Membership has its privileges
Our first annual “League of Women Bowlers” gathering was a casual pot-luck dinner for the
girls of BLBC. We had such a good time lounging in the clubhouse with our wine and food that
we never even got out the door onto the green. We all know each other better now, and agree
that this event must be repeated at least once every year. We missed those of you who couldn’t
make it, but we certainly hope you will be able to join us next time.
Our club hosted our first club tournament of the 2017 season today, the BLBC Singles tournament. All of you know that you don’t get any penny from winning this tournament…you get more than that…you get your name on the 2017 Winners Board at our club.
Differently from last year, the weather was perfect to bowl, not too hot, not too windy, and most importantly, also great for having a BBQ, and give Ray (the defending champion) and Shelagh a proper send off, since they will be soon departing for a very long journey across America.
This year, we could only accommodate six rinks, so we had twelve bowlers competing for the title, including the defending champion, Ray. This year’s format was three 12 end games, with a differential limit of ten points, with the top two bowlers playing a 12-end final game. The contestants bowled two games in the morning, took a short lunch break and then bowled the last game.
All games and bowlers had a marker (some even had their own designated marker) throughout the day, and it was a real pleasure to being able to focus on your game and not worrying about setting the jack or dropping it. Someone who knows that I am not very good at recalling things verbatim, may have said to me that marking is a job of love and, boy, we were very much loved today – so thank you Leslie, Sarah, Jim, Bob and Ann!!! Ann is also one of the PIMD umpires so she was on triple duty today!
So back to the tournament. By the end of the last game, there were three bowlers, Rob, Cathy and Lennon who won all their three games, but Rob and Cathy had the same points differential (+22), and moved to the final game, which also showcased two markers, Sarah and Ann. It was a great game: both Rob and Cathy made beautiful shots, all of which were received with applause and compliments from all of us spectators. Rob took an early lead, but Cathy fought her way back into the game, and during the second half of the game, it was a one point game. However, in the end, despite her best efforts, Cathy couldn’t overcome Rob’s great shots and bowls, and the game ended 12-6 for Rob.
After the game, we fired up the grill (thanks Rob for this idea, and thanks Erwin for starting the BBQ), and had hot dogs, chicken skewers, pork chops (thank you Cathy!), veggie burgers, potato salad, cheese and salami, a delicious cherry pie, and lot of drinks and fun conversations.
Huge thanks to Cathy, Ann and Sarah for setting up the club house, getting rid of the weeds near rink 1 and 2, and providing plenty of coffee and snacks throughout the day! Thanks to our Tournament Director Shawn and Ann, our Assistant Tournament Director – today’s event was a great success, and we all had a great time, before, during and also after the games.
Congratulations to all the bowlers who bowled and participated to this event today and to Rob Hoey, the 2017 BLBC Singles Champion!
Saturday, April 15 saw the 2017 Meat Axe Challenge Tournament held at the Palo Alto Club. The annual contest pits Berkeley against PALBC in a match-up that has almost the intensity and rivalry of the Cal-Stanford game, except that this is lawn bowling rather than football, so is a bit more decorous.
Long story short, although we fielded 6 strong Berkeley teams, all bedecked in the spiffy new Club colors, we were unable to hold on to the trophy that has hung on the Clubhouse wall these past two years. After two sets of six triples games (morning and afternoon), the overall result was 9-3 in favor of the spirited Palo Alto players.
Accordingly, we had to hand over the cleaver until next year when the venue returns to Berkeley, and, hopefully, the trophy returns to its rightful home.
With appreciation to all BLBC members who participated and to the Palo Alto Club, which, as always, organized a fine sporting event.
Sixteen BLBC members bowled at Opening Day at Rossmoor LBC: Cathy, Giulia, Laile, Sarah, Susan, Bob, Cris, Des, Erwin, Gordon, Jim, Phil, Ray, Rob, Shawn and yours truly.
