For the last major of the year, the weather man provided all sorts of interesting challenges for the two day event.  Wind, rain, humidity and then brilliant sunshine were all part of the George Gibson held September 2 & 3.

Twenty -six teams had entered the event from all around the zone, but it was our own Parksville team of Joey Merrell, Bob Merrell and Boyd Stanway who took home the honours and will have their names engraved on the plaque for this year.

Following in close second  was the Courtenay team of Hal Gray, Joan Matheson and Joe Randazzo.  Third was a hybrid team of Ross Nakagawa (Qualicum) and our own Daniel Gallagher and Pat Vey of Parksville.  Fourth was earned by the Vern Hagstrom team with Linda Cooper and Karen Unger.  Number five went to another Nanaimo team, that of Adrian Hewitt, Kathleen Hewitt and Brian Howe.  Parksville’s Chris Fereday, Martin Fereday and Peter Scott came in sixth place.  Seventh and eighth place went to two more Courtenay teams.  Dean Penny’s team came in seventh, while Brian Scherr, Glen Greenhill and Linda Meers took the final position.

A very big thank you goes out to everyone who made this event so successful.  Kudos go out to the kitchen crew, with their tasty lunches and treats.  Thanks to the grounds crew for their tireless efforts, and to  Chuck for photos,  plus the bar tending crew, keeping us hydrated.  A very big thank you to the games committee and to Gerda and Linda at the desk doing all the data entry and more, the incredible  50-50 team who made some people smile a lot this tournament, the spectators, umpires and of course, the players who made this all happen. My apologies if I have missed anyone.

The George Gibson wraps up the final district event of 2026, but there is still some bowling left to do in September.   Check out the calendar to see what’s happening next.   Come out, do some drop in play and enjoy the nice weather and  this wonderful game that is the Parksville Lawn Bowling Club community.

Photos to come shortly.

Carol Bucyk

Congratulations go out to club members Connie  Bach and Randy Hall who played in the District Singles Tournament hold on Saturday, August 29th at the Qualicum Beach Lawn Bowling Club.  Connie  scored a Silver and Randy took Gold for their efforts.  Well done, novices.

Intermediates are playing today (Sunday, August 30th) and results will be posted tomorrow.

Carol Bucyk

There are many tournaments and games that are part of the club’s  season, but few can compare to what happens during the Jack and Jill, an annual event held in late August.  The fun part of the tournament is that an experienced female skip (Jill) gets to ask a Jack (male and not a  skip) to be partners for this event.   The twist is that the Jills skip the first and last game, while the men skip the middle two games.  It’s great fun and it’s always wonderful to see novices and tenderfoot players  paired up with the women skips.  The second thing to mention is, that this year, we had two 32 teams entered, so both flights were filled, and it  speaks to the popularity of this event.

Congratulations go out to Chris Fereday and Keith Goertzen who  came out of Flight 2 and were the overall winners of the event.  From the first flight, the top three winners were Darlene Pentland and her dad, Rick Britz.  In second place was the team of Sue Tompkins and Bob Allaby.  Third went to Nida Wurtz and Peter Scott.

In the second flight, it was Chris Fereday and Keith Goertzen.  Not far behind was the second place team of Carol Bucyk and Randy Hall.  Rounding out the top three was the team of April Sloan and Bryan Bennett.

Thanks so much to everyone who was involved in the event for this year:  the kitchen and bar crew, the ever-busy grounds keepers, players, spectators,  games committee, Roberta Stets who just popped in to help out, the barbecue bunch and the photographers for the event, Ken Bucyk and Chuck Benson.    Once again I want to mention that it was very positive to see our novices come out to play.  It’s a great experience for them and a very positive sign for our club’s future.

It’s always a great sign when a club can host a tournament and get  two flights and 26 entries, and this year’s tournament sponsored by  Realtor Martin Velsen did not disappoint.  Teams from around the island came together for some great play making on some very fast greens August 22 and 23.

The overall winners of the tournament were Tony Morris and Eris Sellers from Qualicum  Beach who scored with 12 points, 37 ends and a shot differential of 34.   In second place was the team of Adrian and Kathleen Hewitt of Nanaimo with a 12 point, 36 ends and shot differential of 27.  Bob Allaby and Sandi Mitchell of our club came in third with 12 points, 35 ends and a shot differential of 22.  In  fourth was another team from Nanaimo, that of Randy Nobel and Irene Toulouse with 12 points, 35 ends and 18 points as a shot differential.  In fifth place was another team who scored 12 points.  April Gilchrist and Vern Greenhill  from Courtenay came in with 12 points, 33 ends and a 26 point shot differential.

