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We invite anyone who wishes to play bowls, whether they are a complete beginner or an experienced bowler looking for a new challenge. Our first class bowling green offers both social and competitive bowling across six rinks. We also welcome social members (see Join Us for details) to support the club and take part in the many varied gatherings and social events throughout the whole year.
This is your chance to try out Lawn Bowls - see club news item below for more details
Directions to 'Find Us' - see Contacts Page
Dorking Bowling Club: what3words link - ///return.text.order
We welcomed over 20 new members in 2023
We had another successful 2023 year for the Ladies
WINNERS of Surrey Advertiser Ladies League - see news page
2024 Internal Competition - Finals Weekend - Winners and Runners-up
The Complete Guide to all our Leagues in 2024 tells you everything you need to know about all our Leagues; when they are played, whether they are triples or rinks, Men’s, Ladies or Mixed. Everyone in the Club is good enough to play, so go for some games. You won’t be disappointed! This year, we are in six competitive Leagues - see full league list with details. The League Details are also outlined on the 'FIXTURES' webpage
The 2024 Fixtures are now published - click here
**2024 BOURNEMOUTH BOWLS TOUR** (want to see the pictures 
) - click here
Notice of Safeguarding Adults at Risk and Child Protection Policy - click here
In the members login section you will find full policy copies of:
Safeguarding Adults at Risk and Child Protection
Health and Safety
**Urgent** - we need your help with filling the Health and Safety Position. Click here to see the job description
We have a new sponsors page - click here
A great turn out for the AGM - over 60 - and we heard reports from the our President, Chair, team Captains, Treasurer, Trustees, Green Keeping and Maintenance. Our bowls teams performed well over the season but with mixed results - so no trophies this year. Thanks were given to the army of volunteers who keep our Club...
The Finals were split over three days - Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning and afternoon. Trevor and John accomodated those super plyaers who managed to get to multiple finals by altering the schedule. We were lucky with the weather and a good crowd attended each session. Three exciting...
Below is a selection of action shots from a fantastic Finals weekend
ESL League We continue to be second in the league at the end of July but following the game last weekend we may have dropped to third. July saw wins against Caterham and Epsom (a very close game) but Shirley Park one of the main challengers for promotion taking all points from us. We have two games remaining, both at home and...
ESL League Matches started with a series of fine wins, but form dipped in June. We were second in the league at the end of June but following the game last weekend we have now dropped to third. We need to regain our winning ways. Guildford Triples In the Guildford Triples League we have risen from last place to 7th after a...
Firstly, thank you GKT for working so hard on the green. We have had many compliments from opposing teams even though last week some of the ladies found it so much faster than their home green they had many of their bowls in the ditch! Surrey Advertiser League After 4 games we are holding our position of last year being...
ESL League An excellence start to the ESL this year with DBC winning all their games. Our points tally has been impressive taking maximum points and are currently top of the league but face some tough opponents early in June. Well done to all the players. Guildford Triples It's been a frustrating start to...
Pictures from the ESL and NDL matches with great results.
Croydon (Away) - ESL First match of the season and it was a resounding win for Dorking. All three rinks came out on top. Well done to the teams led by skips Peter R, Trevor T and Peter H
Ewhurst (Away) friendly Our 2nd of the season mixed friendly took place at Ewhurst in dry but extremely cold weather so, thankfully, after 10 ends we disappeared into their club house for a welcome hot drink. After the last 8 ends we retired to the bar for something a little stronger. Despite the cold it was a lovely,...
Stoke Park (Home) friendly What a start to the 2024 bowling season. Whilst our men play Stoke Park in the GTL, this was our first mixed friendly with them and we came out as winners – 77-66 – over 4 rinks of triples. It was a lovely, fun game played in the dry on a perfect green. Our thanks must go...
We have two newly qualified level one coaches joining Chris, Vicky and David this year so congratulations to Mike Vergien and Ray Smith and thank you for giving up your time to take the course. We have also had a new member join us who is a level 2 qualified coach, Colin Summerhayes. He has agreed to join the coaching team. Welcome...
The attendance form is also available through this link
Dates to remember for 2024 Season (extracted from 11 Jan Management Minutes): Coffee Morning - Saturday 24th February 2024 – 10.00 a.m Green Opens - Saturday 13th April 2024 Opening Drive (with buffet) – Sunday 21st April 2024 Closing Drive (President v Vice President) – Sunday 22nd September...
