NEWS

Josh Minto, Education Relationships Manager at RTC North, and his Gosforth teammates crowned national bowls champions!

Josh and his Gosforth Bowling Club teammates are celebrating after winning a national competition and being crowned champions of England.

The team travelled to the National Finals at Leamington Spa in August after an impressive run through the Club Two Fours competition, a prestigious national event first played in 1973. The competition sees two rinks of four players to represent each club, with the aggregate score across both rinks deciding the winner of each tie.

Gosforth battled through strong opposition to qualify from the Northumberland section before progressing through the regional stages. The team defeated Nafferton Bowling Club of Yorkshire and Silksworth Bowling Club of Durham to secure their place in the last eight in the country and earn a spot at the National Finals.

At Leamington Spa, the team continued their winning form, defeating Newmarket Avenue of Cambridgeshire in the quarter-final before overcoming Boscombe Cliffs of Hampshire in the semi-final later that day. In the final, Gosforth faced Worcester Bowling Club and won the match to become national champions.

Josh, who joined Gosforth Bowling Club in 2015 after previously playing at Crawford Park Bowling Club and Backworth Welfare Bowling Club, said the achievement was made even more special by sharing it with teammates he also classes as friends.

He said: “Having played at the club for a long time, my teammates are people I would class as friends outside of bowls. It is always great to qualify with your mates, and we went down to nationals optimistic that we would have a competitive chance at this year’s finals.”

Reflecting on the final, Josh added: “We got off to a slow start but managed to get back to level at the halfway stage before kicking on and building a healthy lead going into the final couple of ends. Once the last bowl was played and the win was ours, it was great celebrating on the green with my teammates and those who had travelled down to Warwickshire to support us. My parents were in the crowd, who have supported me during my whole bowling journey, and it was satisfying to see them so happy that we had won the title!”

For Gosforth, the victory marks a historic moment, with the club winning the competition for the first time in its history.

Josh said: “There have been many instances in the past few years of having good runs at the national finals, but just failing to get over the line, so to do it alongside my mates and win this competition for the first time in Gosforth Bowling Club’s history was a really great achievement and something that I am proud to be a part of.

Gosforth Bowling Club has a large number of really talented players, and in early rounds, when some players were unavailable, our substitute players came in and helped the team get through to the next round. There is a real togetherness among the players at the club, and I think our team spirit might just have been the difference maker for us.”

One of the standout moments from the finals was being presented with gold medals and posing for photographs with the team and supporters on the green. Josh said it was a special moment to see everyone so happy after what the team had achieved.

The season has now come to a close, but the celebrations will continue when the team attends the Bowls England Awards Dinner in Coventry on 24 October, where they will be presented with the trophy again. Gosforth will return next season aiming to defend their national title when the outdoor season begins in April 2027.

Congratulations Josh!