News

Club News – March

Outdoor Season

Following the good recent news from Boris, we are planning on opening as early as possible this coming season. Of course this is entirely dependent on Government guidelines and most importantly the weather, so lets hope for some warm and dry weather!

Regardless of when exactly we open, we are planning a full season to be as close to a normal (what is normal these days?!) schedule as possible – we hope you will join us for it!

Club Shirts

Our new shirts are ready to order!

The design and further details can be found in the ‘News’ section of the Club website.

The cost is subsidised for the first shirt at £10 each, with any other subsequent shirts costing £25 each.

Please order these via myself in the Club Office.

Charity Bike Ride

I am taking part in a bike ride to raise money for Disability Bowls England – a very worthy cause indeed in a year where their expenses will be stretched with the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2022. Please click the link below to read full details and donate whatever you can! Thanks in advance.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/tour-de-group-6-bowls?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

Finally, I hope you are all well and many of you will now be ‘jabbed’ which will lead to increased confidence in a return to bowls and the Club, starting with the Outdoor season some time in April.

Hopefully see you soon, Ed

As with the Club News from January there is very little to report whilst we remain closed. Management, Indoor and Outdoor Committee meetings are continuing via video conferencing so please keep up to date with the minutes that have been added to the Members’ Area of the Club website.

Club AGM

The Management Committee agreed that we simply cannot hold an AGM currently, for obvious reasons. Instead a pack will be sent in the post to all Full members including a motion to alter the Constitution slightly taking into account situations such as this where the Club cannot open or be run in it’s usual manner. We will also include draft accounts which many members will be interested to see no doubt and a few other items.

If you have moved address recently and not informed the Office, now would be a good time to do so!

Indoor Competitions Update 2020 / 2021 (From the Indoor Competition Secretaries)

Margaret and I in consultation with the indoor committee have taken the decision to cancel all club competitions planned to be played this season due to the club closure.

With regards to monies collected we propose that as no cheques or cash have been banked at this time that all cheques will be destroyed. All cash will be held. All fees paid by card to be held also.

It is our intention to hold card payments already received and cash for entries to be used for next year as appropriate. However, should you require a refund for any card payments please enquire to the office and advise me also. Any cash refunds can be organised by myself as and when we can should you require a refund.

When the club next opens I shall produce a list confirming entries that each individual has made and detail fees received so that hopefully we can move forward in the 2021 / 2022 season. Obviously the few that have paid by cheque will be asked for payment in the next season.

Please do not hesitate to contact Margaret or myself if you have any questions or require further clarification.

Stay safe,

Margaret Shillitto and David Dar (Indoor Competition Secretaries)

We hope that by now a lot of our members will have been for their jab, which is one step forward to the Club re-opening and us all getting back together again. In the meantime, be assured that the Club will be here when we get out of this mess!

Club News – January

Sadly as the Club continues to be closed by government restrictions there is not a lot of news currently to share with members.

However, there are a few (bowls related) ideas to temporarily halt the boredom of another lockdown:

Wrong Bias Bowls Podcast

Bowls talkshow with hosts David Bolt and Richie McKie covering a variety of topics either locally, national or worldwide. Guests, competitions and updates. www.buzzsprout.com/692521

You can find all episodes here dating back to the podcast’s inception. The most recent 2 featuring yours truly (Ed)!

Bowls England Youtube Channel

Bowls England have their own podcast – The Extra End – with all episodes on their YouTube channel. They also have ‘bowlers exercises’ for those stuck inside during lockdown – these will help with both physical and mental health.

Bowls England - YouTube

Phone Call

If anyone is suffering with loneliness, boredom or their general mental health and needs a chat, whether bowls related or otherwise, please feel free to contact me on my mobile phone (which can be found in the members' area of this website) at any reasonable time.

Stay safe everyone and hopefully see you all back at the Club sooner rather than later,

Ed

As our region of the country has been placed within ‘tier 3’ for COVID restrictions the management committee have decided that the club will be closed with effect from Wednesday 16^th December until further notice and certainly for the rest of 2020.

The management committee will continue to monitor the situation and will take advice as necessary from the EIBA, local authority and government in making further decisions regarding the running of the club and when and how it can reopen.

All existing bookings made up to this point for the remainder of the year are, therefore, cancelled and will be removed from the diary in due course. All league games and competitions are also postponed at this time.

The office will be manned for a couple of hours from 10.00am on Wednesday and Thursday morning to answer any questions you may have, but please do not come to the club under any circumstances.

ECBC Management Committee – 15thDecember

As you no doubt are aware, our region of the country has been placed within ‘tier 2’ for CoVID restrictions. This means that we can re-open the Club on Monday 7^th December but with some very strict conditions:

-         Opening Hours – Monday to Friday 10am-7:30pm

-         Sessions will begin at 10am, 12noon, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm – each will last for 90minutes; extending the gap between sessions for safety reasons. Players are expected to leave the Club immediately after the conclusion of their session.

-         Online booking will be temporarily ceased, ALL bookings must be made by telephone to the Club Office (01702 338261) which due to staff holidays will only be manned between 10am-1pm Monday to Friday, starting from Friday 4^th December – please do not leave a message, if you cannot get through then try again later, bookings must be made directly with the rink booker by phone and can only be made by paid members.

-         Originally, we will limit each member to 2 bookings per week; 1 only at 10am due to the popularity of this time. We will monitor the demand for rinks and potentially change this.

-         Bookings can only be made 1 week in advance.

-         Members will be allowed to book a rink for 2 people (singles play) or just themselves, so long as they do not interact with people on other rinks. We encourage members to book for 2 people, rather than only themselves, to maximise rink usage and avoid unnecessary phone calls.

-         NOTE – All existing bookings made up to this point have been removed from the diary.

-         You must bring correct change of £3 to play, change is not likely to be available. The CoVID steward on duty will take rink fees.

-         All previous existing rules at the Club are still in place, ie. Use of a face covering around the Club, one-way system in place, etc.

-         Whilst still in tier 2, the Bar and Kitchen will remain closed (non-alcoholic refreshments can be brought in to the Club if required), and no members will be allowed to visit the Club if they are not bowling OR if they have not pre-booked.

-         Members temperatures will now be taken upon entry to the Club. Anyone with a high temperature will not be granted access for safety reasons.

-         No leagues/competitions to be played currently.

We realise there is a lot to take in, and it may seem archaic in places, but ultimately these rules will allow us to re-open, which is what everyone wants.

If you are not yet aware of the rules surrounding tier 2, please visit the Government’s website.

ECBC Management Committee – 3^rd December

Please see latest news from the Club....

Following the recent announcement from the government of another national lockdown, the Club will remain closed until at least Monday 7th December.

Temporary Club Closure

The CoVID Sub-Committee are continuing to meet and liaise with the Management Committee in regards to whether we can re-open safely with the current Government guidelines.

No decision has been made yet, therefore the temporary closure will now be extended to at least Sun 8^th November.

We understand those disappointed with this, but it is a delicate situation. Please keep your eyes on the website for interim updates, or of course your e-mail.

Outdoor Competitions 2021

At this time all outdoor governing bodies are planning a ‘normal’ 2021 Outdoor season, with a full slate of competitions – all of which are now open for entry online.

Please go to https://www.essexcountybowlsclub.com/index.php/news/outdoor-competitions-2021 for full details of local, county and national competitions for next year.

Contact

A reminder that if you need to get in touch with the Club for any reason the phone and e-mail is currently being monitored.

Sadly, the temporary closure of the Club has been extended until at least 8th November.

The current situation and government guidance is continually being reviewed by the CoVID Sub-Committee.

Original news article with full details here