The challenge was accepted again for the tenth year ...... but the result was the same. Yes it was the annual match of indoor bowls against Mole Valley Bowls Club in Leatherhead and we fielded 4 rink teams - well done to David for persuading 16 outdoor players to try indoors. Actually we are getting better as we held Mole...
A great turnout for the AGM providing support and approval for the management committee. Nothing controversial was discussed and the small amendments to the constitution were passed unanimously. Also no need to vote for club officers as only one nomination for each - so again passed unanimously. Just shows how great a...
A Summary of the 2023 Season match reports Week 1 The start of the season Week 1 (up to Sat 29 April) saw 2 matches: Ewhurst (away) friendly and Wallington (home) the first ESL match in our new Division. Ewhurst The Ewhurst friendly was a draw - 81 each - and was played in a very sociable...
Another year of outdoor bowling at Dorking comes to an end with the traditional President v Vice President closing drive. There were seven rinks in operation for the 14 triples teams (always a popular event - so no problem with members signing up). The green was in fantastic condition even at the end of season and we were...
We had the presentations out on the Green this year as it was so hot and too many of us to fit comfortably into the Clubhouse. There were 15 internal competitions with all winners and runners-up receiving an award. It was really nice to see so many new members in the finals. Thank you to our President David Morley...
After the presentations it was squeeze back into the Clubhouse for celebrating a fantastic Club Competition. It was a 'bring a plate' - so there was a vast array of dishes beautifully displayed by Marian and Pat. So a long queue soon formed. And of course the bar was open !!!!! - thanks to Eric, Mary and...
What a weekend and what a scorcher ..... We were very lucky with the weather for the finals over Friday, Saturday and Sunday - so many competitions and so much silverwear to win. We had crowds on all three days eager to see the best that our Club has to offer and we weren't disappointed. Very close matches and lots of oohhs...
After sixteen weeks of battle, we had a clear winner with Hampton Court - a strong team of Nick, James, Zoe, Ray, Alan M, and Evelyn. (see table below for full results) The evening started with a damp final round - almost needed floodlights for the last team in. Then it was in to dry off and sit down to a...
Surrey Advertiser Ladies' League Semi-final and Final - Holloway Hill Bowling Club, Godalming Throughout the season 12 of our Dorking ladies played a home and away match against the other 5 clubs in Zone 1 and came out top. On Sunday the Dorking Ladies team consisting of Mary Mitchell, Barbara Skilton, Vicky Goddard and Marilyn...
Well done the Ladies of Dorking. We won the Surrey Ad League for our Zone. Congratulations to all those who took part. Pat, Sonia, Marilyn, Vicky, Paula, Sue, Mary, Jane, Carol, Karen, Barbara and Christine. This means we are now in Semi Finals which will be held on the morning of the 20th August ’23 with the finals...
Ladies Pairs' and Men's Pairs Competitions Off to a flying start on Sunday morning with 7 rinks (4 men and 3 ladies) in action. Some well matched games were played on a very hot morning, with one team typically pulling ahead in the last few ends to claim a clear win. Some of the ladies were enjoying it so much, they played...
And now some great news on how our Ladies Team is faring ..... The results for the first 5 of the 10 matches the ladies play in the Surrey Advertiser league have been announced and I would like to give a great big thank you to all the ladies who have participated so far, as we are currently top of the league - see...
The first formal training session for the 2023 intake was this Monday evening. We had an extra 3 new enthusiastic attendees to the group that came on Saturday - so 25 so far. After reminding people of the safety measures and selecting suitably sized bowls - two of our qualified coached (Vicky and David) watched...
Another very good turn out for our Open Day. The message had certainly got out that Dorking Bowling Club is the one to welcome you - if you want to learn lawn bowls and have fun in lovely surroundings. Well done to the hard work of Ray and the recruitment team. Again lucky with the weather. The very large...
We had 24 members turn up on Wednesday afternoon to learn the basics of being a Marker. Vicky organised the day (thank you) and invited Tessa and the two Janes to talk through and show us the correct basics for being a Marker - needed for singles matches. This was more of a light hearted interesting afternoon...
Bowls Surrey Presentation 5th April – the Way Forward A Briefing Note given by David Macklin for the DBC Open Forum on 14th April 2023 of the main points of the meeting and what it means to us. I attended the Bowls Surrey (BS) Presentation on 5th April at Donyngs, which covered a wide range of...
Congratulations to David who completed and passed his Level 1 Coaching assessment in March after many weeks of written and practical work and joins our other coaches ready for the 2023 season. The picture (master photographer Charlie) above is of David, Vicky and Chris who will be providing formal training for...
