European Open Pairs gets the green light!

We are delighted to announce that after careful consideration and discussions with the Falcon Indoor Bowling Club in Chelmsford, England, that the planned European Open Pairs event set for the weekend of the 28th & 29th August 2021 will now go ahead.

We are very excited to be able to get back to a certain degree of competitive bowls and we have been working closely with others to ensure this event can now take place.

Despite the current rise in Covid-19 cases seen in the past few days, we are confident we shall be able to provide a safe environment in which players can still enjoy a relaxed and well organised tournament. This does however mean that participants must play their role in ensuring the wellbeing of those around them by following certain requirements as set down by the SMPT and the venue. These requirements shall form part of the conditions of entry to this tournament.

We shall be using this tournament as a test event to help us better understand ways in which to continue to keep players safe and if needed when we move on throughout the season.

The full list of entry requirements are listed below and can also be found on the European Open tournament page on our website.

Entries for this event will open via our online entry system on Friday 23rd July 2021 at 19.00pm BST. No postal entries are being accepted for this season.

List of entry requirements:

• Players will be asked to wear a mask at all times whilst inside the building. However, players may remove their masks once they have reached their designated mat to play. They must then replace it once the match has finished.
• Players are expected to bring their own mask and a small tube of hand sanitizer to use throughout the weekend to promote good hand hygiene.
• General spectators and non-essential family members are unfortunately not allowed at this event. Players are encouraged to make their own way to the venue where possible. Persons accompanying players as guardians, carers or drivers will be allowed access to the venue but must also adhere to the guidelines laid down for this event.
• Players agree to make an effort in being aware of space around them, especially whilst inside the venue.
• Players are expected to behave in a way that does not put the safety of the organisers or staff of the venue at risk. Anybody causing a disturbance through unruly behaviour will be asked to leave the premises immediately.

Further helpful information will be sent to players following successful entry into the tournament.

All other usual SMPT terms and conditions apply including our code of conduct. Further information can be found on our website.

Belfast Open Pairs now cancelled for 2021

So, whilst it’s good news for our event in August, unfortunately it’s not so the case for our planned event in Belfast in September.

We know that so many people have been looking forward to the event but unfortunately with such a small team, logistics for this event, currently, make it unworkable.

We are gutted that we are missing out on a trip to Belfast once again, but we hope that lessons learnt from the European Open will put us in good stead for the remainder of the season including our planned trip there in April 2022 for the World Cup and World Masters.

As we move through the autumn we shall be monitoring the ongoing Covid-19 situation and assessing our planned events for the remainder of the season. We keep our fingers crossed that we will be able to return to some kind of normality by this time.