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And Now The End Is Near........

9/17/2023

It comes round so quickly......the last tournament of the season. It was the first running of the Robert (Bobby) Tough memorial tournament sponsored by Al Bell and Laura Mounce. We had a great turn out for the tournament with all eight rinks in play. Nearly all teams were triples although we did have four doubles teams which meant that some games were triples versus doubles which isn't ideal but we made it work! Not all entrants could play all three games which is why Nan Hendren appears in the photos of two of the winning teams!

Given that the tournament was a memorial to Robert Tough we asked players to dress with a Scottish theme and many did as you will see from the photos.

We usually mix things up for the final tournament of the season and this was no exception. The first game was a regular game of 10 ends with three bowls each; the second was 12 ends with 2 bowls each; the third was 14 ends with just one bowl each (there were some long measures in this game). In each game teams could nominate one end as a power play which meant their score was doubled. This proved very useful as teams found out. Trailing by 3 or 4? No problem, score 4 and its doubled up to 8 and suddenly you have a big lead.

The day started with a spider, with the best prize ever, a bottle of Scotch courtesy of Ann Tough. Between each game we also had a skills game. The first game involved delivering a bowl within 2 meters of the jack. Fail and you were eliminated. Succeed and you went into the second round which involved delivering within one yard of the jack. The final round was a challenge to deliver within one mat length of the jack. The winner was Ian Hartford.

In the second skills game a bowls was delivered from the hog line and had to hit a jack placed 2 meters from the ditch. It only took two rounds to find a winner and that was John Saunders.

The overall tournament winners were Jan Skillen, John Clews (Nan Hendren substituted for game 2) and Henry Kowalski. Click here for the full result.

Thanks to everyone who made this final game of the season such a success. We were pleased to have Ann Tough present the prizes. Here's a slide show of photos from the day.

Bill Arthur

Youths, Seniors, Novices and more......

9/5/2023

Wow, what a busy last ten days. So much to catch up on.

Youth Tournament August 26th
The youths took centre stage at the club with 13 youths competing in the 4321 tournament sponsored by MVP Sports. Brother and sister Elise and Isaac Kerr (are they the next Baylee and Ben van Stijn siblings?) took the top two places with our own Jacob Hyatt placing third. Thanks to MVP Sports for their sponsorship and thanks to the drawmaster, Ben van Steijn for a well run tournament.

Lindsay Friendly - August 27th
We hosted the Lindsay club for the return fixture in our friendly challenge. Despite a downpour during Saturday night the match went ahead although some of the rinks were unplayable.

In the first round there were wins by Jan Skillen & John Saunder’s teams. Unfortunately, those were our only 2 wins. 2 games won by just 1 point each helped Lindsay win 4 of the 6 matches. That is probably why our Lindsay guests seemed to be enjoying themselves so much at lunch time.

Our fortunes did not improve as the not so friendly Lindsay teams took 4 of the 6 afternoon games as well. We will make it up next year!

Ontario Seniors - August 29th/30th
Bill Arthur and Peter Stuart- Sheppard, with John MacKenzie of Oshawa, represented District 14 in the Ontario Seniors Championships in Hanover on August 29th and 30th The format was double knock out and they got off to a great start with an easy win against District 8B in their first game. In their second they did not do as well against District 13 (who went on to win bronze) and lost the game but in their third game they recovered from 1-8 to beat District 7 and moved on to Day 2. In cold and wet conditions they had a disastrous start against District 11 but recovered from 1-11 and were two down going into the last end. Lying two shots they were denied a tie by a wick right into the head by the District 11 skip. I had one shot left but could not take out the District 11 bowl. District 11 went on to win silver.

District 14 Novice Singles playdowns - September 2nd and 3rd

The playdowns were held in Bobcaygeon on Saturday and Sunday September 2nd and 3rd. Half of the twelve competitors were from Cobourg. In total there were 5 ladies and 7 men. The ladies played a round robin in one group. Lori Wills came out on top with a perfect 4 wins and 12 points. Lynn Bryans was second with 3 wins and 9 points, her only loss being to Lori. Lori will now play in the Ontario Championships at Cobourg on September 23rd and 24th as will Lynn who received an invitation to play since there was a District without an entry.