We thought that you would be interested to know decisions that were made at various AGMs that affect the Fixtures Card, Dress for Play and other playing issues. But first, the big news is that we have just joined a new league for us, the Mens Guildford Tuesday Triples. Guildford Triples (GTL) (Mens 2...
We are pleased to attach a photo of Captain Peter Revell and David Macklin League Delegate being presented with the NSL Triples shield and plaque for winning the League at the Presentation Evening at Wandilea BC last Friday. We were warmly welcomed and enjoyed a pint and a very nice buffet meal afterwards. When we examined the...
Thank you to everyone who turned out to a crowded AGM - 53 members signed in (but I'm sure I counted a few more had sneaked in at the back). The full minutes are available behind the 'members login' (then 'club info' where you will find all the updated club documents eg Health & Safety, Etiquette,...
What a lovely day to finish the season - the weather was good, the banter was great, the food was fantastic, the wine was free - oh yes and we played some bowls and that was ok too . This was the annual President versus Vice Presidents match which traditionally closes the season. There was such demand for...
Dorking New Surrey League Winners Many congratulations to the squad of players from Dorking who won the New Surrey League this season. The NSL is now a three mixed triples league played mid week. It’s a very competitive league with some of the top teams from South London. Thanks must go to Richard Woodman and...
Dorking Promoted to ESL Division 1 Well, what a season we have had, culminating in coming second from top in Division 2 of the ESL League. The top 2 clubs are promoted and so we are going up along with top club Purley! We have learnt a lot over the last year or so. Perhaps it started with our performance in...
This is a summary of all the matches played in the 2022 season - taken from the weekly reports 24 April - 30 April 2022 Two friendly matches this week to start the season. Ewhurst Five mixed triples turned out in arctic conditions for an away game against Ewhurst. After a keenly fought contest Ewhurst...
The start of the chilly nights greeted us for the annual candlelit bowls event (and Sonia greeted us at the door collecting the money ). Luckily we started with pie, mash and peas (topped with a lovely gravy) - to give us a glow for the evening - not everyone remembering what they ordered and queuing too early!. We...
Such a lovely afternoon in the sunshine to play the last Monday afternoon roll-up for the 2022 season - many commenting that it was a shame that we couldn't continue as they had enjoyed this type of social bowling. There was a very good turnout of 22 from the 50 that had played on and off during the 16 weeks this...
Half of the clubhouse was needed to display the silverware. With all the trophies, cups, shields and slate coasters - there was barely room for the winners and spectators to stand and access to the bar was severely impeded. Congratulations to everyone. The list of the winners and runners-up is just a click...
Some action shots from the Finals Big Weekend 2022. Matches were played over Friday, Saturday, Sunday and culminating with the Ladies' and Men's Championship singles on the Sunday afternoon. We were lucky with the weather and there were some great games with close scores. It would have been nice to see a few more...
Another season of Tuesday Night Triples drew to a close. The main competition had four teams battling it out on a round-robin each Tuesday night for 17 weeks (although lost 2 due to weather). MARS were the eventual winners by a great margin - a very strong team who only lost twice. Congratulations to Paul Mc, Jim,...
<p>Sunday 7th August was the Club Mixed Triples Competition and it was a great turnout. Over 40 members put their names down to play - so we had 14 triple teams playing round robin on all 7 rinks (well half round robin ..<img alt="smiley" height="23"...
DBC have had a highly successful recruitment campaign this year. The Open Morning on May 7th was attended by 36 people. All attendees were warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic team of helpers (bribed by bacon sandwiches from Marion and Pat) and were given a chance to put up a few bowls and find out about the club. They were then...
There was a great turn-out for our Open Day - 30 potential new members came and had a go at bowls. Some were completely new to the game and some returning. We had a large contingent of volunteers to welcome our guests and to start the coaching. Our qualified coaches had coaching buddies to help and we also had to spread out...
Do you want to learn to play Lawn Bowls? Have you played Bowls in the past and want to start again? Do you just want to find out more about playing Bowls? Dorking Bowling Club is a friendly club that caters for all levels of bowler, from purely social to league players. We have a great Clubhouse with a bar, which is used...
Huge congratulations to Vicky on passing her coaching exam with flying colours. It was a long course with many hours spent and our thanks go to Vicky for all the effort made. She is looking forward to coaching the new recruits on Monday evenings.
