MACKIE BOWLS CLUB & THE IAN HANDS TROPHY
The Ian Hands Trophy was inaugurated after the untimely death of Ian Hands a good few years ago and it was set up to remember his membership of both clubs and to cement the relationship between our two clubs. It is played annually but, in recent years, the Trophy itself has gone missing, so our annual match lives on in name only.
Ian Hands was a serving Police Officer based in Brighton. Towards the end of his career, he took up bowls and joined Mackie. He was an accomplished bowler, part of a then very strong club, playing against many people from West Hoathly in Club games and County competitions.
During the period of upgrading the A23 road to Brighton, Ian got fed up of fighting the traffic and congestion on his way to and from home in Crawley to Mackie. He joined West Hoathly and soon became an established member of our Club playing regularly in friendlies and competitions until his sudden and untimely death.
Outside of bowls, he developed his hobby of collecting football memorabilia into a successful business and soon became a well-known figure in this area.
You may wonder how Mackie Bowls Club got is name. Quite simply, its green is located on Mackie Avenue in one of the northern suburbs of Brighton. In this area, all of the roads have Scottish names; not as far flung connections with Scotland but more likely some bright spark came up with the idea when the suburb was first developed.