Editor’s note: Bowling on San Jose’s new synthetic green is quite unlike bowling on grass. With fast speeds and pronounced draw, the synthetic green put our Berkeley bowlers to the test and they answered confidently.
The San Jose LBC Vet Novice Fours took place Saturday April 26.
Eight teams participated and played four 10 end games of fours, two bowls for each of the four bowlers. Bowlers from five PIMD clubs participated: Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Jose and Santa Clara. When all was said and done, Berkeley bowlers made up 5 of the 8 bowlers of the top 2 teams.
The first place undefeated team (left to right) Leslie Marshall (San Jose), Reggie Banares (San Jose), Patricia Erwin (BLBC) and Janie Hillyer (BLBC) was undefeated.
The second place team (left to right) Ben Corson (BLBC), Bernadette Chang (BLBC), HC Yung (BLBC), and Mark Cooney (San Jose) lost just one game by a close score.
Judy Hillyer played on the fourth place team and was recognized as the MVP by their team skip. Well done BLBC bowlers!.
Our weekly Club draw games provide an important benefit to the club. They allow newer bowlers to bowl with more experienced bowlers and pick up tips from them. Also it is a social venue for members to meet other members in a low key type of game and encourage the new bowlers to get to the point of feeling comfortable entering tournaments.
In an effort to increase draw game participation, the board has voted to implement a few changes on a trial basis:
1. All draw games (Wednesday, Friday. and Sunday) will start at 12:30 pm. Having the same start time will, of course, be easier to remember. We also hope to recruit a few more bowlers to help with summer afternoon spot watering of the green.
2. The draw game will be conducted as follows:
Name tags are placed on the table by players wanting to participate in the draw game with a 10-minute deadline prior to start time of the game. Two game participants volunteer to organize the draw. If any player has a preference regarding position, they notify the volunteer game organizers before the draw.
The two volunteers determine the mix of Pairs, Triples, Roving Lead and Cutthroat games based on the number of players available. If the number of players indicates a Cutthroat game, players are asked to volunteer for it. These players are not included in the draw.
The volunteers assign the roles of skip, vice and lead and place the draw tokens upside down in the wooden box based on the type and number of games being played. Players will then randomly draw a token from the appropriate section of the wooden box which will determine their rink, type of game and team.
3. The draw games will have priority for center rink usage. On the occasion club members may wish to play a separate game during normal draw game times, such as practice for tournaments, or individual practice. These games must be announced to prevent confusion with the draw game.
These changes go into effect for the Friday, May 2 game next week. For those of you who drive, you will avoid the monthly parking ban on Acton Street, which is in effect on some Fridays until noon.
After a few months, we will assess how it is all going and whether to make the changes permanent. We welcome your feedback.
Sprightly Berkeley Teams Carry the 2025 Tunnel Challenge Trophy Back Over the Hill
The Tunnel Challenge is the annual “home and home” tournament between Berkeley and our colleagues of the Rossmoor Lawn Bowling Club out in the hinterland near Walnut Creek. Atop the trophy for this fiercely friendly contest sits the Spanish phrase “Allende El Cerrito” which can be translated as “beyond” or “over” the hill—the latter an arch witticism, clever, yes, but feeding the myth that lawn bowling is the preserve of the gerontocracy. That doesn’t mean, however, we will not deign to display it proudly in our clubhouse, as we retained the shield for the third year in a row (and seventh of the last eight).
From the upper left clockwise: Glenn, Hugo, Ashok, and Claudia; James, Glenn, HC, and Claudia; bowlers at work; and Chris delivering a bowl.
This year’s matchup was held on Saturday, April 12, which started out on the chilly side, but being literally over the hill and thus protected from the ocean breezes, the temperature warmed up quickly for a lovely bowling day.
Each club put forth eight triples teams who played a 12-end game in the morning and the afternoon. Berkeley started out on the front foot, winning five and tying two of the morning games for a commanding lead of 12 points to 4 at lunchtime. And the foot remained pedal to the metal in the afternoon with a further 6 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss. There were a number of quite close games (in addition to the ties) and a few “blowouts”—our team of Hugo, Ginger, and Ashok were in danger of falling afoul of the Constitution’s cruel and unusual punishment clause with their 25-2 victory in the afternoon. Here’s a link to the game scores.
Ethan makes a point.
Our Rossmoor hosts took the outcome with graciousness and humor and we thank them for their hospitality and camaraderie. Thanks also to all the Berkeley players who made it “beyond the hill” and back with the plaque in good hands for another year.
Trees on the verge.
Rossmoor is a lovely place to bowl not only for the warmth and camaraderie of the Rossmoor club members but also the handsome setting of their three bowling greens. The greens are well tended and surrounded by a lovely set of trees, reminiscent of English arborial splendor. Each visit features a subtle soundtrack provided by Rossmoor’s abundant, natural life – hawks and turkeys come immediately to mind. It is a most pleasant place to visit.
