After being rained out twice earlier this fall, we started the day with a half dozen showers. But we wouldn’t give up – it’s bowl or drown. Once we got going, the day was actually very nice. Not too hot, not too cold. Novices Dave Schmalenberger, Andrew & Janet Stapleton, Susan Jamart, Jason Chien, Gerard Lazo and Gary Knox participated in today’s event. Sadly, Mark Gurling and Erwin Vista couldn’t make it and Richard Whitlock was on “injured reserve”.

We bowled two preliminary 12-end games (much to the surprise of PIMD head referee E.B.Parkel who had “never seen” singles played to a set number of ends). After our lunch break, the top four – Andrew, Jason, Gary and Dave – played a semi-final game to 16 points or 12 ends whichever came first. That brought us to our final game.

Andrew Stapleton faced Gary Knox. Both were “in it to win it”. Andrew was off to an early lead, but Gary battled back and, finally, got in the lead. But Andrew was not ready to give in. He battled back until the score was 17-18 Knox advantage. Gary refused to give in, however, and it was in the 24th end that he scored the 21st point for the win.

Here are Andrew and Gary after the match. Congratulations to both men – it was a well-played and entertaining match that drew applause from the spectators when it was over.

A huge thank you to markers Geoff Chandler and Cathy Dinnean who made the day go so much smoother.

If you have a group that would like to give lawn bowling a try, please contact the club. We can usually accommodate a dozen bowlers. As usual, we will provide all needed equipment. All you bring is the desire to have fun and flat soled shoes to protect our natural grass lawn. Please look through the website for more information about the game.

Your group can make use of the clubhouse for lunches, birthday parties, etc. if arrangements are made well in advance. Please contact the club for more information.

Berkeley bowler Nikki Schrager has placed in two PIMD tournaments. Nikki, along with Ginger Harris and Heather Seacrist placed second in the Women’s Triples tournament at Rossmoor.

Nikki and Ginger then placed first in the PIMD Women’s Pairs event held at San Francisco LBC.

Way to go!

Jim Corr has posted six photos of professional lawn bowlers in action on FLIKR. Visit flikr by following the link shown on the links tab.

The next Pizza Night will be on September 23. Bowling will commence at 5 p.m. and will follow the usual informal draw game format. Pizza will be served following the game ($5.00 per person). For those who are willing and able, the club will have a light duty work party starting at 3:30 p.m.

The 2010 “season” is almost over but we don’t stop our lawn bowling just because winter is around the corner. The grass gets greener and the days get shorter but the bowling will go on all year! If you’re visiting our site and have had thoughts about giving it a try…it’s not too late. If it isn’t raining, we’ll be there on Wednesday and Saturday mornings between 10 and 12 for lessons. All you need to bring is a desire to have some fun.

If those times don’t work, contact the club – perhaps we can arrange a special time for a small group lesson. Why don’t you gather up a few friends and TRY IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT!

Our annual intra-club triples tournament was held on Saturday, 8/28. We donned our “whites” and gathered at the club for a noon start. We played a full round-robin with each team playing all of the other teams. In the end, the winner emerged with skip Howard Mackey’s team out in front. His vice was Millard Long (our former club president). Novice Andrew Stapleton filled the lead position.

For decades, the Berkeley and Palo Alto bowling clubs have played an annual match for possession of the Meat Axe trophy. This year, five teams of three from each club met on the Berkeley green to decide the trophy’s home for the coming year. We played four short games for a total of twenty. Sadly, the Palo Alto club won 11 with Berkeley winning 9…close, but no banana! So, the Meat Axe went back to Palo Alto this year.

The event will be at Palo Alto next year.

On August 18, the Palo Alto club will visit Berkeley for the annual meat axe tournament. Palo Alto has held the trophy for several years and Berkeley hopes to return it to our clubhouse this year.

Please contact Howard Mackey if you’re interested in participating!

On Saturday, July 24, the Berkeley club will host a PIMD Mixed Fours tournament (2 men, 2 women). Teams from around the Northern California division will play in the event. Spectators welcome!