we had to wait to see the correct results & the final league table positions. Knyveton took 4 points today, which gave them 62 points & they finished 3rd. Then the big one. Fordingbridge (P18 W18) 40 (1 rink) 4 points v Dragons 30 (1 rink) 2 points, which gave the Dragons a final total of 60 points. This all means the Dragons finished 5th & the Bustards finished 4th. To see the final league table, please log on to www.banddba.org.uk & follow the links.

Congratulations to the Dragons on a successful season & for pushing us so hard. To finish 4th & 5th with the resources we have, reflects very well on everyone at Downton Bowling Club. But, to those of you who have played for the Bustards this season, Geoff, Steve, Dibbie, Paul, Dibbie, Tony, Ann, Janet & Martin, thank you so much for all of your efforts. Coming 4th is a great result & you should feel very pleased with yourselves for what you have achieved this season. I’m very proud of every one of you & I hope you have enjoyed playing for the Bustards this season. Tony/Dibbie – If you don’t play on again next season, thank you for everything you have done for the club & for playing for the Bustards.

Ivan Buss 6th September 2025.

Swanage Dolphins v Bustards

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The Bustards made the long trek to Swanage to play the already promoted Dolphins. The weather wasn’t great, very windy with the threat of rain in the air, but we did manage to get in a full match, without getting wet!
Rink 1 – Tony, Paul & Geoff – L10-15. Sadly after a few ends, it became clear that Paul’s leg injury was severely hampering him & he did well to complete the match. It was 8-8 after 11 ends, then we lost 6 of the last 7 ends to lose the match 10-15. We did well to win 7 ends in total, which included 3×2 & 4 singles. All things considered, a good effort.
Rink 2 – Janet, Steve & Ivan – L16-20. We only won 4 of the first 12 ends to trail 6-14, then got up a bit of momentum & scored 3, 0, 4, 0, 3 to trail 16-17 after 17 ends. Sadly, despite moving the jack twice on the last end, the luck didn’t go our way & we lost a 3, to lose the match 16-20. Again, another good effort.
Overall score – Dolphins 35 v 26 Bustards. Dolphins 6 point, Bustards 0 points. This was always going to be a tough task & to only lose by 9 shots to a very good team was a decent effort. Whoever has been updating the results online has made a complete hash of it, so at the moment we are showing in 5th. Congratulations to the Dolphins on their promotion & we wish them well next season in div 3.
Weather permitting, the last game of the season will be played at the Nest next Saturday, when we play 9th/10 placed Argyle D. The match starts at 10am & the bar will be open from midday, so why not come along & support the team.
Ivan Buss 30th August 2025.

Bustards v Richmond Park Panthers

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The Bustards were at home today against the Richmond Park Panthers. The green was very wet, as the sprinkler system had come on at 6am, but once it dried out, it played as well as it has done all season. The weather was great & the Panthers team were good fun to play against.
Rink 1 – Janet, Paul & Geoff – W28-7. Welcome to Janet, making her debut. We won the first 11 ends, which included a 5 on end 7, a 4 on the 2nd end, 2×3, 3×2 & 4 singles, to lead 25-0. Our opponents stuck at it & won 4 of the last 7 ends, as we ran out 28-7 winners. Another excellent performance. Well done.
Rink 2 – Tony, Ann & Ivan – W20-16. We started off well winning 6 of the first 7 ends, including 2×3, 3×2 & a single. We then gave away a poor 5, before winning the next 3 ends to lead 19-6. Our opponents then won 6 of the last 7 ends & they did really well to reduce the final score to 20-16. Overall a decent team performance.
Overall score – Bustards 48 v 23 Panthers. Bustards 6 points, Panthers 0 points. We are still in 3rd place, but unfortunately we travel to Swanage to play the mighty Dolphins next week in our penultimate match of the season. This is going to be a very tough match, but we’ll give it a good go.
Ivan Buss 23rd August 2025.