Our fantastic greenskeeper team is happy to announce that the green reopened Wednesday, April 9 at 10 AM. Please note there may be some sand on the green which may be picked up by bowls. If there is sand on your rink, we ask you not to use rakes or squeegees.
Hugo Deux sends a bowl down the rink on our newly reopened green.
The green has made a quick recovery from the Spring drill and sand maintenance, reopening just 17 days after the workday. Just a couple of years ago, a cloudy and cool Spring delayed reopening by two months so we are lucky this year. As bowling resumed today there was some sand evident on the green but the bowls behaved well. It will get better as the days progress.
Jim Corr ponders the head after a lovely shot by Hugo Deux.
As a reminder, please make sure to read the notice board in the equipment shed for information related to using the green, such as bowling direction, rink color, and green sheet status.
Opening Day, the official beginning of the lawn bowling tournament season, was held on 5 April at the Rossmoor Lawn Bowling Club. Rossmoor’s three greens were looking fine and, better yet, bowled well with a reasonably fast pace. Opening Day provides a welcome opportunity to renew acquaintances from other clubs with this year’s attendance including 108 enthusiastic lawn bowlers from the Bay Area and beyond. That’s eighteen triples games underway at once on three greens.
Calvin Darling and Bud Birkenseer get things rolling.
The event was kicked off by Calvin Darling, PIMD President, and Bud Birkenseer, longstanding Tournament Director for the PIMD. Bud, as always, ran a smooth ship – no small feat given the large turnout. He is undeniably one of the great heroes of Bay Area lawn bowling and a most pleasant guy to boot. The winning teams were awarded prize money! A good time was had by all.
From upper left clockwise: Ethan and Judy, Leslie and Cindy, Stephan and Karen, Chris and Mike.
The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club had a great showing with 22 bowlers participating in the games. The weather cooperated with a pleasant sunny day and slightly warm temperatures. It was great weather for bowling and for our home green’s recuperation. While we were having a good time bowling at Rossmoor, our green back home was enjoying its last days of rest in recovering from the spring tine and sand maintenance. We should be bowling back home fairly soon.
From upper left clockwise: Cris, Glenn, Phil, Bernadette, HC and Ashok.
It was good to have this group of Berkeley bowlers practicing during Opening Day, for we will be back at Rossmoror next Saturday for the annual Over the Hill Tournament to be played on their home turf.
From upper left clockwise: Aika and Lennon; Janie and Patricia; Leslie and Charlie; Claudia and Mei.
Once again, I am pleased to report that last Sunday’s drill and fill workday was a huge success. I was amazed when I Facetimed Leslie at 1 PM to view the activity from afar and there was nothing to see other than a few munching on pizza. The work was completed in record time. Very impressive indeed. It is this type of volunteerism and cooperation that enables our green to be the envy of PIMD.
Many hands make light work!
A big shout out to the volunteers (listed in random order and including several who called in sick): Alexandra Terninko, Rolly, Phil Watson, Leslie, the Bentons, Kern, Steve Harris, Annie, Gary S, Chris High, Glenn, Douglas Frey, Martin, Charles, Mike O’, Stephen Ng, Ben Corson, Marty Lorber, Daniel, Mark Baker, Cathy, Tom Birt, and, of course, our four terrific GKs…Patricia, Janie, Judy, and Sarah. If I missed anyone, please let me know.
For those of you who were unable to participate, stay tuned because most likely there will be another workday in the fall.
The green on Thursday, 27 March
Update: Janie and Patricia just sent a photo of the green from this morning (four days after sanding). The green has received a gentle watering compliments of a cold front and the sand is settling very nicely into the grass – by all accounts a quickly paced recovery is underway.
For more information on this annual maintenance ritual read on.
Congratulations are due to BLBC bowlers Janie Hillyer (Skip) and Luis Zapata (Lead) who won the first official PIMD tournament of the 2025 season, the PIMD Mixed Pairs.
Played at San Jose LBC on Saturday, March 22, the event involved 14 teams playing four 12-end games. Going into the last round, only two teams had won their first three games–Janie and Luis, and Jesse May and Rachel Marcuson of Santa Cruz LBC. By the chance of the random draw, these two teams faced each other in the final matchup, ensuring that only one would end the day undefeated. (Excluding the possibility of a tie, which would then have thrown victory to the one with the better differential.) Playing with the assurance and consistency they had shown all day, Janie and Luis got out in front in the early stages and never looked back.
San Jose’s synthetic green requires Berkeley bowlers to make skillful adjustments.
In addition to the prize money, Janie and Luis go home as the front runners in PIMD’s first Bowler of the Year contest. This award will go to the Man and Woman Bowler who accumulate the most points in the course of the seven PIMD Tournaments open equally to all PIMD bowlers in 2025. For tournaments using a round robin format, 10 points are awarded for each win, 7 points for second place, 5 points for third place, with fewer points awarded down to those in eighth place. (A slightly different points allocation will be used in tournaments based on an elimination format.) See the PIMD President’s January 2025 newsletter for further details.
