Author: Carol Bucyk

Nanaimo Lawn Bowling Club held its annual Gold Bowl July 5th and 6th.  This tournament is sponsored by Imagine Cruise/Shawn Kilmer  of Nanaimo and is the largest money event  on the island.  The two days  saw 26 teams play in two flights.  Great weather, lots of cold water and exceptional play making were all part of this tourney.

The winners of the event were Parksville’s  Sandi Mitchell, Merry Danarti and Rick  Dolley, and their names will be engraved on the trophy.  In second place was another Parksville teams, that of Carol Bucyk, Ken Bucyk and Keith Terlson. Third place went to the Qualicum team of Mike Ward, Helen Roberts and John Ayre.   Qualicum also took fourth with the team of Shelley Howieson, Brian Michell and  Ziutka Hundley.  Fifth was Parksville’s Chris Fereday, Martin Fereday and Peter Scott.  Parksville took sixth with Kate Wilson, Gary Carson and Mick Banks.  Courtenay came in seventh with the team of Vern Greenhill, April Gilchrist and  Henri Saucier.  It was the Ewen family – Luci, Susan and Eric who finished in the top eight.

A very big thank you goes out to Shawn Kilmer and Imagine Cruise Nanaimo for the continued support of the Gold Bowl.  Also, thank you to the kitchen and bar staff, grounds crew, games committee,  set-up and take-down teams, and to the people who travelled from within the zone to take in this tournament and make it the success that it was.

Carol Bucyk

  The Parksville Lawn Bowling Club held its annual  Club Triples Championship this week.  The  skies were threatening and  cloudy  for both days, but the rain held off until the last end on Thursday afternoon.  When it was done, the team of Bill Burgess, Gerda Veld and Roger Taylor emerged victorious with their first place finish.   Their names will now go on the club’s plaque.   Close behind was the second place team of Don Urquhart, Andy Burpee and Anne Gudbranson.  Bringing in third was  Wayne Larocque, Robbie Thomas and Aase McMullin.  Rounding out fourth place was the team of Colin Frame, Merry Danarti and Andrew Adamson.  The “Please Come Back” award went to Kate Wilson, Clive Arthorne and Debbie Taylor.

A very big thank you goes out to all who came out to play, the grounds keepers, kitchen crew, games committee, cantina folks, set-up and take-down crews, Chuck Benson for his  photos and whoever else helped to make this event so successful.

Carol Bucyk

The men went off to Courtenay to compete in the Courtenay Classic Men’s Pairs tournament this weekend.   Unfortunately, the Parksville teams were shut out of top five placements.      Hal Gray and Gary Carson from Courtenay took first place, while Vern Greenhill and Joe Randazzo,   also of Courtenay,  took second.  Ian Yewer and Ross Younger of Nanaimo earned third.   Stu MacNaughton and Brian Scheer of Courtenay earned fourth and rounding out the top five, was the Chris Windess-Henri Saucier team of Nanaimo.

Over in Qualicum Beach, the Women’s Pairs Tournament , also known as the “Sylvia Gibb”  took place.  Fourteen teams took part in this event  which was sponsored by local realtor Katherine Wilk of Royal LePage.   Linda Cooper and Lezlie Howe of Nanaimo earned both the trophy and top prize money,  second, third and fourth place all went to Parksville.  Roberta Stets and Jeanette Ferguson came in second, Chris Fereday and Carol Bucyk took third, and Sandi Mitchell and Merry Danarti earned fourth.  Rounding out the top five was the host club’s Geri Stewart and Merle Edmonds.

As always, much thanks goes out to the sponsors of these events, as well as  the grounds keepers, kitchen crew,  equipment set-up and take down teams, games committee, and to the players who took part in these events.

The Berwick 60+ Mixed Triples Tournament was held in Nanaimo June 18th and 19th.  The results are as follows:  First place went to  Tony Morris, Shelley Howieson and Colin Lloyd of the Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club, who scored 12 points.    Brian Scheer, Glen Greenhill and Linda Meers of Courtenay took second with 10 points.    Another Courtenay club with members Hal Gray, Zoltan Pataky and Joan Matheson earned third place with 9 points.     Mike Ward, Helen Roberts and James MacDonald from Qualicum scored 9 points and took fourth.    Rounding out the top five  with 9 points was Parksville’s Rick Dolley, Sandi Mitchell and Merry Danarti.

