The City of Carlisle has, within its boundaries, a facility which is generally acknowledged as being one of the very best in the United Kingdom.

Cumbria Indoor Bowls Club, situated on the Viaduct Estate in Carlisle, has been in action for more than 40 years and has survived two major floods in recent times.

Following the latest Storm Desmond disaster, the club has been completely refurbished and the superb new lighting and the precision greens make it a real pleasure to play bowls here in Carlisle.

Not unnaturally, therefore, it plays host to some of the top events in bowls and this weekend the club will host the World Singles and the World Pairs qualifiers.

Winners of these two events will appear on the televised finals later this season.

Play commences at 9.30am on Saturday with the first round of the singles. The opening round involves players from both the North-east as well as some from the home club.

David Bolt who is quite well-known in this area and who won the Scottish Open Qualifier here last month will face local Kevin Harrison while Stuart Irwin, Daniel Pool, David Taylor and Paul Wallace will also be in action.

The second round commences at 11.00am and the home club’s Ian Gallagher, who was in great form when winning the International Open Qualifier which was also played here last month, will face the winner of the Bolt v Harrison tie. This should be a great game.

Also taking part will be Gavin and Trevor Taylor both of whom could play a major part in the eventual result. Gavin will be playing at 2.00pm while Trevor starts at 12.30pm.

The two set, seven end format followed by a three end tie break if required is a great format for spectators, much better than 21 up because key points arise in each set very quickly and the tie break can also be very dramatic.

The quarter-final will commence about 3.45pm followed by the semi-finals around 5.30 and the final around 7.15. Times may vary slightly.

On Sunday, the World Pairs Qualifier commences at 9.30am, though there are no local players involved in the first round.

However, Gavin Taylor and Ian Gallagher will be playing their second round game at 9.30am. The other second round matches commence at 11.15am and the home club has a further five players in action.

Trevor Taylor teams up with South Shields’ David Bolt, Kevin Harrison is playing with regular partner Stuart Irwin, and another home pairing is the combination of Eleanor Gass and Daniel Pool.

Again the format of two bowl pairs is great for spectators as it is much easier to follow than four bowl pairs and as, with the singles key points arrive very quickly, and often, in each game.

The quarter-final will commence at around 1.00pm with the semi-final due to commence at 2.45pm and the final at around 4.15pm.

Entry to the club to see any of the games on either day is NOT restricted to members only and there is no charge for anyone.

If you have played before come along, there will be some great games.

If you are new to the game, it is certainly worth paying a visit to one of the very best venues in the country and, if as a result of your visit you think you might like to try it, then please ask at the club for more details of introductory sessions.

The clocks go back on Saturday night, winter is approaching but in Cumbria Indoor Bowls Club it is summer all the year round.