The draw for the Ladies and Mens Championships have been made and are available within Competitions.

Ladies Championship

Mens Championship

Also, the fixtures for the 2020 season have been revised and are available within Fixtures.

Fixtures 2020

Members will wish to be aware that the bar will be reopening this weekend, Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th July, opening at noon each day.

We are also planning for food to be available. Another email about our new food arrangements will follow.

Thereafter we plan to open on Friday evenings and at weekends. We shall be assessing the need for mid-week opening after the coming weekend.

The reopening of the bar will undoubtedly bring pleasure to many members. However, we are required by government regulation and guidance to operate rigorous hygiene and safety procedures. We shall need and welcome your support as members to uphold them. A summary of these arrangements is set out below.

We are a members’ club and welcome members and their guests, and of course new members. Members will wish to be reassured that we shall not be acting as an overspill venue for locals who cannot gain entry into the more restricted spaces offered by pubs in the village.

If you are contemplating coming down to the Club to enjoy the facilities of the bar we would ask you first to read the summary below of listing processes that the Club and its members are required to follow.

SUMMARY OF SAFETY ARRANGEMENTS

PLEASE DO NOT COME TO THE CLUB IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING

• a new continuous cough

• a high temperature

• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell

If you do have any of the above symptoms you must stay at home and arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-9.

PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMP TO ENTER OR LEAVE THE CLUB BY THE FRONT DOOR

We are required to control entry to the premises and to brief those arriving. There are special arrival and departure routes as set out below.

Arrival at the club: You must arrive via the side of the clubhouse adjacent to the bowls green. As this is a narrow gap, and given the need to observe social distancing, please leave as below:

Leaving the Club: You must leave taking the route between the squash courts and the scorebox.

MEET AND GREET ON ARRIVAL

You must report to the meet and greet table on arrival.

The meet and great process for first timers is important as we need to explain the key rules and requests we and you need to follow to enable us to keep you and our staff stay safe. We need your support to make the service as quick as possible. Please make sure you know and follow the process.

REQUIREMENTS FOR TRACKING AND TRACING

All attendees at the club, including members, will need to be entered in an attendance register on arrival and departure for the purpose of tracking and tracing lest someone who has been present should become infectious with COVID-19.

USE OF HAND SANITISER AND HAND WASHING

You must sanitise your hands on arrival.

SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES

All members and visitors must observe social distancing rules and the numbers allowed in a group – regardless of age and regardless of whether you have had Covid-19.

Members are reminded that indoor gatherings must only be occurring in groups of up to 2 households (including support bubbles) while outdoor gatherings should only be occurring in groups of up to 2 households (or support bubbles), or a group of at most 6 people from any number of households. People from different households but together still need to remain 1+m apart with mitigation. Groups at different tables must remain 2m apart unless mitigation actions in place. Non face to face seating is mitigation.

PLEASE DO NOT MOVE TABLES AND CHAIRS

Do not move tables and chairs. The layout you will find has been set to meet the requirements of social distancing. Do however ask a member of staff if you require more furniture.

PAYMENTS BY CARD ONLY

Payment will be by card only, preferably by contactless – cash will not be accepted.

VISITING THE TOILETS

Only two people will be allowed in the toilets at any one time in order to facilitate social distancing. You must adhere to this and help others to follow it as well. Please also avoid touching surfaces wherever possible. Sanitiser and/or hand washing soap will be available for your use.

LAST ORDERS

The bar will close at 11:00pm on Saturday and 10:00pm on Sunday. Members are asked to leave the premises quietly.

Due to the overwhelming support for the competition we have had to make some changes to the format so that social distancing can be observed.

This competition was originally planned for Saturday 11th July and will now be played over two days – Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July.

See Mixed Two Woods .. 11/12July for all the details.

 

NB: see the Competitions section on main menu for all details of competitions/tournaments for 2020 as they become available.

 

The competitions for 2020 will run but in a limited fashion. Please get in touch with Brian Pollard, Competitions Secretary, or David Chatterton, Hon. Secretary.

Additionally we will review the possibility  of running some of the one day elimination events for  the Presidents Cup (75 competition), Mixed Two Woods and Two Wood Mixed Pairs at dates to be announced.

See the Competitions section on main menu for all details of competitions/tournaments for 2020 as they become available.

