 | A brief history of the West Sussex Bowls Touring Club |
| In early 1955 a group of thirty bowlers got together and arranged a bowls tour. Under the directorship of Chairman / Captain A.G.Smart of the Tithe Green BC and Secretary C.J.Uncles from Worthing Pavilion BC, they left Worthing Central Railway Station on 15th May 1955 by coach and headed for the Royal Hotel, Weymouth. The next day Greenhill BC in Weymouth played host to the clubs first match - against Weymouth and District. On this first tour they travelled under the name of 'The West Sussex Tourists' and so successful was the week that it was decided to put the tour on an official footing and accordingly a meeting was called for 21st July 1955. Mr.Artlett of the Maltravers club was elected President and a name of the Sussex Martlets Bowls Touring Club was agreed. At a committee meeting held in October that year the Hon.Secretary reported that the Worthing Pavilion BC had agreed that our members could affiliate to their club and use their facilities. The close links with the Worthing Pavilion club still exist today with our club holding Committee and Annual General Meetings in their clubhouse. During 2001 'Pavilion' offered the tourists the use of their greens should we wish to host other clubs. We took advantage of this kind offer by hosting matches in 2005 against both Sussex County BA and the English BA. By November 1955 the club name had been changed to it's current title of the West Sussex Bowls Touring Club, Sussex County BA having objected to any club prefixing it's name with the word Sussex. The club have toured every year since and a total of 305 members have enjoyed bowling with the club on their annual jaunts. | |
Are we the club for you? |  |
| You are interested in becoming a member? Some information about the club that may help you make your mind up as to whether joining us is for you. The club was formed in 1955 by a group of bowlers from in and around Littlehampton and Worthing. The sole purpose of the club was to provide social recreation and a bowling holiday for male bowlers. Nothing has changed since these early days except that the club has developed a regular ‘non tour’ fixture list in both the Outdoor and Indoor seasons. We have been lucky enough to have had in our membership no less than four Sussex County Bowling Association Presidents, at least three Sussex County selectors, our members have won numerous County Competitions and two National Titles. Although competitive on the green we pride ourselves on being a club for all standards literally from beginners to National Champion. We believe our club has a tremendous reputation for camaraderie both on and off the green and this is paramount in the thoughts of the committee when reviewing applications from new members. Potential members must at the time of their application be a member of a Bowling Club within the County boundary of West Sussex or be a member of a club from outside West Sussex but be resident within West Sussex. Applicants should be aware that the club is run for bowlers who wish to: a) Travel on our annual tour (usually leave Sussex on the 2nd Saturday in May). b) Partake in our ‘non tour’ matches and invited ‘opens’ both indoor and outdoor. c) Have an interest in attending our annual dinner (usually 1st Friday in May). d) Enjoy themselves in the company of like minded bowlers. The club wear Burgundy coloured shirts (and Burgundy coloured jumpers if one is worn) for all their matches and upon acceptance to the club details will be given to members re purchase of the garments. | |
 | Presidents View - end of May 2010 |
| Gentlemen we have started a new outdoor season after enjoying another very good tour down in Exmouth. We could not have had better weather if we had organised it ourselves (I am sure Chris would say he did just that!). Just one small shower (at Uffculme) during the whole week. Not only was the weather kind to us but we achieved 5 wins from our 7 games and lost another by just 8 shots. Well done guys. The Manor Hotel came up trumps once again. Good food, clean and and tidy and a reasonably priced bar (thank you). Alison the Manager worked hard all week in fact she was just always on duty and her staff were hardworking and polite at all times. It was great to be able to take five new tourists for their first 'experience' of a West Sussex Tour. I trust that you all (Nigel, Keith, Barrie, Lennie and Gary) will want to travel with us again in the future? Time now to look forward to our eight Outdoor friendlies and a few 'Opens' where we meet many friends from around the county, enjoy a game of bowls and with a bit of luck a nice drink afterwards. For those of our members who we do not see at these games I say - 'come and join in' and see what a fun afternoon / evening you can have. Captain Bill and Hon. Sec Chris sort it all out for you and I offer my thanks to both of them for all the time they spend working on behalf of us the members. My personal thanks to all the members who came with us on our 2010 tour and making it such an entertaining week. I look forward to seeing you all in the very near future, mines a Grouse. Cecil | |
Captains thoughts - end of May 2010 |  |