We have teamed up with B4B to build us a modern friendly new website and we think it’s fantastic! Just in time for the new season. Our new website will help us to attract new members whilst providing existing and new members with all the information they may require in one place. You can find all the details you need about our...
A great weekend of bowls on Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th September 2021 with some very close matches. We were lucky with the weather and a good crowd came out to support. The Sunday finals were followed by food and drink inside the...
Our Men’s team come a close second in the East Surrey League Top 11 competition. This is the first time that our men have reached the final and faced stiff competition from Old Coulsdon with the final finely balanced. This competition comprises two singles games, a pair, a triple and a four and is played over a...
Our Ladies team (Barbara, Paula, Marilyn & Sonia) joined the HOT SHOTS Club by scoring a maximum 8 on one end in their recent league match against Leatherhead. This is an excellent achievement against strong opposition on a hot day in July. The HOT SHOTS Club is run by Bowling International magazine and the ladies...
Table of Events Date Activity Organiser 27-Sep Chat/Canasta Refresher Diane & Mannie 04-Oct Open Forum Reps 11-Oct Chat and/or cards 18-Oct Boccia Roland & Pauline 25-Oct Chat...
Our Short Mat was laid out for this Friday's Social (thanks Eric, Steve and Ted). It's a tight squeeze but it gives us a chance to play a different Bowls game. Our floor has a bit of a slope (here and there) so extra skill was required to not only get around the block of wood in the middle but to also keep the wood...
First Boccia night of the winter social season. There were 7 teams taking part and trying their luck to somehow get the wobbly balls somewhere close to the jack. Many throwing actions from the seated position were tried and most failed .......... This is a paralympic sport but I can't see anyone from DBC...
It was a smallish crowd that attended the Open Forum (only 35) - which could be an indication that all is ok and no great issues to raise ? The full notes have been circulated and are also in the Member's BowlR section. In summary - Roll-Ups to continue, Stimulate interest for members to watch Finals, Encourage more...
Well the Green looked nice - but it was far too wet to play. Such a shame as this was supposed to be the last outdoors bowls session of the season and we will now have to wait 6 months to enjoy our Green again. So it was inside the Clubhouse that the Presidents and Vice-Presidents teams battled out - but this time...
After some rain in the morning, we were lucky to still be able to play our fun night time bowls. This year we even had battery operated lights to mark the edges !!! We had four rinks of triples playing for the honour of candlelit champions - but first we had some lovely pasta bake dishes served up (thank you...
well except for the words and pictures below ......... Another fantastic bowls tour of the Bournemouth area for three friendly matches beautifully organised by Vicky and Charlie (HUGE thanks from everyone). The hotel was better, the clubs even friendlier, and we actually won (well one out of three) - but still we...
After 17 great Monday Roll-ups, 2 Sept was the last opportunity for members to gain a score to take them into the top three - so we had the best turn out of 22 playing. It had been a mixture of rainy and very hot days throughout the season and one particular Monday only having 8 turn up ....... but the main idea was to have fun...
What a fantastic end of season for the Tuesday Night Triples. 8 teams have battled it out in this league based competition with the finale night featuring the battle for top dog and then the also rans ......... The weather has been variable during the season with a few game nights called off due to heavy rain - but we had...
Sunday 11th August was the Club Mixed Triples Competition and the list to play (only 42 places) was filled within a day three weeks ago - so we had to have a reserve list which had several hopefuls on standby. As it turned out, some reserves were drafted in for various reasons and a slight rejig of the teams was necessary to make...
Thought it was about time we had an update on the Monday afternoon activities - roll-up. In the 10 sessions that we have managed so far this year, we have attracted 51 members overall to play on at least one Monday. But each Monday has had a varied attendence with the best turnout being 21 and this last Monday only 8...
After guidance from Vicky and on the count of three, all bowled and James Washer won the 'Spider'. Seven sets of triples followed. Vicky's team won (Vicky, Rory and Zoe) and the lowest score was by her team's opponents. After other close fought but friendly matches all retired to the Clubhouse at 5pm for...
The sun shone for our 2-woods day on Sunday 2nd June. Twenty participants (3 Ladies and 17 Men) and many more watchers enjoyed the sunshine and convivial atmosphere to watch some excellent 2-woods matches. Getting the shot within one yard of the jack to score was especially challenging on the fast green. The round of 16 was completed...
The rain held off and we had a dry albeit chilly Open Day on Saturday. Dorking has always attracted a large group of new bowlers interested in learning the game and also to socialise with like-minded people. This year was no exception and we had 30 turn up on the day and some more expected on Monday evening - when the...
