Didn’t we have a lovely time? (the day we went to Lindsay)
On Sunday August 8th six triples teams travelled to Lindsay to take up a challenge from that club. We played two ten end games. So, how did we do? Not too bad is the answer. The top team was Carl Ferguson, Ann Tough and Donna Ball and second best team was Baylee van Steijn, Peter Stuart-Sheppard and Melanie Duras. A Lindsay team was third.

The morning session was not very successful with only two Cobourg teams winning but the afternoon session was much more successful with Cobourg winning four and tying one.
For some of the Cobourg members it was their first experience of playing away from Cobourg and that meant getting used to different greens which was probably why we did better in the afternoon. The greens were a good speed but one or two did have their own characteristics!
It was good to renew some old acquaintances and to have some competitive bowling against different people. COVID protocols were in place and I think everyone felt that they were in a safe environment.
To round off a good day for Cobourg Melanie Duras and Mary Salter were first and second in the 50/50 draw. And we enjoyed the ice cream bars after the game.
Oh, I forgot to mention. We had fun and at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. I think this line from Big Spender sums up lawn bowling (and maybe a few other things!)
“Wouldn’t you like to have fun, fun fun?
How’s about a few laughs, laughs, laughs?
I can show you a good time”
In 2022 we will renew (friendly) rivalries with a return match in Cobourg.

​It’s a long way to Windsor to compete in the Ontario Seniors Championships but it was all worthwhile for our ladies seniors team of Nan Hendren, Kathleen Shirley and Louisa Arthur (or “The Merry Wives of Windsor” as I have dubbed them). Accompanied by their support team and cheerleaders (Mike, Dave and yours truly) they finished fourth which is enough reason to be merry but there was also a hint of unmerriness as the result could have been better.

There were three groups of four and on Day 1 they played each other team in the group in a round robin. The top eight teams went forward to Day 2. In their first game they played a team from Walkerton and were tied coming into the last end and were down when Nan had her final shot. In good skip fashion she made the winning shot to claim victory 13-12.

The next game, against Grand Cove, was not their best and they got off to a bad start before picking up their game but it was too little, too late and they lost that game. However, they knew that a win in their final game of the day would get them into the last eight to play a quarterfinal on Day 2. They had a comfortable 16-11 win and over dinner and over dinner that night planned strategy for the next day with expert input from their husbands (OK, I might have made up that bit).

It was pretty hot on Day 1 but Day 2 threatened to be even hotter, and I don’t mean just in terms of the weather! Now the games were elimination games – lose and you go home – win the quarter final and suddenly you are in with a chance of a medal.

The quarter final was against Hanover and it was nip and tuck all the way and with a one point lead going into the final end hope was temporarily dashed when Hanover scored to tie the game which meant an extra end. Some excellent bowls from all our team in the extra end gave them three points to get them into the semi final. Win the next game and they would be in the gold medal game and book a trip to the Canadian Seniors.

There was a saying in England by a couple of soccer pundits (Saint and Greavsie may mean something to some of you) that “It’s a funny old game” and the same is true of lawn bowling. The semi final was against the Nepean team which had scraped into Day 2 with a tie break win on Day 1 but in their quarter final beat Milton (undefeated on Day 1) 16-14.

Our ladies got off to a slow start and it was clear that the main threat on the Nepean team was their skip who was an ex Team Canada member. Several times when Cobourg was sitting with multiple shots she would score and although the team bowled well they were four down going into the last end and despite scoring two they lost 13-11. That meant playing in the bronze medal game instead of the gold silver game.

After five games in two days in temperatures in the mid thirties the bronze medal game was played against the Windsor team on rink #1 right by the clubhouse and right in front of a partisan crowd. There was no doubt that the Cobourg team had better bowlers but the combination of being on an outside rink (which seemed strange) playing against a home team told early on and it took  over half the game before Cobourg got to grips with the rink and by that time they were trailing.

With five ends to go the score was 4-14. Not an impossible task, a score of two each end would tie the game. And they nearly did it. Windsor never scored again but it finished 12-14.

So that’s where the unmerriness came in but finishing fourth in Ontario is something that “The Merry Wives of Windsor” can be very proud of.
 
And I have to say that their husbands were also very proud of them.

​Bill

The Ontario Singles Youth Championships were held at club on July 6th and 7th 2019.

 Age group for youths was 12-18 and in total twenty one youths from across Ontario competed. There were separate competitions for girls and boys. Nine girls and 12 boys competed.

The club was delighted to welcome MP for Northumberland – Peterborough South, Kim Rudd and   Councillor Emily Chorley representing the Town of Cobourg. During the opening ceremonies both of them spoke about the benefits of lawn bowling as a family sport and a sport for all ages. Representing the Ontario Lawn Bowls Association Director were President Philip Francis and Director, Steve Schucknecht.

In the girls section the local favourite was Baylee van Steijn of the Cobourg club. Baylee was a silver medal winner at the Canadian Championships last year and has previously won silver in the Ontario Championships. This is her last year as a youth bowler and the pressure was on her to perform well in front of her home club.