As always, Rossmoor LBC did an outstanding job of supplying food, beverages, decorations and three lovely greens! Before bowling commenced there was a “spider” on each green. Three lucky bowlers would win a bottle of wine. This was a gift from our club to Rossmoor to help them celebrate their 50th year. I guess it was only fitting that all three winners belonged to Rossmoor LBC! (Cathy and Sarah wrangled greens one and three. I wrangled green two. FYI: A bottle of wine for Cathy and me, and a six-pack of beer for Sarah as thanks for wrangling….:-)
The Club held its 2016 Annual Meeting on Saturday, December 10, immediately followed by the very popular Holiday Lunch. Alas, a hoped for beak in the weather did not materialize and attendees had to forgo the usual post-prandial bowling match as the rain turned the green into a small lake.
On the business side, the meeting voted to reduce the fees charged several categories of “non-regular” members—namely, Dual, Associate, and Students over 18, and amended the Club’s constitution to loosen the definition of Associate Member. Certificates were awarded to 2016 tournament winners and cheers went up for Club members who had performed well at regional or other competitive events.
As has been the practice on recent years, lunch was a pot luck affair, with as broad and tasty a selection of dishes as one might expect in the Bay Area, from competing lasagna dishes to curry chicken to every kind of salad and, of course, one had to leave room for the plentiful desserts.
Despite the downpour, a good time was had by all, and we look forward to a vibrant and fun-filled New Year, hopefully with a renewed lease as we gear up for the Club’s Centennial celebrations in a few years’ time.
And a special thanks to the Hospitality Committee—Susan Jamart, Sarah Allday, Cathy Dinnean, and Ann Brillhart—who set up a beautiful festive arrangement in advance!
Jim Corr (skip) and Ray Francis (lead) took the honors in the BLBC’s 2016 Draw Pairs Tournament. The event was held on a lovely Saturday November 12, when “passing showers” in the forecast seem to have evaporated without touching the ground and the weather was pleasantly and unseasonably warm. Twelve strong bowlers were divided into six skips and six leads and then randomly matched to make up the separate teams. After three 12-end games, only two teams—Jim and Ray and John Hooper (skip) and Ann Brillhart (lead)—managed to win all three games, setting up a tough and spirited final. John and Ann started firmly, maintaining a lead until the half way point, but, as the shadows lengthened, Jim and Ray came back strongly to carry the day (or the evening as it was by then!). Congratulations to Jim and Ray and thanks to all participants, especially those who stayed on to watch and encourage the finalists!
One of the highlights of the day occurred when Bud Birkenseer, PIMD Tournament Director, presented our own Giulia Gallo with a trophy to celebrate her win as the PIMD 2016 Novice of the Year. Well done Giulia!
Congratulations to everyone in our club who participated in this tournament!
Fourteen mixed triples teams stepped on to the Palo Alto LBC green this morning hoping to bowl their best, have a great time….and maybe even win.
As soon as everyone selected their score cards we headed out to to the green to find out who we would be bowling with…and against. Two bowlers had to drop out at the last minute, so we had to change two triples games to pairs, but that didn’t change the scoring. The top three skips, top three vices and top three leads would win money. It was wonderful to have ten bowlers representing clubs from Leisure Town, Oakland, Palo Alto, and San Francisco! Fifteen bowlers from our club rounded out the field with three of us rotating in and out as needed. While I tallied the scores after the final game, Cathy gathered all the players on the green for a “spider.” Our own Mr. Luo won the prize: A bottle of wine. And, of course, everyone received one of Howard Mackey’s traditional post-tournament treats: An ice cream drumstick!The winners:
1st Place Skip: Nikki Schrager
2nd Place Skip: Pete Knopf
3rd Place Skip: Ginger Harris
1st Place Vice: Bob Beksel
2nd Place Vice: Hugo Deaux
3rd Place Vice: Dave McMullen
1st Place Lead: Millard Long
Tie for 2nd and 3rd Place Leads: Laile Giansetto and Giulia Gallo
Congratulations to everyone who participated! And a special round of applause for our club’s novices!
