Howden Trophy is enjoyed by all at indoor bowls club

Adur, winners of the Howden Trophy with Vix and Jo from Howden Insurance

placeholder image — Adur, winners of the Howden Trophy with Vix and Jo from Howden Insurance

The annual Howden Trophy event was held at Horsham District Indoor Bowls Club.

It has become a popular annual event and this year, there was the maximum number of 16 teams of three entered from across Sussex and beyond – even as far as North Petherton in Somerset.

This competition is not like most bowls competitions - each team member has three bowls: nought, one and three. Tactics are involved, given the aim to get the highest value bowl as the 'shot bowl', but that’s not always easy. You can win the end with the nought bowl being nearest the jack, but no point scored.

Each team played four rounds, with a break for lunch after the first two rounds. Once all the rounds had been played, the team from Adur emerged as the winners, with a team from Grattons the runners-up.

Vix from Howden (sponsors) with her trophy for winner the 'Spider" competition

Everybody then took part in the Spider to end the bowling part of the day. This is a quick fun competition, with everybody around the edge of the green, and on a given sound, everyone bowls towards a single, central jack, with the winner being the one closest to the jack. And, the winner was Vix, who was representing Howdens Insurance, our sponsors for this event.

Following the presentations, the raffle was drawn with the proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support – the nominated charity of current president, Linda Adamson. A big thank-you goes to club member Danny Craft who came up with the format and has managed the competition for three years. Thanks also went to everybody who helped on the day, including caterer Pauline.

At HDIBC, they welcome all adults who wish to bowl, from beginners to those who wish to take part in friendly, county and national events.

They are open every day of the year, except Christmas and New Year's Day, from 9:30am to 9:30pm. There is also a busy social events programme, which includes quiz nights, card clubs, race nights, musical acts and much more.

Never played bowls? Don't worry, the club can supply bowls and coaches who will take you through what you need to know – and will even give you four weeks’ free membership to get you started.

If you would like to give it a try, why not try the Bowls4Fun evening, held each Wednesday, starting at 7pm, or call 01403 268346 (reception desk manned weekday mornings and most afternoons).