In the boys section Cobourg representatives Dean West and Hobson McMaster were pitted against older and much more experienced bowlers but both bowled well and performed admirably and were pleased with their performances even though they were eliminated after the round robin section on day 1.

In Baylee’s round robin group there was a three way tie with each of three girls winning two and losing one game. However, based on points difference Baylee was seeded first in her group which meant she advanced direct to the semi final stage on day 2.

In her semi final game she played Cori Millard of Lindsay who had beaten her in the round robin and who had won the previous three Ontario championships. In a very tight game Baylee won 18-14 and moved on to the final to play Adrianna D’Sa of Oshawa. That was an incredibly tight game as well with excellent bowling by both players and to the delight of the home crowd Baylee took the gold medal with an 18-15 win.
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Baylee will now represent Ontario at the Canadian Youth Championships in Juan de Fuca BC in August

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

​For the Cobourg Lawn Bowling Club the Victoria Day weekend marks the first major events of the season. Over five days the club held the OSGA55+ district games; an Open House and finally a prestigious open fours tournament on Victoria Day.
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It may surprise some people to learn that the sport of lawn bowls can become addictive, as many of the Cobourg members can testify. Indeed it is such an addictive sport that King Henry V111 was forced to ban the playing of lawn bowls because it was affecting the output of fletchers who made bows and arrows. The exception was of course by the wealthy who could spend all their time at play. These days you need neither be wealthy nor have lots of time to spare to play the sport and the club was hoping to attract more addicts with an open house on Saturday May 20th.

This was very well attended and as well as receiving free instruction from club members a BBQ lunch was available. This was organised by Baylee van Steijn who used an RBC150 grant to raise funds for ‘Northumberland Food For Thought’. Donations from visitors totalled $626 which will go to a very good cause. Click here for photos from the event

The winners of the OSGA55+ district games on Thursday May 18th were Ralph and Norma Stoffers  and Melanie Duras from our club who won all three of their round robin games to take the gold medal. The silver medal winners, also from Cobourg, with two wins and one loss were Bill and Louisa Arthur and Nan Hendren.

On Victoria Day eighteen teams from Oshawa, Pickering, Peterborough, Cosburn Park, Campbellford as well as the home club competed in the Open Fours tournament which was once again sponsored by Lauria Hyundai.

Each team played three twelve end games with the wins and cumulative points scored deciding the prize winners. The 2016 winners of the open fours (Cobourg members Dan and Sharyl Ann Milligan and Baylee and Ben van Steijn) came back to defend their title but after winning their first two games lost out to a team from Peterborough led by Bob Reynolds. The Reynolds team placed second because although they had a perfect 3 wins they were beaten by Bob Matthews Oshawa team who also had 3 wins but 39 points compared to Reynolds 37. Pictured are Cobourg President Nan Hendren with the winning team of Anna Panton, Rick Tompkins, Alice Matthews and Bob Matthews. 
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Next weekend sees the start of the District playdowns which lead to Ontario Championships. The club will be represented by two ladies fours teams and one mens’ fours team at the playdowns in Whitby. Meanwhile back at the club there will be the first in club tournament of the season. Visitors are welcome at all events.

I will start this piece on the Canadian junior championships by talking about an award made to our greens keeper Ralph Stoffers. Why you might ask. Well, read on and all will be clear

Ralph has been volunteer greens keeper for the last five years. Despite having no previous experience of greens keeping he has, through hard work and much research, produced greens that become better every year and are recognised by visiting bowlers as amongst the best (if not the best) around. To recognise his achievements and the many hours of voluntary work he was presented with a certificate of appreciation from the Ontario Lawn Bowls Association during the anniversary tournament at the weekend. 
 
Two people who have benefited from the excellent Cobourg greens are juniors Ben and Baylee van Steijn. (Now you see where I am going with this) Access to such good greens has undoubtedly helped them in their lawn bowling careers. Ben has also been working with Ralph to learn about greens keeping and that plus his work at the Cobourg Ecology garden resulted in him receiving a scholarship from the Cobourg Horticultural Society, which seems rather appropriate at this time as it was Horticultural Society members who formed the lawn bowling club in 1907.
 
Ben and sister Baylee were in Vancouver last week competing in the Canadian junior championships, their second appearance at the championships. After the round robin Ben had a 4-2 record and 12 points. However to have a chance at competing for a medal 15 points were required. He finished tied for 5th place in a field of 18 – an excellent performance.
 
Sister Baylee finished in fourth place in 2015 but this time went one better to finish third and take home a bronze medal. Struggling with flu throughout the three days of competition she finished the round robin in fourth place with a 4-3 record. Her opponent in the bronze medal game, Emma Boyd (BC) had beaten her 18-10 in their round robin match and when Boyd took an 11-4 lead (first to 18 points wins) it looked bad for Baylee. However in an epic match she clawed her way back to take bronze with an 18-17 win. Her bronze medal confirms her place in the Canadian youth development squad for another year.