ACROSS THE HEAD
Oct 2015
DIARY DATES -
OCTOBER 2015
GOOD LUCK AND A GREAT SEASON
OF BOWLING TO ALL !
Sat 24 Saturday Pennant Rnd 1
1pm
Mon 26 Open Nom. Triples
12 noon
Tues 27 Midweek Pennant
10.30am
Wed 28 LION KING coach leaves club at
9.30am SHARP
Indoor carpet bowls
1pm & 7pm
Thus 29 2,4,2 Mixed Pairs
11am
Fri 30 Happy Hour
5pm
Sat 31 Pennant Rnd 2
1pm
NOVEMBER
Sun Nov 1 Club Championship Singles
Rnds 1 & 2 See Notice Board
Mon 2 Open Nom. triples
12noon
Tues 3 Cup Day on the Green see notice
board
Wed 4 Mixed Selected Social
Thurs 5 Midweek Pennant
6.30pm
10.30am
Fri 6 Happy Hour/Community Bowls 5pm
Sat 7 Saturday Pennant Practice
1pm
Sun 8 Interclub Arm Bowling Comp.
Dromana v Frankston City at Dromana
10.30am
Mon 9 Open Nom. triples
12noon
Tues 10 Midweek Penn.Practice 10.30am
No. 26
BOARD SURFING with Jeff Flather
Isn’t it fabulous to be out in the warm sun, with
blue skies, short sleeves and even short pants –
wow, pennant season must be almost here. It’s
great to have all our travellers back from places far flung – they’ve
all got great stories to tell. In conversation with them you can
always tell them how damn cold it was here during September, and
how your teeth were chattering and your eyes watered. I bet they’ll
be envious – NOT!
Our first social occasion for the spring was the very successful
Country Music night – what a fun, entertaining and enjoyable night
with excellent music, comedy skits, and more music, and over 100
members and friends having a fun time. Congratulations Glenys and
Alan, and the Social Committee on a really good event - let’s do it
again before too long.
Our Junior Bowls Academy is now assessing our potential first intake
of scholarship holders. We have now decided to concentrate on
Senior Primary school and Junior Secondary (years 5 to 9) as those
most likely to stay with the program. Some of you will have seen the
press coverage of two very young bowlers on the Peninsula – 9 year
old Amity Bickley who bowls for West Rosebud, and 7 year old Jett
Simmons who bowls for Mt Eliza (Jett has been bowling since he was
4 yo). Barb & I were invited to the Official Opening of Mt Eliza’s new
carpet greens and lights, and saw Amity and Jett in action. WOW!!
This is the future of lawn bowls without a doubt. We’re hoping our
scholarship holders will follow in their footsteps and compete with
our pennant teams. If you know of any young boy or girl in these
age groups who you think just might be interested in playing lawn
bowls as a sport, NOW is the time to talk to their parents and
encourage them to talk to us about our new Bowls Academy. For
further information please talk to Phillip Carter or me.
We are also embarking on the first series of our BizBowls program,
for working men and women, community groups, company staff etc.
The concept is for groups of 3, 4 or more people with no formal
bowls experience beyond Barefoot/Community Bowls, forming a
team, and competing over a four week period with weekly finals
prizes. Each team will be assigned a non-playing coach/advisor (a
Dromana Bowls Club member) and team structures may vary both
during a game and between games by Substitution. The games will
be on Tuesday evenings, commencing a 6pm and finishing at about
9pm with a BBQ
break between the two games per night. Any members interested in being a non-playing Coach/Advisor,
please contact Phillip Carter on 0438 291 976. We need your help.
Barefoot/Community Bowls starts on 6th November. Peter Gordon has been seeking volunteers for BBQ
and Greens duty to give members a chance to define when they would be available. This is a major fund
raiser for the club and plays a major part in keeping your subscription fees as low as possible. It is
therefore expected that those members physically able to assist will do their bit. If everyone does a little
in good grace it’s pretty satisfying and a very tiny commitment compared to what your Board and
Committee members contribute for you all year round. If you can’t attend your rostered duty for any
reason PLEASE organise a swap with someone else and don’t just not turn up and expect someone else to
carry out your rostered duty.
Over the Winter period we worked with Bowls Victoria to provide some of the pupils at the Dromana
Specialist School the opportunity to try bowls. Bowls Vic supplied a Junior Jack Attack kit which
comprises soft rubber bowls (with a bias), target hoops, rubber cones, and a pinball type scoring ramp.
