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Club Members, Frontpage, PIMD, Rental Events, Tournaments

That’s a Wrap for Winter League 2020

The co-winning teams for the 2020 Winter League. L-R: Gareth Cole, Andy Vevers, Rose Selby, & Mike McNorton

The annual PIMD Winter League finished up its last week on Saturday January 25th and Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club members did exceptionally well. The competition is a Pairs tournament and teams from most of the Bay Areas bowling clubs participated in the three week competition.  

Each team played a total of nine games over the course of three consecutive Saturdays. After the first two weeks of competition, only a point separated the the top three teams. Berkeley’s defending champions from last year — Andy Vevers and Gareth Cole — held a slim lead of one point over Palo Alto’s team of Rose Selby and Mike McNorton. Berkeley’s other team of Shawn Roney and Jerry Knott and Jim Corr tied with for second. Berkeley’s Rob Hoey and his partner Tim Christie from Palo Alto stood within striking distance at fourth place. 

As it should in any closely contested and well played tournament, it all came down to the final day of play. The final day of play confirmed the 2020 contest to be closely contested with very good play on offer from all the team. Jerry and Jim and Andy and Gareth played each other in the first game. Jerry and Jim came to play, and they took the win despite the efforts of Andy and Gareth to rally. Jerry and Jim’s win put them in the driver’s seat for the First place tournament finish.

Alas, it was not to be. They lost their next game against a team from San Francisco that put a dent in their title aspirations. Meanwhile, the Palo Alto team of Rose and Mike quietly and convincingly won all their games and gained advantage of the Berkeley pairs first game slip up to take the top position. Andy & Gareth did all they could by winning their other two games of the day, but it all came down to the last couple of bowls of the tournament. Fortunately for the Berkeley lads, Rose and Mike could not take the maximum points on their final game, which left the field with a tie for 1st place. In view of the high levels of skill and grit on display, many may consider this a fair outcome.

Third Place Winners: Jerry Knott & Jim Corr

The final results were as follows:


Tie 1st –   Andy Vevers & Gareth Cole (Berkeley)

Tie 1st –   Rose Selby & Mike McNorton (Palo Alto)

3rd –        Shawn Roney/Jerry Knott & Jim Corr (Berkeley)

4th –        Tim Christie (Palo Alto) & Robin Hoey (Berkeley)

Fourth Place Finishers: Tim Christie & Rob Hoey


As the reader can see, a really good result for the Berkeley teams that further cements our reputation as one of the most competitive clubs in the greater Bay Area.  Many thanks to the San Jose Lawn Bowling Club for hosting a well run and genuinely fun event.

Club Members

No Lessons on Nov. 23 & 24

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club is pleased to host the PIMP “Champion of Champions” event on Saturday and Sunday. Club champions from around the PIMD for two days. This means there will be no free lessons on those days, but there should be plenty of amazing bowling on view!

Club Members, New Bowlers, PIMD, Rental Events

2019 Closing Day & Novice Recognition Day

On Saturday, November 2nd, the Rossmoor Lawn Bowling Club hosted the 2019 PIMD Closing Day and Novice Recognition Day.

It was chilly in the morning but quickly warmed up to a comfortable 75°. Ninty-nine bowlers from around the Bay Area and beyond were on hand to visit with old friends and meet new bowlers. Zarka Popovic, our PIMD president, provided a slide show featuring photos from the National Championships played at San Francisco Lawn Bowling Club in September. Thanks to donations (raffles, etc.) from so many PIMD members toward hosting the National Championships, there was money to spare. All PIMD clubs that provided meals–that included BLBC, were reimbursed. In addition, the remainder of the overage was returned to the PIMD coffers.

Zarka also recognized all the PIMD novices and presented a trophy to this year’s Novice Champion: Michael McLintock. There were three novices from our club: Susan Carlson, Mary Collins and John Watson. (We’re looking for one of them to win the trophy next year.)

