News

For the first time since CoVID, we are back to hosting the following:

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY

Tickets will be going on sale from 1st December directly from the Club Bar.

This promises to be a popular event, so grab your tickets ASAP.

For further details, see the Entertainment noticeboard at the Club.

QUIZ NIGHT

We will be holding another of our popular quiz nights on

Saturday 14th January (7:30pm start)

A list is being maintained on the Entertainment noticeboard, please add your name if you'd like to attend.

Teams maximum of 8.

- Men's Outdoor County Competitions are now open for entry, via the EBCA competitions website - https://www.essexcomps.co.uk - Entries deadline 31st Jan 2023

- Ladies Outdoor County Competitions have already closed

- Southend & District Competitions (men, ladies and mixed) are now open for entry, forms can be downloaded - https://www.essexcountybowlsclub.com/files/sanddcompform.pdf - as well as available from the S&D noticeboard at the Club - Entries deadline 28th Feb 2023

- National Outdoor Competitions will open for entry on 1st December via Bowls England's website

For any further information regarding any of these competitions - including the suitability for yourself to enter etc, please just see Ed in the Club Office and he'd be happy to explain more!

Outdoor Season

The final results of the club competitions and disc games are now on the website. Outdoor Competition (essexcountybowlsclub.com) 

Indoor Season

A warm welcome back to all of our Indoor bowlers, plenty of you have been rolling up furiously in preparation for the season commencing this Saturday! A reminder to those who have not yet paid their subscriptions to please do so at your earliest convenience.

If anyone has any questions regarding the season please, as always, just ask.

Club Website

We continue to experience minor teething problems with the new Members’ Area of the Club website. I can confirm your IDs and passwords remain unchanged.

Whilst the changeover continues if you require any document please just request by e-mail.

Mark Royal Bowls Shop Roadshow

Mark is bringing the Potters Bowls Shop back to the Club on Thursday 6^th October, between 11am – 7pm. For those who don’t know, he brings a wide range of bowls which can be tried out on the indoor rinks, clothing and accessories.

Upcoming Club General Meetings

Outdoor AGM – Thursday 6^th October at 7pm

Special General Meeting – Wednesday 12^th October at 7pm – re Club Shirts

September has arrived and the weather is changing; warmer clothing is appearing and the daily knobbly knees parade reducing. We have only three games remaining in the Affinity and 20/20 leagues and  two ladies afternoons before our final event which will be the end of season tea and presentation on Monday 19th September.Demand for places is high so book your place soon! There will not be the usual ladies bowls afternoon on the 19th - this does mean that we can dress comfortably to enjoy the tea and cakes (experience suggests something loose fitting or with an elasticated waist! ).

Thank you to everyone who has put their names forward for the Affinity and 20/20 league games this season and to the impressive numbers who have come along on Monday afternoons. It has been a pleasure to include so many of you in games and to see the newer ladies in teams and doing so well.Heartfelt thanks also to the ladies who have stepped out of their comfort zones to play in back end positions and as skips.

August Results :

2nd August 20/20 v. Rayleigh (Away) loss 11-18 and 13-27

10th August 20/20 v. Eastwood (Home)  4 shot win overall: 11-5 win and 7-9 loss

17th August 20/20 v. Castlepoint (Home) 19-16 win and 12-24 loss ; overall loss.

24th August 20/20 v. Prittlewell  (Home) 12 shot overall win:14-14 draw and 21-9 win ; 

25th August 20/20 v. Hockley (Away) 12-23 loss and 1 rink conceded due to unfortunate circumstances.

31st August Affinity v. Hockley : 8 shot overall win : Home 19-13 win, Away 15-13 win.

Other news :

The fixed jack competition was played on the 8th August through to the final round which will be between Sue Kemp and Sharon Kyprianou, taking place on Finals weekend. Twelve ladies entered and played on the day - a really good turnout and something to build on next year. Thanks to Phil Sams and Phil Morris for their support and for marking on the day.

Thursday evening ‘Spoons’ has now finished and the winner (Tina) and runner-up (Lizzie) will be presented with their prizes at the end of season event on 19th September.

