May 3oth  and 31st  saw some of the best weather we have ever experienced for Courtenay  Scotch Pairs.   Sunny skies, mild winds and a great green made for some fabulous shot making throughout the two day tournament.

The big winners of the tournament was the team of Erik Ewen and Brian Michel of Qualicum Beach, with our own Sandi Mitchell and Merry Danarti coming in a close second.  In third place was Parksville’s Kate Wilson and Gary Carson with Martin and Chris Fereday, also of Parksville, rounding out fourth place.  Coming in fifth was Parksville’s Carol and Ken Bucyk with the last of the top six teams coming from Nanaimo in the form of Vern Hagstrom and Linda Cooper.

Gas Tank winners were Bruce McNevins and Glenda Chalmers of Nanaimo along with Charles McIntyre and Debi Sjogren of Qualicum Beach.  Lucky draw recipients were the team of Dean Penny and Shelley McCollom of Courtenay and Rosemary Montreuil and Susan Toresdahl  also of Courtenay.

A very big thank you goes out to the Courtenay club for their great hospitality and organization.  A tip of the hat to the greens crew, kitchen, games committee, umpire and to everyone who participated in this two day event.

Next up is the Men’s  and  Women’s Triples to take place at the Qualicum Beach lawn Bowling Club June 6 & 7.

Carol Bucyk

Nanaimo Lawn Bowling Club held its Mixed Triples Tournament May 23 & 24.  Under sunny skies and a quick green, some awesome shot making occurred.    Coming in first was the team of Dean Penny, Shelley McCollom and Debbie Stjogren.  There was a crowded spot for second place as four teams qualified for that honour.  First off, it was the Parksville team of Mary Card, Kent Card and Laurel Witzer.  Courtenay made it a family affair with Brian Scherr, Ethel Scherr and Dale Scherr.  Another Parksville team came in second: the team of Bob Allaby, Sue Tompkins and Luise Norman.  Rounding out the group was Vern Hagstrom, Zoltan Pataky and Linda Cooper from the host club of Nanaimo.

Thanks to everyone who made this even so successful from the grounds crew, players, games committee, kitchen and the sponsors once again for this year, Ramsey, Lampman Rhodes  for their generous support.

Carol Bucyk

Great weather and  food were only two of the components making for a fun weekend of lawn bowling at the  Qualicum  Beach Lawn Bowling Club May 8th and 9th.    There were fourteen teams in this early season event sponsored by  McPherson Real Estate .  Top prize with a perfect 4-0 sweep was the Ewen family of QBLBC.  Second place went to our own club represented by Mary Card, Kent Card and Laurel Witzer.   Nanaimo’s Vern Hagstrom, Linda Cooper and Zoltan Pataky took home third place prize money,  while Vern Greenhill, April Gilchrist and Henri Saucier of Courtenay took fourth.  Our own Bob Allaby, Bob Merrell and Joey Merell took fifth place.  Rounding out the top six was the Parksville team of Martin Fereday, Chris Fereday and Peter Scott.  A very unusual 9 ender was scored by our Merry Danarti, Kate Wilson and Bill Burgess.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the event and a big thank you goes out to everyone at the Qualicum club who made this tournament happen and to the very generous support of their sponsor, McPherson Real Estate.

Carol Bucyk

Our  club held its annual  Gloria Wilcox Tournament this past week (September 17 & 18th) , under mostly sunny skies  and fairly fast greens.  Both the men’s and women’s teams were drawn randomly by the skips before the first morning’s draw.  This was a great way to “mix things up,” and have different people playing together, some  for the first time this year.

Over the course of the two days,  there was some incredible shot making on the green, by both the men’s and women’s teams.  In the end, It was the Rick Dolley,  Kent Card and Allan Watson  team which took home the hardware for the tournament for this year.  Coming in a very close second was the  team of Bob Ashton, Terry Nicholls and George Wallis.

Over on the women’s side, it was the team lead by Karen Perrin with Gerda Veld as vice and Linda Burgess as lead,  narrowly beating out  skip Carol Bucyk , Betty Nordick and Charlotte Squires  for the honours and first place for the Gloria Wilcox for 2025.

The top three teams from the men’s and women’s sides then met on the green to play for the coveted Salmon Can Trophy.  It was  Team Perrin up against Team Dolley on Green #1, Team Holland against Team Scott on #2 and Team Ashton against Team Bucyk on #3.  The scoring was done over 5 ends with the  total score determining  the winner.  In the end, the men reigned victorious with a margin of 17-6 for the final score.

Thanks to the kitchen and bar crew who  kept us fed and hydrated.  A gracious thanks goes out to the grounds crew, set up people, games committee, Joey Merrell, Chuck Benson who took over 200 photos for this year’s event, people who came out to watch the games and who cheered us all on from the gallery during the Battle of the Sexes.  In all this, we can’t forget to say thanks to the players who came out and were a part of this yearly event.  If I have missed anyone, my apologies.

Carol Bucyk

The District Pairs Competition was held at our club  this past weekend.   The district clubs had sent their winners to Parksville to see who would reign supreme for 2025.  This year the winners were Vern Greenhill and Leone King from Courtenay who took gold for their efforts.  Silver was earned by our own Merry Danarti and Bob Allaby.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the teams this year.  Also we want to thank the Parksville kitchen crew, bartenders, greens keepers, set up crew, games committee, umpires , photographer (Chuck) and everyone else who was involved in this year’s competition.

Carol Bucyk

Congratulations to April Sloan and Debbie Taylor who earned a silver for the Women’s Pairs this past week in Nanaimo during the B.C. Seniors Games.  On the men’s side, it was our own Bob Ashton and Christian Massey  who also earned a silver for their efforts.

Carol Bucyk

A fun, social day was had by all that attended the annual Parksville/Cowichan Bay Challenge on September 9.  First, there was the 10 end challenge in the morning which was played under cloudy skies.  In the afternoon, the skies cleared and made way for a sunny   12 end game.   Parksville came out the winner for this year’s event, having won last year’s  as well.

The Parksville teams ended u winning 9 games for a total of 27 points while Cowichan Bay Lawn Bowling Club took 7 games and earned 21 points.

This yearly event began back in 2008 between the two clubs, and  is much anticipated every September.  A very big thank you to all who took part in the event, and once again, thanks to Chuck Benson for his great photos.

Trevor Motley/Carol Bucyk

Nanaimo played host to the District Singles Tournament on September 6th and 7th.  Some of the shot making over the two days was unbelievable and  both the men and women demonstrated  some  really great lawn bowling strategies.

In the end, it was Irene Toulouse of Nanaimo who earned Women’s District Singles Championship, while on the men’s side it was our own Rick Dolley who was victorious.

Many thanks go out to the host club, kitchen and bar crew, games committee, players and spectators, umpires, set up crew, markers,  and everyone else who put this event together.  Also, a very big thank you to Dean Penny who made everything work like clock work.

Carol Bucyk