The Bay Bridge Challenge is the annual contest between Berkeley and the San Francisco LBC, held at the respective venues on alternating years and thus sometimes referred to as a “home and home” match. This year’s contest, held on Saturday, March 15, took place on two of SF’s three greens in Golden Gate Park, a lovely setting but where the greens are notoriously heavy and slow—it’s an achievement to get the jack, never mind a bowl, past the hog line.
It also tends to be cold! And this year was no exception, although the downpours earlier in the week had dissipated and, by the afternoon, it was actually quite pleasant. By that time, too, Berkeley had asserted its strength, winning five of the eight Triples matches. But San Francisco wasn’t giving up and came back after lunch to win 4 ½ (one tied game) to 3 ½. A valiant effort—but not quite enough, with Berkeley scoring 8 ½ to 7 ½ on the day thereby retaining the shield, which will now be displayed in our clubhouse for another year.
BLBC President, Leslie Engler, (right) receives 2025 Bay Bridge Challenge Trophy from SFLBC President Sherie Koshover
Well done to all the Berkeley bowlers who made the trip across the Bay, most especially to the teams of Hugo, Judy, and Joann, and also HC, Glenn, and Bernadette, who won both their games, as well as Cris, Cindy, and Aika, whose afternoon tie prevented an even split in games won/lost, which would have required a three-end bowl off. Finally, many thanks to our SFLBC hosts, whose hospitality was excellent.
The 2025 2-Bowl Singles Tournament was held on Saturday, March 8. On the fourth round of a (primarily) strength v strength format, Daniel Gorelick seized the crown, bettering his semi-final achievement of 2024.
The day was seasonably fresh, with a nippy breeze from time to time, but nothing to dampen the spirits and performance of the 12 players who eventually took to the field after several late dropouts, including one on the morning of the event. Ginger Chen graciously offered to withdraw to maintain an even number of players. Tournament Directors everywhere thank you, Ginger.
A random draw was used to determine the initial matchups for the games of first to reach 15 points, which resulted in a top six of Calvin Darling, Hugo Deaux, Chris Davis, Lennon Hamilton, Daniel Gorelick, and Art Kotoulas. After the second round, based on strength v strength, Chris, Daniel, and Hugo topped the table with two wins each, while Calvin was running close as the highest ranked of those on one win, one loss.
Only two players—Daniel and Hugo—were on an unblemished 3 wins at the end of Round 3, setting up a tasty final.Both players put in amazing shots in the final, but Daniel dominated from the outset and never looked back. It was not that Hugo played badly, drawing much applause from the peanut gallery, and losing five extremely close measures. But on this day, he was up against a finely tuned machine in the form of Daniel, who had set his eyes firmly on the prize and won the match 15-6.
Daniel triumphant
Congratulations to Daniel as this year’s 2-Bowl Champion! And thanks, as always to our hospitality crew, our great greenskeepers, and the markers who gave generously of their time.
Thursday morning bowling and gardening group is hard at work whipping the garden surrounding the lawn bowling green into shape.
Leslie and Sarah vs. the weeds
The Gardening Committee meets on Thursday morning at 10:00 am for bowling and then gardening. Our fearless leader and chair, Leslie Engler directs our weekly projects. Last week Leslie and Sarah Allday worked on oxalis removal in one of our flower beds to allow breathing and growing room for the plants. It is, it seems, a never-ending fight with the oxalis. Meanwhile, Donna Otten and Susan Jamart worked on deadheading the daises. Charlie McFarran mowed the grass surrounding the green. Ben Steinberg weed-whacked the edge of the sidewalk while his father-in-law, John enjoyed the sunshine and watching the lawn bowling game. Patricia Erwin, one of our awesome greenkeepers, and Phil Watson worked on getting ready for our semiannual workday by prefilling buckets with sand. Claudia Benton worked on cleaning the ditch surround the green getting ready for the Two Bowl Single tournament on March 8.
It is a lovely time of year to garden. Spring is fast approaching and the oxalis is in full bloom. The roses have been pruned and waiting for new buds. Flowers and shrubs need deadheading and are beginning to sprout new growth. The English ivy vigorously grows year-round on the fences surrounding the lawn bowling club and is frequently in need of pruning. The grass surrounding the bowling green is green and growing with our warm sunny days and rain.
There is a long list of gardening projects for the gardening group to attack. The Gardening Committee welcomes anyone and everyone on Thursday mornings at 10am for a fun morning of bowling and gardening. Hope to see you there.
Deep in the weeds, our Acton Street sidewalk c. 2018
As a quick reminder of how valuable this landscape gardening group is, take a look at our Acton Street sidewalk back in the days when jungle conditions prevailed. (2018).
We promote the game of lawn bowling for the enjoyment of new and experienced players alike.
You must be logged in to post a comment.