The men split into two groups for round robin play. One group of three and one of four. Jacob Hyatt qualified for the semi finals, coming second in his group. In the other group there were good performances by Peter Stuart-Sheppard and by Al Bell. However, after all three rounds had been completed there was a three way tie between Peter, Al and Mike Cyr of Oshawa. Once the dust had settled Al placed first with Peter second. Al won his semi final match against Jacob and Peter beat Mike to set up a rematch between Al and Peter. Peter won the final and will represent District 14 at the Ontario Championships in Tilbury.

Open Mixed Pairs (242) - September 4th
Eighteen teams competed in a mixed pairs 242 tournament, sponsored by Brenda Kloostra Royal LePage realtors. Bob Bates and Pat Bylok claimed their second Cobourg open tournament with athree wins and a magnificent total of 49+8 points. Congratulations to them.

For more photos of all the above events click here

This brings everything up to date. Check back next week for all the latest news.

Bill

A Thunderous Weekend

8/13/2023

Friday night's weather forecast was ominous and it looked unlikely that there would be any bowling at all. But, to everyone's surprise the club singles tournament went ahead as did a tournament in Kingston in which three of our members competed.

Club Singles - a report by Donna Ball
Our In-Club Singles Tournament to determine the Men’s & Ladies Club Champions for 2023 was held on August 12th. We were fortunate to be able to complete the event on that day. The predicted storms were all around and it started to rain at the end of the first game. Play resumed after about a 30 min delay and the rest of the day was basically rain free, until well after the tournament was completed at about 4pm. The sun even made an appearance for much of the afternoon.
It was good to see more entries this year than in the past few years, with 11 entries in the Men’s event (sponsored by Martin Foxhall) and 8 entries in the Ladies event (sponsored by Carol Dewey). And not all players were experienced bowlers; some of our novice members entered too. The format for this year’s competitions was a double knockout, playing 8 end games. There were many well played games throughout the day. It all came down to the final 2 games, where Al Bell defeated Bob Bates to win the Men’s competition and Donna Longman defeated Nan Hendren for the Ladies title. Both games were very close, coming down to the final bowls of the 8th end. Congratulations to Al and Donna, our Club Champions for 2023.
Many thanks to the members who were there to support the event by helping in the kitchen, putting out equipment and acting as markers for all the games. You were a big help!

There are some more pictures on the photo page
Kingston Triples tournament - a report from Bill Arthur

Whilst all that was happening at home in Cobourg Peter Stuart Sheppard, Louisa Arthur and I were in Kingston in a triples tournament where the skip had to be a novice. We were fortunate in having Peter as our skip (yes, he is still a novice).

As was the case in Cobourg, the tournament was interrupted by thunderstorms, After a comfortable win in our first game we had a good lead in our second game but had to come off the greens after 6 ends. On the resumption we struggled a little but were still leading after 8 ends when another storm came over and play was suspended again. Eventually we squeaked home by one point. In our third game we again won by one point to win the tournament. A second tournament win for Peter this week (see previous news report)

Welcome to July

7/2/2023

July came in with a bang, not only in the sense of fireworks, but also at the club with our Canada Day tournament.

On a hot and humid day 16 triples teams competed for the trophy sponsored by Thomas Motors. It was too much for some members to play in all three games so some leads shared the day. First round winning teams (in no particular order) were Terry Bradshaw, Dave Carleton, Kathleen Shirley, Carol Dewey, Ken Bevan, John Hawrysko, Baylee van Steijn and Nan Hendren. Nan was the top scorer with a win by 17 (15+2) against 5. They continued with another big win in the second round by 16 (15+1) against 6. John Hawrysko, Ken Bevan and Baylee van Steijn also had two wins after round two.

Baylee and Nan met in round three and in a tightly contested game Nan claimed the trophy with an 11-10 win.

Thanks go to all those who made the day go so well, the drawmasters Pat Bylok and Donna Ball, Bonnie Sheridan and Dale McMillan in the kitchen and indeed all the players for some fine competition.

