Newsletters – Howick Bowling Club

NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2024

Greetings and welcome to this newsletter.
New Members:
We extend a warm welcome to new members Jeffrey Martin, Eddie Taylor, Clive Hart and
returning members Paul Stitt and Barry O’Brien.
We hope you find companionship and enjoyment within our Club environment.
Please make our new members feel welcome.

Playing success:
Since our last newsletter Bowls Auckland have held a number of competitions and our
Club has been well represented in the results.
Congratulations to Hannah Dawson, Ting Ting Ip and Chris Hand who defeated Dana
Taylor, Rod Sadgrove and Colin Ayris-Webster in the final of years 1-5 Bowls 3Five. A
third Howick team made it through to the quarter finals.
Interclub competitions for Women and Men have been concluded and all our teams did well.
Congratulations to the Howick Team that won the Second Division. Our thanks to all those who
took the opportunity to represent our Club.
Our Club Handicap Singles have been held. Well done to all who participated but
special congratulations to Jo Hartley and Warwick McCarthy who were the winners
Gentle Reminders:
Please bear in mind that our grass greens are closed on a Monday to allow our
greenkeeper and his team of volunteers to carry out necessary maintenance. On other
days please refer to the notice board that indicates which greens are open and in which
direction.
On days when Club uniforms are required, please try and wear the uniform as defined in
the handbook. We have noticed that some strange colours, that are not defined in the
handbook, are appearing with parts of the uniform.
If you take cups and glasses onto the greens, please bring them back when you have
finished with them. The same goes for putting away equipment when you have finished
playing or practicing. Please do not leave it for other members to clean up after you.

Special General Meeting:
New Zealand has a new Incorporated Society Act which requires a new constitution. All
Incorporated Societies must comply by March 2026. Bowls New Zealand has produced
a template for all Clubs which meets the requirements of the new act. The executive
has taken the template and, in the few instances required, have made it into a Howick
specific document. The Act requires that the new constitution is approved by Members
at either a SGM or at the AGM. The executive has decided that we will hold a Special
General Meeting on Friday 31 January (after 2-4-2) to vote on the new constitution. More
details will follow shortly.

We need help:
Our Club is to be host to a number of prestigious tournaments over the next two months
and we ask that members assist the organisers in the various tasks that have to be
undertaken.
30th November – Howick Open triples – assistance needed in the catering dept.
1st December – Battle of the Bridge
7th and 8th December – Auckland Pairs requiring all 3 grass greens
27th
-29th December – Jardin 2-4-2 Championship requiring all 3 grass greens
2nd
– 8th January – play in the New Zealand Singles and Pairs Championship.
We will ask for assistance closer to each event as we know the extent of the tasks
required.
Ham Tournaments
We will be running 2 ham tournaments this year.
December 11th which will be an open triples tournament – cost $45 per team.
December 18th for members only and will be a single-entry progressive tournament –
cost $15 per member.

NEWSLETTER 24 Oct 2024

Greetings and welcome to this newsletter.

New Members:
We extend a warm welcome to new members Helen and David Heaney and Philippa
Cook. We hope you find companionship and enjoyment within our Club environment.
Please make our new members feel welcome.

Greens are officially Open:
The natural grass rinks are now officially open. Welcome to Summer play!
Please keep an eye on the relevant rink which you are allowed to use on the day. Our
greenkeeper, Paul Hickey has been very busy working on them to provide you the best
player experience possible.

Playing success:
Congratulations to Clinton Smith, Hannah Dawson, Ting Ting Ip and Chris Hand who were the winners of the years 1-5 Auckland Fours Championship.
Our Club Championships have commenced and congratulations to Dana Taylor and
Lea Hooper, winners of the Women’s section and Chris Hand and Simon Gao who won
the men’s section of the 1-5 pairs. Thanks. and congratulations to all those who
participated either as competitors or helpers.
Interclub competitions commenced on 19th October and will continue into the first two
weeks of November. Our Club is well represented in both the Woman’s and Men’s
sections. Good luck to all involved.
Bowls 3Five has commenced for year 1-5 players. After 2 rounds Howick is well placed
in 3 of the 4 sections. Well done to all players and best of luck for the final rounds.

Subscriptions:
Subscriptions were due for payment 31 July. Thank you to those who have already paid.
Those who have not yet paid their subscriptions are likely to find themselves excluded
from playing in any format.

Dumping Bowls:
We have observed that some members are “dumping” their bowls as they play. While
there is no definition of “dumping” it is generally accepted that this covers players
dropping their bowls into the surface of the green. This creates problems in that it
causes dents in the green (both grass and artificial) thus bowls change their track when
they strike one, which seems a little unfair to those who bowls normally. If you consider
that this could apply to you please ask for assistance from the coaches or borrow a
bowling arm to trial. Please do not be offended if you are quietly approached by a coach
or convenor and asked to consider your action.

