VIBE AUTUMN 2011 NEWSLETTER

Hello again, from Miriam and myself, Eric, to all you bowlers and friends out there. Hope you all enjoyed your summer outdoor season and made some new friends on the green. Many thanks to you members who have been in touch, as the more information we are given the easier it is to do the newsletter. Many of you who have computers have told us you would like to receive the newsletter by email to save paper. Doreen Metcalf is still updating the membership list as, unfortunately, some of the members have died or are no longer interested in our association. If you still get the newsletter in the wrong format just let us know and it will be corrected. Eric and Judith Shackleford are still willing to record the newsletter onto tapes, and send them out to members who prefer this format. Thanks to both of you for doing the tapes. As some of you know, our association had its first nationals at Worthing where Bowls England have their headquarters. The nationals will be held there again next July, and the following July in 2013 the IBBA championships will be held there. The greens were excellent, but the other facilities were not up to standard. Let’s hope things will be improved before the next nationals. Don’t forget you annual members must renew your membership before the end of the year. If you do not renew you will lose your voting rights and will not be able to play in any VIBE tournaments. All cheques must be sent to Doreen Metcalf, details in contacts. All sight certificates and queries about them must be sent to George Simmons, his details in contacts. Now this is what we have for you in this newsletter:

Tournament reports: Tournament results: Obituaries: News: Indoor singles in Belfast: Summary of minutes of committee meetings: AGM: Dates for your diary: Contact details of committee members.

TOURNAMENT REPORTS

WANDSWORTH

Richard was quick off the ball and sent me his report straight after their tournament.

Wandsworth Weekend Tournament Report

Saturday 2nd July 2011

A pleasantly warm and sunny day in South West London saw Metro Sports win the John Young Ram Brewery Trophy for the first time in five years, but the day didn't start to well for the Metro lads (Eric Gallacher, Gordon Bains, Bill James and Steve Simmons), who surprisingly lost to the hosts Wandsworth for the consecutive year in the first session and then had to rely on the final session results going their way, to clinch the title for the third time in the events history.

Incidentally, in the only game that Metro lost, both sides fielded two B1 players, which certainly can only be a good advert for blind bowlers in an open visually handicapped Tournament.
Merton, despite starting poorly, with a draw and a defeat, managed to regain second spot and lift the Trevor Emmanuel trophy, after winning their last two games. Having won the event for the past three years, Wycombe couldn't make it a quartet of successes, as they suffered two defeats during the day and just scraped third place by one shot and had to settle for the Wandle Trophy (but had they won their final game, they would had pipped Metro to the title on shot difference).
In their Pearl anniversary year, Wandsworth again started the day well with consecutive wins, but for a second year running, they fell away after the lunch interval and disappointingly again finished fourth, despite their excellent start. Unfortunately, Aylesbury, only gained one draw throughout the day for their troubles and again finished fifth.
The presentations were carried out by Wandsworth Borough Council's Mayor, Councillor Jane Cooper. Elsie Matthews (Wandsworth) and Peter Johns (Wycombe), won the best Lady and Mens bowlers of the day awards respectively, as nominated by the markers.
In an era of ever increasing economic squeeze and especially in the public sector, continued thanks must go to Wandsworth Borough Council Parks Department for the free use of the green and the erection of the Marquee, where the presentations took place following a high tea, which was sponsored by the Fountain's Group.
Thanks also to Youngs Brewery and the Green family for supporting the Tournament Raffle, which raised £100. We are also indebted to Gail Hepworth (Umpire), all the club markers (Graham Cheetham, John Moran , Mick Taylor and Lionel Cheshire) and to the non-playing members of Wandsworth Blind Bowling Club (Rob Coshell and Micky Gwilliam) who all contributed to the smooth running of the event. Without such generosity and support, the Tournament wouldn't be possible and next year's event will take place on; Saturday 7th July 2012.

RESULTS
Aylesbury 7, Merton 7. Metro 4, Wandsworth 9. Wycombe 7, Metro 9. Aylesbury 2, Wandsworth 11. Wandsworth 5, Wycombe 8. Metro 10, Merton 4. Aylesbury 2, Wycombe 12. Wandsworth 5, Merton 11. Aylesbury 2, Metro 10. Wycombe 3, Merton 8.

