It is almost over now but 2025 will go down as Norfolk CSMBA’s greatest ever year of success since the formation of the Norfolk County Short Mat Bowls Association in 1986. In late March Norfolk Premier captured the Inter-County Championship title for the third time in their history. With Player-Manager Jack Pye at the helm Norfolk defeated Dorset Premier 28-12 in the final to top a brilliant I.C.C season for the team. Early December came with Jack Pye’s Norfolk Premier team travelling to Belfast to compete in the British Isles Top Team Challenge. Ireland have practically made this competition their own over the years but this Norfolk team would make history as they became the first English County side to win the title on Irish soil with Western Zone of Ireland having to settle for second place while Pembrokeshire of Wales finished third.
Another great weekend for some Norfolk bowlers took place in November when Norfolk’s Chris Willies, appointed England Manager earlier in the year, led the England team into the British Isles Championships with his team including several Norfolk Squad players. A superb weekend of bowls saw Chris’s England team lift the British Isles Premier Team Championships.
Norfolk’s Over 60’s Squad continued to thrive with their regular fortnightly days at Hingham Sports Centre providing a valuable addition to club bowls in the county under the leadership of NCSMBA Over 60’s Organiser Teresa Goldsmith. In addition, their annual matches against various teams from North Yorkshire, Kent, Essex & Cambridgeshire provided our senior bowlers with the added element of very competitive bowls yet again in 2025. These games saw Norfolk Over 60’s win all the annual shields on offer as they completed a hugely successful twelve months.
There was sadness of course during the year as we again saw several of our members and dear friends pass away. It was heartbreaking that Brian Saunders, President of the NCSMBA from 2011, did not live to savour all the success achieved by Norfolk bowlers during the year. Although Brian was delighted with Norfolk’s win in the I.C.C in March he sadly passed away in June after many years of devoted service to Norfolk short mat bowls. I know how proud he would have been to see the success that Jack and his team achieved in Belfast. Brian was a dominant force in short mat bowls in Norfolk serving as President from 2011 until his death. He also served as Vice-Chairman from September 2003 until 2018. During his time as Norfolk County Team Manager he excelled in encouraging young emerging players into the squad such as Jack Pye, Chris Mann and others that contributed significantly to the success Norfolk have subsequently achieved.
In this last posting of 2025 on the Norfolk website, on behalf of the NCSMBA Management Committee, we warmly congratulate Jack & Chris on their achievements this year and of course every member of the Norfolk Squad who played their part in what was a historic year for Norfolk short mat bowls. The NCSMBA would also like to take this opportunity to wish all short mat bowlers everywhere a very Happy New Year and best wishes for 2026.
Norfolk Premier achieved incredible success in 2025