Page 5 - Spring 2016

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Boule Anglais - The Other Clubs 5

Morbihan SMBC (was Languidic/Kergonan SMBC)

The club was founded in 2007 after Hugh and Betty Telford had
the inspiration to find out if there were any others with an interest
in bowling. The first gathering of interested bowlers took place in
June of that year, 30 resident Brits attended and the club was
formed. Due to expansion of members the club re-located to La
Chapell Neuve but as from January this year, to larger premises
at Guégon, Josselin.
The club has currently around 32 members and open to all nationalities. Games are
played in a relaxed social atmosphere, the only essential wear are Bowling Shoes. Open sin-
gles and doubles championships are held annually for club members. To date there are two
carpets third on order, expected delivery March 2016.
St. Gelven SMBC
Brittany is a large area and some of the original members from the Kergonan Short Mat Bowls
Club had long distances to travel in order to play therefore St. Gelven Short Mat Bowls Club
was established. They opened for the very first ‘roll up’ on Tuesday 31 March 2009. The club
has some 40 plus members and apart from holding 10 in-house competitions annually, meet
up with other clubs in Brittany for ‘friendly competitions’. Having four carpets they are able to
play a maximum of 32 players at any one time but prefer playing three carpets with 18-24 play-
ers.
Ploerdut Club de Boules Anglaises -
(Ploerdut SMBC)
The third Short Mat Bowls Club in Brittany was es-
tablished at Ploerdut in September 2013. To date the
club has a limited membership of 40 members to
ensure manageable play.
The club has a waiting list. A great club to join
with its friendly group of enthusiastic bowlers. 4 mats
are in regular use and play is competitive. Regular
in-house competitions are organised plus a league. In addition, inter-club competitions with St.
Gelven are played on a warm sociable friendly basis.
Vignols Bowling Club
Our bowling experience started at an outdoor facility
owned by an Englishman who was a regular bowls
player before he moved to France, he decided to cre-
ate his own facility in France which consisted of a two
rink green.
The game attracted quite a few players, some
who had played bowls before but the majority having
never played before.
The Wednesday evenings proved very popular
and attracted attention from the local press and some
French participants. due to several factors the
Wednesday evenings dwindled to almost a non event, and the advent of the Short Mat game
became a substitute event and has gone from strength to strength.
The advantage of Short Mat is the ability to play year round, we play in the local Salle
Polyvalent (town hall), and have three mats which during the spring and summer months is
just enough to accommodate the club membership. The membership comprises of a mixture
of permanent residents and holiday home owners.