It was a little chilly, but we had a fantastic day on the green! Seventeen bowlers showed up for the event so we had four rinks with a ready substitute (THANK YOU GARY KNOX!). All bowlers played three 12-end games under blue skies. The draw produced some interesting teams with our seasoned players matched with our promising novices Erwin Vista and Mark Gurling. In the end, though, it was experience that took home the title as Skip Bob Schwartz and his lead Charlie Black edged out John Spiers and Dave Schmalenberger in the last match for the win. Thanks to the generous nature of the players we had plenty of snacks including some awesome brownies made by Gary Knox who still seems to be on Thai time from his vacation. What else do you do at four in the morning but bake brownies? In addition to winning the pairs match, Charlie Black also took home a very nice bottle of port wine by winning the Spider game. Charlie has been bowling for many years and it was a joy to see his fighting spirit today. As tournament director, I must say that it was a very successful event. Can’t wait for the next club tournament on August 28th and our next Pizza Night on June 15.

G’day Bowlers…the intra-club pairs tournament will be this coming Saturday on the Berkeley green. The format will be finalized later this week, but pairs will be formed by random draw. Start time is 9:30 with a possible spider game for some sort of prize TBD.

The coaches were kept busy at the Open House May 8 which drew many visitors to the green. Some mentioned seeing our table at the Solano Stroll a few years ago.

One of the last to visit was a couple all the way from Rocklin in the Sierra foothills. The fellow mentioned that he had been a lawn bowler in the Southwest Division from age 9 and asked if he could use his bowls to try out our green. “Of course!” we said. He hadn’t bowled for eleven years since he’d partnered with his Dad in the 1999 Nationals. Instead he’d devoted his free time to his family. but now he was thinking about returning.

While he polished his already pristine bowls he mentioned a few of our local bowlers he knew way back then: Frank Souza, Reggie and Andre Benares, Orville Artist to name a few. You could see how much he valued those friendships.

Our Dave Rockhold offered to bowl with him and they showed the new and old bowlers a thing or three. Yes, there were bowls bounding off the backboards!

At the end of the scrimmage our visitor asked for a membership application. Welcome back to lawn bowling, Dave Grimmitt!

The weather WILL cooperate with us this coming Wednesday, May 12th, when we kick off our mid-week evening bowling events. For those with extra energy (or pent up hostility), you can come early and trim some ivy or dust the window sills. Pizza will be from a local venue and the toll will be $5 per person. There are lots of goodies left over from the open house for snacks and desserts.

Club members entertained quite a few guests last Saturday under clear skies. Our guests seemed to have a great time as they were introduced to the game by our coaches. Pictures have been posted in the Gallery!

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club will hold a free Open House on Saturday May 8th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to introduce the sport to newcomers. The Club will offer refreshments, free lessons, and answer questions on this long-established sport that shares some of the same strategies and terminology with curling, a spectacle that gained many fans during the recent Winter Olympics.

“Think of it as curling without the ice and all the broom waving,” quips Club President, Geoff Chandler, adding “Contrary to common belief, it’s a sport enjoyed by people of all ages—among the top players in California are three brothers aged 15-10, all of them Berkeley members.”
The Berkeley Club is located at 2270 Acton Street (corner of Bancroft way) and has been active since 1928. But the sport has a much longer history in the USA—George Washington played bowls on his lawn at Mount Vernon in Virginia, and no less than seven states have towns called Bowling Green.

“The sport is not too different from bocce or boules,” says Chandler. “The idea is to get your bowl as close as possible to the little white ball called the jack. But since we play on grass, we ask that visitors wear flat shoes to protect the lawn—no need to wear the traditional “whites” that you might see us with on tournament days. All are welcome.”

Under beautiful blue skies, 14 players competed for the Four Bowl Singles Title. Everyone bowled two, 14-end games to choose semi-finalists who bowled another 14-end game. Jim Corr and Ted Crum then met in a final match in which Corr prevailed.

Congratulations as well to novice, Erwin Vista, who made it to the semi-final round.

The next club competition is the Pairs Tournament on May 22.

At the recent Senior Games held in Palo Alto, Berkeley bowlers Howard Mackey, Nikki Schrager and John Spiers brought home bronze medals in lawn bowling. Congratulations!

Saturday, April 24th should be a great day at BLBC! Bowlers from all over the Bay area will converge on the club around 9:00 a.m. for what has always been a fabulous event at BLBC. The format of the day will be triples with teams formed by random draw done by the Tournament Director, Howard Mackey. We expect that all available rinks will be in use between 9:30 and 3:30. Spectators are, of course, welcome.