News

Mark Royal Bowls Shop Roadshow

Mark Royal is bringing the Potters Bowls Shop Roadshow back to the Club on Thursday 24^th June 11am-7pm – a great chance to pick up anything you might need, as it is the first time in 18 months that he has been able to visit.

International Match

A big thank you to everyone who helped out over the course of this past weekend – the Club showed itself in a great light and both countries went away very impressed!

Bar Hours

We have expanded our hours further as the season continues to expand:

Mon-Fri

Lunch 11:00 - 14:00 

Evening 17:00 - 21:30

Sat/Sun

Lunch 11:00 - 14:00

Club Friendlies

Friendly Match sheets are now back on their usual noticeboard in the Club corridor. Please put your name down for any match you would like to play in.

Club Competitions

A reminder that the deadline for entries to the Mens and Ladies Club Competitions is this Sunday (23^rd May).

Elite Squad Test Match

We are proud to be hosting a Test Match between the Elite Squads of England and Ireland over the weekend of 22^nd & 23^rd May.

This match features both the Men and Women top players from each country and will be a great watch for anyone who would like to spectate.

Play will be between the following times:

Saturday 8:30am – 6:45pm

Sunday 8:30am – 6:15pm

Therefore play for members will be suspended across the whole weekend as well as between 2pm-5pm on the afternoon of Friday 21^st May.

Various Restrictions Lifted

As you may have already read, various restrictions around the Club are being lifted from Monday 17^th May, including:

-        Sitting, eating and drinking now allowed indoors (maximum of 6 per table)

-        Indoor Arena re-opening

-        Outdoor disc games to recommence, roll ups no longer require pre-booking, also no longer restricted to 4 per rink

Dear Member,

As you no doubt are aware, the country is moving to step three of ‘Roadmap out of Lockdown’ on Monday 17^th May, this will allow our club to relax some of the restrictions that have been in place for the last few months.

A summary of those changes is as follows:-

OUTDOORS

• Rink booking for roll-ups will not be required for outdoor bowling, just turn up!
• The Monday and Wednesday morning disc games both commence next week (17^th and 19^th May) and run for the remainder of the season.
• The Tuesday morning Mixed Triples league commences next week (18^th May).
• There will be no restriction on the number of bowlers on a rink and all rinks can be used.
• The whiteboard in the corridor will show rink allocation for outdoor rinks (as in previous years).
• Outdoor bowlers must use the booking sheets located in the corridor when booking rinks for competitions.

INDOORS

• Rink booking will be required for indoor bowling, via Ed in the Club Office only – not online!
• Indoor Arena will be open 7 days a week from 10am to 6pm until further notice. Sessions start at 10am, 12noon, 2pm & 4pm.
• Each indoor session will last 1 hour 45 minutes, with the arena bell sounding at 20 minutes to the hour.
• Indoor bowlers must enter their name on the session sheet and pay their £3.00 rink as normal at the session desk adjacent to the bar.

• Indoor bowling will be limited to a maximum of Triples on each rink for the foreseeable future.

GENERAL/OTHER

• Members can use the restaurant area to sit, eat and drink (sitting down only) with a maximum of 6 persons per table. Please support our Bar and our new caterers Affinity.
• The bar will provide a table service only to members indoors.
• Members are requested to sign the 'Track & Trace' register or use the NHS APP each time they use the clubhouse.
• Face masks MUST be worn at all times when walking around the clubhouse.
• The ONE-WAY system in the clubhouse will remain in place for at least the next month.

Should you require further clarification please contact a club office of Ed in the office.

Opening Hours Update

From 1^st & 2^nd May, we are opening on weekends from 10am-2pm initially. As restrictions are eased we will return to being open all day every day, but we will be operating these hours at weekends in the meantime.

Club Bar Update from Kevin Robertson

“Having watched how the bar is being used over the last couple of days I will be revising our opening times slightly. Starting from Monday we will stay open at lunchtime for another 30 minutes – 11:00am to 1:30pm. Also effective from today the evening session will start 30 minutes earlier, so 6:00pm to 8:30pm. 

