GEORGE TWINE is making big strides in the sport despite only taking up bowls last season.

Last weekend he finished fourth in the English Bowls Youth Development Scheme finals (EBYDS) held at Melton Mowbray, the headquarters of the English Indoor Bowling Association Ltd.

The 15-year-old Royal Wootton Bassett Academy student only took up the sport in 2016 after playing in a charity match at Bassett in memory of his late grandfather Stan Twine and everything has taken off since.

Teenager Twine progressed through to the indoor U16 EBYDS regional finals in late April after winning the Wiltshire competition a couple of months earlier in Chippenham at North Wilts IBC.

The regional final was played at Mid Glos bowls club (Brockworth, Gloucester) with the top two progressing to the national finals.

Twine won all three of his round robin matches and scored 56 points in the skills section, to total 86 points.

However, his points tally was not enough to secure victory and top spot but had to settle for the runners up spot behind Worcestershire’s Harvey Griffiths (Malvern Hills).

Then last Sunday, Twine competed with 16 other aspiring young bowlers from around the country in the U16 EBYDA National Finals at Melton Mowbray.

The morning session included four leagues with each competitor playing three matches of seven ends in a round robin format. Twine won one game, drew another and lost one, gaining 15 points.

After lunch the afternoon session consisted of a skills section.

This included four skills of bowls disciplines of jack bowling, beat the shot, line bowling and controlled weight with Twine scoring a very creditable 64 points.

With a total score of 79 points and fourth highest overall scorer Twine progressed to the semi finals but lost 7-4 in a seven end match to the overall winner Warwickshire’s Hannah Smith to finish fourth overall.

In the summer, Twine plays for Royal Wootton Bassett outdoors and Westlecot indoors during the winter after switching from Swindon Manor.

In his first season indoors for Westlecot he has appeared in the national competitions for the Denny Cup and U25 double rinks and in the Wessex League regional competition.