Always a fun day - the Opening Drive this Sunday was over subscribed - and for the first time that I can remember - we had 56 players (14 teams of 4) on the green. We even had reserves on the sidelines hoping for a game. Despite the cold wind, it stayed dry and the laughter kept us warm anyway. We had a...
Social media is prevalent and Dorking Bowling Club has a presence on many platforms (website & facebook) - but we are also being picked up on Google and by other publications. Google has just informed us of 10,000 hits of a picture I uploaded less than two years ago. Our own Mike and Wendy have featured on the front of the...
..... the fast lane being the drive into the club car park Fifteen volunteers turned up to help fill in the potholes and tidy up the greenery this morning. Thanks to all. It looks (and feels) much better and is the first stage in smartening up the back of the clubhouse - more being discussed at the end of the...
At the request of a few we had a Friday Social where nothing was planned – just pitch up and chat – but even so it turned out to be a good opportunity to pick up pre-ordered club shirts and jackets as these had been delivered that morning (and won’t we all look smart). Over 20 popped in, some for a short while...
Our last Open Forum before the start of the season and this was run by our coaches and congratulations to Ray S and Mike V who have joined Chris M, David M and Vicky G as level 1 coaches – what a team – and coaching for all which will continue, hopefully, throughout summer on a Monday...
A select few celebrated St. David with a Welsh quiz and Welsh cakes, the former delivered by Sheila G and the latter by Marian J. Both Richard S and Marilyn M guessed how many letters made up 'Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch' the longest station name in the UK...
82 members are now fully paid up thanks to a very successful coffee morning. Everyone else has until 12th April to rejoin. Mary Mitchell won the whiskey and Jane English guessed the correct number of mini eggs in the jar. The tombola run by Sonia was also very popular. Pat, Steve and Ted did sterling work...
Friday night we had 18 keen players for Short Mat making 6 teams of 3 players each. There was even an audience of another dozen who were cheering on. The initial 3 rounds of 4 ends each were followed by another 3 rounds of playoffs. Much fun and laughter was had by all players and the victorious team of Steve, Sheila G and...
To celebrate the start of the Chinese new year of the Dragon we held a "dragon drive" - similar lines to a beetle drive but a lot harder to draw. There were a few dragons that looked like flying ants on steroids. 26 members frantically rolled their dice with 9 rounds and 9 dragons or part dragons to draw. The...
The prize pot of £90 for getting a full house after 55 or less numbers were called for the last game of 6 at last night’s bingo was not won so this will be rolled over until our next time of playing bingo but, don’t hold your breath, as it probably won’t be until after the bowls season has finished for the...
2 weeks of playing whist with 5 tables of 4 each week plus some members “propping up the bar”. At least we now have enough of us with some idea of the game although Canasta still seems to be favourite. There do, however, seem to be as many variations to the rules of whist as there are with canasta so no doubt...
5 Jan - 12th Night Celebrations 12 Jan - Whist - learn and/or refresher 19 Jan - Whist 26 Jan - Bingo 2 Feb - Boccia 9 Feb - Year of the Dragon "Beetle" Drive 16 Feb - Short Mat competition 23 Feb - Canasta 1 Mar - St David's Day Party 8 Mar - CPR training 15 Mar...
The last social of 2023 was a Christmas Quiz which made us all think. Thanks to Sheila again for organising. No prize for highest score - a good thing as not many would have got more than 50% . But there was a raffle with lots of prizes - but no turkeys. A good turnout for this busy time of year with lots going...
Who knew you could have so much excitement trying to throw a 6 to start your Christmas tree picture - bug free this year, so trees instead of beetles. 8th December saw 28 players on 7 tables of 4 (plus a few non-players) enjoying a Christmas themed beetle drive. The overall winner was Marian Jefferson with 99 points...
A lovely Christmas Dinner was organised by Marilyn and Vicky again this year - thank you for all your hard work - at the Betchworth Golf Club. We have come here for a few years now and the quality and service at the Golf Club has always been exceptional. We had eight full tables of members with their guests - only slightly...
Well the tree is up which means Santa is on his way. Thanks to those who set up the decorationas at the Clubhouse and then settled in for a night of Canasta and wine. Wine won !!
Friday was the first time we put out the newly acquired short mat (thanks to Eric and Baz) .... and it fits (although we might have to protect the pipes in the future ). We had 24 members trying out the pleasures of short mat bowls with Roland and Pauline explaining the rules and approach. It is very similar to both...
