Club Address
London Road
HARLOW
Essex
Telephone Number - 01279 402385
Closing Down
The Nortel company has taken the decision to close down its Sports & Social Club in Harlow. As the Bowls Section was a part of the Sports and Social Club we have lost our green. Attempts to try and re-locate the club have not been met with much support from the members and the sad decision has been taken for the club to fold up. It is a great shame that the club will finally come to an end. Previously the club held Middleton Cup games on the green and more recntly the club had been very successful on the competitive side, as you can see from the club honours board. Personally I am joining Romford Bowls Club so watch out for a Romford web site being set up in the near future.
If you would like to contact me regarding this site please E:mail me at steven.mitchinson@db.com |
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Directions to Nortel (HARLOW) Bowls Club
From M11
Come off of the M11 at Junction 7
Take the A414 to Harlow exit off the Roundabout (second exit)
Follow this road to the next roundabout and go straight over
Keep on this road to the next roundabout and again go straight over
A few hundred yards along the road you will arrive at the next roundabout this time turn right
Take the next left which should be London Road
As you come along the road you should see the Nortel offices on your left
Turn left into the complex but take the side road off to the right
As you come along this side road turn right into the car park
The Green is situated at the end of the side road in the corner of the car park
Weather
what is the weather like in Harlow for the next five days ?? Click the link below to find out.
Weather in Harlow
Club officials
President - Dick O'Dowd
Chairman - Jack Martin
Mens Captain - Bruce Dickson
Mens Vice Captain - Steven Mitchinson
Secretary - Mike Hurrell
Match Secretary - David Needs
Ladies Captain - Win Heather
Ladies Vice Captain - Margaret Perry
Ladies Secretary - Barbara Gardner
Ladies Match Secretary - Pat Read
Southgate
I understand that a number of people have transferred, or are transferring, from the Southgate complex to the Harlow complex. The season finishes on September 21st but we are already thinking about next season and I would like to invite anyone that is interested in joining to contact us. I am sure that any new bowlers will be given tuition by one or some of our members and I am also sure that we will be able to find equipment for new bowlers to borrow.
News
UPDATES
I will list any sections below that I have updated and the date of the update.
Home Page - Middleton Cup - 16th September 2002
Home Page - Eastern Counties League - 16th September 2002
Lea Valley Page - 16th September 2002
Outside Competitions Page - 16th September 2002
Home Page - Lea Valley Competitions - 16th September
Home Page - Harlow Senior Citizens Bowls Assoc. - 30th August
Home Page - Johns Trophy - 23rd August 2002
Home Page - Group 8 club Directory - 23rd May 2002
2002
Lea Valley Competitions
The Lea Valley Finals day was recently held at Silverthorn bowls club and Nortel had one member in two competitions. Steven Mitchinson played Geoff Jordan in the Lea Valley Singles and it looked as though Geoff was going to be the victor early on as he moved into a 8-0 lead. However Steve scored a 3 and a 2 to drag himself back into the game. From this point Steve began to find his rhythm and he eventually won 21-15. In the afternoon Steve faced Paul Berry in the final of the Lea Valley Cahmpion of Champion Singles and again Steve found himself behind in the early stages of the match. But from 7-2 down Steve played some brilliant drawing bowls and finished up winning 21-8.
County Competitions
This year was one of anti-climax for the various Nortel players in County Compettions. In the Singles there were high hopes for three of the entries, David Needs having reached the Quarter Finals last Year, Steve Mitchinson hoping to add outdoor success to his Indoor County Singles win and Mick Corbett hoping to add to his two consecutive Harlow Singles wins. In the end all three felt they could have done better and none of them got past the first round.
In the Pairs Tony Nimmo and Steve Mitchinson were quite confident of having a good run in the Pairs after winning the title last year. But in the Second Round they just did not play well enough and went out to Jimmy Oakes of Harlow in a game which was not decided until the last bowl of the match. Hopes of success in this competition eventaully rested with Mick Corbett and Eddie Smith but they were to get no further than the area final where they lost to Hugh Ingram of Connaught.
The Triples was the only compettion where Nortel had any interest at the neutral green stage, but the Triple Skipped by Steven Mitchinson along with Gary Hurley at two and Bob Gardner at lead, lost in the last sixteen of the competion to the eventual winners John Tully, Dave Allaway and Chris Bryan.
In the Fours Nortel sides again were all knocked out early. Tony Nimmo and his four went out to a four from Halex skipped by Keith Austin whilst the four skipped by Arthur Needs made the area final but could not progress any further.
In the Double Fours where Nortel have enjoyed some success in recent years they rather disappointingly went out in the last sixteen of the competition to Rochford.
In the County Shield Nortel faced Silverthorn for a place in the Semi Finals. But Despite a good start and leading for most of the game Nortel could not quite get hold onto the lead and were eventually beaten by a few shots.
