OAK HILL NEWSLETTER – March 2021
The main aim of this newsletter is to outline our plans for the new season. With Covid restrictions still in place Bowls England has recently produced a guidance document giving details of how we can play bowls for the first part of the season. Until May 17th at the earliest, when step 3 of the government’s roadmap will hopefully be implemented, we will be playing under the following restrictions:-
- Singles and pairs games can be played using all rinks;
- Triples and fours can only be played on alternate rinks;
- The maximum number of players playing on the green must not exceed 24;
- Casual play (roll-ups) is not classified as “organised sport”, so is subject to the restriction of 6 players / 2 household per rink;
- Spectators are not permitted;
- Coaching is permitted, but only on a 1:1 or 1:2 basis;
For the first few weeks of the season, i.e. until 17th May at the earliest, the green will be marked out in four rinks for play, with a space of half a rink between rinks. This allows sufficient space for members to observe social distancing guidelines. We have considered introducing a booking system, but will trust our members to observe the above guidelines, in particular ensuring that there are no more than 6 players per rink.
The clubhouse is not available for general use. One person at a time can use the toilets, and the changing rooms must only be used to collect and store shoes and bowls in the lockers. The team sheets for all friendly matches will be displayed on the notice board in the corridor to the toilets. Anyone entering the clubhouse should use the main entrance and exit via the fire door to the patio.
The club diary will be available on the shelves just inside the clubhouse and rinks can be booked for competitions in the normal way. When members come to the club for informal roll-ups and practice they are asked to put their names on the daily sheet in the diary, so that the information is available for the government’s “track & trace” system if required.
Subscription Forms, etc.
The annual subscription and competition entry forms are sent with this newsletter. Wherever possible we would encourage members to complete their forms on-line and use on-line payments directly to the club’s bank account. In order to reduce the amount of cash handled by members, the subscription form now includes the opportunity for you to enter the “100 club” and “Bonus ball” prize draws. More details are given below.
Please return your forms to David Conway by 17th May at the latest, so that we can make the draws for the club competitions in good time.
Coffee Morning
Our start-of-season coffee morning will be held on the 17th April, but we will not be able to allow members into the clubhouse. Drinks will be served on the patio area. For those members bringing their subscription forms there will be a box provided for you to leave your forms. The green will be open on the 17th April and available for members to practice from that date. Fixture cards for the 2021 season will be available at the coffee morning.
Captains’ Day
Our Captains’ Day is planned for 24th April and we hope as many members as possible will be able to play. However, because of the above Covid restrictions, we have decided to play the games in 2 sessions – in the morning at 10am for a 10.15 start – in the afternoon at 2pm for a 2.15 start. We ask that you contact Stephen Quy or Jill Jordan to let them know whether you prefer to play in the morning or afternoon, and they will then organise the respective teams.
100 Club & Bonus Ball
We are very grateful that Gloria Fligman has agreed to run these prize draws again this year, but to reduce the amount of cash that members have to handle the entries have been included on the subscription form.
Entries into the 100 club draw can be made in multiples of £10. For every £10 donated an entry will be included into a draw at the end of each month. Please let Gloria know if you wish to select your own numbers (between 1 and 100).
Similarly, entries into the Bonus Ball can be made in multiples of £20. The weekly winner of this competition corresponds to the bonus ball in the weekend National Lottery draw. For every £20 donated, a number between 1 and 59 is allocated, and you can choose your favourite numbers by letting Gloria know.
New Members & Open Days
We are again keen to recruit new members to join the club, but will initially have to restrict the number of people that a single coach can instruct at any one time. We are eager to welcome further members into our team of coaches and instructors, so if you feel you could help the club in this crucial role please contact either David Bowler or John Abson.
In particular, we are holding Open Days on all the Saturday mornings in May, so please encourage anyone who might be interested in trying the game of bowls to come along.
Monday Afternoon league
David Conway will again be organising the very popular Monday afternoon league for our members. He already has sufficient names for 5 teams, but we would like to have an even number of teams, so can you please contact David if you would like to be included. Normally this only involves playing every other week throughout the season.
Card Payment System
We are looking into introducing a card payment system used in the clubhouse to reduce the necessity for handling cash. We will let you have full details when the system is operational.
Cribbage, Bridge, Club-nights
We are hoping that we will be able to start holding club-nights with effect from 21st June if conditions allow the government’s Covid roadmap dates to be observed. This should also allow the cribbage and bridge clubs to re-start and for us to provide post-match refreshments inside the clubhouse.
Cleaning Rota, etc.
In the meantime, however, we need to ensure the clubhouse is kept clean and tidy, so Christine will be organising a cleaning rota. If you are able to help with this, please let her know.
She would also like to hear from members who are able to help with catering at club-nights and provide post-match refreshments when circumstances permit.
Clubhouse
You will probably have heard that we have been investigating ways of improving our clubhouse facilities, including the possibility of building a new clubhouse. Such a project would involve considerable costs, so we have been investigating potential sources of funding. Sport England is one such source. They prefer applications for funding to be submitted jointly between the particular sports club and the relevant local authority. We have therefore made contact recently with a senior director at Barnet Council and are planning to have an exploratory meeting with her when Covid restrictions permit. We will keep you informed of future progress.
Membership Secretaries
At our recent AGM it was agreed to make changes to our club constitution and an updated version is available on the club web-site. One change was to appoint 2 membership secretaries, who will help new members become assimilated into the club. Jackie Robinson and Peter Speroni will be taking on these new roles, and they are the people to contact if you require any information or wish the committee to consider any idea or proposal to help with the future running of the club.
This year is still likely to be a slightly difficult one, with us all having to become used to some Covid restrictions, but we hope that you will be able to participate fully in the activities of the club and enjoy your season’s bowling. We look forward to seeing you all on the green!