Teams from north Shropshire are part of a 28-strong group of clubs who have signed up to the five divisions of the Shrewsbury and District Senior Citizens Bowling League this season, which start on Thursday, April 12.

Sixty teams from 28 clubs spanning an area stretching from Llanrhaeadr y Mochnant, Oswestry and Wem in the north with most matches played on a Thursday afternoon, and eight teams playing home matches on Wednesday afternoons.

"The league provides friendly competition and a valued social activity for retired people to enjoy every week,” said league secretary Chris Kershaw. "Having an afternoon senior citizens league enables some of the older bowlers who don’t like bowling in an evening to carry on playing competitively."

The league has around 670 registered players, 360 of whom bowl weekly. Sponsor for the 11th season is Shrewsbury-based caravan, motorhome and campervan dealership Salop Leisure, which has regional sales centres in Machynlleth and Stourport-on-Severn.

In addition to the weekly league matches, there will be three League Knock-Out competitions - the Dick Meyrick Cup for the top 16 teams, the Ron Smout Cup for the next 16 teams and the Sponsor’s Shield for the remaining 28 teams. The preliminary round begins in May with the finals of all three competitions are played simultaneously on September 10 at three different venues yet to be decided.

The league’s annual singles knockout competition will be held on July 2 at Greenfields Bowling Club and the doubles on August 6 at Meole Brace Bowling Club. The annual challenge match against the Mid Shropshire Senior Citizens League for the Dixon Cup will be played on September 3, with the home venue being Old Shrewsbury Bowling Club.

The season culminates with a President’s Day competition for the Bill Garratt President’s Cup on September 13 at Meole Brace Bowling Club

Salop Leisure’s chairman Tony Bywater said the company was proud to be associated with such a successful league.

"Many of the players in this league are caravan owners and customers of Salop Leisure who stay active and make the most of their leisure time in retirement," he said.