Barb & I set up a series of challenges and worked with the school’s teachers to give about 20 students a
try at bowling. Quite an experience. The students were supposed to come to our Cub for a morning but
there was a mix-up with the bus bookings and they didn’t make it. They are supposed to travel to the
Bowls Vic greens at Darebin for a combined Specialist schools competition and we wish them well. I have
invited the School to the Cub at some time in the future to make up for the missed opportunity.
Rosebud Secondary College “Wellness Centre.” I hope members have read the article we pinned on the
main notice board about the Wellness Centre proposal and have considered making a donation. If you
would like more information please contact me on 0417 144 960.
With summer pennant competition about to start, including the Night Pennant combined competition
with Peninsula Bowls Division, I wish all bowlers a satisfying and successful summer season. Our teams
will be strong and it would be great to repeat last year’s successes. Please support our selectors, and
remember, if you’re not happy with your selected position PLEASE make an appointment to talk to the
selectors – don’t just brood and complain about it to others
Bowl ‘till you drop,
Jeff Flather, Exec Dir
REPORT FROM THE MEN’S PRESIDENT
Hello to bowlers one and all, ……And yes, October is here. Or Rocktober, if you were
around listening to 3XY in the ‘70s. Hopefully we are not treating our treasured bowls like
rocks as we hurl them down the greens with our hopes and dreams riding on every one, so treat them
carefully, and roll them smoothly; after all, that’s what the shape is designed to do, as in rolling
SMOOTHLY.
As October hurtles towards November our thoughts turn once again to Pennant, and may I take this
opportunity to wish all at Dromana Bowls Club an enjoyable and successful season on the greens. But
above all have a happy season. I know I can be the worst there is at this, but try not to let temporary
lapses in form/technique/results worry you too much. How often have I dragged my sorry tail home after
a disappointing individual and team day? Then I try and tell myself that the game itself is still great fun,
and you always remember the bad bowls rather than the good ones. So look at the half full glass, and
brush that annoying guy off your shoulder who keeps whispering nasty things in your ear. And if all that
fails, it’s always good to go back to Page 24 of our syllabus, where a little entry entitled “Etiquette”
should be enough to give us all a reality check, and remind us of our duties and obligations. A good read
indeed!
On a personal note, let me say how happy and encouraged I am to see so much support given to our new
voting system. It appears to me that Lloyd, Les, Terry and Barry are getting a very high level of cooperation from our bowlers to date, and hopefully this positive outlook will be maintained as we now
move into the Pennant season proper. Once again, any system that encourages us to think about our
own bowls, and those of our team-mates, can only be a good thing when it comes to improving
performances of the team overall. Please, continue to think about what is good about it, rather than
what may not be. If the selectors can find the time to comb through all of the voting slips post-match,
surely it is incumbent on us to spend just a few minutes every Saturday (and Tuesday) to make sure the
system works to its maximum potential. Well done Lloyd and co!
As I launched into my lunchtime address last Monday for our Triples event, I used the term “Dromana on
the Hill”, and I may even have prefaced this with the word “beautiful”. Which it is indeed. Monday
Triples in the late spring sunshine can be a wonderful thing, and it is a great pleasure to see most rinks
full on a consistent level week in week out. Thank you to all bowlers who make this event so popular and
enjoyable, and credit needs to be given to our Match Committee which does a superb job in setting
things up on every occasion. And once again, where would we be with our loyal and valued sponsors?
Thank you one and all.
At the time of writing most of our members are back in harness and raring to go, and the committee
work continues unabated. Welcome back everyone! In particular welcome back to David Ferguson, Barry
Baker and Den Healy who have all undergone significant surgery over the last month or two, and we
hope to see you all back on the greens very soon. It was sad to hear of Ian Park’s early retirement from
competitive bowls, but he must know what a valued member he is of this club, and everybody would look
forward to the future when Ian will once again feel able to return to the greens and reverse what we
trust is a very temporary “retirement”. Best wishes Ian.
Congratulations also to Sandra McColgan, Heather Gray, Nita Bouker, Judy Christensen, Judy Bradford,
Mal Price and Greg Bouker who have all achieved team success in the just completed FBD State events. A
hearty well done to you all, we are filled with pride at your achievements when representing Dromana
Bowls Club at such a high level. Similarly we express our congrats to Phil Gude and Ray Arnold, who won
the title at the recently concluded Interstate Armed Bowls competition, which was held in Adelaide.
Our next big event for our Match Committee is Legends Day on January 3rd, and at the time of writing
much preliminary work is going on to ensure the success of this event. Flyers have gone out through the
mail and all clubs are being contacted, and hopefully a great day will be had by all to welcome in the
New Year. But it is worth considering at the same time: what defines a legend? I have had as many
conversations about this as there are actual legends, and my only thought is that a legend is someone
unique to a club or organisation, and it is up to those individual clubs and organisations to make the call.