Berkeley Lawn bowling Club was well represented by 12 full members (Sarah Allday, Cris Benton, Annie Brillhart, Susan Carlson, Hugo Deaux, Cathy Dinnean, Phil Grattan, Susan Jamart, Cindy Moss, Glenn Nunez, and John Watson) and four dual members (Mary Collins, Sebastian Sciacca and Lydia and Luis Zapata). Happily, five BLBC members were on teams that won money: Sarah Allday, Cindy Moss, Sebastian Sciacca, and Lydia and Luis Zapata. Well done!

Club Members, featured, Tournaments

BLBC 2019 Singles Match: Vevers Takes the Prize

We had a wonderful day of bowling yesterday at the club. Beautiful blue skies graced the whole day, the green was it’s usual impeccable self and the level of competition was a credit to the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club. Many thanks to those that helped make the day run smoothly – Annie for rolling the green and then marking all day, Susan Jamart for providing help and snacks. Bob, Rolly and Cathy also for spending the whole day marking the games. Without them the day would not have been the same. 

2019 BLBC Singles champ Andy Vevers & Runner-up (& 2018 Singles Champ) Gareth Cole

Ten participants played three random draw games to decide the top four players that would advance to the knock out round. After the first three games there were two undefeated players: Robin Hoey and Gareth Cole (the defending champion) and three players who were 2-1. Cris Benton and Andy Vevers squeaked by into the play offs on plus points, with Frankie Napoli unluckily missing out by one solitary point!

The Semi Finals were Gareth versus Cris and Rob versus Andy. Gareth squeaked out a win in a very close contested game against Cris and Andy managed to overcome after being down early against Rob.  So the final was our Tournament Director, Andy, against the defending champion, Gareth. In what was an entertaining game to watch, Andy luckily managed to squeeze out the win and became the 2019 Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club’s Singles Champion!


Thanks again to everyone that helped make the day a great success.

Club Members

Lessons Cancelled for Some October Dates

Please note that there will not be free lawn bowling for the following dates in October:

  • October 5 & 6 (BLBC hosts the PIMD Novice Singles Tournament)
  • October 19 (BLBC hosts the PIMD Aussie Pairs Tournament)
  • October 26 (BLBC Novice Singles Tournament)

Free lessons shall still be available on the remaining dates.

Club Members, PIMD, Special Events, Tournaments, Visiting Bowlers

Berkeley Invitational 3-Bowls Singles

Warm temperatures and blue skies made for a beautiful day at the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club green. The invitational attracted some high quality players from the Bay Area, making up some very strong mixed pairs teams. The level of bowling on display was a credit to the PIMD and to Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club, who hosted this new event on the calendar.  There were some really close games and some very tight results. As you’d expect in a tournament with this many quality players, no one ran away with it and the final results came down to the last couple of bowls being rolled on the day. 
 Taking first prize and drawing the tournament winning shot with his last bowl:
Gareth Cole & Giulia Gallo
 A very creditable second place went to the very strong team of:
Russell Leonard & Janice Bell (good luck to Janice in the upcoming Nationals!)
And third place went to the extremely consistent pair of:
Jim Corr & Annie Brillhart Many thanks to everyone that came from near and far to participate and to everyone at the club that helped make the day run so smoothly.

Club Members, Tournaments

The Jamboree was a Blast!

The bowlers for the 23rd Howard Mackey Jamboree

Thirty bowlers signed on to bowl in the 23rd Howard Mackey Jamboree. The sky turned blue just as trial ends began. The heat wave of the past few days diminished, so the weather was lovely. 


There are always glitches in tournaments, and this one was no exception. One of the bowlers fell ill last night and couldn’t play. Happily, Susan Jamart was on hand to bowl in his stead in the first game. Bob Schwartz–who came to watch, not to bowl–kindly stepped up and bowled in the second game. Susan had a chance to eat lunch and rest and agreed to bowl in the third game. Huge thanks to Susan and Bob for stepping up!


At the end of the first game, Andy Vevers, BLBC head TD, and I agreed some game-time management was needed. We announced the bowlers would play one more game of three-bowl triples after lunch and then one game of two-bowl triples. The announcement was received without a single grumble!


