Hampshire bowlers feeling the pinch (From Daily Echo)

Hampshire bowlers feeling the pinch

7:40am Thursday 26th January 2012 in General Sport

WHERE have all the county presidents gone?

Times were when they were queuing up to take this coveted post but now Bowls Hampshire are facing a vacuum after the current chain-holders finish their year in office for the men’s and ladies’ sections.

Men’s president this year is Ken Graham who was due to be followed in 2013 by John Jenner from Bournemouth club Richmond Park.

However, Jenner has had to withdraw as senior vice-president on health grounds which means there is no successor in the pipeline as the position of junior vice-president was vacant.

At present there is the possibility of a candidate for junior vice-president but even Graham, of Purbrook Heath, is coming round for a second time having been president of the old Hampshire County BA in 2008. As for the ladies, Lockswood’s Maxeen Fletcher is operating without a senior vice-president or a junior this year.

It is a county crisis, and BH secretary Graham King has his theory why Hampshire presidents are becoming an endangered species.

“It is a sad situation but they are being frightened off by the cost,” he said.

The county president receives a grant of £1,500 from BH towards the year and is not charged match fees or for meals during the season’s friendlies – there are 43 of those for Graham this year – while some clubs support their candidate financially.

But the price of items like rink and individual prizes for presidential matches and ‘thank-you’ gifts as well travel costs are considerable, with Graham calculating that his presidential term will leave little change out of £10,000.

Hazel Marke, who has just completed her year as the first lady president of BH, said: “Having been Portsmouth and District WBA president previously I knew what to expect but the county is a lot bigger and I certainly spent a lot of money during my term but that was my personal choice – I wanted to give gifts that people could use and not just put in the back of the cupboard.

“Then there is the cost of attending the championships at Leamington Spa for two weeks, the President’s Day and travelling all over the county – I accepted everything I could even if it meant attending one thing in the morning and another in the afternoon on the same day.

“You’ve got to be someone who is happy to travel, sometimes going to clubs on your own where there are no county officials or county bowlers but just because they have invited you.”

One of the major expenses is the President’s Day, which the Emsworth member calculated cost her around £1,500, the entire sum of the county grant.

“You are expected to invite past Hampshire presidents, the current officials as well as the president of every club. That’s around 160 people, about 85-90 of whom will attend for a lunch and tea with a special presidential cake."

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