No, not a new dance ..... but the exciting fast and furious game of shuffleboard. We managed six teams of three this time with a few spectators. After Roland explained the game and rules again ...... Every team had nine games to build up a total score. Some frustration was heard as the little wooden discs just...
The best turnout for Bingo that I have seen in 5 years - well over 45 members. Perhaps it was the new team of Vicky and Charlie (thanks for stepping in) calling the numbers or the draw of the big prize or even that Eric promised to separate the egg rolls from the ham and cheese ........ Once Vicky learnt how to...
Friday the thirteenth passed with no problem. The Forum was not controversial and in fact due to the low number of attendees (24) - it must mean that members are happy and have no issues to raise. There were a few talking points - Social Media, Maintenance, internal competitions, roll-ups, coaching, 'online' match...
Let the formal games commence. This Friday was Boccia night (organised by Pauline and me) and we attracted 24 players - so eight teams playing a round robin. We managed to have 4 games for each team in the end as the excitment was getting too much and Eric's rolls had run out. If you think the outdoor bowls have a...
So 29 September was the kick off for the Friday Social calendar. It was a gentle (?) start with cards - some remembering how to play Canasta and the introduction of 9 card brag. It did get quite competitive in the end ....... There were a few tables in action and of course the bar was busy.
After a frustrating season for some - the start of the Friday Socials brings calm 29.9 Remember Canasta? Plus try 9 Card Brag 6.10 Boccia with Pauline and Roland 13.10 Open...
Firstly - a huge thanks to Vicky and Charlie for organising such a fantastic trip - the first that the Club has done for many years. There were 37 of us that were treated to a mini break in a lovely part of the country and all enjoyed a fun and entertaining few days away .... and we even managed to fit in three matches. We...
One of our favourites on the Club Calendar - bowls by moonlight - well in our case bowls by candles and a variety of torches ...... The Rinks were set out with tea candles in plastic bottles to mark the sides. Getting those candles to light (and then stay alight) was the hardest job. Then the evening fun...
Firstly - thank you to all 47 members who made Monday afternoons such a fun and enjoyable time over the last 16 weeks. This format of mix and match works well with people playing in different positions and with a different team or four games/four ends. There have been some odd numbers turn up for the afternoons...
Saturday August 5th was to be Mixed Triples Day, which turned into Mixed Triples Weekend and a lot of fun for all who participated. Soaking rain on Saturday flooded the green and Plan B went into effect as 36 members sat down to a challenging but fun Quiz, lead by quizmaster Sheila Gray. Four quiz rounds were held before a break for...
Thank you to everyone who has been coming along to the Monday afternoon roll-up sessions. Yesterday was the seventh week and we welcomed our 42nd player. Luckily we haven't had all 42 come along at once !! - but we have had 22 one week. Individual fortunes have varied with scores ranging from 4 to 29 - still...
This is an update to INTERNAL COMPETITIONS DRAW with men and Ladies pairs added to the draw. Please see the NEW DRAW PAGES The initial draw is available on the members information page - but also click here Report on Original Draw on Friday 14 May Best laid plans ...... so we were going to have the Friday...
There was great interest in this competition and we had 48 members signed up - which meant we could have 8 teams of 6 - so 4 matches each Tuesday . Karen has done a fantastic job of coordinating the team selections and making sure that husband and wives were on different teams (avoids a domestic!!) - but would play on the...
We started the Monday Roll-ups today with Roland taking the reins. We had 16 turn up - so two triples and a double - with teams changing every 4 ends. It was a good chance for the newer members to play in positions (rink and position drawn at random) that they were not familiar with and in a fun atmosphere. The showers...
The King would have been proud of us .... 12 Triple 'teams' playing fun bowls to commemorate the Coronation of Charles III on a sometimes chilly afternoon. Many members turned up in their finest wear and some in their fancy wear. This started the afternoon off well with many comments made on the outfits (please do...
The summer Fridays are under new management this year - but still with the same format. It was Martin and Paula coordinating this week with Sonia and Ann cooking - thanks to them all. The start of the first Friday Roll-ups saw 24 members (8 triple teams picked at random) fighting it out for 16 ends. It...
So the rain held off and we had a great opening drive on St George's Day - what could be more traditional than a game of lawn bowls. All 6 rinks were full (48 players) with many bowling outdoors for the first time since September 2022. We started with a cheese and wine snack (thank you Marian, Pat, Steve...