Vice Captain position ; Sadly, no-one has come forward. I can only reiterate Maureen’s recent email to you all adding that if there are no volunteers to fill vacant posts then the only way for those remaining in posts to manage will be to reduce the program across the board. If a couple of you wished to combine forces we could train up a v.c. with an assistant/back-up and together resolve the ladies vacancy . The more volunteers, the easier life is for us all.

Finals weekend ; Come along on the weekend of 17th and 18th September to support the finalists. Look out for the schedule of games and support the ladies playing, it makes a real difference to have you there cheering the finalists on.

September Inter-Club Affinity and 20/20 League dates.

All teams for the September games have now been notified and team sheets with scorecards are on the noticeboard. Please tick your name off to confirm availability and contact Maureen asap if there are any problems.

Friday 2nd September 20/20 league v. Fairwood @ 10.00am - 2 home

Friday 9th September 20/20 league v. White Hall @ 10.30pm - 2 away

Tuesday 13th September Affinity league v. Rochford @ 10.30am - 1 home / 1 away

Chris. (ladies v.c.)

Gordon Rosenberg

Today is a very special day as Gordon is celebrating his 100^th birthday!

I am sure the whole Club wish him well and many more years of happy bowling.

Ray Benge Trophy

Entries are now being accepted for this year’s tournament. For those who don’t know, this is a 1-day Triples event (held this year on Sun 4^th Sept) – Club members can invite non-members to play with them if they wish.

Entry forms can be found in the Club corridor, or by request from the Office.

Website Update

We are currently undergoing a changeover from the Members’ Area of the Club website to our microsite (the site that is run on the touchscreen in the Club corridor) – whilst this is taking place some members may find it impossible to sign in to the Members’ Area. If there is anything that you require in the meantime just ask the Club Office.

Upcoming Fixtures

The Club has reached the latter stages of various competitions as follows… Your support would be greatly appreciated:

• County Shield – Semi-Final vs Romford BC – Thur 18^th Aug 5:30pm
• County Double Fours – Semi-Final vs Wanstead Central BC – Fri 19^th Aug 5:30pm
• London & Southern Counties Shield – Semi-Final vs Blackheath & Greenwich BC – Mon 22^nd Aug 5:30pm

One of our longstanding (over 30 years!) Outdoor Members Gordon Rosenberg will reach his 100^th birthday on Wednesday 17^th August.

Club Members will no doubt wish to send him best wishes and congratulations on this significant milestone.

Happy Birthday Gordon!

With July gone we’re now into the final weeks of the outdoor season. The weather is holding out and after a damp start back in May we can now complain about the heat; such is our English weather.

Ladies afternoons continue through to mid September (but not August Bank Holiday) with all ladies very welcome to come along. Arrive around 1.30pm to register, we play from 2pm.

A big thank you to everyone for continuing to put their names forward for the Affinity and 20/20 league games. If you are not selected for a game, please don’t lose heart - your turn will come, you aren’t being overlooked; so far this season we have been able to give 23 ladies a game.

We have 6 games coming up in August and would like more names for the later games please. We also have 3 games in September and with a good chance of doing very well in the 20/20 league and the Affinity this year do please get your names on the lists. As ever, we need a mix of experienced players who can support the newer ladies in their first experiences of competitive bowls. This is a difficult balancing act since we play triples in both these leagues now.

Thursday evening ‘Spoons’ continues for a few more weeks and it’s not too late to come along and have fun for a couple of hours.

July Results :

6th July Affinity v. Hadleigh - Home 9-20 lost / Away 24-9 win ; overall win.

8th July 20/20 v. Rochford - Home win on both rinks ; 19-14 and 19-13

13th July 20/20 v. Thorpe Bay- Home 20-8 win and 14-14 draw ; overall win.

18th July Albert Crabb 1st round. A close contest v. Runwell which we lost overall by only 2 shots. Home team won 14-13, away team lost 11-14. A great performance by everyone.

Other news :

Sadly, South Benfleet have withdrawn from the 20/20 league due to lack of players. The difficulty in finding teams has been a common theme when speaking to opposition skips in both Affinity and 20/20 leagues. Lady members are not coming forward to play ladies only games. If this trend goes on there will be no ladies bowls at a local level and once it goes there will be no way back. The old adage ‘use it or lose it’ applies.