Thanks again to all who made this event such as success: the grounds crew, umpires, kitchen staff, games committee, spectators, players and Martin Velsen who sponsored this event again this year.  We are very appreciative of all that he has done each and every year that he has been a part of this well-attended tournament.

Carol Bucyk

It’s been another busy week at the club with the mixed pairs tournament being held on August 20th and 21st.   Eight teams had entered this event,  including a novice team who  threw their hat in the ring and came to play.  The tournament was a round robin affair with the winner of each side playing off in the final which was held on Thursday afternoon.

Karen Perrin and Colin Frame squared off against Chris and Martin Fereday for the final, with the Feredays emerging as the winners in the event.

A very big thank you goes out to all the participants, the games committee, kitchen crew, umpires and grounds  crew, and Chuck Benson for the photos,  as well as those who came out to watch during the two day event.

Carol Bucyk

Port Alberni hosted the Bowls 3 Five (2 bowl triples) August 15th and 16th.  The tournament consisted of teams playing eight 10 end games – each game consisting of two five end sets.  In the event that teams were tied after the two five  end sets, a one end tie-breaker determined the winner of the game.

The weather was variable, as the first day started with fog and a heavy dew which created  a heavy green.  By the afternoon, the sun was out and the green dried out, making for a very fast green.  This change in green speed really challenged the bowlers.  However, the green was very true, making it easy to create some great shots.

The winners of the tournament were the team of Nanaimo’s Bruce McNevin, Glenda Chalmers and Terry Cowie.  Second place went to Parksville’s Bob Allaby, Luise Norman and Sue Tompkins.  Third went to Courtenay’s Vern Greenhill, Shelley Howieson (Qualicum Beach) and Henri Saucier.

As usual, Port Alberni was a great host.  Derek Burke organized the event.  Bob Steven umpired and the kitchen staff had some great snacks, including a tasty peanut butter oat ball.

A big thank you to Bob Allaby who was in Port and sent this report on to me.    Carol Bucyk

Parksville Lawn Bowling Club held its club singles tournament August 11-13th under sunny skies with light winds.  This year saw a number of novice, intermediate and seasoned players take to the green for the men’s and women’s titles.  The playoffs were set up in a round robin affair within each division and winners from each section met in the semi finals  on Thursday morning,  and then the finals which were held on Thursday afternoon.

In the end, it was Kate Wilson facing off over Merry Danarti, with Wilson winning   in two straight nine end sets.   On. the men’s side, it was a nail biter with the men having to go to a 3-end tie breaker.    In the end,  it was Dave Robinson taking the honours over Bob Allaby.

A very big thank you goes out to everyone who made the tournament a success this year:  the kitchen crew, umpires, grounds crew, players, spectators, coaches, games committee, Don Urquhart (computer program problem solver), and Sandi Mitchell who put this event all together.

Carol Bucyk

Beautiful blue skies, great weather and enjoyable greens were the order of the day at the Powell River Club for the Gender Neutral Triples held  on Thursday, Aug. 6.    Due to the diligent work of club members, the green is now running similarly to that of Port Alberni.  It is very consistent and doesn’t seem to have any of the runs or “wrinkles” which it once had.     This improved green made for consistent shot making.  According to some players present, this was a very pleasant green on which to play.

Winners of the tournament were Bob Merrell, Joey Merrell and Bob Allaby of our Parksville Club.  Second went to the Courtenay team of Vern Greenhill, April Gilchrist and Dean Penny.  The hybrid team of Tony Morris (Qualicum), and Cindy Greenhill and Ethel Scheer of Courtenay  came in third.

Many thanks go out to the hard working members of the Powell River Lawn Bowling Club who once again showed their great hospitality.  They were very welcoming and provided players with non-alcoholic beverages, fruit and snacks.

As an aside,  it is an absolutely breathtaking experience to look westward towards Vancouver Island and see the stunning sunsets, especially from the historic  Powell River Lawn Bowling Club.    If you want to have a mini-vacation, a trip to Powell River, with its shops, cafes, and much improved green should be on your bucket list.

Carol Bucyk (Thanks to Bob Allaby for his info  and photo on the results of this tournament)

The final games of the Summer Cutthroat League were played on August 5th.
Geoff Holland bettered 14 opponents to scoop first place.