I was looking for a suitable title to use in this article about our three Cobourg ladies playing in the Ontario Senior Championships. A quick google search for film titles with three came up with such things as "The Three Stooges" and "Three Amigos" but I was too frightened to risk using those (particularly the first one). One of the results was "Three can play that game" (not a film that I'd ever heard of) but it is most suitable because the ladies really could play!

Pat Bylok, Louisa Arthur and Mary Thibault were acclaimed District 14 winners and were at Burlington on Thursday July 26th to play in the championships. The format was a modified double knockout which means lose two games and you are eliminated. That puts great pressure on the team in the first game and they had a tough draw against a Burlington team representing District 5. The home advantage told to start with as Burlington went into a 10-1 lead but as the Cobourg team got the measure of the green they staged a comeback. Unfortunately it was a bit too late and they lost 17-10.

After that the pressure really is on - another loss and you go home. Next up was Ridgetown representing District 1 and this was a relatively easy win for Cobourg by 19-11.

The third game was against Elora Rocks (District 7B) and what a nail biter that was. The teams were neck and neck throughout the game and going into the final end Cobourg was one down (10-11). After the final Elora Rocks bowl they were sitting one but Cobourg had second, third and fourth bowls. If Pat Bylok could remove the shot bowl it would be a win for Cobourg. However, as Pat walked down the green to look at the head play was suspended because of  a thunderstorm. After an hour's wait play resumed but the rule is that in this circumstance the end has to be replayed and unfortunately Elora Rocks took one to win 12-10

To put the Cobourg performance into context both the Burlington and Elora Rocks teams finished just out of the medals, tied in fourth place

Click here to see a You Tube video of the championships

And finally on a different tack here are the up to date jitney scores. Ken Bevan leads the night time standings and Marjorie Jones the day time.

Good Bowling
Bill

It’s almost a month since our last news update. Apologies for that but there has been so much going on your editor has hardly had chance to draw breath!

So let’s recap, chronologically.

Canada Day Tournament

Wow - was it hot or what?  This was scheduled to be 3 x 10 ends but the heat was oppressive and the drawmasters adjusted the format to 2 x 8 end games and a third of 6 ends. The results and photos can be seen by clicking here

Wicks Ladies Triples

This was an all round Cobourg success. The club laid on a great lunch for the ladies and Cobourg teams came in first and second. Click here for full results and photos

District 14 Mixed Pairs Play-Downs

Six teams from the District competed in Cobourg for the right to play in the Ontario Mixed Pairs Championships. It was a great result in that Bob Bates and Pat Bylok were the winners. As it turned out the runners up Alan Steffen and Suzie Palmer from Oshawa also qualified in the absence of an entry from District 11. Click here for photos

Milligan Memorial Tournament

This Open triples tournament was held on July 11th. We thank Sharyl Ann and Dan Milligan for their sponsorship of this tournament in memory of their parents. Click here for full results and photos
​
Ontario Mixed Pairs Championships

I’d like to start this part of our News by repeating President Carol Dewey’s message sent out by email.

"Well, we did it! Cobourg Lawn Bowling Club successfully hosted the Provincial Mixed Pairs Championship! It was a great team effort by many. Louisa and Bill Arthur kept the play organized and running smoothly. SharylAnn Milligan and Dave Shirley did an excellent job umpiring. The greens were in terrific shape thanks to the Grounds crew led by Mike Hendren. And the food! Donna Ball and Mary Thibault started things off with a delicious spread for all who were there late Friday afternoon. Mary also organized all the food for the two days and thanks to the many members who donated salads, etc. our Garage Fund will have a healthy lift towards our goal. Steve Haslam and Ken Bevan did yeoman’s service doing the greens early in the morning then returned at lunch time today to bbq hamburgers and hot dogs. A bevy of our members were there to flip the score charts. Nan Hendren and I had the pleasure of presenting the gold medals and championship trophy to Joe Green and Erin Chambers of the Balmy Beach Lawn Bowling Club. Congratulations to all the bowlers for a job well done. On behalf of the Executive Committee, I want to thank all of you for your support and your contributions. I wish you all could have been there to hear the comments from people from across the province for such a good tournament. We should be proud!"

My personal view is very much in line with Carol’s. This was a major undertaking for the club and the core organizing team did a wonderful job. When we decided to bid for this we had two reasons for doing so. One was to raise the profile of the club in the community and in the wider Ontario Lawn Bowling community. The second was to raise funds for the new garage. Although we have yet to see the final figures I think we have achieved the second objective. And as far as the first objective is concerned we have surpassed our expectations. We had considerable local publicity on radio, TV and social media and many complimentary remarks from bowlers and visitors about our hospitality, location and excellent greens. Click here for a CHEX TV report and here to see some photos from the event.

10 Nations International tournament in Wales

You will recall that Baylee van Steijn was selected to Team Canada for this international invitational tournament. Baylee played in the ladies fours and triples teams and had a really successful overseas debut. In both events the teams made it through to the quarter finals and in the fours they finished third. Congratulations Baylee on this important milestone in your bowling career.

And finally

Good luck to Pat Bylok, Louisa Arthur and Mary Thibault as they head to Burlington next week to compete in the Ontario ladies seniors championships

Good Bowling

​Bill