U S Open Success for Berkeley Bowlers

picture of bowlers
Cathy Dinnean & Ann Brillhart at the U S Open
BLBC members Ann Brillhart, Cathy Dinnean, and Bob Schwartz were among the prize winners at the 2014 U.S. Open held at various greens in Southern California. Ann and Cathy were part of the fours team (Ginger Harris (PALBC, skip), Mary Scott (SJLBC, vice skip). Cathy Dinnean (BLBC, Second) and Ann Brillhart (BLBC, Lead)) that won the second flight in the women’s fours, and Bob partnered Larry Collaco (Sunnyvale LBC) to the runner-up position in the fourth flight of the men’s pairs. Congratulations to Ann, Cathy, and Bob!

Best Retro Sport, plus Solano Stroll

The BLBC is proud to announce that it has been awarded the 2014 Best Retro Sports Activity in the East Bay by the East Bay Express, the free weekly magazine of news and culture. We owe this achievement to the hard work of all who have contributed to the maintenance and promulgation of the Club, not least Dave Rockhold, who insisted we publicize our “retro” appeal, Cris Benton, who devised our snazzy new website that has drawn a lot of viewers, and Ann Brillhart, who has managed the campaign to get groups and companies to use the Club as a venue for parties, team-building sessions and so on. They have been ably assisted by many others, especially those who have devoted hours to coaching newbies, both “walk-ins” to our Saturday and Sunday lessons, as well as the groups, sometimes 50 or more who have enjoyed the Club’s facilities.

BLBC PosterTo further publicize our status, we have had  local graphic designer, Ian Ransley, create a great new Club poster (pictured), which will be prominently featured at our booth for the 40th Annual Solano Stroll on Sunday September 14. The Stroll is one of Berkeley/Albany’s “must” events of the year—a mile long festivity that includes food, music, fun stuff for kids, and many local non-profits. We will be in a prime location—just outside Andronico’s near the north end of Solano Avenue. Members are encouraged to show up (no need for “whites”), lend a hand if you can, but especially bring a non-bowling friend.

The booth will be set up around 9/10am and will be staffed throughout the day until the close of the Stroll at 6pm.

That elusive Meat Axe – gone again!

Well, it was deja vous all over again after Palo Alto came to town to defend the Meat Axe. Both teams fielded four teams (with only minimal use of dual members) for the competition. After tasty snacks and a few howdy-dos, it was game on as tournament director Howard Mackey gave us our marching orders. The green was running fast but did present a few challenges to all present.

Ready to Bowl!
Ready to Bowl!
After the morning session, it was a dead heat – two games won by each club. So, after lunch, we were back at it. Palo Alto seemed unwilling to let go of the trophy and the going got rough. In the end, even though there was an attempted comeback or two, Palo Alto prevailed by winning 3 of the afternoon games.

A special thanks to Cathy Dinnean, Ann Brillhart, Susan Jamart, and Jim Corr for all the behind the scenes work it takes to put on an event like this one.

And finally, Erwin Vista deserves special mention. Not long ago, he was a novice. His performance this weekend and last as a skip was outstanding. Congratulations, Erwin, it was a pleasure to see how fine-tuned your shots have become.

So, as you can see in the picture above, Palo Alto’s VP John Lee was please to take possession of the trophy for another year and President Phil Grattan did his best to look gracious as he shows off the “We Lost” trophy.

John Yee takes possession of the Meat Axe from Phil Grattan, BLBC Pres.
John Yee takes possession of the Meat Axe from Phil Grattan, BLBC Pres.

Bay Bridge Challenge

Sunday, August 30 saw the second staging of the Bay Bridge Challenge, a tournament inaugurated in 2013 to pit BLBC’s bowlers against their San Francisco counterparts. The format was five 14-end triples matches in both the morning and the afternoon. Unfortunately, the story is short: the West Bay overcame the East Bay with relative ease, winning by a score of 8-2 and thus retaining the trophy they initially captured a year ago. But, as always, it was a pleasure to bowl with our friends in what used to be called the Paris of the West, and in fog-less conditions no less. And, special thanks to our hosts for the treats they provided after the event. There’s always next year…

Two bowl singles winner

Twelve bowlers signed up for the annual two-bowl singles tournament. It was a very tough field: Shawn, Cathy, Cris, Robin, Frankie, Des/Susan, Millard, Ted, Ray, John, Ann and Erwin. The combatants bowled two 14-end games in the morning, took a lunch break, and then bowled two more 14-end games. The top four bowlers would move on to the semi finals.

Shawn Roney

Shawn Roney, a mighty fine bowler!

Except, we had a tie for 4th place. Robin and Ray played a seven end tie breaker. Ray won. So, Ann, Shawn, Millard and Ray moved on to the the semi finals. Ray bested Ann and Shawn bested Millard, so the stage was set for the final game. Ray took an early lead, but Shawn fought back. At the end of six ends, the score was tied 4 to 4. Shawn squeaked by with a 5 to 4 win. Well done Shawn! We ended the day with a “spider”; John was the happy winner. All in all it was a fun day of bowling.

Huge thanks to Cathy, Susan and Sarah for setting up a lovely breakfast spread and for providing lots of treats throughout the day.

Congratulations to Shawn Roney, 2014 two bowl champ.

2014 Triples Champions/Familiar Faces

Eighteen bowlers showed up on time and ready to bowl in the club triples match today. The format was random draw with three fourteen end games.

The team comprised of Frankie Napoli (skip), Ted Crum (vice) and Cris Benton (lead) finished the day with three wins and 23 plus points. They had a perfect record for the day and this was a repeat for Cris who was on the winning team in 2013. Our forever young Ted Crum was declared the team’s MVP

Dave Rockhold (skip) with Xian Zhi Luo (vice) and Andy Stapleton (lead) finished in second with two wins and 16 plus points.

It was indeed a beautiful day with a refreshing breeze to moderate the expected hot weather.
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Berkeley NOVICE Rob Hoey is PIMD Open Men’s Singles Champ

What an accomplishment! Berkeley’s own Rob Hoey went into the PIMD Open Men’s Singles as a bona fide novice.

All he had to do was beat Larry Collaco in the opening game. And he did! I think many of us have had a taste of what Larry can bring to a match.

OK, let’s move on. It’s Rob vs. Fred Anast in Game 2. Game on, Rob wins again.

So, if you’ve made it this far, facing Jerry Knott in the championship game shouldn’t be much of a hassle. Rob brought his A-game once again and surfaced as the 2014 Men’s Singles Champion.

Yours truly simply dropped the ball on posting this important bit of Berkeley LBC news. I’ve got excuses, but that’s all they are. What needs to be said to the world and to Robin Hoey is this – CONGRATULATIONS ROB ON A JOB WELL DONE!!!

Berkeley Club Pairs Champs

Jerry Ridley & Millard Long, 2014 BLBC Pairs Champs
Jerry Ridley & Millard Long, 2014 BLBC Pairs Champs

Sixteen bowlers signed up for the BLBC Draw Pairs tournament. Two ‘no shows’ put a kink in the schedule. However, all the bowlers were good sports and remained flexible. Thanks to unscheduled bowler Susan Jamart for stepping up and bowling lead in two games. Jerry Ridley (skip) and Millard Long (lead) won two games on the green and won a third game due to one of the ‘no shows’ on the opponents team. They were the only team to score six game points. Well done Jerry and Millard!

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