The Men’s and Women’s Novice and Intermediates Tournament winners were decided in Parksville on Saturday, September 8th, with Parksville and Nanaimo players earning the honours. It was a clean sweep for Parksville with Bob Ashton winning the Novice Men’s and Bob Merrell winning the Men’s Intermediate division. On the women’s side, again, it was a clean sweep, but this time it was for Nanaimo with Diana Anderson taking novice honours and Lezlie Howe winning the Intermediate section. Dean Penny, District Games Chair presented the awards to all four winners. The Parksville Club would like to thank all those who took part in the event and to those behind the scenes who made it all possible. Thanks to our club photographer, Chuck Benson, for his great photos of the tournament winners.
Bob Ashton is all smiles after winning the Novice Trophy for 2023. Other winners shown are Lezlie Howe and Diana Anderson of Nanimo and Bob Merrell of Parksville
It started out a bit rainy and soggy for the start of the Berwick (a.k.a. George Gibson) Open Triples Tournament held Sept. 6th and 7th at our club. However, the sun soon broke through and we were able to run a great tournament on almost ideal conditions. The green was superb and made bowling a real treat for members visiting our club. There were two flights to this event. It’s a healthy sign for the sport which took a real hit during the pandemic.
In the early draw, the winning team was made up of the Ewen family: Erik, Suzanne and Luci of Qualicum Beach. Second was Rick Quibell, Mary Mulligan and Joe Randazzo of Nanaimo. Third went to another Nanaimo team of Vern Hagstrom, Linda Cooper and Keith McMann. Fourth place was earned by Jake and Elaine Van Kooten and Ben Vermeer of Port Alberni.
The late draw first place winners was the team of Vern Greenhill, Henri Saucier and Sandy Tonnellier. Second was the Qualicum team of Mike Ward, Helen Roberts and John Eyre. Third went to Parksville’s Chris and Martin Fereday with Peter Scott. The team of Randy Noble, Frances Tester and Brian Schule also from Nanaimo came in at fourth place.
The Ewen team of Luci, Erik and Suzanne were the overall winners and will have their names engraved on the trophy for this year.
Many, many thanks go out to the following people who made this all possible. Vicky and her kitchen crew who made sure that we didn’t go hungry, our bartenders who made sure that we didn’t go thirsty. A big thank you also goes out to our greens-keepers, plus Mick and Athol for ironing the green, our games team for all the work involved in getting things up and running numbers-wise, umpires (Rod Tester and Joyce Mitchell), the spectators who came out and watched, Sandi Mitchell for doing all that she does in these events and Berwick and its representative Corrina who donated lovely gift baskets and other assorted goodies for the tournament. Last, but not least, we cannot forget Chuck Benson for all his great shots of the games, the players and all the other pictures he’s taken for us this year. Thank you, Chuck!
Carol Bucyk
Another feast being prepared by Vicky and her crewPeter Scott, Chris and Martin Fereday from Parksville.
Port Alberni was home to some great lawn bowling on superb greens this past weekend (September 2 & 3). The weather cooperated as well, although Saturday was challenging because of the heat. In the end, the five game series came down to two winners. On the women’s side, it was Robin Forrest of Port Alberni who took first and earned the title as District champion. April Gilchrist of Courtenay came second, and our own Chris Fereday took third. On the men’s side, it was Vern Hagstrom of Nanaimo winning the crown, while our own Rick Dolley came second, beating out the third place finisher, Peter Scott, also of Parksville. Thanks to all who came out to play, and those who came out to watch.
Just a reminder that the District Pairs finals will be coming up in two weeks time (September 16 & 17)and also in Port Alberni. The highway is now fully open, so we look forward to seeing you out there. Ken and Carol Bucyk as well as Chris and Martin Fereday will be representing our home club of Parksville.
Hard to believe that leagues have wrapped up for the season and September is just around the corner. We’ve had all kinds of play on our lovely green and some really great opportunities to meet and play with novices, tenderfoot and experienced players alike. Here’s a summary of what wrapped up this past week. In Cut Throat, Bob Ashton came up on top. In Twisted Triples, it was Chris and Martin Fereday along with Janet Harding who came out as winners, and in Scotch Pairs, it was Trevor and Kathleen Motley reigning supreme on the green. A big thank you goes out to all who came out and played, and a really big thank you to the novices and tenderfoot players who made a point of coming out and playing. We hope that everyone had fun, learned a bit more about the game and enjoyed what it has to offer as a sport for life.
August 26 and 27th were two very busy days for the Nanaimo Lawn Bowling Club with many of our own club members coming out as winners. First place went to the dynamic duo of Vern Hagstrom and Linda Cooper, while our own Rick Dolley and Merry Danarti came in a close second. Courtenay’s Dean Penny teamed up with our Roberta Stets for a third place finish. Parksville’s Ken and Carol Bucyk earned a fourth place finish and rounding out fifth was another Courtenay team of Peter Harding and Heather Divine.
Because it was Nanaimo’s 100th anniversary, the tournament sponsor, Martin Velsen, of Martin Velsen Real Estate had many wonderful surprise and gifts to hand out such as gift certificates, bottles of wine, a couple of one hundred dollar bills and even a Nespresso coffee maker. We’re appreciative of Martin’s generosity and thank him for his continued support of lawn bowling and the Nanaimo club.
Many thanks to Chuck Benson who took these photos of Ken and Carol, as well as that of Geoff and Anne Holland.