| We left for our tour to Exmouth on Saturday 15th May, the Petworth bowlers were the last to get on the coach and at 8.15am we were on our way, all being pleased to see our driver Kevin from last years tour to Ipswich. Kevin stayed with us until Tuesday evening, being replaced by Harry who stayed with us for the rest of the tour. We soon arrived at The Fox, Bramdean, our usual breakfast stop, for a large bacon roll and some light refreshment for some!! We were a little later than expected getting to Budleigh Salterton and after a hot pie or pasty and liquid refreshment we were about ½ hour late in starting the match. After the match we continued on to The Manor Hotel Exmouth, where several of us had stayed before, to find nothing had changed the food and service was as exceptional as before. The weather on Sunday at Uffculme BC gave us a little rain, but not enough to stop the game, and from then on the weather got better and better. We played 7 games during the week, winning 5 and losing 2, I apologise to any player playing on the same rink as myself during the week as The Jinx has returned! I ended up bottom of the pile in the averages once again! I must thank all of you tourists personally, for your cooperation in taking your kit when asked and stepping in to play when asked and a special thanks to George and Ken who, unfortunately, were unable to play (other than one game by Ken) George looking after the flag all week and Ken in charge of Paxo on several occasions. Well, all to quickly Friday came and after our game with the local Exmouth team, Madeira BC we all enjoyed a very special end of tour evening meal followed by the end of tour meeting. Keith Cruise responding on behalf of everyone as this was his first tour even though he has been a WSBTC member for many years, leaving for a while when living in Spain but returning to the fold this year. Our tour champion this year was a very popular one being our Hon. Sec. Chris Rolph, who does so much for this very special club, he was previously champion at Torquay in 2007, where we go back to next year. Runner up was Derek Brockhurst (Norfolk) on his 3rd tour. Top rink of the week was Chris Rolph (Tarring Priory) what a week he had, Mike Meadows (Tarring Priory) Michael Johnson (Chichester) and Ron Hyam (Tarring Priory). I am sure we all felt sorry to leave Exmouth on Saturday morning as the sun was shining, but time seems to fly and we will soon be at The Fox, Bramdean on our way to Torquay in 2011! To me it is, as always, a great honour and privilege to be Captain of this very special club and I thank you all for making this Exmouth tour run so smoothly. Our match results from this years tour can be viewed on the 'Fixtures' page of this website. | |
Application form |  |
| If after reading all the above information you feel the club is right for you please click HERE to download an application form. Alternatively please contact the Honorary Secretary via the email link on the Officers page. | |
 | Club calendar |
| To view a Calendar of all the club events for 2010/11 please click HERE Updated on May 23rd 2010. | |
Our record breaking tourist - Ken Armstrong |  |
| Ken joined the club in 1980 served as Hon.Secretary from 1982 -1987 and President in 1989 and 1990. Ken is looking forward to his 32nd consecutive tour when the club travels to Torquay (Devon) in May 2011. Well done Ken we all hope there are many more tours ahead for you. | |
 | Tour records - Members on tour |
| The tour party 2010 pictured in the park over the road from our tour base 'The Manor', Exmouth. To view a complete record of who has toured with our club (and when) please click HERE. Updated to include our 2010 tour. | |
WSBTC - Officers of the club |  |
| The Officers and Committee of the club whilst on tour at Exmouth in May 2010. Missing from the picture is Peter Chiffins who unfortunately could not travel on this years tour. To view a complete record of all the Officers of the club since our formation in 1955 please click HERE. Updated to include our 2010 tour. | |
Club Tour Champion 2010 - Chris Rolph |  |
| Chris Rolph being presented with the Tour Champion prize 'The Norman Brown Trophy' by club president Cecil Wadey. Chris previously won this title in 2007 and was runner up in 2009. To view a complete record of the Clubs Tour Champions since the clubs formation in 1955 please click here. | |
Related Websites:
- Arundel BC - A friendly club with their green in the shadows of Arundel Castle.
- Bond Bowls - Discount offered to club members on Bowls, Clothing and Equipment. See the 'Members Only' section for more details.
- Bowling In Spain - Keep up to date with Bowls in the sun!
- Bowls Club.Info - A massive site covering bowls clubs throughout the world.
- East Preston BC - The site of East Preston BC, a number of our members play at the club
- English Bowling Association - The site of our National Association
- Horsham BC - The site of our friends from North of the downs.
- Lindfield BC - An excellent site from probably the top club in Mid Sussex
- Southbourne Bowls Club - A fantastic site from our friends on the Sussex / Hampshire border.
- Sussex County Bowling Association - The Website of our County Association.
- Tarring Priory Bowls Club - The Tarring Priory Bowls Club Website
- Worthing Pavilion BC - The site of the club we use as our headquarters.