Is a “legend” simply defined by their degree of success, or their longevity? Or are there other factors at
work? Hmmmm………
Who then are the legends in our own club?
Over the next few weeks, I would ask all of our bowlers to talk up Legends Day with their mates from
other clubs, and at least get them thinking about who their own clubs could put forward as a Legend, or
indeed a Legendary team. The more we can sell this idea, and raise the interest level for the event, the
better I expect the eventual celebration to be on the day. Good spruiking to everyone.
Happy bowling to all, and see you soon. Peter
2015 FASHION PARADE by Pat Donnelly
We had a few minor hiccups this year when arranging our Fashion Parade as our original
choice, Trish’s Treasures, was faced with the bankruptcy of her fashion supplier only a
few weeks before the event and our second choice was already booked out; however, Judy Price was able
to arrange with her new employer, Rockman’s of Rosebud Plaza, to take over although none of them had
previous experience! Trish was also more than pleased to bring along her beautiful jewellery and scarf
collection.
We were fortunate to have over 80 ladies in attendance with friends, and visitors far outnumbering
Dromana members. A big thankyou to Carole Baker for bringing along eight of her ‘Red Hat Ladies’,
Lorna Williams 7 of her Trefoil girls, Val Park’s group of 5, six from Martha Cove Village where I now live
as well as another five of my friends, and the table of seven from Mornington Civic. Many of our social
and social plus members were present along with some of their friends and of course our loyal ladies who
also brought friends.
Before taking off on a cruise, Gill Jones had made the lovely
table decorations in our colour theme of pink and purple and
the Hall looked delightful due, of course, to the hard work of
the Women’s Committee.
The very tasty lunch of
sandwiches, pink jelly cakes and strawberries echoed the
colour scheme and a big thankyou to our resident sandwich
makers Margaret Dawson, Pat Loveday and Margaret
Robinson. We are extremely grateful to all the helpers in the
kitchen, but particular thanks must be extended to Margaret
Robinson who baked the cakes (all 90 of them) and to Val who
helped with the jelly and coconut coating and the others who
assisted with the fillings.. no mean task indeed! Also a big thank you to Carmel Healy who did all the
shopping of fresh produce for the sandwiches to be made prior to delivering Den to hospital for his
operation.
During lunch Trish demonstrated several innovative ways of arranging a
scarf…how many of you who were present can remember at least three!
Then the Parade started with Glenys Robinson, our very witty compere, introducing
the models: Bev Gray, Rhonda McMurtrie, Val Park, Anne-Marie Ryan and Lee
Day. The repartee between Glenys and each of the models was played out to
perfection and evoked great hilarity. But the best was yet to come! A mystery
man invaded their space when the models were doing their final parade, and
brought the house down. If you haven’t seen the video, check with Val.
Thank you to everyone involved in contributing to a very enjoyable afternoon.
As well as those previously mentioned, we are most grateful to: our lovely models who did a fantastic job
and Glenys, an outstanding compere, Judy and Ann from Rockman’s, Megan, Joan and Bill, the men who
helped with the cleaning up Lou, Mal, Peter and David (did he bear a resemblance to the mystery man!!)
Also a big thank you to Carmel Healy who did the shopping of fresh produce for the sandwiches to be
made prior to delivering Den to hospital for his knee replacement operation.
To top it off the profit for the day earned the Club the tidy sum of approximately $870. Certainly a day to
remember!
COACHES CORNER by DI WASHFOLD - THE TEAM
In Pennant bowls it is very important that each team jells and works together as a single body. Every
position is vitally important and every person in the team must contribute to the forward movement of
that team.
No matter what your position in the team is, each member must support all the others, both mentally
and physically. Every player should be trying his/her best and if a player plays a poor shot that player
needs even more support.
Whether you are a Skip, a Lead, Second or a Third, everyone needs encouragement and support,
congratulations on good deliveries (including of the jack), and for good effort. Never expect your Skip to
fix up your shortfalls and never expect your Skip to comment on each and every shot you make. The Skip
has a lot on to concentrate on and can not necessarily comment on every bowl every time.
From time to time, the Selectors might need to alter your team around. In such cases it will make a huge
difference to the incoming player if that player is heartily welcomed by the rest of the team. The more
comfortable all the players are and the stronger the team-bonding, the better that team will perform.
