NEWSLETTER 33 Welcome to an early Spring We had some great parties starting with a Valentine dinner party which was enjoyed by all. Mary s games kept us guessing. Thanks to all that helped make this a fun event. Then there was the special games afternoon with all the challenges and great food. Thank you, Mary, for all the work you do in running the games. It was one of the last events our special friend Rina enjoyed with us.! THE CLUB OF FRIENDS THAT HAVE A GREAT TIME TOGETHER PAGE 1
Presidents Report by Mary It's almost time to get out on the green and throw those bowls. Short mat is just about done and the new outdoor bowling season about to begin. It has been a busy time at the clubhouse this winter. There were two in house short mat tournaments and one inter club tournament. In January 20 people enjoyed an afternoon of skill testing games. More than 40 members took part in 2 different defibrillator first aid courses. Everyone is impressed with the renovations done in the women s washroom. The biggest project was the replacement of the plinth boards all around the greens. This project took a lot of organizing and hard work. Thanks to Nick and Ralph for making this project successful. I would like to thank all the volunteers who made all these events possible. Important dates coming up are April 11 and 18 th cleanup days. We need as many volunteers as possible to come out and spruce up the clubhouse and greens before our open house (April 25) and opening day (April 26 th ). There are all sorts of tasks with varying degrees of physical exercise. If you can't come on these two days see Nick to get a job that can be done on another day at your convenience. The executive would like to see as many members out at the open house to welcome visitors and help to introduce them to the fun of lawn bowling. Sunday April 26 th is our official opening day of bowling for 2015. Come out and join us for the start of the season. One of the new sessions we are going to try out this summer is family night once a month on Saturdays. We will have hot dogs and hamburgers at cost and all family members and friends are invited. We have the small carpet bowls for small children to use. They will start in May and end in September. The dates are on the special events calendar. At the annual general meeting last October I mentioned that we would like to organize a charity benefit tournament. I would like anyone interested in the planning and execution of this event to let me know. We are looking for ideas and people to carry them out. If we start now, we will have time to do this well. Upcoming events March 21 Semi - Annual General Meeting. It is a time to get organized for the coming lawn bowling season and for all members to help decide how to make our club even better. April 10 Pizza Party. This is a time for all the indoor bowlers to celebrate the end of the indoor season and enjoy pizza bought with all the money we have donated to the pig!! April 11&18 Spring Clean up of clubhouse and grounds. Starting at 9 am each day we need all the club members that can make it to help with the many small jobs necessary to get the club house & grounds ready for our Open House and bowling. April 25 OPEN HOUSE 1:30pm to 4 pm. Bring guests and friends to introduce them to our club. We had over 40 visitors last year and hope to have as many this year. We need the help of all the club members to show our guests a great time. Half of our new members last year came through recommendations from the existing members. Please keep up the good work. April 26 Official Opening Day 1:30pm the Saanich Mayor has been asked to deliver the first bowl. This is a chance to see how rusty the regular members are and a chance for new members to play. April 27 Start of outdoor bowling- 1:15 May 18 Victoria Day Holiday Meet and Greet Tea & bowling Tags at 1:15 pm start bowling at 1:30 pm. Tea break half way through the game. A very civilized way to enjoy an afternoon. This is our welcoming event for new bowlers. May 19/20 Ann Webster Women s Triples BSI tournament, Sign up to play. Morning start. Come play or cheer our teams on. This is one of the tournaments that we put on for all the clubs in our area. May 30 Family fun evening for Members families. Bring your kids and grandkids for a special evening of bowling for all and with hot dogs, hamburgers and goodies available for you to enjoy at reasonable cost. This is a new monthly event over the summer for all to enjoy.! THE CLUB OF GREAT ACTIVE BOWLERS PAGE 2