ENGLISH NATIONALS AT WORTHING

The Nationals this year were held at Beach House Park Worthing for the first time from the 10^th to the 15^th of July. It was nice to have some new bowlers attending the Nationals for their first time, and pleasing to see some new names on the cups. As some of you know, this is the bowls venue where Bowls England have their headquarters and where Tony Allcock, our association’s Patron, works. These are the greens which will be used for the IBBA World championships in 2013. As promised by Tony all the greens were in very good condition and extremely nice to play on. Our association is very grateful to Bowls England who didn’t charge us for the use of the greens at Worthing. We had 4 new National champions this year, Christine Linegar who had moved up to the B3s, Maureen Ryan in the B2’s at her second attempt, along with Sarah Marshal and Steve Cook in the B1’s at their first attempts. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they don’t go on and play for England for many years. It was nice to receive two letters from Ann Bryant and Dennis Pressley with some suggestions how to improve things for next year. We have been promised more markers for next year and hopefully the new restaurant will be ready. All the results later.

NATIONAL OUTDOOR TRIPLES

Following the questionnaire which was sent out, the members decided they would like to have a 3 day midweek tournament this year instead of the usual knock-out format. 10 teams turned up to play six games, two each day, from the 23^rd to the 25^th of August at Leamington Spa. The 10 teams were put into 2 groups of 5 teams. Each team in one group had to play the five teams in the other group. At lunch-time on Thursday, after each team had played 5 games, it was time to work out who had to play again each other in the last round. The 2 best teams had to play each other for first and second places, the next 2 best for third and fourth and so on so each team had a sixth game to play. The National Triples winning team this year was Colin Moore, Bob Rossiter and Pat Lovell who beat Steve, Cook, John Cock and Geoff Wherry. Well played all of you. The committee members have decided to run the National outdoor triple again at Leamington on the 21-23 of August 2012. The play offs for the World Bowls will be organised and played on the Sunday and Monday just before the National Triples.

RESULTS OF SOME TOURNAMENTS

I must thank Gail for sending me the results of the next 3 tournaments. What would we do without the Queen of the flow charts!!

RESULTS 2011 NATIONALS

B4 Pairs Runner up B Rossitter G Hepworth

B4 Pairs Winner M Bourne T Matthews

B3 Pairs Runner up L Faulkner P Davis

B3 Pairs Winner K Brenton C Tirnbull

B2 Pairs Runner up I Rice R Homer

B2 Pairs Winner S Vallance P Lovell

B1 Pairs Runner up A Amin E Gallacher

B1 Pairs Winner B Gerhardt S Cook

B4 Ladies Runner up A Council

B4 Ladies Winner G Hepworth

B4 Mens Runner up B Rossiter

B4 Mens Winner T Matthews

B3 Ladies Runner up M Robinson

B3 Ladies Winner C Linegar

B3 Mens Runner up K Brenton

B3 Mens Winner S Simmons

B2 Ladies Runner up S Brennan

B2 Ladies Winner M Ryan

B2 Mens Runner up G Wherry

B2 Mens Winner P Lovell

B1 Ladies Runner up M Cusker

B1 Ladies Winner S Marshall

B1 Mens Runner up E Gallacher

B1 Mens Winner S Cook

Presidents Cup B Walsh

Hastings 2011

Open Triples

Winners E Shackleford / I Robertson / B Rossiter

18 – 7

Runners/Up S Hubbard / T Phillips / J Wilson

Open Pairs

Winners P Davis / P Lovell

17 – 16

Runners/Up C Moore / G Wherry

Open Singles

Winner K Brenton

20 – 14

Runner/Up G Wherry

B1 Singles

Winner E Gallacher

Runner/Up G Baines

LOWESTOFT RESULTS

Triples Runners/Up John Rix Granville Halford John Palmer

Triples Winners Howard Harrison Keith Bell Gail Hepworth

B3/4 Pairs Runners/Up Cliff Wright Patrick Lovell

B3/4 Winners Gail Hepworth Alan Lyne

B1/2 Pairs Runners/Up Amit Amin Howard Harrison

B1/2 Pairs Winners Ray Ling Peter George

B4 Runner/Up Gail Hepworth

B4 Winner Alan Lyne

B3 Runner/Up Myrtle Robinson

B3 Winner Cliff Wright

B2 Runner/Up Scott Vallance

B2 Winner Granville Halford

Victrix Ludorum Gail Hepworth

Victor Ludorum Alan Lyne

OBITUARIES

Earlier in the summer I spoke to Elizabeth Bland on the phone, who told me her husband Ken had passed away earlier in the year. Ken was a helper and a driver at the Leicester Bowls Club where he will be greatly missed. I am pleased to hear that you are still able to go bowling at the club Elizabeth, and I was also pleased to hear that June Herbert is still bowling with you. Our best wishes goes out to both of you.

My thanks goes to Jennie and Geoff Rawlinson for the next article.

Laundon Gray passed away peacefully on 02.09.2011

Laundon, originally from Leicester settled in Clevedon in the 1950's. Having taken on his father’s successful grocery and delicatessen business in Clevedon town centre. Laundon and his wife Gwyneth settled their family here, his wife being part of the 'Inner wheel'

Laundon was a popular character, well known throughout the area and an avid Rotarian.

