As you can see, the Club has been painted; more space has been created in the upper bar area; a new darts area has been provided; new leagues have been set up; the British Isles Championships and Internationals are coming in March - (more later) – so it is going to be a busy season.
Some changes to be noted : ALL Leagues will operate 3 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 1 point if the score is within 5 shots of the winners. Notices regarding Substitutes are up around the Clubhouse, as are the rules about Postponed games. Now this is a running sore in the Club, and I trust members will recognise that postponed games last year cost the Club over £4000.This year, 2 Subs will be allowed - this is a change on what was announced in the Summer Newsletter; if a game is postponed, it will have to be re-arranged within one month, or the rink that postponed will not gain the 3 points; conversely, the non-postponer will gain the points.I would appeal to all members this year to do their utmost to play all their games in the season.ALL re-arranged games should be entered in the Club Diary in the Duty Office!
As an added incentive, if rinks do play all their games, they will be entered in an end of season draw for £100.
Another change – the daily rink fees from 4-6pm will be reduced to £1 only – but this will not apply to Saturday afternoons (as was announced in the Summer Newsletter).
Something else new – we now have a heritage notice board – for photographs of our illustrious members, past and present.I appeal again for any photographic contributions to this important aspect of our Club’s history (with names and dates please!).
In case you have not seen the notices, we are running a Members’ Night on Saturday September 13th – a BBQ and free bowling. This is of course open to new members as well. We will run a tournament that evening, so a good turnout is needed!!That week (9th– 12th Sept.) in fact we are having our annual Open Nights for potential new members – so please encourage your friends, relatives and neighbours to come along (particularly if they are young!!). In the same vein, our Coaching Classes begin on Monday September 29th at 7pm.
May I appeal again for any sets of SMALL bowls (0, 1,2 ) that are surplus to any member’s requirements. We are desperately short of these sizes for coaching purposes.
The AGM on Tuesday 19th August went well. The major change emerging is the resignation our Chairman, Ian Bamford.Ian served us well for 14 months and we shall miss his very steady and controlling influence in Committee. I thank him for his valuable contribution, particularly in the realm of legal affairs. The Annual fee remains the same, as I am sure you are grateful for – this is partly explained by the encouraging financial situation for the Club.
BUT – our major appeal to members this year is to play all their matches- cancelled games costs us far too much money in lost revenue.
The Club’s Officers were elected on September 1st by the Committee and are posted up around the Club.If you have any queries please feel free to approach any Committee member, or the Manager. The Suggestions Box remains open for another year. ( I still have received no suggestions regarding a new title for this piece of fine literature). The Club’s Rules for Competitions are also up on the noticeboards – members please note.
Sadly, I have to record the passing of Sam Gillespie and Billy Fisher; our thoughts are with their families. Apologies for names here I have missed.
May I wish all members a successful and happy bowling season,
Editor