Dromana is strong on team spirit and our members very good at supporting each other. This is just one of
the reasons for the Pennant successes in the past. I believe that the friendliness of our club permeates
through our teams and will drive us on to more success this season. Go Dromana!
WANTED:
Craft items and cakes/slices to sell at our Ladies Gala Day on 4 th December.
Guys ask your wives/partners if they would like to contribute as we will have about 100 eager ladies
scrambling to purchase our goodies.
COUNTRY & WESTERN BIG NIGHT OUT by BARBARA FLATHER
Dromana Bowls Club came to life on Saturday, 17th
October, when just over 100 members and friends got
together to enjoy Country Music at its best. The tables were brimming
with various meals brought by members and the drinks were flowing on
all tables.
Glenys Robinson and Allan Rae had laboured long and hard over the
table lists and worried unnecessarily over how many would come. If the
entertainment is good, people will come - and the entertainment did not
let anyone down, it was a great night.
Karen & Alan (known as Rattling Strings) started off the program on a
high note and were well appreciated by those listening.
They
harmonised well with some great, well known songs. All too soon, their first bracket came to an end.
They were then joined by Terry Paul whose strong voice was very suited to the Country style.
Everyone was then entertained by John, Pam, Dave and Rod (known as the James Gang) who showed
their versatility with guitars, mandolins, ukuleles and harmonising voices.
After a short break a strange elderly couple came on to the floor. They were introduced as Fred
Largearse and Saggy Bottom accompanied by their carer who tried vainly to keep them in check. The
carer seemed to have trouble walking and may have indulged in one too many before she appeared.
Saggy Bottom lived up to her name by losing her drawers which she used to beat Fred about the head
when he became too frisky. A very entertaining skit which brought much laughter from the audience.
The couple were revealed as Glenys Robinson and Annmaree Ryan and the Carer was Angie Hill. Very
well done by all.
During a break from the Country groups, our own Den Healy entertained us all. He is an expert on the
guitar and has a nice singing voice as well. Great job, Den. We are lucky to have you. But Den was not
content with just a solo act. He was joined by a very vampish Annmaree while miming “Boogie With My
Baby”. They were a very seductive couple and caused much merriment in the audience. Bowls Clubs are
well known for their skits and Dromana can be particularly proud of the standard they produce.
A few brave couples ventured onto the dance
floor and we had a few expert line dancers.
Those on the dance floor added to the overall
atmosphere and those not dancing were
entertained as well.
All too soon the night was over, the hall was
reverted back to its usual setup and we made
our way home, very well satisfied by the
entertainment provided. Huge congratulations
to Glenys and Allan for organising the entertainment and the whole concept of the night. Let’s hope we
have another one next year!
IAN’S INFO with IAN DALE
Welcome to season 2015/16 and best of luck to all bowlers.
Just a reminder about a couple issues that come up from time to time.
1.
I regularly see skips, thirds and other players “dancing” around the head trying to see who has
shot when the opposing team has the mat……………..this is not just an etiquette issue.
Law 12 Position of players
In short says, players must stand behind the jack and away from (out of) the head if they are members
of the team which not in possession of the rink (mat)
Law 13 Possession of rink
In short says, possession of the rink will belong to the player or team whose bowl is being
played…………………as soon as each bowl comes to rest, possession of the rink will transfer to the
opposing player or team after allowing time for touchers to be marked.
Simply, when your team’s bowl comes to rest, get away from the head…………..at least out of courtesy.
2.
In the event of a dead end, the bowls should be replayed at the end from which they were
played unless the skips agree that the end be replayed from the other end.
If the Rules of Play state that the jack be spotted then the above does not apply.
There is no point in arguing with a skip who “sends the bowls back” after a dead end because that’s what
should happen.
By the way, the bowls should be carried back, not rolled.
3.
Pre season always bring about some rumours. One that came up this year was about the marking
of touchers with chalk being disallowed. This rumour is not true.
Law 15.1 states: A toucher must be marked with chalk by a member of the team that delivered the bowl
or the marker as soon as it comes to rest.
Chalk would include the spray that leaves a “chalk” like mark on the bowl.
Hoping that clears up any doubts……………..GOOD BOWLING!
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT DROMANA’S FACEBOOK PAGE AS THE SATURDAY
PENNANT TEAMS WILL BE LISTED ON THE SITE EACH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT TO SEE ON THE WAILING WALL!!!!!
2015 BREKKY DAY REPORT by PETER GORDON
What a great occasion was celebrated on our annual Brekky Day, held on Sunday 27 th of
September with the Bowls gods doing us proud with the presentation of such perfect
weather.