Laundon helped to set up the Clevedon Blind Bowling club in 1976 and was a staunch supporter of visually impaired bowls throughout the southwest.

Laundon will be sadly missed by, family, friends and all who knew him.

Rest In Peace Laundon.

I was given the news that Brian Fayers from Suffolk died in the summer after having cancer of his throat. Brian hasn’t been around for a few years but used to be a helper in our association and helped in New Zealand and Adelaide.

NEWS

This part of the newsletter is for you members out there to send me any bits of interesting news that you think the other members would like to hear. Miriam told me she had spoken to John Palmer, from the Pennine Bowls Club, who told her he would be getting married next May, and he would like to mention this in the newsletter. We all hope you and Fran have many happy years together.

I did get an interesting email from our willing helper Dave Nicholls with a song attached, telling me about what a certain Scotsman wore under his kilt. Sorry folk, you will just have to guess what that was all about. Perhaps you can get Dave to sing it to you the next time you see him.

We received a letter from our former ENAVHB president Joy Jarvis, who has left our shores for a warmer climate:

A big “Hello” to all my bowling friends back home, and I hope that you are all keeping fit and well. It has been so lovely to have Clive and Bernadette here on holiday quite near – to catch up on all that is going on in our bowls world, and to hear how everyone is.

For myself, I had a nasty trip on the porch steps of my house in Cheltenham in February. Did a good job of it, with 3 broken bones in my right wrist, a chunk out of my leg, black eye, etc. With my arm in plaster and the house on the market I came to Spain sooner than I had planned. But all has gone well- I have my own granny flat in the garden of daughter Pat and I’m well settled down. Daughter Diana lives a couple of miles away.

I joined the bowls club, but can’t play yet (I am right handed), so we’ll just wait and see how it goes.

Pat, Diana and I have met up with Clive and Bernadette a couple of times, and we hope to help them set up a tour to Spain (not with a tour company this time) and it will be lovely to see you all again.

And now a big, big apology to the friends who have written to me – I am ashamed to say the days and months have flown by and I haven’t written to them. I have no excuses – I am sorry and I hope you’ll “let me off”.

My love to everyone of you - Joy

At the forum, held during the nationals at Worthing, Dennis Pressley and Barry Walsh proposed that we look at the expectations of the role of the helper/coach. Could we create a pool of helpers/coaches to be available to our members. They want anybody who can coach to put their name forward to our committee members, so they can have their name put into areas, where there are players who need help. Are there any coaches in your clubs who would be willing to help some of our bowlers who don’t have helpers? We are also hoping to get Tony Allcock, our Patron, to put a request for helpers for our bowlers into the Bowls England newsletter. We were told at this meeting that the IBBA had passed two new rules. One was that there would be no toilet breaks after 20 minutes from the end of a game. The other was that bowlers with better sight than 6/20 could not play in World Bowls tournaments. You members will be able to decide whether we go along with these rules in England, when we send you the voting papers in February. If the majority of our members vote for these changes, it will mean that all our B4’s with better sight than 6/24 will not be able to play in our VIBE tournaments. You will also be receiving nomination papers very shortly, so you can nominate members to join our executive committee. Up for grabs are the Vice Chair, as Gail’s 2 years are up in April, and 4 committee places. The chairman, treasurer, secretary and president have another year to go of their 2 year term. There must be people out there who want to help the running of our association, so all you need is two people to nominate and second you for the committee. If you want a form, and I haven’t sent you one, just let me know and you will get one. The same goes for the Scarborough pairs form.

I have just heard from Eric Shackleford (01278 456 045), and Clive Robinson (his details in contacts at the end) that the Weston tournament in May is on a first come first served basis. The first 72 players to contact them can play, and then they can have some reserves. They are hoping to run a B1 tournament at the same time. The Lauriston hotel, 01934 620 758, has still a few rooms available.

Four players, Terry Mathews, Paul Hawkes, Paul Davis and Scott Vallance, have been picked to play in the DBE Masters in Nottingham on the 26-27 of November. We hope they enjoy playing against bowlers with other disabilities.

UK V.I.B. INDOOR SINGLES

The committee has selected the England team for the UK indoor singles in Belfast starting on the 15^th of November. The players are:

B1s Shane Stancombe, Christine Newcombe, George Philips and Amit Amin.

B2s Nancy Cheeseman, Maureen Ryan, Pat Lovell and Ron Homer.

B3s Myrtle Robinson, June Holroyd, Keith Brenton and Chris Turnbull.

B4s Gail Hepworth, Ann Council, Terry Mathews and Bob Rossiter.

