The History Of Our Club.
Usk Short Mat Bowls Club was started in 1997 by Brian Abbott, Tom Bull and a few of their friends. They first met in the Conservative Club in Usk, which is now the Grange, with Brian working hard to obtain local sponsorship for club shirts and also making a lot of the equipment we still use today.
The club played against other, established local clubs in the Monmouthshire League and also competed in the Welsh League for a while, but as membership grew, they needed more space and in late 2005 moved to the Memorial Hall in Usk, the club’s current location.
With a growing membership, came some early success. In October 2005, the club won we believe, the first Monmouthshire County Triples Competition, held at the Monmouth Leisure Centre.
The club achieved success again in this competition in the 2013-14 season and again more recently in 2025, where the final was held at our home location, the Memorial Hall in Usk.
Several club members, including Tom Bull, Jan Bull and Diann Darknell, all ringed in the adjoining team photograph, in January 2006 represented the club, playing for Monmouthshire, at a County Tournament in Llandrindod Wells.
The club also experienced success in the Monmouthshire League, bowling to the winners title in 2013-14 and then again in 2014-15. Our most recent result being a third place finish in 2025-26,
Our current Club Captain Mike Parkes and his wife Anne, our Club Secretary, joined the club in 2010, but there are numerous other members, who have been at the club much longer.
Sadly though, there are not many original members left and we greatly value those that are still with us.