Nail-biter finish for lawn bowling event

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This article was published 01/09/2020 (1906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lawn bowling clubs across the city have seen a distinct shortage of competitive action in what’s been an unprecedented season due to COVID-19.

And that’s one of the reasons officials at Bowls Manitoba decided to organize a recent tournament that featured 12 teams of pairs playing in two separate competitions — pairs and singles.

The multi-day, physically distanced competition was held on the artificial surface at Dakota Lawn Bowling Centre (1212 Dakota St.) late last month. The tournament winners were Jerome Kirby and Elaine Jones, who beat Bob and Betty Van Wallegham. As it turned out, the result of both tournaments ended up hinging on a nail-biter of a “tiebreaker singles game” between Kirby and Van Wallegham, according to Windsor Park resident Jones. The two teams, who are both from Norwood Lawn Bowling Club, were the two top seeds in the competition.

As well, there was also a barbecue on the evening of Aug. 20, and a “drive/draw” competition. Carol Ritchot, from the River Heights Lawn Bowling Club, won the draw side, and Kirby won the drive side, which also featured a playoff between Kirby, Van Wallegham and John Bjornson.

“It was the first team tournament of this kind in Winnipeg, as there were no competitions to play for this year,” said Jones, a past president of Bowls Manitoba who has had an illustrious and distinguished lawn bowling career.  

“It went very well. The largest representation was from Norwood Lawn Bowling Club, and there was also representation from clubs in River Heights, Sargent Park, St. James, and St. John’s, as well as Brandon Wheat City Lawn Bowling Club.”

“Our volunteers were many, as we had 17 different markers for our singles matches, and four different umpires worked the tournament. All volunteers were invited to attend the barbecue on the Thursday evening as a thank you for their time and effort. One of these umpires, Gord Horton, also acted as our chef for the barbecue. A big thank you to all the volunteers,” she added.

Despite all the restrictions that are currently in place in light of the ongoing pandemic, Jones said things are looking promising on the local lawn bowling landscape. “Things are looking surprisingly good considering there’s a pandemic,” she said.

She said membership at Norwood has surpassed 100 for the first time in her memory, which has been aided by Bowls Canada, which slashed its fees this year.

“Part of the reason is that Bowls Canada has waived its affiliation fee, which has helped lawn bowling keep going. As well, all of the clubs in the city have adjusted their fees, which means every club has had some activity this year,” Jones said, noting that organizers are now waiting to see if the indoor bowling season is able to be held.   

 
Go online at bowlsmanitoba.com for more information.