Competitive Fixtures – Purley Bowls Club has a very active fixture list with matches both home and away against many local clubs and occasionally against some distant clubs such as Southampton Old Bowls Club. All members are proactively ecnouraged to sign up for as many matches as they can play.
Match Selection – Our match selection process ensures that everyone who wants to play in matches gets multiple opportunities to do so. Our selection process for friendlies focuses on participation and progression for all players ensuring that there is a balance of experienced and less experienced players. For external league matches the selection criteria is progressively more critical especially for the top level leagues but our selection process still gives all players an equal chance of participation based on skill, form, team mentaility and progression.
Competion Selection – Purley Bowls Club proactively encourages all members to sign up for competitions, internal and external. Competition matches provide incredible experience in understanding the skills, tactics and strategy required to succeed at whatever bowls level a bowler aspires to. All players can enter any competition they want except those where the club is invited to enter a representative team, these are selected by the club committee.
Travel For Away Matches – For away matches Purley members will usually organise for some people to meet at the club prior to travel and car share to the away venues. This is very useful for players who haven’t been “Away” before and enhances the team bonding prior to and after matches.
Below is a table of the types of matches that Purley bowlers play in.
| Match Type | Description | Men/Ladies/Mixed | Suitable for new bowlers? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballots | Ballota and Rollups are for everybody regardless of skill and experience. This is where you learn the art of bowling well in a friendly inhouse atmosphere from players who have done it all before. Competition is light and friendly and for bragging rights only | Mixed | Yes |
| Friendly Matches | Friendly matches are the best place to start “competitive” bowls. Purley Bowls Club arranges many friendlies, home and away, throughout the season. The primary goal of friendly matches is to have fun with your team mates and your opposition. Skill and ability play second place. Of course, most people want to win even friendly matches but why let winning or losing spoil a lovely afternoon of bowls whether it's a match on our green or away on another clubs green, To make yourself available for a friendly you will be able to put your name down on the Surrey Match system as soon as the games become available. Notifications will be sent out when you are selected. For away matches we try to organise car shares with an initial meet at Purley and the team travelling together. | Mixed | Yes |
| VilaMoura League | The Vilamoura Mixed Triples league is played throughout the season against other clubs in south London with triples selected from both the ladies and mens sections. A match consists of the opposing clubs playing 2 triples matches at the same time, one at each green, so each team is playing at at home and away. The scores are added up at the end to decide on the league points. The level of skill required is higher than for a friendly because it is a competitive league with some clubs including some very experienced players in their teams. The Purley BC selection process tries to include a mix of experienced and new players as part of development of players. To make yourself available for a Vilamoura match you will be able to put your name down on the Surrey Match system as soon as the games become available. Notifications will be sent out when you are selected. For away matches we try to organise car shares with an initial meet at Purley and the team travelling together. | Mixed | Yes |
| Tons League | The Tons Mens Triples league is played throughout the season against other clubs in south London with triples selected only from the mens section. A match consists of the opposing clubs playing 2 triples matches at the same time, one at each green, so each team is playing at at home and away. The scores are added up at the end to decide on the league points. The level of skill required is higher than for a friendly because it is a competitive league with some clubs including some very experienced players in their teams. The Purley BC selection process tries to include a mix of experienced and new players as part of development of players. To make yourself available for a Tons match you will be able to put your name down on the Surrey Match system as soon as the games become available. Notifications will be sent out when you are selected. For away matches we try to organise car shares with an initial meet at Purley and the team travelling together. | Men | Yes |
| Internal Triples League | The internal triples league takes place late in the summer season usually starting in late July. Anyone can enter and the teams are drawn using a method that ensures evenly balanced teams. | Mixed | Yes |
| ESL Triples League | The ESL Triples league is played throughout the season against other clubs in south London with triples selected only from the mens section. A match consists of 3 rinks of 3 players each with 3 bowls played on one of the participating clubs greens. Points are awarded for winning rinks and for the aggregate score. The level of skill required for ESL Triples is quite high and it is a very competitive league. In general selection will focus on the best players at the club however when selecting players we try to put some players in positions that they have limited experience in so we can develop their skilsl and therby develop our club's overall strength in all rink positions. To make yourself available for an ESL Triples you will be able to put your name down on the Surrey Match system as soon as the games become available. Notifications will be sent out when you are selected. For away matches we try to organise car shares with an initial meet at Purley and the team travelling together. | Men | No |
| East Surrey League (ESL) | The ESL Triples league is played throughout the season against other clubs in south London with triples selected only from the mens section. A match consists of 3 rinks of 3 players each with 3 bowls played on one of the participating clubs greens. Points are awarded for winning rinks and for the aggregate score. The level of skill required for ESL Triples is quite high and it is a very competitive league. In general selection will focus on the best players at the club however when selecting players we try to put some players in positions that they have limited experience in so we can develop their skilsl and therby develop our club's overall strength in all rink positions. To make yourself available for an ESL Triples you will be able to put your name down on the Surrey Match system as soon as the games become available. Notifications will be sent out when you are selected. For away matches we try to organise car shares with an initial meet at Purley and the team travelling together. | Men | No |
| MSL | Mid Surrey League | Ladies | |
| CDL | Croydon Ladies League | Ladies | |
| Crystal League | Ladies | ||
| Internal Competitions | Purley Bowls club hosts a long list of internal competitions annually. The full list can be found on the Internal Competition Page. There is a small fee to enter each competition and you can enter as many competitions as you like. Internal competitions are a great way to test your current level of bowls but more importantly they are a great way of learning how to play competitive bowls. | Men / Ladies / Mixed | No |
| External Competitions | Purley bowlers have a long history of entering a number of external competitions. These include Surrey County competitions, Regional competitions and National Competitions. The full list of external competitions can be found on the External Competitions Page. There is a small entry fee to enter most competitions and entries to the competitions are generally managed through the Club Secretary. Entry forms are usually circulated ahead of the upcoming summer season. | Men / Ladies / Mixed | No |
| Representative Matches | Occasionally Purley will be invited to provide players for representative matches such as Surrey Presidents matches or Surrey County invitational days. Purley are keen to accept these invitations and we will send one or two experienced players to take part. | Men / Ladies / Mixed | No |
| County Matches | Only players who have earned a county badge through winning multiple matches in a county competition are selected for County Matches. | Men / Ladies / Mixed | No |