The Port Alberni Fours Tournament was held this past weekend under smokey /sunny skies. Six teams competed in this event with three clubs participating. Port Alberni had three teams, Courtenay had one and Nanaimo had two. First place went to the Nanaimo team of Chris Windess, Adrian Hewitt, Kathleen Hewitt and Wayne Migneault (novice). Second was earned y Stephen Forrest, Robin Forrest, Roger Koch (novice) and Ojas Cats (novice). Third place finishers were Dean Penny, Vern Greenhill, Henri Saucier and Sandy Tonellier. According to Robin Forrest, “All players were very appreciative of the superb playing surface and the usual welcoming hospitality.” She went on to say “Yes, the air is a bit thick with smoke the our valley; however it was not unbearable…yet.”
Congratulations to the final four who earned their way to play in the 2023 Club Singles Championship: Peter Scott, Ken Bucyk, Chris Fereday and Carol Bucyk. The games were tough nail biters but in the end it was Peter Scott prevailing as a three-pete winner taking home the hardware on the men’s side. In the women’s competition, it was just as exciting with Carol Bucyk winning a tough one over Chris Fereday.
A special thanks to the finalists who helped make this tournament so exciting; Bob Allaby, Martin Fereday, Jo Merrell and Sandi Mitchell who were very tough competitors in the semi-finals which were played on Saturday morning. To the markers, kitchen staff, greens crew, bar tender, games committee and those who came out to watch the games, you are what makes this club special. I do hope I named everyone, and if I didn’t, my apologies.
The winners of this tournament go on to represent Parksville Lawn Bowling Club at the District Singles Competition to be held in Port Alberni, September 3rd and 4th.
This past weekend was perhaps one of the most entertaining Novice & Intermediate Tournaments held at our club. The morning and afternoon games on August 5 & 6th saw players go to upwards of 20 ends to get their 15 points, with a number of games being tied 14-14, and only one bowl making the difference to moving on in the event. In the end, four club members were crowned winners and will have their names engraved on the respective trophies. On the Novice side, It was Bob Ashton and Pam Oldfield taking the honours. On the Intermediate side, it was Bob Merrell and Joey Merrell. These four winners will be moving on to play in the District Novice and Singles Tournaments to be held in Parksville on September 9 and 10. Congratulations are also in order for Bob, Joey and Bob Allaby who were busy last weekend picking up a second place finish in the Powell River Mixed Triples Competition.
A big thank you goes out to the set up crews, markers, umpires, kitchen staff, bartenders, games committee, flag folks and Barry Conn who was busy doing photography for me for this article. Thanks to everyone who came out, watched and supported the novices and intermediate players during this event. Also, we’d like to thank the players who stepped out, gave it a go and had the opportunity of playing in this tournament. We hope they had fun and had a great experience as well.
If you’re looking for something interesting to do this week, the Senior Provincials Tournaments are being held. You’ll find our women’s teams competing in Nanaimo and the men will be in Port Alberni. Good luck, everyone! Games are at 10 A.M., 1:15 P.M. 4 P.M. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they are at 9 A.M., 12:15 P.M. and 3 P.M. On Thursday, August 10th, there is a 9 A.M. game and the medal round begins at 12:30. Gold and Silver medallists will represent B.C. at the Canadian Lawn Bowling Championship in Edmonton.
Thrills, chills and excitement marked the Men’s and Women’s Open Triples Tournament this past weekend in Parksville. The event, sponsored by Ferguson Exteriors, saw teams come from across the zone to play. There were some nail-biter games especially on the women’s side in the afternoon to see who take top prize. In the end, it was Parksville’s Diane Cruickshank, Kathleen Motley and Fay St. Marie taking home the trophy with a first place finish. Parksville also took second with Sandi Mitchell, Chris Fereday and Cheryl Baker. Third place went to the visiting Nanaimo team of Kathleen Hewitt, Yvette Hanson and Carol Chapman.
On the men’s side, Parksville came through again with Bill Burgess, Mike Kelly and Don Urquhart taking first, while the Nanaimo team of Vern Hagstrom, Ron Kulai and Chris Windless earned a second place finish. Third was Courtenay’s Vern Greenhill, Dean Penny and Henri Saucier. Rounding out fourth was our own Parksville team of Rick Dolley, Christian Massey and Ken Bucyk.
A big shout-out goes to novices Andrew and Avril , George and Lorraine for setting up for the tournament, our kitchen crew under Vicky’s watchful eye, the grounds crew who did a great job on the green, Gerda and Marg who did all the games prep and tabulation, our bartenders who kept us hydrated, the players who came from around the zone to play, Chuck and his photos to mark the occasion, and all those who stopped by during the event to watch the teams in action. I hope I covered everybody, and apologies if I missed someone. All in all, it was a great tournament.
Port Alberni Lawn Bowling Club was home to the Ramsay-Lampman-Rhodes Mixed Triples Tournament July 22 & 23. Saturday was windy but warm and Sunday was just a great day to be out on the green. The Port Alberni club put on a great tournament, well run and well organized, too.
Parksville Lawn Bowling Club did well in the tournament with the winning team of Rick Dolley, Sandi Mitchell and Merry Danarti taking top prize and getting their name engraved on the trophy as this year’s winners. Second place went to another Parksville team, that of Keith Terlson, Ken and Carol Bucyk . Third was earned by Port Alberni’s Steven and Robin Forrest and Tyler Van Kooten. Fourth was earned by Mike Ward, Helen Roberts and John Eyre of Qualicum Beach.
Sandi , Rick and Merry Ken, Carol and Keith Tyler, Robin and Steven
The Ewen team of Luci, Erik and Suzanne were the overall winners and will have their names engraved on the trophy for this year.
