Letterston Short Mat Bowls Club benefits from lottery funding

 
Letterston Short Mat Bowls Club is currently finding it far easier to have their equipment set out and regathered for league games and practice sessions thanks to some funding from the National Lottery.
 
Because the club, which plays at the village hall in Letterston, now has an electrical power winder to help roll out and regather the two heavy mats that are used for competition in the Pembrokeshire SMBA league, where they have a team in the top echelon and also for the President’s League.
 

 
Small wonder then that officials at the club are delighted and full of praise for the efforts of Alan Newberry, a regular playing member who used his previous experience of lottery applications in completing the forms and organising all the necessary detail to satisfy the lottery commissioners of the worth of the project.
 
“Alan has done a brilliant job,” said club president Selwyn Jenkins, who started playing in his local club as long ago as 1990 when he joined fellow Letterston AFC members Ags Kalvik and Billy Robb in winning the first village tournament.
 
“I was hooked from the outset and I have enjoyed playing ever since with a terrific bunch of eager players that include Jeannette Richards and Shirley Williams, whose late husband David was so well known at county and national level.”
 

 
Jeannette is now hon treasurer and Shirley is club captain, and both are heavily involved alongside Bernard Williams (chairman), Mark Rees (vice chairman) and Lesley McKenzie (secretary).
 
They have 22 regular members and newcomers are guaranteed a warm welcome and coaching in the game as they play in both the division One and President’s League, where the format is a singles, a doubles, triples and foursome so that ten players are needed in each match.
 
Last season saw Letterston SMBC finish in mid table in both and they are eagerly anticipating another season of competition, aided and abetted by their superb new piece of equipment which takes out the physical effort before the start and at the end of play, thanks to generosity of the National Lottery!