March 2022 President Newsletter

The Covid Virus has dominated the country’s focus since March 2020, and it certainly has impacted the manner that the club has been able to operate in the last two years. The uncertainty of what any new Government directions were likely to transpire has meant we have only been able to implement short term plans. The timing was unfortunate, in that it coincided with the replacement of the carpet on our C Green which made obtaining grants more difficult as the hospitality industry in particular was either closed or operating at minimum capacity. The lock downs also created a short term delay in the laying of the carpet however, finally we now have a new carpet on C Green which is gradually settling down and getting a good work out by the Business House & Community Bowlers. We look forward to it finally getting stretched and obtaining final sign off.

We can now boast we have 3 greens that will be of a standard as good as anything in the North Harbour region. For a club that is 69 years old, MBC has continued to focus on providing its membership quality greens to play bowls on, be it Roll Up for the pleasure of playing Bowls or Competitive competition. It has been a difficult time for Bowling Clubs generally throughout New Zealand as memberships have reflected declines for several years now, and individual Clubs have had to rise to the challenge of how they will remain viable into the future. Their future mostly remains in their own hands.

BOWLING COMPETITION RESULTS & WINNERS - SUMMER 2021/2022












Mens Singles
Kevin Rainsford

Ladies Singles
Robyn Henderson

Junior Mens Singles
Andy Dorrance

Junior Ladies Singles
Kathy Stevens

Junior 1st Year Singles (Con Lennon Trophy)
Kenny Halliday

Mens Pairs
Geoff Horwood and Lyndsay Knight

Ladies Pairs
Royn Henderson and Kathy Stevens

Junior Mens Pairs (Noel Roberts Shield)
Brad Luiten and Kenny Halliday

Junior Ladies Pairs
Kathy Stevens and Sandy Wilson

Mens Triples
Dennis Polkinghorne, Denham Furnell and Kevin Rainsford

Ladies Triples
Faye Baverstock, Elaine Ferguson and Rozel Kyle

Veteran Singles
Joe Chojnacki

Mixed Singles (Klassen Cup)
Chris Markham

A number of new initiatives are being implemented, with 2-4-2 on Monday afternoons, a Round Robin 16 person mixed Singles competition on Thursday Afternoons and it is hoped to establish a Sunday Afternoon Tournament. Andy Dorrance has directed a great deal of effort to get these new competitions up and running.

Business House is into Week 7, and once again a great success in getting the local community involved and enjoying playing bowls. The Red Light System has required the numbers be reduced to 100 however, Nolene as usual responded to ensure the competition will be completed to everyone's satisfaction.

Roll-Ups continue on Tuesdays and Fridays with Gren and Kathy, and it is pleasing that a number of our new bowlers are utilising the coaching opportunity on Tuesday mornings. A warm welcome to all our new members.

The Summer Season has been condensed as a result of the restrictions in the latter part of 2021, which has meant the BNH, Interclub and NZ Masters Tournaments have been scheduled almost every weekend and during the week making it challenging for Warren and Elaine to schedule
normal Club competitions. A lot of Bowls in a short period for our competitive bowlers. A review of our greens by BNH personnel has resulted in more of their tournaments allocated to our club, both grass and carpet, many more than in previous years. It endorses the effort to
maintain a quality product in the form of our greens. We sometimes just take it for granted, but it does come at a financial cost.

GENERAL OPERATION











The club rooms are being booked out to members of the Whangaparoa community on a regular basis for functions and it is hoped this will continue to increase during the remainder of 2022. There are very few facilities of this size on the Hibiscus Coast which is attracting an increasing
number of enquiries.

The first Quiz night organised on a Friday night proved to be a success and it is anticipated this will be organised again on a Bi-Monthly basis. This type of Social Event is not only intended to raise funds for the club, but represents another example of involving the local community in the use of
the clubrooms.

The President will be the first to advise that the day to day fundamentals required for a club to operate are extremely time consuming for himself, the Club Secretary and the club Treasurer, especially during the Covid restrictions. Jenny Wilson applied successfully for more than one
assistance fund from the Government, which has improved our financial position at a time when we were paying for a new carpet.

We look forward to a more positive 2022, as a club and as a country. Bowling is a great way to put
some of those concerns behind us.

Bruce Travers (President)