You can see the full results and photos of the prize winners by clicking the buttons below.

Also, here is a slideshow of other photos from the tournament

Bill Arthur

Full Results

Photos

We-Fix-U Mixed Pairs Tournament

6/4/2023

There was an excellent turn out for this mixed pairs tournament with 20 teams competing. In addition to eight Cobourg teams there were teams from Campbellford, Cosburn Park, Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering, Belleville and Willowdale.

In the first round there were notable wins for some of the less experienced Cobourg teams of McMaster/Bryans, Bell/Wetherall and Brent and Sheri Perkins. The Bates/Bylok team also got off to a good start and continued their good form from last week when they won a mixed pairs at Cosburn Park.

McMaster and Bryans followed up with another win in round two before finally falling to the Cosburn Park team of Frank Hibbs and Jan Uyesugi 8-12 in game three. The Perkins team had the misfortune to be paired with the in form team of Bates/Bylok in the second round and Bell's team had a close game with the Adams team, losing 10-12. Overall, some really good performances from Cobourg's novices.

There were three teams with three wins but Bob Bates and Pat Bylok had 45 points, three more than Frank Hibbs and Jan Uyesugi.

You can check out the full result and photos by clicking on the respective buttons below.

Full Result

Photo Gallery

Tournament Round Up

9/7/2022

Bruton Fall Classic

On August 27th Bill Arthur, Carl Ferguson and Bob Bates were at Cosburn Park to defend their title as winners of the Bruton Fall Classic. They fell just short this time. Afer winning their first two games they were beaten by Peter Stuart-Sheppard who was playing with Bill McCollam (Stoufville) and Lynn Frost. (Cosburn Park) . There was a bounty on their heads as the previous winners and they had to present their conquerors with bottles of wine (provided by the sponsors, thankfully ,says Bill! )

Youth Tournament

A report from Carol Dewey. On Saturday, August 27th we hosted a youth tournament attended by players from Cobourg, Oakville, Belleville, Oshawa and Lindsay. The tournament was sponsored by MVP Sports. The U18s played three games of 4321 and the U21s played one game of 4321 and a ten end game of Phoenix bowls involving switching partners. Their third game, created by drawmaster Ben Van Steijn, had them bowling backwards. Rumour has it Baylee was still on the jack. There was much appreciaton expressed by the parents from the other clubs for Cobourg hostng this event for young bowlers. Everyone went home with a prize so there were lots of smiling faces. Photos of the event can be found on the CLBC Facebook page.

Ontario Senior Triples
These championships were held on August 30-31st and we had representatives in the ladies and men’s events. Mary Salter, Carol Dewey and Mary Thibault were at Midland. A note from the team. “As you can see from our results on the OLBA website, we lost to the gold medal winners by one (tied going into the last end but couldn’t pull it off) and lost to the bronze medal winners by one point. We did “pull up our socks” the second day and played much better - in spite of the wind!

The men’s team of Bill Arthur, Bob Bates and John MacKenzie (Oshawa) were playing at the Muskoka club . Whereas the ladies’ championship was a round robin the men’s was double knockout with 14 teams competing. Afer an opening win against the team that would eventually win silver, they followed it up with another win. The winner of their third game would qualify for the gold medal game. They lost by one point! Their opponents would go on to win gold. Unfortunately they lost their first game on day 2 which in this format meant they were out. So close but so far.

Labour Day Mixed Pairs 242 Open Tournament
The tournament was sponsored by Brenda Kloostra Royal Lepage. Brenda has been the sponsor of this tournament for many years now and we were delighted to welcome her at the club to present the prizes.

It was a cool day but there was some hot bowling with 14 teams competing. The winners, with 3 wins and 45 points were George Boersma and Suzie Palmer (Belleville). In second place were Rhys and Tracey Warren (Lindsay) with 3 wins and 40 points. The best of the 2 game winners were both from Cobourg. In third place were Carl Ferguson and Nan Hendren (41 points) and Bob Bates and Pat Bylok were fourth (38 points). The prize for the last game high went to Rick Barnard and Syd Godin (Campbellford). Thanks to all the players for a splendid day.

