Charles Wright
3 June, 2025
Sport

Winning start in Mermaid League for high flying Gulls

Gullivers Bowls Club has made a winning start to it's first season in the Mermaid League, a competitive bowls league made up of clubs in East Sussex and West Kent.

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Their first match was against the reigning league champions, Fairlight, and the Knole Road based club won 79-60 with Michael Knights, Ken Ferguson & Charles Wright leading the way with a 25-14 victory. Alan Ritchie, Sandra & Philip Balchin also weighed in with a big win at 22-13 and there was a third winning rink from Trevor Morgan, Lorna Hilton & Steve Judd at 22-15. The only loss was recorded by Jeff Coates, Kris LeBroy & John Clark at 10-18.

Against Beckley, Gullivers won 57-44 on a sporting village green, with the best win coming from Alan Ritchie, Lesley Thompson & Margaret Blissett 22-8 whilst Linda Cooper, Lorna Hilton & Trevor Morgan also won 21-17. The only defeat came from Jeff Coates, Chris Trendle & John Roberts, who went down 14-19.

Next up was a short trip to St Leonards, where Gullivers truggled and lost 45-46 in an exciting game. Despite wins from Roger Jones, Kris LeBroy & Ferguson 18-11, and Jeff Coates, Linda Cooper & John Clark 19-11, there was a defeat for Alan Ritchie, Sandra & Philip Balchin at 8-24.

In there most recent Mermaid League clash, Gullivers had another close game at home to Tenterden and won 67-66 thanks to a large win from Morgan, Hilton & Steve Judd at 32-9. The other point came from Mike Laxton, Ferguson & Wright, who, after a slipshod performance, salvaged a 16 all draw. On the other rinks, Ritchie, Trendle & Roberst lost 6-22 and Linda/Jimmy Cooper & Tommy Stevens went down 13-19.

To date, one other match has been played in the Rother League, in which Gullivers travelled to Staplecross and won 76-55 with Paul Whibley, Kris LeBroy & John Clark recorded a large 25-7 win. On the other rinks, Knights, Ferguson & Wright won 21-14 and Coates, Linda Cooper & Judd won 21-10. The only defeat was suffered by Sandra & Philip Balchin, skipped by Keith Waters, who lost 9-24.