Terry Taplin, the Council Member for Berkeley’s Second District, stopped by today’s draw game for a tour of the club and an introduction to bowling.
Our City contacts back in 1930.
The club is located in Mr. Taplin’s district as are well over a dozen club members. Our long history with the city dates back to BLBC’s inauguration in 1929. Our green and clubhouse are situated on City property so it is a fine thing to have the opportunity to brief the Council Member on developments at the club and our upkeep of facilities.
Council MemberTaplin displaying fine form on the green. We hope he comes back to bowl.
It was lovely to meet the Council Member and his staff. We appreciate their taking time to visit.
We approach the Ides of March and that means it is time to lavish even more attention on our lovely green.
Work day on Sunday, 23 March, 2025
The Greenskeepers need your help with tining, plug removal and sand application/removal, among other tasks. There are also some light duty tasks in addition to those that are outlined below. For newer members, this is a great opportunity to learn more about how our green is maintained and to meet other members you may not know.
We will be providing pizza and light snacks for those who volunteer, please let us know if you will join for that.
Below is an outline of main tasks and timing. We hope to be done by early afternoon and can use your help even if for a short period of time.
Starting around 8:30 we need 6 volunteers to shovel the plugs from Jose’s tining into wheelbarrows.
View of tining plugs, numbering over 200,000, being swept up for removal.
Starting around 10:00 we need 4-8 volunteers to shovel sand into wheelbarrows and then use buckets to dump the sand into the mechanical spreader. The larger number of volunteers would allow for breaks.
Starting around 10:30 we need 2-4 volunteers to sweep sand into the plug holes along edges and corners only. Jose will use the tractor with a broom/mat to sweep the sand from most of the green.
The club has most of the equipment, but we could use snow-type shovels and sturdy dollies. Please bring them along if you have those.
Spreading sand to fill the holes created by tining.
We do have some work/gardening gloves, but please bring your own if you have those.
Please reply to this email by Sunday March 9 to let us know that you can join and what time slot, or to let us know any questions.
Following the workday the green will be closed for approximately one month for continued maintenance.
Please join me in congratulating Daniel Gorelick for being selected to represent the USA in a four-country tournament in Ayr, Scotland in August 2024. Other countries are Canada, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
If interested, you could find the details in the April 2024 Bowles Bulletin of BUSA
As many of you know, BowlsUSA’s National Championships take place next week in Sun City, FL. Representatives from each of the seven divisions face one another in a true Champion of Champions tournament to determine the finest in our sport.
But did you know just how grand Berkeley’s presence will be during this prestigious event? As a result of having won the PIMD Playdowns earlier this year, Annie Brillhart (Women’s Singles), JIm Corr (Men’s Singles), and dual-member Frankie Napoli (Men’s Pairs) will be carrying the BLBC banner throughout the week.
This is a big deal! Put it in the following perspective: There are only four separate categories in the Nationals and we have members in THREE of them. Not convinced? How about this then: PIMD is sending six players from among its eleven clubs and HALF of them have lockers on Acton Street. Our Club has every reason to be proud.
Annie, JIm, and Frankie, as you pack for your flights to Florida this Saturday and prepare for your first game on Wednesday morning, know there’s a huge team pulling for you back home. Best of luck from everyone at BLBC!
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And, more from our Facebook page on 10/31/2023 … Ann Brillhart and Jim Corr are headed to Nationals! We hope you bring us back a couple of trophies.
Less than a month ago, on June 17th, we held a farewell party for Laile Giansetto and Dave McMullen to show our appreciation for their contributions to the Club and wish them peace and happiness at their new location. We extend our love and look forward to seeing them back on the green at BLBC in the near future.
2019 “Over the Hill” Challenge Players at Rossmoor LBC
The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club sent seven triples teams to Rossmoor Bowling Club in Walnut Creek for the “Over the Hill” Challenge. The BLBC competed against them and indulged in a little bit of the friendly rivalry typical of the match since the Challenge began in 1969.
After a hiatus of twenty years or so, the clubs resurrected the event in 2016. Scheduling conflicts in 2019 prevented that year’s challenge from happening, so the clubs agreed to hold the 2019 version of the challenge on February 15, 2020 (the 2020 games will take place this August at Berkeley).
Berkeley went into lunchtime with a healthy advantage of 6 wins and only one loss. After the break, Rossmoor returned resurgent, as the afternoon games revealed. Some of the games went down to the wire, but Berkeley prevailed to win 5 of the afternoon games. The final total for the match: 11 wins for BLBC and 3 wins for Rossmoor LBC. Credit to Rossmoor for wonderful hosting and very sporting play. We’ll see them again in August! Well done to everyone that bowled yesterday, especially to some members representing the club for the first time.
A note from our Greens-keeper: The BLBC greens are closed for maintenance. As the picture shows, when we mean maintenance, we mean it! We expect the work to be completed by February 14. Thanks to our Greens-keeper and the volunteer labor of our members, we will have the green in good shape for bowling when the weather turns nicer. See you then!
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.
Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club initiated its first Young Bowlers Program in April. Twenty-three sixth graders (and one brave teacher) from The Berkeley School were introduced to lawn bowling. Club coaches set up four games of Triples and were on hand to help with learning how to bowl, to explain rules and strategy, and to ensure everyone had a great time. The student’s Physical Education teacher was on thegreen giving encouragement and watching their progress. The students were very enthusiastic and completely involved in the games. No slackers in this group! All the kids were awarded gold medals by their coaches. Our Club plans to continue the relationship with The Berkeley School as part of the School’s regular phys. ed. program. Who knows, maybe a future national champion is in the making?
Fifteen Berkeley bowlers made the trip to Palo Alto on Saturday, January 21st, for this year’s battle for the meat axe. Two triples matches were played under crisp, clear winter skies. In the end, it was Berkeley seven, Palo Alto 3 and the coveted trophy was returned to its rightful place in the Berkeley clubhouse.
We promote the game of lawn bowling for the enjoyment of new and experienced players alike.
