Ivybridge Short Mat Bowls Tournament raises £800 for search and rescue charity

The Ivybridge Short Mat Bowls Club held its annual charity tournament on Saturday 24th February.  28 teams competed from West Devon and East Cornwall in an event which raised £800 for a local search and rescue charity.

This event which is very popular with Short Mat Bowls teams is held annually at the Ivybridge Community College. The winning team this year was a team from Willand in East Devon.

John Chaplin the club secretary said:

"We generally try and support a charity local to the Ivybridge area or one that a member may have benefitted from. Proposals are put forward by members with the final good cause to benefit from our fundraising selected by the committee. As many of us regularly walk Dartmoor and coast areas of the South Hams a search and rescue organisation is one we may need, so the search and rescue team at Ashburton proposed by our members fitted the criteria very well." 

Photo: Mark Pickering receiving a cheque from Ivybridge Short Mat Bowls secretary John Chaplin

Mark Pickering, Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton callout volunteer who attended the cheque presentation said: 

"We are a small charity of volunteers that relies on public donation for around 92% of our funding. "

"Not many people realise that we don't just rescue lost walkers on Dartmoor. An increasing number of the 30-40 callouts we are asked to attend by the full-time emergency services each year are off the moor and can be anywhere from Salcombe in the South Hams to Lyme Regis in East Devon and everywhere in between including urban areas such as Torbay and Exeter."

"The type of incident we respond to day or night also varies. Lost or injured walkers, climbers or cyclists. Water-related calls responding to flooding incidents as well kayakers in difficulty on the River Dart. We also get tasked to help the Police with missing person enquiries such as the vulnerable with dementia or mental health problems, as well as children."

"We are very grateful to John and all the bowlers for the magnificent donation of £800 raised from the tournament. All the donation will go directly to helping us help those in-need, 24/7 and will effectively save lives."

Short Mat Bowls is a popular sport for players of green bowls to play through the winter months as it can be played in local clubs and halls. The Ivybridge club meets Monday and Tuesday evenings at the Community College. New members are always welcome and training and equipment is available. The Secretary can be contacted 01752 691306 for further information.