It’s nice to see some new bowlers getting into the England team which must be good for the association in the future. We wish them all the best and hope they enjoy all their games. Barry the team manager will no doubt give us a report, like he did in South Africa, for the next newsletter.

SUMMARY OF MINUTES OF COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Since our last newsletter, the committee has met four times

10.07.11 The details for the presentation evening were discussed, Ann Kelly and Tony Allcock were invited to hand out the trophies.

It was decided to sell the sew- on badges for £5 each. The ties cost £15.00, the lapel badges £1.50 each. There are also 150 small badges with the rose and VIBE logo, produced by Bowls England, as a fundraiser for the 2013 World Bowls.

14.07.11 The forum at Worthing Nationals. About 40 members present. A card was read out from Bernard Gladwin, who wished us all success for the tournament, this was the first National he had missed since 1980!

There were 4 proposals, which were read out, discussed and voted on.

Proposal 1, from Dennis Pressley and Barry Walsh: Can a pool of coach/ helpers be created around the country for our bowlers?

It was decided to put in a request for helpers in our newsletter, and to ask Bowls England to do the same. Barry would contact the secretaries of clubs in the Preston area to see if there was any interest.

Proposal 2, from Steve Simmons and Maureen Ryan: Where will the Nationals be played in 2013, and in which month?

People suggested Leamington, Worthing, Hastings, Bexhill, Skegness and Cheltenham as good options for the Nationals. A show of hands voted overwhelmingly for Leamington Spa. It will be held in August 2013, as in June most clubs have their own tournaments.

Proposal 3, by Gail Hepworth and Terry Mathews: No toilet breaks allowed 20 minutes before the end of the game, as per IBBA, IBD and UK VIB rules.

The rule was to stop players to waste time when they are winning. It was decided to put this proposal to the membership to see if they want it in the rules.

Proposal 4, by George Simmons and Gail Hepworth: Do we follow the IBBA rule that B4s are capped at 6 over 24?

At the moment, in the UK tournaments anyone registered visually impaired can play in the B4s. If the category is capped some players will have to drop out. It was suggested to have a B5 category for those who can see more than 6 over 24, or a B4 plus category. Maybe a handicap system would be possible, where B4s receive 2 shots from the B4 plusses. It would be a pity to lose players, there are few enough as it is.

The proposal will be put to the vote by the membership. Keith Brenton will keep us informed of what other countries decide to do with this proposal.

22.08.11 The proposals, put forward during the forum, were discussed, Keith would take matters up with Tony Allcock of Bowls England. Also, the need for a new constitution has become rather pressing.

A discussion took place on how many coach/helpers are allowed for a triples team, the rules state clearly that 1 coach/helper is allowed on the green at one time and all should abide by that rule.

The Nationals were evaluated, it was agreed that the venue was good, but the toilets were too far away and the catering facilities on site were too slow. The presentation evening was not a success, the food and music were dreadful, with no atmosphere. The tables were dangerously close.

The markers and umpires were great, but we could have done with more helpers

The membership list was in the process of being updated, Doreen Metcalf was working on it.

Finally, Keith encouraged the association to do more fundraising. Eric pointed out that London has already done several station collections, with good success.

08.10.11 A First Aid kit will be bought to have with us at all tournaments.

All players and helpers/coaches going to Belfast to play in the UKVIB tournament will get a £100 subsidy from the Association. Doreen Metcalf and Gail Hepworth will represent the committee at the UKVIB AGM in Belfast.

Terry Mathews and Paul Hawkes volunteered to attend the DBE Masters Tournament in November in Nottingham, 2 more players are needed. Paul will be delegate to the DBE and keep us informed of their tournaments.

The Outdoor Triples was evaluated, a different format might be held next year. Next year’s Outdoor Triples tournament will start on the 21^st of August, and it was decided to have the play offs for the World Bowls also in Leamington prior to the Triples.

AGM

As voted for by the members at the last AGM in Preston, the next AGM will be held in Peterborough. I have booked a room at the Westgate church a short walk from Peterborough railway station. The AGM will be held at 2 O’clock on the 14^th of April 2012. The committee will hold a meeting before the AGM starting at 11 O’clock. We hope to see lots of you there. The full address is:

Westgate Church, 70 Westgate,

Peterborough PE1 1RG

Opposite the central bus station.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

11-13 November 2011 Gateshead Triples Tournament.

15-18 November 2011 UK V.I.B. Indoor singles in Belfast.

26-27 November 2011 DBE Masters in Nottingham.

3-4 March 2012 Scarborough pairs.

31 March and 1^st April 2012 Joan Howard Triples in Bristol.

14^th April AGM in Peterborough.

3-6 May 2012 Weston singles tournament.

8-13 July 2012 English Nationals at Worthing.