Everything that we all wanted to happen did, in the best possible way, with the planning and
implementation of the format going much like the proverbial clockwork. At one stage Kent Wickham
asked us to join him after the event’s conclusion for a debrief, with a “went well” and a “needs
improvement” list to be compiled, just like the wonderful guiding document he produced last year. Suffice
to say, that meeting never really happened, such was the overall satisfaction level and feel-good glow
that enveloped us all late on that Sunday afternoon. Lessons well learned Kent, and we thank you for
your guiding hand in helping to put the first big day of the Men’s season together.
Credit must go to a number of very willing and committed workers. When one team pulls out late on the
Saturday evening prior to Brekky Day, and another emails our Match Committee at 8.00 am on the
morning of the event, barely 2 hours before the first jack is rolled, the pressure increases and cooperation and common sense needs to come to the fore; and it did! Many thanks to Greg Bouker, Terry
Rowe and John Bell for manning the phones and co-ordinating their efforts at this time, thus ensuring
that our target of 24 teams competing on the day was met, and with time to spare!
How lucky that a number of bowlers answered the call at the very last minute, with neighbouring club’s
members as well as our own finding the lure of a wonderful breakfast, as well as two great games of 12
ends, too much to refuse! Thanks then to Justin Breen, Roy Farrell (Main Ridge), Ian McMurtrie, Phil
Carter, Graham Mills, ex-president Lou Taylor, Tiyson Stone and Cesar Bonnicini (Main Ridge) for their
contribution to the success of a great day.
And now for all the Thank Yous: on the BBQ we had our dynamic new members Dom and Cathy Di Iorio,
Vice President Mal Price and Les Webb. John Bell in the kitchen was our chief egg poacher, with David
Baud, Ian Shepherdley and Terry Rowe on serving duties, while yours truly and Ian McMurtrie did the
toast (bread variety, not public speaking). Ronda McMurtrie and Lorna Blackburn were fantastic with the
general setting up, while Pat Donnelly, Pauline Brain, Margaret Dawson and Pat Loveday were their
usual efficient and enthusiastic cleaner uppers and overall supervisors. Carmel Healy and Megan Ware as
usual offered cheerful service behind the bar, while I also need to express my gratitude to Val Park,
Donna Cartwright and Jeff Flather for the presentation and circulation of the advertising material. Thank
you all so much.
As we all know without a big effort from the Match Committee days such as this would fall as flat as a
bad omelette, (not on the menu), so I also must thank our folks at the window and on the greens; take a
bow Terry and Carmel Rowe, the two Davids Moore and Ditterich, and our Chairman Greg Bouker.
Finally, to our sponsors, in particular Adrian from SRS Motors, whose appearance on the day was great to
see. Be assured that you are appreciated at all times. Without you we would be lost, and I express my
appreciation on behalf of all at Dromana Bowls Club for the service you give to the community. Having a
purpose on the greens, both competitively and socially, is the reason we choose to bowl, and your
involvement helps us all to get the most out of our chosen sport. Thank you!
Overall a great day, with prizes spread around a variety of clubs and players both local and from further
fields. That’s the way it should be.
Thanks everyone for a great day.
I love what this Club does!!!!!
Peter Gordon, President Men’s Section
Po TATERS
Can you guess what they are called…… try and guess answers next month
Some people never seem motivated to participate,
but are just content to you watch while others do the work.
1. They are called S………………..
Some people never do anything to help, but are gifted
at finding fault with the way others do the work.
2. They are called C…………..
Some people are very bossy and like to tell others what
to do, but don't want to soil their own hands.
3. They are called D………………..
Some people are always looking to cause problems by
asking others to agree with them.
It is too hot or too cold, too sour or to sweet.
4. They ?are called A…………………..
There are those who say they will help, but somehow
just never get around to actually doing the promised help.
5. They are called H……………………..
Some people can put up a front and pretend to be
someone they are not.
6. They are called I…………………………
Then there are those who love others and do what they
say they will. They are always prepared to stop whatever they are doing and lend a helping
hand.
They bring real sunshine into the lives of others.
7. They are called S……………………..
Your answers to Val Park please………
THE CANASTA CARD GROUP get together Monday afternoons. Warm friendly game
assured. If you are at a loss on Monday afternoons, come and join in. Ring Donna
Cartwright for more info.
To all the sickies we wish you well and hope its not too long before you can join us again
at the club.
We would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support.
Thank you to all those wonderful members who have contributed to our newsletters
Please send your articles to valpark@bigpond.com hand to Val or deliver to 20 Peter Street Dromana