90 years old this year. No, not me! Our Club.
For those of you not having internet access here is a photo from the Club website of club members taken in the early days. Originally practice took place on the lawn in front of the then KRS Hall.. A three rink green was laid out in 1920-21 and officially opened by the Factory Manager on 24th May 1922. At that time the club boasted over 60 members, all so keen to play that a time limit of 1 hour for each game was introduced. Those were the days!

KODAK BOWLS CLUB
NEWSLETTER NUMBER 1 - March 2009
 

It would be nice to say "90 years and still going strong", but sadly that would be unduly optimistic. There were significant changes made last year which will greatly effect the finances of our Club in 2009. Kodak has not yet sold off the sports ground site, but it has passed the lease and total responsibility for operation and management to Bladerunner. One result of this is that we have to find £3,500 to pay for our bowls facility, compared with £2000 last year. Those of you who attended the AGM will know that we had to vote on the membership fee for this year, and it was agreed that we needed to increase the fee from £30 to £60 to stand any chance of operating in 2010. There is now no need for any Bowls member to pay a subscription fee to Bladerunner, but equally, Life Honorary Membership ceases to exist. We sincerely hope that you will continue to support our club, and if you ask around, you will find that we are still the cheapest club in the area. With every prospect of site development being delayed several years by the current economic climate, we will make every effort to keep the Kodak Bowls Club running.

As in previous years every paid up club member will be given automatic – and free - entry into the Club Handicap singles competition. Your name will thus be entered into the draw for the first round to be played on Fri 5 June (or before if both players agree). All first round winners will be re-drawn for the second round, after which the competition will become a knock-out affair.

Again as in previous years, all games - singles and pairs - will be played on fixed dates (with markers provided for singles), unless the games are completed prior to those dates by mutual consent - and the competition secretary is informed. Also, the first two rounds of the 2 Wood competition will be played entirely on one afternoon – Tues 21 July - (later rounds will be arranged once the names of those remaining in the competition are known).

Do keep an eye on the small notice board next to the competition board THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. This will give the latest news of the various competitions, dates of the rounds and arrangements for playing and marking games.

A membership renewal form, club competition entry form, and form for playing the Club and Singles leagues are all enclosed with this newsletter. Do please return these as soon as possible, and certainly before Sunday 12 April, together with the appropriate remittance, directly to Alan Wilson.

We plan to have the green open by week commencing 20 April but, as always, the actual opening date will very much depend on the weather during March and April.

 

NEWSLETTER NUMBER 2 – April 2009

Please sign your membership card now and carry it with you on all visits to the green. As for last year all matches except Bidgood are for mixed teams

For your convenience the provisional dates of the Singles and Triples leagues, and all Knockout competitions, are shown on the card. However these are very much subject to change and you should check the Notice Board for actual dates and times. Note in particular that the Notice Board will show any marking duties you may have.

Also you have a Match Availability Form for all the weekend games. Do please fill it in NOW and send it to Alan Wilson since it helps Bill enormously in sorting out the teams for the various matches.

Subject to handover by Turfcare (the new contractors responsible for green maintenance), and of course weather conditions, we hope to open the green by April 20 This gives time to have a roll-up before our opening Chairman-v-Captain game on Sunday 26. All members and visitors are welcome to play that afternoon, the only stipulation being that visitors should wear flat (heel-less) shoes. Please let Bill know, in advance, if you intend to play and in any case report by 2.00pm so that teams can be sorted out and the games can start promptly at 2.30pm.

As noted in the last Newsletter all members will be entered in the Handicap Singles. The first round this year will be played on Friday 5 June with games starting at 2pm, 3.30pm, 5pm and 6.30pm, markers being provided from other matches. Do check your start time and the time of any marking duties beforehand or else turn up at 1.45pm on the day. If playing your match in advance you must arrange your own marker and notify the Competition Secretary of the change.

Important Health and Safety Requirement
Zoom Leisure need to know whenever any Club members are using Club facilities (Green or Club House). They have copies of our fixture lists which satisfies this requirement for all scheduled matches. For informal roll-ups or rescheduled games members will need to inform them on each occasion. In many cases this will be done when drawing and returning the Club House key. However if you go directly to the green please be sure to inform Zoom reception (they do not need to told individually of all players, just the fact that there are people present).

Finally for a list of gate and pavillion access numbers please contact a committee member.

Kodak Bowling Club