Have a Go Day
This was held on Sunday 20th October. We considered it a great success as 28 adults
turned up to try their hand at bowls. We are confident that will get several new members
from the day. My thanks to all Club Members who participated. Special thanks to The
Aussie Butcher who donated the sausages for refreshments.

Covered Green:
The executive continues to search for ideas on raising the additional $400,000 required
to complete this project. One idea being explored is the selling of Naming Rights (just
think of the amount of traffic that drives past the Club on a daily basis). If you have any
contacts that might be interested in investing, please let me, or any executive member,
know.

Tournaments Sponsored by Pakuranga Park Village:
Thanks to Pakuranga Park Village who recently sponsored a Wednesday and a Friday
tournament.

Other matters:
The summer league is being run again this year. Points are accumulated over the
summer from Wednesday and Friday tournaments. We are grateful to Leah Salverson
for being our sponsor again this year. It is not too late to enter, just add your name to the
list and make a gold coin (or better) donation to Hospice in the box at the bar.
Much progress has been made in attracting sponsors for tournament days. However, we
can accommodate more. If you know of a commercial organisation that may be
interested, please contact one of the executive, who will arrange for a follow up
discussion. Thanks to Pakuranga Park Village who recently sponsored a Wednesday and
a Friday tournament.
The Family of the late Tony Williams have given a trophy to the Club in his memory. The
executive has decided that this will be awarded to the overall winner of the Summer
League.
Our Club is fortunate in having a dedicated and talented coaching team. Our recent
success in competitions is testament to coaching skills available to our members.
Thanks to all those involved.
Your executive is working on some ideas for more social events. Any suggestions are welcome and guaranteed to be discussed.

Enjoy your bowls.

OCTOBER 2024 NEWSLETTER

Greetings and welcome to this newsletter.

New Members:
We extend a warm welcome to new members Kim Svensen, Ross Baxter, Les Gallagher and Lloyd Richards. We hope you find companionship and enjoyment within our Club environment.
Please make our new members feel welcome.

New Manager:
It is my pleasure to introduce Kashmira Umrigar as our newly appointed Club Manager. Kasmira comes to us having had experience in managing a local sports club. Kashmira started on Tuesday 1 October.
Kashmira is here to assist us in developing the Club and its amenities. She is not a bowler (yet) so will not be undertaking tasks currently done by our amazing volunteers.

Composition of the Executive:
Sadly, Eddie Jones has had to withdraw from serving as an executive member. Eddie will continue to be a playing member of our Club.
We are delighted that Sue Carroll has agreed to join the Executive and will take on the role of Secretary. Thank you, Sue.

Subscriptions:
Subscriptions were due for payment 31 July. Thank you to those who have already paid. Those who have not yet paid their subscriptions are likely to find themselves excluded from playing in any format.

Timed Games:
The executive discussed timing our games as is currently done at the provincial and national level. The advantage is that players will get practice at timing their games and it will speed up the process of finishing our weekly tournaments. We started with 2-4-2 in September, and it has been a success. Unfortunately, our timing device meet with an accident, but has since been repaired so timed games are back on. We will use a time allowance based the current times applied by Auckland Bowls.

Dumping Bowls:
We have observed that some members are “dumping” their bowls as they play. While there is no definition of “dumping” it is generally accepted that this covers players dropping their bowls into the surface of the green. This creates problems in that it causes dents in the green (both grass and artificial) thus bowls change their track when they strike one, which seems a little unfair to those who bowls normally. If you consider that this could apply to you please ask for assistance from the coaches or borrow a bowling arm to trial. Please do not be offended if you are quietly approached by a coach or convenor and asked to consider your action.

Tournament Entries
Following a recent spate of members entering competitions and not appearing for play, it is timely to remind everyone that it causes serious disruption to the day and an unreasonable burden for the convenor. It is difficult enough to run a tournament without the distraction of last-minute changes, and we must show respect to those who take the time to run tournaments for members.
Please, if you enter a tournament and cannot make it is your responsibility to find a replacement. Please do not ring the convenor at 8am to say that you are withdrawing – give them as much notice as possible if you cannot find a replacement.

Covered Green:
We are pleased to advise members that a building consent has been issued for the construction. However additional foundation requirements have resulted in a major cost blowout. We are trying to source additional funding of $400,000 so that the project can proceed.

Other matters:
Roll up day, previously called Have a Go Day, is scheduled for October 20^th. The aim of the day is to get members of the community to try bowls and is being supported by Bowls Auckland. Other Clubs in the region will also be engaging their communities. We are going to drop flyers in household letter boxes, but I encourage you to invite your neighbours and friends to at least try the game.
Much progress has been made in attracting sponsors for tournament days. However, we can accommodate more. If you know of a commercial organisation that may be interested, please contact one of the executive, who will arrange for a follow up discussion.

Enjoy your Bowls.