NFBA/NFWBA Match 7

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Downton were asked to provide a mixed rink of 4 players, to play in this six rinks friendly match, between the New Forest & Bowls Hampshire, played at Fordingbridge.
Our team consisted of Dawn, Lynda, Colin & Ivan.
We played on rink 5, which I have already played on this season for the Bustards. Previously, it only turned on one hand, whilst it only went straight on the other. It did exactly the same today, but it was quick & a still fun to play on.
We took 1 shot on the first end, then lost 5 in a row, 1-5-2-1-1 to trail 1-10 after 6 ends. On end 7 we took a 3, then brilliantly won 10 more of the remaining 11 ends, which included 5×1, 4×2 & another 3, to run out 20-11 winners. Our opponents only took 1 shot after the 6th end, which came on the 17th end, to spoil our run.
Overall we lost the match 84-94, but our performance won us the accolade for being the NF’s best performing rink, for which we were each given a posh NF coaster! I also got my first time starter pin badge & I bought a NF shirt, which hopefully I will get the chance to wear again next season.
After the match, we were treated to an excellent two course meal, which finished the afternoon off very nicely. Thank you to everyone involved.
Congratulations to our team for their great performance & for doing our little club proud.
Ivan Buss 20th August 2025.

Bustards v Pelham Sea Eagles

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The Bustards took on bottom of the league Pelham Sea Eagles at the nest, looking to bounce back from last week’s heavy defeat. The green was very slow to start off with, but as it dried out, it sped up & played pretty well in the end. The Sea Eagles team were easily the friendliest team we have played all season & we all had a good laugh and played a very enjoyable, fun match in the sunshine.
Rink 1 – Dibbie, Paul & Geoff – W20-10. We took a 2 on the first end & never looked back. We won 10 ends, which included a 4, a 3 & 5×2. Another great performance & result. Well done boys.
Rink 2 – Tony, Steve & Ivan – W27-11. After last week’s disaster, we needed & produced a fine performance. We were 6-1 up after 4 ends, then lost a 3 & a 4 to trail 6-8. This spurred us in to action & we won 9 of the last 10 ends, including 2×4, 2×3 & 4×2. Thank you to Graeme, Jane & Annie for making this match so much fun to play in.
Overall score – Bustards 47 v 21 Sea Eagles. Bustards 6 points, Sea Eagles 0 points. Our shot difference is now +8. The result of today’s big match was Swanage Dolphins 36-1 v 39-1 Fordingbridge Flyers. This means the Dolphins need just 1 point from their last 3 matches to be promoted & the Flyers need 6 points to win the league. Other results went our way today, so we are back up to 3rd.
Next week we are at home to 8th place Richmond Park Panthers. Ann is replacing Dibbie & as Steve is away, we are currently one player short. If you would like to play, please kindly let me know asap. The match starts at 10am & the bar opens at midday. All spectators are very welcome.
Ivan Buss 16th August 2025.

Knyveton Kestrels v Bustards

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The Bustards were away today against the Knyveton Kestrels. The weather was great & only Ringwood’s green has looked better this season.
Rink 1 – Dibbie, Paul & Geoff – W22-14. An excellent team performance. We won 12 ends, which included a 4, 2×3 & 4×2. Without the 5 they scored on end 14, the result would have been even more emphatic. Well done boys.
Rink 2 – Tony, Steve & Ivan – L6-37.
Overall score – Kestrels 51 v 28 Bustards. Kestrels 4 points, Bustards 2 points. We are now down to 5th, 1 place & 1 point behind the Dragons, with a +5 shot margin.
Next week we are at home to the Pelham Sea Hawks. Match starts at 10am & the bar is open from midday.
Ivan Buss
9th August 2025.

Bustards Fordingbridge

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The Bustards (3rd) were today at home to Fordingbridge (2nd), under an overcast sky. We had a couple of showers & at one point the rain was so heavy we had to leave the green. Luckily the sun came out & we managed to play a full 18 end match.

Rink 1 – Dibbie, Paul & Geoff – L12-18. Not a good start, 0-9 after 4 ends. After 7 ends it was 7-10, then we lost 5 ends in a row to trail 7-16. A couple of good ends to finish, saw us eventually lose 12-18.

Rink 2 – Tony, Ann & Ivan – L15-20. Again, not a good start 0-5 after 4 ends. We then won 6 of the next 7 ends to lead 11-6. On ends 12 & 13 we lost 3 shots on each, then on end 14 we conceded a pathetic 6, to chuck the game away. We did win 3 of the last 4 ends, but still lost 15-20.

Overall score – Bustards 27 v 38 Fordingbridge. Bustards 0 points, Fordingbridge 6 points. With the Ringwood result still to come in, we are still 3rd, with the Dragons now only 1 point behind in 4th.

After this performance, the bye week has come just at the right time for us. Our next game is on the 9th August away to Knyveton Kestrels.

Ivan Buss – 26th July 2025.