 

Toilets .. we have now been informed that the male toilets accessible from the outfield will be open whilst cricket coaching is in progress and can be used by women. Only one person on the premises at a time with all necessary hand washing   and or own sanitising.

 

 

The limited opening of the green has proved to be a success and paid -up members have filled all the slots available on Wednesdays and Fridays. This all depends on the participants keeping to the rules suggested by Bowls England to keep you all as safe as possible in these unusual times. We are attempting to keep the green playable but there is currently a balance between how close we can cut and the drought conditions in the weather. Comment has also led us to an exploratory extra opening time on Tuesday evenings from the 9th of June between 6.0pm and 8.0pm( two-hour long sessions under the same conditions as those mid-week-book with David Chatterton). We are keeping all options under consideration as government  advice changes and may be able looking ahead to run a truncated  series of competitions leading up to one finals day for the end of the season. In the meantime, keep to the system and stay safe.

Good news on the financial front. Our modest claim to Sport England for a grant to pay some of our rent to the Sunbury Sports Association and maintain our green has been successful and eased our cash flow problem. We also understand that the SSA in addition to a Bounce Back loan from Barclays has been awarded a substantial Leisure Services grant from Spelthorne Council that will ease the way to making their task of reopening some facilities currently closed to minimise costs.

David Chatterton. Hon Sec.

The first bowls have been rolled of the delayed 2020 season!

The green continues to look very good and ready for bowls – hopefully we can get to throw some woods in a limited fashion before too long.

In the meantime we’re looking to arrange a virtual get together playing a quiz. Zoom is the current vogue and some folk have been using it to “meet-up” with friends and family. It can be downloaded and installed for free on most computers or smart phones.

Please let us know if interested.

 

Here is our Head Groundskeeper testing his bowling action in lockdown bowls!

For info, the green is currently being maintained at around 10-12mm and watered regularly.

A message from our Honourable Secretary ..

I usually send you a Secretary’s report at this time of year to open the new season. It now seems most likely that our, and indeed everyone’s bowling season will not commence at the end of April and with no indication of a back to normal date. It is but one minor inconvenience in what is a world-wide social and economic tragedy.

This is just to let you all know that your club is still functioning and keeping in touch with the national and county organisations who have been issuing guidance of varying kinds, including looking after unused greens. National competitions are now certainly off for the season, and probably also the Middlesex ones. There is hope of some ‘Festival of Bowls’ later in the season. (see websites for details – Bowls England web site and Middx Bowling Association web site and sunbury-sports,bowls-club)

Our competitions are on hold and refunds will apply for those who have already entered some of them. Should the opportunity arise we will arrange other ways for members to participate in any competitions which we will be able to run later in the season. In the meantime, we are having to spend money in order to continue to maintain the green, following Bowls England guidance, so that it could become functional quickly if the circumstances allow. We are leaving the fence to deter stray mammals and picnickers. Work has also progressed in rennervating the chalet and machine shed, which is keeping us bored activists busy (working singly or 2 metres apart) and the garden is being maintained. We are not asking for members to attend en mass for obvious reasons of social distancing, but you can be assured we are doing all we can to keep the club alive. You can always pop in as singles or couples to see how things are going. Our Treasurer thanks all those who have contributed membership fees which go towards maintaining our assets.

We are in the hands of the SSA and Cricket Club regarding the opening of the pavilion and they are as keen as we are to recommence activities of some kind as soon as possible. Keep safe and fit and we will eventually all be playing bowls, golf etc. again and follow news on our website. Pass anything you think newsworthy to Alan Pilkington who has also (with Karen) been updating our Honours Boards.

P.S. – a short puzzle

Charles Darwin, as one of his many experiment, calculated that on average there are about 50,000 worms per acre of agricultural land in England. Assuming we can be classed as agricultural and the green is about 1/6 of a hectare, how many worms do you think we have (give or take one or two). I shall try to find out having counted the worm casts in a sample square yard if this is the way Darwin proceeded, which I suspect is not the case. Prize for the most accurate/inventive calculation.

Do not hesitate to contact me or other members of the committee if you have any queries

David Chatterton (Hon. Sec.)

This month we lost someone who epitomised the spirit of Sunbury Bowls.

Margaret (Kerr) had a warm presence around the club with her support of new bowlers, always helping set up equipment and afternoon teas/raffle. She supported the social functions right up to her departure and will be sorely missed by her family and all at Sunbury Bowls.