West Sussex Bowls League

We are at the start of a new year and quite soon a new summer bowling season; However it feels appropriate to remember the man who has made the WSBL such a wonderful league.- The late, the great Alan Messer, who sadly passed away from cancer just before Christmas. We should remember him and his family, Lauren & James in our prayers..

Alan kept the WSBL website updated, did all the more mundane secretarial work, updated all the WSBL League and Cup fixtures, checked the league's 3 division's match results before updating them onto the website on a more than weekly basis, and at the end of the season he organised the Champions v The Rest & PC Cup final days at Worthing Pavilion BC.

A very hard act to follow; he is already missed.

The Management Committee are grateful to Francis Fahey who has volunteered to take on the major task of collating and inputting all the fixtures and once the season starts, Francis will be checking and downloading all the league and cup results.

WSBL in 2026

Hello everyone, thanks to all the members of all the clubs, our league committee, club committees & club delegates who keep this great league going, and of course not forgetting our sponsors who have supported us over the years.

Our first website was created in 2009 & we updated the domain in 2014, It's great to see the 42nd season & may there be many more for the WSBL.

Here's to a great bowling season and let's hope the weather is kind to us once again.

David Jackson
May 2026

A Message from our President

Another twelve months have flown by since my last pre season address to you all.

Firstly my congratulations to last years Division 1 winners East Preston A, the Second Division winners Maltravers and of course Arundel who were victorious in Division 3. I trust all three leagues will be keenly contested this summer and good luck to you all. As usual most of your clubs will be playing for the PC Cup, no doubt Tarring Priory will be trying there hardest to retain the trophy.

My thanks to all the management committee of the league for standing again. Your continued support is appreciated. Long may it continue.

With 20 clubs and 24 teams this year the league appears to be in a strong position. Hopefully as we enter our 42nd season (albeit we missed one year due to Covid) we can look forward to an exciting few months on the greens around the county.

I repeat what I have stated here for many years - this league was started to give a competitive game of bowls to players of all abilities. My thoughts have not changed and I trust that the management we have currently (and in the future) will do there best to ensure this philosophy continues and that the game is here for you all not just the elite players.

Good luck to you all this summer.

Chris Rolph

President - 2026.

SPECIAL RULE FOR EXTREME HEAT DAYS

At the October 2022 Annual Delegates Meeting - the issues which were apparent in the 2021 season regarding the temporary change to our rules used to ensure bowler safety during the heatwaves, were discussed:-

It was agreed that the WSBL has a duty of care to its bowlers and that if temperatures reach 30 degrees C and above, as defined at the time of the game and match location by the BBC Weather App; and that if these conditons prevail, a match will be cancelled and the available points shared equally for the game.
Previous interpretations including changing the time or date of the match would no longer be considered appropriate.

History of the League

The League was formed as the Littlehampton Gazette Bowls League back in the winter of 1984/85 by the current League President Chris Rolph. The Littlehampton Gazette continued to sponsor the League for 30 years until the end of Season 2014 when they notified they wished to cease their sponsorship.

C & M Trophies of Littlehampton, who had provided the trophies for the League for many years, indicated a desire to become sponsors of the League and after suitable discussions it was agreed that the League would be renamed the 'West Sussex Bowls League' – sponsored by 'C & M Trophies of Littlehampton'. Sadly, Tony Wright the owner of C & M Trophies at the time of the sponsorship agreement, died early in 2017 after a long struggle with illness. 'Phoenix Frozen Foods' kindly sponsored the league from 2017 until 2023. James & James, local Sussex Estate Agents have now agreed to take over as official sponsors in 2024.

Chris acted as Hon. Secretary until the early 1990’s when he passed the reins on to his friend Brian Wellsted who worked tirelessly for the league until he passed away in 2007.

Brian was responsible for the remarkable growth of the league by attracting new Clubs, creating new divisions and intoducing the league knockout competition - the PC CUP.

