DYBA Friendly vs Branksome Park BC 30/08/2026

Sunday 30th August saw the Academy team take on Branksome Park in the final outdoor friendly of the season. This fixture was especially significant because Branksome Park is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As always, the match was played in a great spirit, with all four sets of triples from both teams enjoying the occasion whilst still battling hard to come away with the win.

In the first triple, Tom, Lee, and Hannah had to fight right until the very last end to secure their victory, where they clinched the win by a single shot. Austin, Penny, and Daria produced an excellent comeback, fighting their way back from well behind to turn the game around and secure another win for the Academy.

Evie, Sid, and Zach battled hard throughout their game but narrowly missed out, while Martha, Sam, and Lucie also put up a great fight despite being unable to quite secure the win.

When all the scores were collected and added up, Branksome Park came out on top by just 5 shots. However, with the Academy winning two of the four rinks, Sid claimed the result was technically an honorable draw 😉

The match was a particularly significant one for Daria and Zach, as it was their final game representing the Academy in the Under 18 age group. Both have made a huge contribution to the Academy and will be greatly missed as they move on from the Under 18s.

After the match, everyone enjoyed a fantastic spread of food provided by Branksome Park, rounding off a brilliant final outdoor friendly of the season.

A special presentation was also made to Daria Rampelt, who received Branksome Park's Highest Achieving Junior award, presented by Stephen Potter in memory of his grandfather, David Potter. The award recognized Daria's outstanding achievements in bowls, including winning the Dorset U16 Ladies Singles and U16 Open Pairs, winning the Dorset U24 Pairs, reaching the National U18 Girls Singles final in 2025, and representing England Under 18 both outdoors and indoors. She has represented England at Under 18 level across both disciplines, as well as helping England retain the outdoor British Bowls Under 18 International Series in 2026, securing a 22-8 win against Scotland in her triples rink. These achievements are particularly impressive given that Daria has only been playing bowls for five years!

A huge thank you to Branksome Park for hosting us and for making the final outdoor friendly of the season such an enjoyable occasion. Congratulations to the club on their centenary, and we look forward to continuing this fantastic fixture in the future.