Bowls leagues call time on 2020
There will be no league bowls action in Shropshire this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Salop Leisure Shropshire Premier, SPS Whitchurch, Molson Coors Mid Shropshire and Shrewsbury Ladies leagues have all abandoned their scheduled programmes, despite some greens reopening as lockdown restrictions ease.
The last vestige of hope disappeared yesterday when the SPS Whitchurch, the county’s biggest league, announced it had given up all hope for 2020.
It is the first time in the Premier Division’s 26-year history that no league action has taken place, while the cancellation also stands out in the long and proud history of the Mid Shropshire League.
Mid Shropshire players have not been without bowls since its inception in 1932 – playing on through World War II.
Shropshire Premier competition secretary Rob Burroughs said: “We thought we’d give it a bit of a chance with stuff gradually opening, but we’ve run out of time for this season.”
Mal Fletcher, Mid Shropshire secretary, added: “The officers do have a sense of guilt for leaving the decision this late, but we wanted to give the situation as long as possible to develop before opting to put the league into hibernation for at least a month. Fingers crossed, the Mid Shropshire League can still cater for those who want to get competitive later this summer and the year won’t be a total write-off.”
Just 230 from nearly 1,500 Mid Shropshire bowlers showed a desire to play.
But the Mid Shropshire League are to hold discussions at a meeting next month over the possibility of staging some cup competitions later in the year, while adhering to government’s guidelines on gatherings and social distancing.
Many of the county’s greens are open for practicing, but gatherings and testing means competitive fixtures would currently prove too problematic.