Click here for photos

District 14 Novice Singles Playdown

The club had a strong presence in the playdown at Bobcaygeon with 4 of the 8 men and 3 of the 6 ladies. Peter Stuart-Sheppard won the men's playdown and qualified for the Ontario novice singles at Belleville on September 17th and 18th. Peter won all three of his group matches to qualify for the elimination rounds. Good luck to him in Belleville.

None of our ladies qualified but there was some excellent bowling from them and the experience will serve them well for the future.

Vandermeer Toyota Mixed Pairs

8/22/2022

Compared to some recent weeks this past one has been relatively quiet. The major event was on Saturday August 20th when we hosted 14 teams in a mixed pairs tournament sponsored by Vandermeer Toyota.

It was good to have several Cobourg teams competing and to record success. After their recent Ontario mixed pairs silver medal Baylee van Steijn and Jake Masterson were the clear favourites and they lived up to their reputation by winning all three games. There were notable performances by Carl Ferguson and Nan Hendren who won their first two games before losing their third to van Steijn and Masterson. Peter Stuart-Sheppard and Mary Salter were the highest two game winner and another two game winner from Cobourg was the team of Al Purcell and Emmalee Smith.

Steve Nelson (Heritage) and Nicky Chamois (Oshawa) were runners up, winning all their three games and finishing only two points behind van Steijn and Masterson. However it shows that our sport is often defined by small margins as Nelson and Chamois only won their first game on the last bowl in an extra end (to the chagrin of the writer).

Full result:
Winners - Baylee van Steijn and Jake Masterson (3 wins)
Second - Steve Nelson and Nicky Chamois (3 wins)
Third - Peter Stuart-Sheppard and Mary Salter (2 wins)
Fourth - Al Purcell and Emmalee Smith

Click for photos

Where to start?

8/14/2022

It is two weeks since I wrote a news update and so much has happened in those two weeks that it is difficult to know where to start. So let’s do it chronologically.
Canadian U18 and U25 Championships
The championships, sponsored by MVP Sports, started on August 1st and Cobourg had three competitors. Jacob Hyatt was playing in the U18 event and in the U25 we had Ben van Steijn and Emmalee Smith. We were kept up to date with events as they unfolded, thanks to regular Facebook posts and photos from Sarah van Steijn. All three players represented themselves and our club in excellent fashion. Ben was unlucky not to qualify from the round robin but Jacob and Emmalee both qualified in their events. Jacob qualified for the last six but could not quite make it into the medal games. It was a great performance from him though in his first national championship. Emmalee made it to the bronze medal match but just lost out 17-21.
Ontario Mixed Pairs Championships
On August 6-7 we hosted the Ontario mixed pairs. Sixteen teams were in action and the format was double knock-out which meant as soon as you lost one game you dropped to the B side of the draw. It was impossible to win gold after one loss but still possible to win silver which would be good enough to qualify for the national championships as the Ontario B team.

It was disappointing therefore that in their first game, Baylee vanSteijn (Cobourg) and Jake Masterson (Peterborough), lost to one of the favourites, Zwiers and Lancaster 8-21. The pressure was on after that but on a blistering hot weekend they showed they have cool heads on young shoulders by going undefeated throughout the rest of the championships. They reeled off 4 consecutive wins after that before meeting the Zwiers and Lancaster team again in the silver medal match. This time there was no mistake and they won 18-11 to the delight of the home crowd. A great performance and they are the youngest bowlers to ever win the silver medal.

District 14 Senior Playdowns
The playdowns were held in Cobourg on Tuesday August 9th. There were only two entries, both from Cobourg. Mary Salter, Carol Dewey and Mary Thibault played against Nan Hendren, Kathleen Shirley and Louisa Arthur. They played the best of three games. After each team had won one game the third game went to an extra end before Mary Salter sealed the win with her very last bowl. They will now play in the Ontario seniors in Midland on August 30-31. The only men’s entry was by Bill, Arthur, Bob Bates and John MacKenzie (Oshawa). They therefore move forward to the provincial seniors in Muskoka.

