Player Profile 2 of 25: Colin Beaman

so it must have been 1978:

Yes and it was for the “Kids” team Telepost used to run and it was on the No 2 green  at

The Telepost Club v British Rail. I played a real character who was well known around the

Shrewsbury area called “Big” Jim Bickley and lost 21-2 (I think he gave me the  2 points).

Springfield – ( early 1980’s – this team no longer exist but played from the Telepost  in the

Mid Shropshire League )

Battlefield – 1993 to 2002

Meole Brace – 2003 to 2017

St Georges approx last 10 years (wanted to play in the Summit League and at the time Shrewsbury Clubs were not allowed in this league)

Hanwood – present club

Woodfield (played for this club in the Staffs League for roughly 10 years)

West Brom Supporters (played for this club for the past 2 years)

1995 County Merit

Ercall Magna Open

1995—Represented Shropshire in the England team that played Wales

1998 & 2006 County Handicap

2011 Spring Waterloo (first Shropshire winner)

2011 Oceanico Portugal Master

2011 Burway Open & Bowring Open

1984 – Telepost Consolation Cup Winners

1994 – Premier League with Battlefield

2000-2010 – Winners of numerous Staffordshire League titles, County Cup and Free Press Cups with Woodfield

2009 – Crosfield Cup winner

2016 – Alan Mayhew Trophy winner

1994 is a long time ago so can’t remember first game but have vivid memories of the season as Battlefield ended up winning the title. I can remember going to greens I had never played and playing against great players. I can clearly remember the last game of the season when we played St Georges away and managed to get the points we needed to claim the title, we celebrated in style and still remember Andy Bourne being carried off the coach.

My Dad – he not only taught me how the play the game but more importantly how to win or lose in the correct manor. Would add that in the “Kids” team I first started playing for at Telepost was run by 2 people  Bert Harris (whose family still run a well known junior competition) and  Ant Moore (who the older bowlers around will remember was the dad of a top Shrewsbury bowler Malcolm Moore) and if it wasn’t for these 2 people running this team I would not of got the same knowledge of bowls as I did.

When you have played as long as I have its hard to pin point one performance , but one or two do stand out.

When at Battlefield I managed two 21-0 wins – sometimes these sort of wins are not always the best games you play but are so rare you do not really forget them.

What a question – I can’t pick one particular game and have narrowed it down to 3.

· The overall team achievement of winning the title in 1994 with Battlefield.

· I know it was at home but when Meole beat arch rivals Castlefields 12-0 was a great performance.

· Meole had all 12 winners away at AWC – at the time it was the first time an away team had managed to get clean sweep in an away game.

There have been many that I treasure but all at different stages in my bowls life, without the early highlights I would not of got to where I am now. However there have been 2 massive years on my bowls career

1995 – First County Game & County Merit & 2011 – Spring Waterloo & Oceanico Portugal Masters

My dad helped me so much in my bowls career but unfortunately he was not around to see me achieve what some people would say would be some of my career highlights of winning the Senior County Championships in 2009 when we beat a top Yorkshire side. Then 2 years later in 2011 gaining national success when I won the Spring Waterloo and Oceanico Portugal Masters.

Got to be Bylet as I won the Shropshire Merit on it in 1995 and really enjoy going back. Another favourite green would green would have to be Newport, I don’t win that often on it but its always a pleasure and challenge.

Easy – Workwardine Wood as never feel confident on the green compared other premier green. I have ever played on the green that much so my knowledge of the green is not good.

Some I can not put in writing but the most common one’s would  have to be Dipper and XMC.

Dipper – when I first started driving my dad said I could drive his car as long as put some petrol in and checked oil every now and again. Well I was shown how to check the oil level and it needed topping up so my dad said I needed to it. I really really struggled to get the oil into the very small hole the dipstick went into and the oil was all over the engine. When my Dad told the Battlefield lads of this they used this as my nickname since.

The last game of the 1^st season in 1994 will always stick in my memory when Battlefield won the league. I always like the play-off final game as the build up is great and the crowdsare massive and this match is always a great finale to a SPBL season.

Lack of crowds – so many leagues play on Friday nights so hardly anyone gets to watch some great games.

Possible change the league to 12 teams with 10 per team – quality not quantity. 1 or 2 games a month to be classed as “Super Saturday or Sunday” games and be played late afternoon or early evenings – this could held promote the quality of the league and give a few more people the chance to watch. Allow teams to nominate 1 game to be classed as a “Golden Game” and if won they get double points and even 3 points if a single figure win.

To be honest when I started to play bowls my aim was to play for the 1st Team at Telepost and once achieved it progressed to play for Shropshire then to win the Merit which I managed to do. Then one day a fellow Battlefield bowler Kevin Perks said to me that to be classed as a true great you also need to travel outside of the County and win a “Big Comp”, which I managed twice in 2011.