Our Open Morning has been announced. Volunteers are invited to help on the day.
A very well attended Forum this April - almost needed extra seats outside .... with a very full agenda: Roland - Club website review Roland - Rink booking Roland - Monday afternoon roll-up (social bowls) Karen - Tuesday night triples Paula/Martin - Friday evening roll-up (social bowls) Kevin - possible...
Another good turnout for Bingo - so good we could increase the prize money for each win !!! Karen organised (ably assisted by Alan) and called the numbers with some new bingo nicknames. After a few calls it became obvious that we are all old school and prefer the original ones (PC or not). So two fat ladies 88...
Shuffleboard has been introduced to Dorking and its a hit. We managed six rounds for the seven teams of three that participated and the eventual winners of Vicky, Paula and Alan had an almost unbelievable score ......but it must be true because I marked it. This was a new game to most people but the rules are simple...
Irish eyes were smiling (plus other nationalities ) on Friday when we had a St Patrick's Day social night. As usual there was a good turnout for the fun and laughter with the added atrraction of roast potatoes at half time - beautifully cooked by Marian. Paul put a lot of effort into creating a quiz of...
Friday Night Social this week was a Beetle Drive organised by Marilyn - who unfortunately was unwell - so our compère for the evening was David (Thank you). We had 5 full tables (with some on-lookers) - so a good turnout for a cold evening. We had to be reminded of the rules as many hadn't played since we were...
Spring was in the air when we all gathered for the pre-season coffee morning - the sun was shining and the green looking lush. This was a great chance to catch up with friends - pay subscriptions - receive the fixture book - and have some delicious cake. Well done to the bakers. People trickled in throughout the morning and we...
Canasta has taken over the club ...... 5 tables were busy learning the game this last Friday - perhaps we will have to change our name to Dorking Cards Club. We also had some dice being played and a lot of chit-chat over a few drinks. A nice way to spend a Friday evening.
Another lovely Friday night social with Boccia being played by six teams - it is an Olympic sport but don't think anyone present would qualify .... It was a night of fun and laughter (despite the picture attached) especially with the balls rolling off in unpredictable directions and a variety of throwing actions not...
Another good turnout for the Forum with a wide range of topics covered - full notes in Members page. The largest item was the change in the internal competition rules and there was a plea for more volunteeers both for the Green Keeping Team and Maintenance team. This is the busy period before the New Season starts and...
So far confirmed ....... 7 Oct - Bar Open from 5.30pm 14 Oct - BINGO - first Bingo of the Winter. Arrive at 6.30 for a 7pm start 19 Oct - Cards afternoon starts at 2pm (every Weds thereafter) 21 Oct - Open Forum to discuss New Constitution 28 Oct - Bar Open 4 Nov - AGM 11 Nov - Bar Open 18 Nov - David and...
Back by popular demand (well Kevin mentioned it last week) - this Friday's social was a games night. The board games emerged from the Ladies' dressing room (?) and were completely ignored ....... instead we played darts and Canasta. There were 4 tables playing cards and being taught how to play Canasta -...
Friday 20 Jan saw the return of the organised Winter Social nights at the Club. We were lucky to have another chance to win at Bingo and the largest number of members (about 50) turned up for 'eyes down' at 7pm. As usual it was very well organised by Karen - with Alan keeping a close eye on the winnings. There...
Friday 16th Dec was the Christmas Social evening. After the success of the Christmas Dinner Dance, it was great to have another opportunity to chat, drink and snack with friends and continue in the festive spirit. Another good turnout with many in Christmas jumpers and hats. Really appreciate Marian and her elves...
Christmas celebrations started early with the Dinner Dance this Saturday 3 Dec. A fantastic turnout of 75 attended the party at Betchwork Park Golf Club, who have hosted us warmly for the last few years. As always the 3 course buffet style Christmas food was excellent and a great choice for all tastes and appetites. ...
A great social night with our quiz master David Morley - a fitting start to his Presidency - posing the questions. The six teams drew on their years of knowledge and mis-spent youth to answer the general questions with all acheiving at least an average 60% - the winning team even getting 100% on 2 rounds !!. As always,...
A special Open Forum was held on 21 Oct to discuss the draft Constitution, which had been sent out to all members for comment. The writing of the Constitution is a huge undertaking and should only be changed if there are major variations necessary (e.g. in our case the combining of Ladies and Mens management and the new Bowls...