Mixed Triples open tournament
This tournament, sponsored by Louisa and Bill Arthur, was held on August 11th. Each team had to include a novice, the idea being that it helps to get novices into tournament play by playing wth more experienced players. Ten teams competed. They were from Campbellford, Belleville, Cosburn Park and Cobourg.

There was a late withdrawal by one team and Bill Arthur's team was a late addition to make sure there was an even number of teams but he then had the gall to go and win his own tournament! Bill’s “scratch” team included Gail Cunningham (who bowled very well) and Martin Foxhall. They were the only team with 3 wins scoring 39 points and 21 against. In second place was another Cobourg team; Mary Salter, Carol Dewey and John Ledgerwood.

Club Singles tournament
On Saturday August 13th four ladies and eight men competed for the club singles title.

In the ladies event Carol Dewey and Pat Bylok were tied with 2 wins each in the round robin but Pat was declared winner under the tie break rules.

In the men's event John Ledgerwood (a first year bowler) won his group and played the other group winner, Bill Arthur, in the final. Bill won the final to retain his title for the third consecutive time. Thank you to the sponsors. Carol Dewey for the ladies and Martin Foxhall for the men.

Go to the photos page

Canada Day

7/2/2022

There was an extra feeling of excitement in the air in Victoria Park as the Town of Cobourg celebrated Canada Day for the first time since 2019 And that feeling was reflected in the club as well with our traditional Canada Day tournament.

Breakfast in the park for some of us was followed by preparation for the tournament and the mandatory Canada Day photo

And then the tournament began. We played 3 x 10 end games. The top teams after round 1 were Bob Bates's team and Dave Shirleys. In round 2 Bob beat Dave 12-6 to maintain the overall lead. Peter Stuart-Sheppard was in second place and those two teams met in round 3. The only other unbeaten team was Ann Tough.

Bob maintained his unbeaten record as did Ann, whose final game win took her into second place.

The full result was:
Winners – Bob Bates and Tom Bevan 3 wins and 42 points
Second – Ann Tough, Sarah van Steijn, Dale McMillan & Donna Longman (Dale & Donna shared the day – 3 wins and 34 points
Third – Peter Stuart-Sheppard and Jacob Hyatt – 2 wins and 34 points
One game high – Mike Place, Eve Gorringe & Anne Leahy with 29 points

Bill Arthur

Click for winners photos

The Weekly Tournament Round-Up

6/26/2022

Oshawa Combo Fours - June 23rd
The club had a team competing in the Oshawa Combo Fours on Thursday. Bill Arthur, Louisa Arthur and Mary Salter were joined by John MacKenzie from the Oshawa club (John is almost an honorary Cobourg member!)

It's a fun format that starts with mixed pairs; that's followed by 3 of the team playing triples and one singles; round 3 is ladies and men's pairs and finally it is fours.
12 Teams competed and the top 5 were prizewinners. Unfortunately the Cobourg team was 2 points short of the prizes and finished 6th. Highlights were the ladies pairs with a win for Mary and Louisa and the men's pairs where John and Bill were 11 down with 3 ends to play but scored 3, 5 and 3 to tie the game.
Thanks to the Oshawa club for a great day but they could have turned down the temperature a bit!
Gordon Insurance Men's Pairs

Jim Gordon was a longtime member of the club and past President. This was the first time the tournament had been held since Jim passed away and the club is grateful to Gordon Insurance for continuing to sponsor the tournament.

Ten teams competed and the winners were the home town boy (boy?) Martin Foxhall playing with Steve Nelson of the Heritage club. Three wins and a points total of 44+4 was just enough to beat Mike Mogan and Frank Hibbs of Cosburn Park who also had 3 wins but points of 43+3. Rick Tompkins (Campbellford) and Bob Guppy (Peterborough) were third with 2 wins and 41 points. The last game high prize was won by David Saliba and Rob Cipparone (Pickering) with a score of 15.

Photos from Gordon Insurance tournament

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