Rina Vandenberg Rina was the epitome of the phrase Cold hands, warm heart. Rina was a long-time, valued member of our club, very good at both outdoor and indoor bowling and an excellent card player - very lucky or very skillful or both. We all miss Rina. Jean She was my partner in winning the Presidents plaque a couple of years ago, we were both delighted to have our names on this plaque. Rina was always competitive but in a good natured way. Nick GOOD BYE SWEET LADY We wish to thank Rina s family for their kind donation to our club in Rina a memory. Wayne Etherington The life partner of our great member, Carol, passed away suddenly and much too young, a great loss for Carol and family and for all of us that knew them both. We all look forward to having Carol back active with our club to help her get over her great loss.! THE HOME OF GREAT FRIENDS PAGE 3
Short Mat Tournament The short mat season is almost over for the winter but don t forget the pizza party. So far 65 have signed up but more are welcome. The interclub fifth annual tournament had teams from 8 local clubs which gave our teams a challenge in all three events. We were delighted that our team of Judy, George and Ted beat out all comers to win the A event and restore the honour of our club. All three played extremely well, Judy as skip, beat the best that the other clubs could offer. We were also pleased that the team of Randy, Jennifer and Alice were in the finals for C event especially as they were a last minute fill in for a team that had to cancel. Congratulations to all six of our teams. Oak Bay won both the B and C event. Thanks to the kitchen helpers for putting on a great spread and to my helpers in running the event.! THE HOME OF FUN SHORT MAT BOWLERS PAGE 4
Lake Hill Indoor Short Mat Lads and Lassies Doubles Tournament by George We had a great Short Mat Doubles Round Robin Bowling weekend on March 14 & 15, 2015 (Lads teams Vs Lassies Teams) 24 members made up of 12 doubles teams signed up (6 lads and 6 lassies teams) The Lassies overall handled themselves very well against the lads and indeed on Sunday especially they dominated. The weekend provided great fun, laughs, food and camaraderie all around. The final standings and awards were as follows: Top Lassies Team was Joan McKane and Vicky Jones. They played exceptionally well and registered 4 wins against the Lad s teams. I hear they beat George and Derek who were undefeated until the last game. Top Lad Team was Edward B. a nd James B, with George S. a nd Derek R. in second place. Thanks to all the Kitchen Helpers: Alice, Wilnae, Bill, Cathy Van Sykle, Nadine and Gillian.and to Sirish & George for once again organizing a fun and very successful in club Tournament. Defibrillator course The defibrillator course proved to be a very extensive first aid training for 44 of our members. It was excellent in preparing our members for a typical problems that may arise in our daily lives so we can assist prior to help arriving.! HOME OF MANY HELPERS PAGE 5
Volunteers for upgrades to our club The many volunteers have made many great improvements to our club this winter. The Ladies washroom upgrade was finished thanks to our resident expert, Ray, in partition installation and to many others that helped. We got the new fenced area which hopefully will see a new shed built in the near future. And then there was the plinth replacement. Ralph, with help from many of our club members,wrestled the new cedar timbers into place and secured them with ready rod in epoxy. There was much work in backfilling and leveling the greens. Hopefully this will last us for at least 20 years. Many thanks to all that helped. It is most rewarding to see so many of you come out to help.. Don t forget our Spring Cleanup on the April 11th and 18th. There will be jobs for everyone. New Zealand trip go or no go! We are still actively planning a bowling trip to New Zealand and the Cook Islands starting late January and into February 2016. There is going to be a meeting on April 4th at 10:00 am for all those that are interested. At present I do not think there is enough interest to proceed with this. Please inform Nick if you are planning to join us especially if you are going to be away and can t make the meeting. Coaches corner With the lawn bowling season soon upon us I hope everyone is getting in shape to challenge the greens this spring. We had an excellent season last year and we hope to have an even more enjoyable time on the greens this year. Newsletter produced by Nick with the assistance of editing by Jean! THE HOME OF MANY VOLUNTEERS THAT MAKE OUR CLUB EVEN BETTER PAGE 6