BINGO It was the first of the organised Winter Social Events this Friday. Over thirty packed the clubhouse and took their favourite positions for eyes down at 7pm. It was nice to see some of this year's new members taking part. We first had a tribute and minute's reflection for Neil and Lynne...
Celebrating 110th anniversary of the Club along with celebrating a great season...... we donned our club shirts for a family photo. Dorking Bowling Club is a family that supports each other and we pull together to get numerous teams out during the season, volunteer for all the jobs that need doing to keep the Club...
A good turnout (about 35) for the Open Forum with a varied items for discussion - Feedback on new Website, Match Selection Team update, Friendly matches on Sunday, Coaching refresher sessions, new men's Club Shirts, Green Shades update. The minutes will follow and will be added to the members login section under Club...
On a beautiful summer's evening, we held our last Friday Roll-up of the 2022 season. There was the largest turn out with 34 members and we had to use all 6 rinks - even found some mats that were clean and white under the pile ..... So it was 5 triples and 1 pair playing just 14 ends as the night is now drawing in - even so it...
As we are approaching the end of season, a few notes on last sessions. Mondays Last roll-up - 12 September followed by presentation Tuesdays Last triples - 30 August followed by famous Eric curry night Fridays Last roll-up - 26 August followed by sausages 2nd and 9th September bar and clubhouse open for...
The long awaited and planned Platinum Jubilee long weekend is now over. For over 40 DBC members it culminated in a Jubilee party on the Sunday afternoon. The club house looked very festive decked out with Union Jack bunting and red, white and blue balloons. Everyone attending made such an effort to come dressed in the...
110th Anniversary match against a Surrey select team. First of all many congratulations must go to Alan Marsh, Vicky Goddard and John Stenton on their magnificent win on Sunday scoring 22 points against Surrey’s 12 . The opposition didn’t stand a chance as our team took the lead from the start and never gave way. Despite...
We had a very interesting and important CPR training session on Friday 20 May. We had over 30 people packed into the clubhouse to listen and learn from some of the volunteeers at Central Surrey Community First Responders (Liz, Dean and Ben) who are trained to respond to 999 calls to reach and assist patients before the ambulance...
Three sets of Triples and a Pair were played on the first Monday roll-up - a lovely way to start this mini competition. We each took out a token (rink and playing position) to play the first four ends and then repeated three times so that we had a comfortable 16 ends played with different team members each time. There were some...
The long awaited Friday Roll-ups have started again. This is a firm social favourite at the club especially with the promise of a hot sausage to follow. Admin at the start was efficient as ever with names then picked out of a hat to form triple teams. We had enough for eight teams (a great first turn-out). It...
We had a great opening drive on Sunday preceded by cheese and wine beautifully organised by Marion and Pat. Organisation for the drive was undertaken by numerous helpers and everything went very smoothly - and thanks go to all. All 7 rinks were needed for the triples...
The weather for our Saturday Practice Day was beautiful. Enough sun for rosey tints on our faces. The green was open from 10am and there was a steady stream of bookings for the day - some people even remembered how to bowl. Lots of people wanted to test out the green after all the work that the green team had achieved over winter - and...
April 6th the last bridge and brag session of the winter months. The 5p have been won and lost and now are stashed safely away until October. Will inflation make it 10p coins soon.
A good turnout for the March Forum (but could always do with more coming along) given the lovely weather. There was a diverse agenda led by Martin and Paula that covered everything from the new ladies bowling attire to the teas and cleaning rota. There was also a demo of the new rink booking system by Ray and a preview of the new...
The Bingo night was organised by Karen and Alan this week and what a great job they did. Nearly 30 people were eyes down and paying attention to the numbers as they were called. Karen had obviously printed out a new list of Bingo calls and there were a few accompanying noises from the crowd when the favourites appeared. Winnings for...
Friday 11th March saw the brains gathering at the Clubhouse for the social quiz night. General knowledge questions were posed by David and Greta – and no matter what google said, David’s answers were correct. Four teams battled it out over seven rounds with the ‘easy chair’ team of Sonia, Anne, Derek, John &...
The Boccia night was organised by Pauline and Roland and was well attended with six teams of three fighting it out in a round-robin tournament. The red and blue teams are seated with each member having two balls. The game commences with a red team member trying to get close to the white jack by rolling or pitching – then a blue...
Saturday 26 February was the day that members finally came back together after a long winter and an even longer enforced break by Covid19. The clubhouse was busy as most members returned to meet friends and fellow bowlers – some ventured out into a crowded room for the first time in two years. Exciting times ahead for the new...