📣 Sunday 8th November – All Kent Teams at Home This Sunday, 8th November, all Kent teams are playing at home in their next fixtures: Kent Castles vs West Sussex Kent Hops vs West Sussex Kent Knights vs Surrey 🕘 Arrival Time: 9.00am Everyone is asked to help put the equipment out on arrival. 🍽 Lunch Pre‑Order Reminder Please make sure to pre‑order lunch. Singles & Pairs: 11.30am Triples & Fours: 12.30pm Best of luck to all teams — let’s make it a strong home performance.

Sad News – Tony Mulcuck It is with great sadness that we share the news that Tony Mulcuck from Ditton Short Mat Bowls Club has sadly passed away. Tony was a founding member of Kent County, the first Kent player to represent England (1985), and a long‑serving member of Ditton SMBC, as well as being involved in running various events at the local hall. His contribution to short mat bowls, both locally and nationally, was truly significant. 📜 A Little Bit of History – Tony Mulc

Sad News – John Bassett It is with great sadness that we share the news that John Bassett, long‑term Kent B Team, West Kingsdown, Otford, and Ryarsh member, has sadly passed away. On behalf of Kent County Short Mat Bowls, we send our heartfelt condolences to John’s family during this difficult time. Our thoughts are with you all.

📣 Match Report – Saturday 24th October 2026 Kent Knights vs East Sussex (Away) On Saturday 24th October, Kent Knights travelled away to face East Sussex in their latest fixture. After a hard‑fought day on the mats, here is the final result: 🔵 Kent Knights: 21 points, 222 shots 🟠 East Sussex: 19 points, 203 shots 🗣 Manager’s Comments – Alan Ellis “Kent Knights dug in deep to pull off this win. Particular mention to the Fours team of Alan Taylor, Tony Chawner, Paul Mantell

Get your entries in for our first open competition of the season. Sunday 22nd November 2026 📅 Date: Open Triples Competition 📍 Venue: Ashford Indoor Bowls Club 🔒 Entry Limit: Only 32 teams ⏰ Entries Close: 9pm – Sunday 15th November To enter, please email the names of your team members to: kcsmbacompetitions@outlook.com Payment is required to secure your place. If you have any questions, please let our Competition Secretary Thomas Constable know

Kent Domestic / National Singles Competition Sunday 11th October 2026 – Ashford Indoor Bowls Club Kent hosted the 2026 Domestic/National Singles Competition on Sunday 11th October at Ashford Indoor Bowls Club. A total of 76 players entered the tournament, with all matches played over nine ends. Main Competition – Semi‑Finals Michael Doorey (Offham) vs Jody Frampton (Hamstreet) Final Score: 11–3 to Jody Frampton (After eight ends; final end not played) Tim Harwood (Tunbury) vs

Match Report — Saturday 10th October 2026 Kent Castles & Kent Hops vs Surrey (Away at Guildford) Both Kent Castles and Kent Hops travelled to Guildford today for their next ICC fixture against Surrey. Kent Castles — Final Result Kent: 15 points, 190 shots Surrey: 25 points, 195 shots 🗣 Manager’s Comments — Gary Allard: “A tight game — only 5 shots between both teams, including 1 draw and six games lost by just 1 shot on very slick mats. Turn those six games around and we

Hi All Please find attached approved minutes from ESMBA for their 8-9 August 2026 Management committee seminar.

📣 Domestic / National Singles Competition — Sunday 11th October The Domestic/National Singles Competition will be held on Sunday 11th October at Ashford Indoor Bowls Club. As this is a National Qualifier, the competition will be played strictly under National Rules. Arrival Time Please arrive at 8.00am. You will not be able to enter the building before this time. Catering Please ensure you pre‑order your food, as this greatly assists the catering team at Ashford with prepar

Coach Bowls are running a Level 2 course with the practical work specifically tailored to short mat bowls. Module 1 - Theory Zoom 1 session Tuesday 27th Oct 2026 17.30 - 20.30 Module 2 - Theory Zoom 2 session Tuesday 10th Nov 2026 17.30 - 20.30 Module 3 - Practical weekend Sat 28th Nov - Sun 29th Nov 2026 starting at 09.00 Solihull Indoor Bowls Centre Module 4 - Theory Zoom 3 session Tuesday 1st Dec 2026 17.30 - 20.30 Final Assessment - Time, date and loc

📣 Match Report — Weekend of Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September 2026 🔵 Kent Castles vs East Sussex — Saturday 26th September (Away at Hailsham) Kent Castles got off to a flying start in their first ICC match of the season, securing a well‑earned victory on tricky mats. Final Score: Kent Castles: 33 points, 239 shots East Sussex: 7 points, 151 shots 🗣 Comments from Gary Allard, Castles Manager: “There were some excellent performances today on tricky mats. It’s very hard

Thursday Night Practice – Important Update Thursday night practice at Ashford Indoor Bowls Club will be resuming this Thursday, 17th September 2026. Due to an increase in hall hire, the cost will now be £3.00 per session. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Congratulations to the following players who have now received their Kent County Badge: Alan Taylor Barry Addison Carl Ashby Derek Mardel Daniel Mott Buck Mathews Georgie Mathews

Sad News – Jim Flin It is with great sadness that we share the news that Jim Flin, long‑term White Oak member and Kent County B Team player, has sadly passed away. On behalf of Kent County Short Mat Bowls, we send our heartfelt condolences to Joan and the family during this difficult time. Our thoughts are with you all.

IMPORTANT COMPETITION UPDATE Apologies, Please note that the cost is £7 per person, per competition — not £7 per entry. For example, Fours entry totals £28

🏆 Kent County Squad Day – Sunday 13th September 📍 Venue: Ashford Indoor Bowls Club 🕘 Arrival Time: 9.00 am Sunday 13th September is the Kent County Squad Day, held at Ashford Indoor Bowls Club. Everyone is asked to arrive for 9.00 am and help set the venue up so we can start promptly.

🏆 Kent County Presentation Day – Sunday 30th August The Kent County Presentation Day was held at Ashford Indoor Bowls Club, celebrating all county competition winners and runners‑up, as well as recognising each county team’s Captain’s Player, Players’ Player, and Top Performer for the season. 🎯 Competition Results 4 Wood Singles – Main Cup Winner: Jody Frampton (Hamstreet) Runner‑Up: Danny Hogben (Tunbury) 4 Wood Singles – Plate Winner: Chris Bull (Hawkinge) Runner‑Up: Alan

Please arrive at Ashford Indoor Bowls Club for 9:00am. A few updates regarding the Kent County Presentation Day taking place this Sunday, 30th August: Buffet: A buffet will be provided by Carla at a cost of £7 per person. Dress Code: Kent shirts must be worn. If you do not have a Kent shirt, please wear your club shirt. We look forward to seeing everyone there and celebrating the achievements across the county.

Below is a link to the Open Competition on the new ESMBA website, entries to be completed on the online form and payments through PayPal Open Competitions - English Short Mat Bowling Association

Please find attached a document and poster, this will help to explain why we have updated our requirements for personal details at registration, as discussed at the recent AGM.