Marlborough Bowls Club celebrate their 80th birthday with a charity “bowlathon”

Here’s a bowls match with a long distance twist to it.  To mark the Club’s 80th anniversary, four members of the Marlborough Bowls Club are extending the usual 21 ends and aim to play 100 ends in one day – and they will be playing on every green in the county.

This is a charity challenge with a difference raising funds for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the Wiltshire Bowls Association Benevolent Fund – Ladies and Mens.  A really challenging pairs match.

Saturday (June 21) will be a pretty long day for all us, but for Alan Eyles, Nick Patterson, Alan White and Jason White it will be a very long day indeed.  Supported by club members Ian James and Chris Simmons and by the county’s 47 affiliated clubs, they will start by playing two ends on their home green and then set off round the other 47 greens.

For the 99th and 100th ends they will be back on their home green – and probably ready for a little light refreshment.

If anyone is worried by the maths of this challenge, it goes like this: 47 x 2 = 94 then add two extra ends played on the second greens at Devizes, Westlecot and at Marlborough to finish and the grand total comes to 100.  No wonder they are calling it a ‘bowlathon’.

You can support the charities this 80th birthday bowls challenge is helping at its Justgiving page.