The Nanaimo club would like to thank all those who made this tournament a success, starting with Berwick on the Lake.     Also a big thank you to the grounds keepers, games people, kitchen, and the players who attended this mid-week tournament.

Carol Bucyk

It was another great weekend  for lawn bowling at the Parksville Lawn Bowling Club  with   two  almost full flights taking part in the event.   The Hearing Life Mixed Pairs Tournament  was played on some lovely greens, thanks to the grounds crew of our club.

Congratulations to our club’s own Sandi Mitchell and Rick Dolley for taking home the trophy and first place.  Dean Penny and Shelley McCollom from Courtenay took second.  Our neighbours up the highway, Erik and Susan Ewen of Qualicum Beach took third and rounding out fourth place was our own Bill Burgess and Diane Cruickshank.

The club would like to thank everyone involved in the tournament:  Hearing Life Parksville who was our generous sponsor, the kitchen and bar crews who kept us full and happy, the grounds crew for their great job on the greens, our people working the tables, set-up and clean up folks and everyone who took part in this annual event.

 The Quality Foods Men’s and Women’s Triples Tournament held at the  Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club June 7 & 8th was a warm one.  Sunny skies prevailed during the tournament, with temperatures  reaching 30C on Sunday afternoon.   The greens were FAST and hard, an unusual combination so early in the season, and  made for some interesting play selection.

On the women’s side, it was the  Qualicum team of April Gilchrist, Shelley Howieson and Denise Hooper earning first place and taking  home the trophy.  They were followed by three Parksville teams.  Second went to our Sandi Mitchell, Chris Fereday and Merry Danarti.  Third was the team of Joey Merrell, Karen Perrin and Avril Adamson.  Rounding out the top four was the Kate Wilson, Carol Bucyk and Diane Cruickshank.

On the men’s side, first place, it was the Courtenay team of Dean Penny, Vern Greenhill and Joe Randazzo.  Second was the Parksville team of Martin Fereday, Peter Scott and Gary Carson.  Third was the home team of Mike Ward, James MacDonald and John Eyre.  The fourth place team was another trio from Qualicum Beach, the team of George Opacic, Tony Morris and Ray Chenier.

A very big thank you goes out to everyone who made this event so successful:  the kitchen, bar, grounds crew, umpires, games committee, players and most importantly, Quality Foods who have continued to sponsor this tournament over the years.

Next up is the  Hearing Life Mixed Pairs to be held in Parksville June 14th and 15th.  See you there!   Draws are at 8:30 Saturday and 8:45 on Sunday.  Come and check out Parksville’s first district tournament of the year.  Lots of great bowling to be seen.

Carol Bucyk

Thursday, June 5th was the final night for the spring Men’s and Women’s Pairs League.  On the men’s side it was the team of Don Urquhart and Bill Burgess, while on the women’s side it was Linda Burgess and Carol Bucyk.  First prize winners will be receiving bag tags for their efforts at the September windup at the club.  Sandi Mitchell was winner of the spring cutthroat league, beating out Andy Burton who took second,  and Geoff Holland who placed third.

Also, on the women’s side,  Joey Merrell and Robbie Thomas earned second, while Sandi Mitchell and Shelley McLeod took third.  For the men, it was Bob Allaby and Bob Merrell in second and Andrew Adamson and Martin Perrin  taking third.

A big thank you goes out to the participants who came out and played and to the games organizers, Joey Merrell and Karen Perrin for keeping us informed with the weekly summary of play.   A reminder to those interested  in playing in any of the leagues is to get on line and sign up.  Evening leagues are a lot of fun and the weather is generally ideal.  Carol Bucyk

The Interclub season has started and results from the first evening are in.  Nanaimo has 19 points, 59 ends and +13 differential.  Qualicum Beach is at 13 points, with 54 ends and -2 differential.  Courtenay  comes in at 12 points with a whopping 63 ends and a +13 differential.  Parksville is running at 3 points with 48 ends and a -24 differential.

Please remember that if you haven’t seen it, there is a sign up sheet in the sun room and you can sign up for a maximum of two events over the course of this interclub season.   If you’re a novice why not consider signing up in the lead position to get a feel for this game.  The games are always fun and the socializing afterwards is top notch.

Carol Bucyk