Save the date! Monday 19th September ; We hope to utilise our final Monday afternoon of the season for another ladies tea, together with the ‘Spoons’ prize giving and a general chat about the season  / how we may go forward next year. Full details will be posted soon so keep the date clear.

September Inter-Club Affinity and 20/20 League dates.

Please add your names to the availability sheet or email/contact me with your availability.

Friday 2nd September 20/20 league v. Fairwood @ 10.00am - 2 home

Friday 9th September 20/20 league v. White Hall @ 10.30pm - 2 away

Tuesday 13th September Affinity league v. Rochford @ 10.30am - 1 home / 1 away

Chris. (ladies v.c.)

The handbook lists the BBQ League to start in July, however due to the uncertainty of being able to have a BBQ each week it has been decided to rename it as above.

The planned start to now be Friday 21st July.

What is planned is either a BBQ (if possible, as a couple of years back), or fish/chicken and chips (from Oldhams). Either of the options will be discretionary.

If you would like to participate please add you name to the list being maintained in the Club corridor (on the friendly matches notice board) and also add your name if you would like to be a sponsor - closing date for names 16 July.

The squads will be selected, by the committee, according to handicap to ensure balanced teams.

It is proposed, that the matches will comprise of 2 wood triples of 16 ends (approximately 90 mins), followed by food, as mentioned above.

The number of games will depend on the number of participating teams

(e.g. 8 teams – 7 matches).

ECBC Outdoor Committee

June has flown past and we’re now almost half-way through the outdoor season. Time really does fly past when you’re having fun! 

Ladies afternoons continue to have good turnouts. All ladies are very welcome; come along around 1.30pm to register, we play from 2pm. 

A big thank you to everyone for continuing to put their names forward for the Affinity and 20/20 league games. If you are not selected for a game, please don’t lose heart - your turn will come, you aren’t being overlooked; so far this season we have been able to give 22 ladies a game.

We have 6 games coming up in August and will need as many of you as possible available to play - each date requires 6 players plus reserves - so please put your names down. A reminder too that there are mixed friendlies which you can put your names down for.

June Results :

1st June Affinity v. Southend - Home 31-14 win / Away leg conceded by Southend.

8th June Affinity v. Rayleigh - Home 9-19 lost / Away 6-27 lost.

17th June Affinity v. White Hall- Home 10-8 win / Away 9-9 draw.Both games played 12 ends due to heat.

21st June 20/20 League v. Runwell  (2x home)- 1 rink each, 22-12 and 9-20, overall 1 shot loss.

29th June 20/20 League v. South Benfleet - (2 x away) - 1 rink each, 23-21 and 15-16, overall 1 shot win. Thank you to Kevin for providing transport to and from the club; Kevin and Charlie for supporting throughout the morning.

Other news :

Summer Strawberry tea. This was held on 20th June with 18 ladies in attendance for a splendid tea of sandwiches, cakes, scones with cream and jam, and chocolate dipped strawberries. We would like to organise another tea to mark the end of our season; to include the ‘Spoons’ presentation and an informal chat about the season and how you would like to go forward next summer. Provisional date will be Monday 19th September so reserve it in your diaries now. 

Spoons - This new ladies disc game started on Thursday June 30th and runs for 8 weeks. All ladies welcome, details are on the noticeboard.

August Inter-Club Affinity and 20/20 League dates.

Please add your names to the availability sheet or email/contact me with your availability.

Tuesday 2nd August 20/20 league v. Rayleigh @ 10.30am - 2 away

Wednesday 10th August 20/20 league v. Eastwood @ 2.00pm - 2 home

Wednesday 17th August 20/20 league v. Castlepoint @ 10.30am - 2 home

Wednesday 24th August 20/20 league v. Prittlewell @ 10.30am - 2 home

Thursday 25th August 20/20 league v. Hockley @ 2.00pm - 2 away

Wednesday 31st August Affinity v. Hockley @ 2.00pm - 1 home / 1 away 

Chris. (ladies v.c.)