The Halloween Games Event was recently held at our club, and the winner of the best costume was Diana Olenick, who looked spooktacular in her silver and black dress.
Hi all. The greens have now been put to bed, the awards handed out and the fall/winter activities have begun. However, here is one last picture to enjoy, that of the last day of outdoor bowling at our club for the 2024 season. Thanks to all who took part, thanks to Chuck for the photo and to the weather gods who were smiling on us that day.
The last major tournament of the year, the Gloria Wilcox Men’s and Women’s Triples Tournament took place on Wednesday and Thursday September 18th and 19th under almost perfect weather conditions. For the men, it was the winning team of Rick Dolley, Howard Auld and Bob Ashton. Martin Fereday, Clive Arthorne and Ken Tait took second, while the team of Andy Burton, Andy Burpee and Tex Gooding rounded out third place.
On the women’s side, Merry Danarti, Leslie Leinweber and Miriam Gunn pulled off a first place finish. Second went to Mary Card, Jeanette Ferguson and Avril Adamson. Third place honours were earned by Sandi Mitchell, Barb Campbell and Donna Dunn.
These top six teams then played off against each other for the coveted Salmon Cup Trophy with the men coming out on top and with that, getting the honours of being this year’s winners. The men earned 4 points, with a +4 differential and 8 ends, while the women got 4 points, a -4 differential and 7 ends.
Some big thank yous go out to the following folks who helped to make this final event a success: Vicki Banks, who came out of retirement to do magic in our kitchen, greens crew, set-up crew, the bar for keeping us hydrated, our club photographer, Chuck Benson, Joey Merrell and Sandi, who were the go-to people for this event, the games committee, Kathleen Motley, all of the players and spectators who came, and to the novice and intermediate players who stepped up and got involved in this tournament.
This tournament officially finishes our outdoor activities and the fun now switches to the indoor ones which begin with mahjong on September 30th. Please check previous entries for times, dates, prices, and coordinators.
The Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club was home to the District Pairs Championship September 14th and 15th. Winners of the event were the home club’s Mike Ward and Helen Roberts who took gold and the trophy, beating out silver medal winners Vern Greenhill and Leone King from Courtenay. Both had a 4-0 record going into the final match.
Also of note were the four Parksville teams who had entered the event. Last year’s winners and defending champions were Ken and Carol Bucyk who ended up with a 3-1 record, as did the Club Pairs Champs, Robbie Thomas and Don Urquhart. Sandi Mitchell and Wayne Larocque as well as Mary and Kent Card represented our club.
A big thank you goes out to everyone from the Qualicum club who made the event such a success. Thank also to the games committee who made this all happen as well as to all the participants who played under perfect weather conditions. The District Pairs Championship wraps up the last of the District tournaments for the year.
Our neighbours up the road at the Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club are having an Open House on September 28 & 29th from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. The club’s indoor green offers three rinks identical in play to the outdoor ones with regulation width and length. Playing in Qualicum during the winter is a great way to stay active, hone skills and meet new people as well. So, get out of the rain and into the fun and do a little indoor lawn bowling. The Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club is located at 665 Jones St. in Q.B. Check out their website at www.qblbc.ca for more details.
The last big tournament of the year comes up this weekend when Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling club hosts the District Mixed Pairs event. Clubs from the district, including Powell River will be represented. Three teams will be coming from Parksville: Kent and Mary Card, Robbie Thomas and Don Urquhart who won the Club Pairs League earlier this year, as well as defending District Champions Ken and Carol Bucyk. Games go at 10 A.M. 12 Noon, 1 P.M. and 3 P.M. on Saturday, Sept. 14th, with the Gold/Silver medal championship going Sunday at 3:30 P.M.
The District Open Singles Tournament was held September 7th and 8th in Port Alberni. Parksville was represented by our own Rick Dolley and Luise Norman. In the gold medal final for the men, it went to the tie breaker ends won formula with Vern Hagstrom of Nanaimo prevailing and winning gold and Rick taking the silver. On the women’s side, it was Kathleen Hewitt of Nanaimo earning the gold while our Luise took home the silver. A big thank you goes out to the Port Alberni Club who hosted the event, congratulations to competitors for their efforts, and especially to our Parksville representatives who completed a silver sweep in the event.
Ace photographer Chuck Benson recently took this wonderful photo of our effervescent friend and lawn bowling pro, Mavis Gooding. She had just jumped out of a plane and was sailing along on the thermals with her parachute and her instructor. All this on the occasion of her 80th birthday. All we can say is “Congratulations, Mavis, on a jump well done, and a very Happy Birthday to you.”
The annual Cowichan/Parksville Challenge was held again, this time in Cowichan on September 10th. Conditions were great with lovely greens and perfect weather, and the home club was a superb host for this one day event. Our visiting Parksville team took home the honours scoring 25 points over the home club’s 13. Thanks to everyone who made this day such a great one. See you all in Parksville next year.
The ever popular George Gibson Tournament was held September 4th and 5th and had a solid turnout to the event. Players came from Nanaimo, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay as the Parksville Lawn Bowling Club hosted the tournament.
Winners of this year’s event was the team of Rick Quibell, Mary Mulligan and John Kendal from Nanaimo and Courtenay. Second place was our own Andy Burton, Sandi Mitchell and Peter Scott. Nanaimo’s Adrian and Kathleen Hewitt and Chris Windress took home third place. Parksville’s Bob Ashton, Miriam Gunn and Betty Nordick came in at fourth place.
A big round of thanks go out to Lynn in the kitchen, Colleen who umpired for both days, the bartenders who kept us hydrated, Marg and Gerda and their awesome computer skills, the grounds crew who made a great green for us to play on, the clean-up and put away folks, Chuck for his photos, Joey for organizing this event and all the participants who came and played as well as the gallery who came out to watch.
This was the last of the open tournaments to be held this year at the Parksville club. Next up is the Gloria Wilcox Men’s and Women’s Triples to be held September 18th and 19th. Immediately after that event is over, the mini-tournament for the prized Salmon Can Trophy will take place as part of the Battle of the Sexes Tournament. Bring your pompoms and best voices to cheer on your respective teams. This one will be a lot of fun.