Nortel did manage to progress to the final of one of the minor County Compettions, the South Essex Fours. They played Rainham in the Final of the competition at Silver End B.C. on the 18th August. The side was Gary Hurley at lead, Mick Corbett at two, Steve Mitchinson at three and Tony Nimmo at skip. But none of the players were at their best adn the were deservedly beaten by the Rainham four which was skipped by Len Goodman.
Harlow Senior Citizen Bowls Association Gala Day Trophy
Nortel Bowls Club swept to success as of the six rinks that competed 5 won whilst the other rink drew.
Group 8 Club Directory
I am currently in the process of setting up a directory of clubs in group 8. This includes links to maps of where the club is located. Please click on the link below to access the directory. .
Group 8 Club Directory
Eastern Counties League
In the first match of the Eastern Counties League Chris Read was selected in the Essex side which faced Norfolk. Essex did not perform too well going down to a strong Norfolk side which contained the Commonwealth Games competitor Mervyn King. However Chris, playing two, and his rink recorded a 24-12 win which was the highest Essex winning rink on the day. In the match against Hertfordshire at Watford Steven Mitchinson, Chris Read and Eddie Smith were all selected to play. They were all in the same rink which was skipped by Jim Wilson of Connaught. The four gelled well together as a rink and Chris Read was a member of the highest winning Essex rink for a second time this season. Essex's next Eastern Counties match was at Romford Bowls Club and again Nortel had a strong presence with Tony Nimmo, Chris Read, Eddie Smith and Mick Corbett all being picked for Essex. In the final match of Essex's Eastern Counties League campaign Essex played Hutingdonshire at Brandon B.C., Nortel again had 4 members picked to play for Essex. They were Tony Nimmo, Chris Read, Eddie Smith and Mick Corbett all four were in the same rink and they won their individual rink but it was not enough to prevent Essex from losing overall. Mick Corbett gained his County Badge after representing Essex on four occasions.
Group Knockout
The Knockout side contained only 5 Nortel players after Tony Nimmo and Eddie Smith withdrew, and the final side was much different to the original side selected. In the First Round the two rinks containing Nortel players performed very well, the rink containing Dave and Arthur Needs with Steve Mitchinson at three won by ten shots, although this could and should have been a more comfortable win. Chris Read and Mick Corbett had a very tight game on their rink and managed to nick a win by one or two shots. In the end Group 8A managed a reasonably comfortable victory in the Preliminary Round match against Group 2B at Writtle bowls club. The next round was again at Writtle Bowls Club and this time they faced Group 1A. The Same team was selected, Dave, Arthur and Steve won on their rink whilst Chris and Mick lost by a few shots. Overall Group 8A managed another comfortable win. In the next round Group 8A faced Group 9, this time Steve Mitchinson was unavailable, due to holiday and Group 8 went out of the competition, unfortunately I don't have any details to hand.
Ashford Cup
This year Arthur Needs and Mick Corbett were again both been selected for the Ashford Cup. However they did not do as well as in previous years and went out in the first group stage of the compettion.
Middleton Cup
Last Year's County Pairs Champions, Tony Nimmo and Steven Mitchinson, have both been selected in the Essex Middleton Cup Team this year. Tony has been selected as Skip and Steven at lead in the same rink. Essex have now played all of their group matches and they finished top of their group which meant that they went through to the Quarter Finals where they faced Lincolnshire. In all of the four group matches Tony and Steve were joined by Peter Ayling of Harlow Bowls Club at two and Chris Bryan of Liberty of Havering Bowls Club at three. This combination was very successful as they were the only rink to have a 100% winning record in the group matches. In the Quarter Final against Lincolnshire Essex recorded a massive victory as all rinks pretty much cruised home. Tony and Steve were again joined by Peter Ayling and Chris Bryan as they recorded their fifth consecutive win. In the Semi Finals at Worthing Essex faced Surrey. But Essex were struggling from the beginning as Surrey moved straight into the lead. But Essex kept in touch and were never too far behind. With two ends to play Esse were six shots behind, a minor miracle was now required for an Essex victory. The first part happened when John Tully's rink scored three shots on their last end. It was now up to Steve Pickford's rink and with the last bowl of the entire match Steve came up with the goods and scored a four to give Essex a one shot victory. Essex were in the final for only the second time in the competitions history where their opponents would be Devon. Despite a good start by Essex where they moved into the lead early on things started to go wrong at around 12 ends as Essex fell behind and they never quite regained the lead, Tony and Steve played with Peter Ayling and Chris Bryan again but they lost by six shots as Essex lost 122-113. Click on the link below to view the side which played Hutingdonshire, this changed in the subsequent matches..
Middleton Cup Team
Steven was also selected in the Essex Single Rink side. Essex played Hertfordshire in the Preliminary Round of the competition on the 19th May at Liberty of Havering. On a very tricky green the Essex four were never able to bowl to the best of their ability but they managed to progress to the next round with a three shot victory. In the next round Essex faced last year's champions Suffolk again at Liberty of Havering. Essex played reasonably well but some great bowls from the Suffolk skip saved his side from defeat, the Essex were five down going into the last end and as they chased the five to win dropped another three shots.
