Newsletter – August 2020
We have been able to continue bowling in a restricted manner following the revised guidelines from the UK government about Covid-19 and the guidance notes from Bowls England. In particular –
- We are now confident that our members are observing the social distancing guidelines, and that as long as we continue to have the mat and jack a minimum of 4 metres from the ditch, we can allow members to play games of triples;
- The club Pairs league is being played on Monday afternoons;
- The Open League is being played as a pairs competition, with 8 teams competing on Tuesday mornings, and 8 further teams playing on Thursday mornings;
- The Acorn Trophy competition is being played on most Saturday mornings, apart from those dates when other club competitions are scheduled;
- The green is available for members to enjoy roll-up sessions at all other times. Please check the club diary to see that rinks are available, and enter your name in the diary, so that we have a list of members who have attended the club.
Club Competitions
Most club competitions are progressing well, with the semi-final stages being reached by the 22nd August. Three “fixed date” competitions have already been completed up to the final stage with the following qualifying as finalists –
Ladies 2-wood singles – Maureen Lovell & Sonya Newland
Men’s 2-wood singles – Terry Doe & Charles Debenham
Mixed 2-wood pairs – Gili Golan & David Conway, Brian Davidson & John Abson
The finals of these competitions will be played on Finals Weekend – 12th / 13th September.
The Aussie Pairs competition will be played on Saturday 22nd August, starting at 10am. This competition will be completed (including the final) on that date.
We now plan to organise two of the remaining club competitions –
The Bob Sawyer Trophy (as a triples game) on Saturday 29th August
The Club Mixed Triples competition on Saturday 5th September.
Please put your name on the respective entry sheets on the Competitions notice board if you would like to take part, or have a word with Peter Speroni.
100 Club
Our appeal in last month’s newsletter to raise funds for the club by organising a “100 club” has been very successful. So far, the appeal has generated a profit of nearly £500. The winner of the £100 draw at the end of July was Sue Frost, one of our new members. It is not too late to make further contributions towards numbers entered in the prize draw at the end of August and September. For more details, please contact David Conway.
Coaching / New Members
We are able to provide coaching for anyone interested in trying bowls for the first time, and also for players returning to the game and interested in joining our club. Over the past few weeks we have been very pleased to welcome a number of new members – Sue and Barry Frost, Simon and Jacob Greenfield, Rhys Lewis and Darren Saunders. We hope that they will continue to enjoy their bowling and that our members will extend the usual Oak Hill friendly welcome to them.
If you know of anyone who might be interested in trying the game, or of any bowlers who might be interested in joining our club, please have a word with any committee member.
Lease with Barnet Council
We are pleased to report that draft Heads of Terms for a new lease with Barnet Council have finally been forwarded to the council’s solicitors for them to process. The terms are broadly in line with the terms we reported to the club’s AGM in 2018, with one major exception – the new terms are for a 25-year lease with a peppercorn rent throughout the entire duration of the lease. We had previously been concerned that the rent would be reviewed every 5 years.
When the lease is eventually available, trustees will need to sign the legal documents on behalf of the club. At a recent committee meeting it was agreed to appoint Tom Hobden, Gordon Greenfield and John Abson as trustees of the club.
Ladies and Men’s “Training / Team-building” Sessions
Last year Margaret Eccleston and Jill Jordan organised a series of “training / team building” sessions for our lady members and these were very successful. Jill has continued to organise these this year, on Tuesday afternoons at 4pm. All ladies are welcome to come along. It has been great to see Margaret Eccleston back at the club in recent weeks after her shoulder operation. She has been teaching herself to bowl left-handed – very successfully!
Some of our men members have suggested that we organise similar sessions for the men members, so we ran our first session on Wednesday 5th August, also at 4pm. We plan to continue with these sessions on Wednesday afternoons for the remainder of the season. These sessions are intended to help our members improve their enjoyment of the game and we are open to any suggestions about topics that we could include.
Ken Callingham
We are delighted to hear that Ken Callingham is now home from hospital. He is still very poorly, but we hope that this will mean he can enjoy some valuable time with his family.
Season Closing
We have moved the closing date for this season to Wednesday 30th September. This will enable us to play the final game of the Pairs league on Monday 28th and give our members further opportunities to play together. ASM will start their Autumn renovation work on the green shortly after the 30th.
And finally, please remember:
The club will do its upmost to protect its members and all visiting players from the Covid-19 virus, but members must also take responsibility for their own safety. We would ask all our members to respect the following guidelines –
- Observe the social distancing guidance (2 metres apart) at all times.
- Wash your hands and use the hand sanitiser when you arrive at the club, before you leave the club and at regular intervals if you touch surfaces or equipment likely to be touched by more than one person.
- Entry to the clubhouse must be via the main door and exit through the patio door.
- The clubhouse can only be used for limited essential use – access to the bar, toilets and changing rooms. Only one person can use each toilet at any one time and only one person is allowed in the changing room, just to collect their bowls and shoes.
- Plastic chairs will be laid out on the patio area and on the path in front of the green for players to sit and change their shoes. Players must not use a chair already used by another player.
- Wherever possible restrict the handling of equipment, i.e. mats, jacks, pushers – to one player per rink. Remember to wash your hands regularly.
- Where members wish to keep the score in a game, scorecards must be used.
This has been an unusual season in extremely difficult circumstances, but we hope that we will come through it with renewed determination to make our club one of the most successful ones in the area. We are continuing to develop our plans to extend the clubhouse and expect to be in a position to report more progress soon.