In the first season (1985) the league consisted of just one division and only six clubs (Norfolk, Maltravers, Arundel, East Preston, Middleton and Bognor). In 2024 the league will boast 3 divisions, 19 clubs and 25 teams.

The impressive development over the years means that the WSBL is now widely regarded as the most successful and competitive league in the whole of Sussex County.

Chris continued to assist Brian, until being asked to return officially as Chairman.

At the 2016 ADM Chris relinquished the Chairman Role to officially become the Honorary President of the WSBL. In the same year Lindsay Bangs (Witterings BC) took over as Chairman of the League and continued untl 2023, Dave Jackson (Bognor Regis) took on the Chairman role and Lindsay continued his involvement by returning to the Management Committtee.

At the ADM in October 2011 Rod McBeth was elected to the post of Secretary and continued in this role until the end of the 2016 season. Alan Messer (Tarring Priory), took on the role of Hon. Sec. at the 2016 ADM until standing down in 2021. Roger Dear (Pagham BC) took on the secretarial role and take us through the difficulties of a pandamic! At the 2023 ADM Alan Messer returned to the secretarial role as well as continuing the responsibility for fixture planning, player records and League and PC Cup Results which he had assumed in 2021.

The Management Committee for 2024-25 consists of the following gentlemen: Lindsay Bangs (Witterings BC), Simon Tooley (Chichester BC), Francis Fahey (Worthing Pavilion BC), and Paul Leatherbarrow (Pulborough BC).

Finances of the league are under the control of Crablands BC member Nigel Reynolds. He will ensure we are kept in a healthy position, having taken over from Dave Parker, who gave us ten years as treasurer.

Our webdesigner was David Jackson, who keeps the spec up to date - but most updates to content fall to the WSBL Secretary,

The Annual Delegates Meeting of the League is held each October and is hosted at Arundel BC. Our Presentation Day and Cup Final is held in September at Worthing Pavilion BC - it is confirmed as Saturday 13th September 2025. We are very lucky that Worthing Pavilion BC have supported us for many years at no cost.

WSBL Secretary Report 2025

2025 has been another good playing year for WSBL. All clubs, bar in 2 fixtures managed to field appropriate numbers and this has reversed a trend over recent years. Thank you, Chris Rolph, President and founder of the league for your continued support and wisdom.

Congratulations to Dave Jackson on completing his second full year as Chairman. Well done to Nigel Reynolds who continues to keep our finances on the straight and narrow. Whilst talking money we cannot forget our sponsors. James and James Estate agents and also the late Peter Chiffins.

Many thanks as always to my colleagues on the Management Committee. The Management Committee continues to make difficult decisions, as always it is not possible to please everyone. The Management Committee continue to believe they act in the best interest of the league A big thank you to everyone who submitted match results this year – pretty accurate by and large It certainly makes the results coordinators role simpler if the clubs are on the ball.

Please when arranging fixtures, care should continue to be taken to avoid potential clashes with external bodies, County events and regional finals with Bowls England competitions. The extreme hot weather rules were only applied once this year and rain as always was our biggest enemy.

For this meeting only one rule change has been raised by clubs and hopefully through open discussion we will all be able to move forwards. This year Middleton raised the issue of offering dates for PC Cup matches and Tarring Priory submitted a possible amendment.

On the playing side – East Preston and Kingston won Division 1 with Pulborough Runners up. Maltravers and Middleton took the honours in Division 2. Arundel and Goring Manor were the prize winners in Division 3. PC Cup winners were Chichester with Crablands taking the RU prize. Congratulations to all our successful teams Also, finally a big thank you to Worthing Pavilion for hosting the 2025 PC Cup Final and celebration match. I was both proud and pleased to officiate over the day.

Sadly, I think this will be my last in charge as Secretary a post have enjoyed to the utmost – but I know more than capable hands are waiting in the wings

Hopefully 2026 will be a good bowling year, with WSBL continuing to be the best and most competitive league in the Southern region.

Alan Messer WSBL Secretary 2025