The change to lunch hours is to help Lynn cope with the volume of customers and the evening change is to allow the people who bowl from 4pm to 6pm to get a drink when they finish bowling.”

Online Club Handbook

This year there is no printed handbook as per usual. However the handbook file has been uploaded to the Members Area of the Club website – find it under the ‘Outdoor Section’ tab once logged in. If you require a printed version please just ask Ed in the Club Office.

Wheelchair Section

The wheelchair weekly bowling sessions will be recommencing on Thursday 20^th May at 10am and each Thursday throughout the Summer season. We have some vacancies for more players currently, so if you know of anyone please let them know to get in touch with the Club!

Southend & District Friendlies

There is a full slate of S&D friendlies planned for the season – the list is up in the corridor of the Club. If you would like a copy please ask Ed.

Affinity Catering

Finally, please continue to support out new caterers. Initial feedback is great, especially considering we cannot eat inside the Club as yet! Their success is important to the Club moving forward.

A few things to update members on regarding this Outdoor season:

Club Leagues

The Friday morning league is scheduled to commence on Friday 30^th April and run right through to the final week of the season. Team sponsors should expect their team schedules to arrive imminently by e-mail.

Whilst restrictions are still in place we are forced to keep an empty rink between each league fixture, meaning no rinks will be made available for roll ups on Friday morning from 30^th April until restrictions have eased sufficiently.

The Tuesday morning league is scheduled to commence on Tuesday 18^th May and run for 15 weeks – further details nearer the time.

Disc Games

The 2 disc games – the Lionel Clarke mens 2-wood Triples and the Newman Norman mixed game are scheduled to commence from the 17^th May.

Club Friendlies

We have various friendlies scheduled throughout this season and we hope they will be well supported as always.

Club Competitions

Forms will be out in the very near future for the internal Club competitions. In the meantime, the season-opening Roaming Jack Singles is currently up to 65 entrants, amazing support and many thanks to all who have entered. Entries are continuing to be accepting until Thursday 22^nd April.

Handbook

This year there will be no printed Club handbook but there will be a downloadable ‘virtual’ one on the Members’ Area of the Club website – under ‘Outdoor Section’.

One of our members, Maurice (Mo) Arkus, takes us through his journey of contracting CoVID-19, via the NHS Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust...

Roaming Jack Singles

Following a successful maiden competition last year we will be running the Roaming Jack Singles once again.

ENTRIES OPEN NOW.

Direct to Ed Morris in the Club Office, simply contact Ed by e-mail or phone.

Deadline for entries Monday 19^th April.

£5 entry fee, cheque/BACs, open to all members. If you have no option but to pay by cash or card please contact Ed to arrange.

Competition provisional start date Monday 26^th April, running for at least 2 weeks on weekday evenings or earlier by mutual consent.

For those who entered last year, the format will be EXACTLY the same this year.

Other Club Competitions will be held later in the season – the forms will be out in due course.

Competition Rules:

-        No marker to be used.

-        Jack must be cast to a minimum distance of 23m from the front of the mat, however it will not be centered at the start of each end.

-        Strictly no touchers in play, a byproduct of having no marker, ie. the jack stays live in the ditch but all bowls are dead.

-        Players to carry their own measure.

-        If any queries in play cannot be settled by players the end will need to be replayed.

-        Strictly a maximum of 1 visit to the head each end. Forfeit all remaining bowls yet to be delivered if this rule is broken.

-        Winner will be first to 21 shots.

-        There will be a group stage, guaranteeing entrants a number of games, followed by a knockout. Details will be confirmed after entries are received.

-        Needless to say, social distancing to be maintained at all times, handshakes not required!

Our new Club shirts (provided by Henselite) are now ready for order.

The first shirt will be discounted to just £10 thanks to generous sponsorship from our main Club sponsor Stibbards and Sons. Subsequent shirts are £25 each.

Click HERE to see the design.

Contact Ed in the Club Office if you would like to order.

In time, these shirts will be used for all Club representative matches.