As most local bowlers know by now, the Jamboree is a unique tournament because each player keeps her/his own score card. The top four scoring skips, seconds and leads win prize money.


Congratulations to the following skips:
1st Place:  Hugo Deaux
2nd Place:  Ginger Harris
3rd Place:  John Hooper
4th Place:  Peter Knopf


Congratulations to the following Seconds:
1st Place:  Larry Murphy
2nd Place:  Laile Giansetto
3rd Place:  Mo Shooer
4th Place:  Janice Bell


Congratulations to the following Leads: 
1st Place:  Cindy Moss
2nd Place:  Marty Lorber
3rd Place:  There was a tie between JoAnn Lorber and substitute team Susan-Bob-Susan.
4th Place:  David Eldred


While the scores were tallied, Laile and Dave orchestrated the always popular “spider”. Congratulations to Andre Banares; he won a nice bottle of chardonnay. 


A special thank you to JoAnn and Marty Lorber and to Salvadore Garcia-Lemus. There was a last minute call for more bowlers; these three novices were kind enough to jump in.


Many thanks as always to the people behind the scenes: Dave:  Thank you for setting up the rinks and rolling the green. Leslie, Susan and Andy:  Thank you for bringing all the snacks and getting the coffee brewing.Laile:  Thank you for everything!


A very special thanks to Andy Vevers for his unwavering support! 

Club Members

Women’s Fives 2019 — Berkeley Takes First Place!

Berkeley Women’s Fives Champions: (L-R) Janice Bell, Annie Brillhart, Leslie Engler, Cathy Dinnean, Reggie Banares

On an ideal bowling day in San Francisco, the BLBC Women’s Fives team won top honors! Janice Bell won the Singles game against a very tough competitor from SFLBC. Cathy showed her strength as skip in the Fours game with six outstanding skip shots that took the point/s from the opponents; Reggie, Annie and Leslie did their part, and the team won the game with 10 + points. Janice and Annie won their pairs game with + 10 points. Cathy, Leslie and Reggie won their Triples game, after facing stiff competition from the opponents. Well done ladies!

Altogether, 80 bowlers participated in the Men’s and Women’s Fives Tournaments on the SF greens this year, and 15 of those were full or dual Berkeley members. An event for us to celebrate!

Club Members

Berkeley Keeps “Lock” on PIMD Women’s Singles Championship

The PIMD Women’s Singles Championship is a chance for the region’s women bowlers to show how it’s done and for three years in a row now, one of BLBC’s own ladies has won the bragging rights.

The event was held at the BLBC on Saturday, May 11, and Annie Brillhart regained the crown she had won in 2017 after ceding to another Berkeley bowler, Cathy Dinnean, last year.

The weather cooperated for a lovely day on the green, at the end of which Annie edged out a fine performance by novice bowler Elizabeth Mulenga (Palo Alto). Both of whom were the only players to win all three of their games, but Annie had a slightly better differential. Reggie Banares, veteran bowler and winner of many past events in the Bay Area and beyond, came in third.

The road to victory was not easy, however, as Annie had to face her good friend and current title holder, Cathy, in the third match. Down 4-12 on the eighth end, Annie told herself to slow down and just get the point. Which she did, so that by the 17th end, Cathy’s lead had been cut to 13 -12. With three points on the 18th and final end, Annie showed the truth of that old saying: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Congratulations to Annie on her win (again) and thanks to all who laid on the hospitality and volunteered as markers. In an added kudos—for both Annie and the Club—BLBC garnered at least two new Dual Members! This couple felt our green was bowling so well and looked to be in such good condition that they signed up on the spot. Many compliments from others, accompanied by hints of potential membership, came our way on the state of the green, which is mostly attributable to the efforts and dedication of newly-retired previous Greenskeeper, Annie herself. The challenge now is to keep up her good work going forward

PIMD 2019 Women’s Singles Championship: From l-r, Elizabeth Mulenga (Runner Up), Annie Brillhart (1st  Place), and PIMD legend Reggie Baneres (3rd Place)