Johns Trophy
In the Ladies equivalent to the Middleton Cup Gill Mitchinson, Last Year's Essex Champion of Champions, was selected in the Johns Side. She played two on Brenda Brown of Colchester's Rink. The Essex Ladies matched the Mens side as they also reached the Semi Fnals of the competition which was played at Leamington Spa on August 18th. The Essex Ladies were not successful on this occasion as they lost by about 7 shots. In the afternoon Essex played in the third placed play off which they won.
New Website
There is a very good website that has recently been constructed which lists all bowls websites around the world. The address of the site is www.bowlsclub.info and a link can be found to it on the links page.
2001
This year has, in some respects, been the best year for the club as we have won a county title for the first time in the clubs history. Steve Mitchinson and Tony Nimmo won the pairs and got through to Worthing where they unfortunately lost in the first round. Below is a round up of our best performers in the other competitions.
In the Quarter Finals of the Singles David Needs played Joe Stamper from Lionmede at Kings Chase. David was going to need to be at his best against a man who probably has more County titles to his name than any other current bowler in Essex. David did play well and can count himself unfortunate as twice he missed getting a count of four by the proverbial fagpaper. However in the end Joe was just too consistent and he ended up defeating David by 21-11. Joe made it to the final of the Singles but lost to E. Burrell
In the County Pairs Final Tony Nimmo and Steven Mitchinson played Rod Hudson and Bob Armstrong from Wanstead at Marconi B.C. in Chelmsford. After the first two ends Tony and Steve took control of the game and they never looked in trouble as they were never once behind. Rod and Bob eventually conceded after 19 ends with the score at 25-10. Tony and Steve went to the England finals where they were drawn to play Warwickshire in the Preliminary Round. They won this quite easily winning by 26-5. In the first round they played a pair from Suffolk but were unable to bowl consistently enough and came up against a skip that more or less got everything he went for. Tony and Steve finally conceded on the 20th end with the score at 28-16. They were laso due to face David Ward and Martin Long in the quarter finals of the Eastern Counties competition put they have been awarded a walkover as David Ward cannot make the final. Tony and Steve faced a pair from Hertfordshire in the Semi Final but could not quite hang to the lead that they had built up and ended up dropping a two on the last end to lose the match by one shot.
In the Fours Tommy Jenkins, John Cuin, Brian Manser and Bob Gardner defeated a four from Frinton in the last sixteen. They then played B Hobbs, D Hemstedt, J Crane and P Cooper from Clacton at Silver End in the Quarter Finals however on a miserable night the four from Clacton proved too strong for the Nortel four.
This year has also seen the club have a number of members chosen for various representative games. Steven Mitchinson has been selected by Essex in the National Single Rink and the Middleton Cup. In the Preliminary Round of the Single Rink Essex beat Northamptonshire and in the First Round defeated Huntingdonshire. Essex then travelled to Cambridge to play in the Regional Finals where they played a very strong Suffolk side which included two current internationals. Essex went into an early 7-0 lead but they could not keep the momentum going and they finally lost 21-13. In the Middleton Cup Steve's rink lost its first two games by a single shot but they won their third game, against Suffolk, by seven shots and their last game against Huntingdonshire by 8 shots. In a shock result Suffolk defeated Norfolk by 20-2 and this means that Essex now qualify for the Quarter Finals of the Middleton Cup where they faced Cumbria at Notingham. However the Cumbrian side which was packed with current and past full and junior internationals proved too strong for the Essex team. Steve was playing for another new skip, this time Mark Christmas, and the rink worked together well and returned a winning scorecard of 22-11.
In the Group Knockout Nortel had the following players picked to play for the Group 8 A side which defeated Group 4.
Arthur Needs
David Needs
Chris Read
Eddie Smith
Steven Mitchinson
Mick Corbett
In the next round Steven Mitchinson is unavailable due to his involvement with Essex in the single Rink. But Tony Nimmo has been drafted in to skip a rink. The Group side however lost the match by a few shots.
The Club also had Brian Manser and Bob Gardner who were selected for the Group 8 B side which lost in the first round.
In the Ashford Cup Arthur Needs and Mick Corbett were picked for Group 8, who won the competition last year. So far this year Group 8 have won both games and have qualified for the final round robin stage. Hopefully they can repeat last years success. In the first game of the final stage Group 8 drew 3-3 and they also drew the second game 3-3. Their final position was second.
On the Ladies side of the Club Gill Mitchinson emulated her son this year by also winning a county title. She won the Essex County Champion of Champions and will go through to Leamington next year where she will play in the National Champion of Champions
The Club also did well in the Harlow Competitions this year although they were not quite as dominant in previous years. In the singles Mick Corbett (Nortel) beat Steven Mitchinson (Nortel) 21-18 in the Final of the Harlow Singles for the second year in a row. In the Veterans singles Bob Gardner (Nortel) beat Tom pinder (Nortel). In the Ladies Pairs Gill Mitchinson (Nortel) and Ruth Howes won the title.
