National champions again!
In the bronze medal match, the recently crowned Women’s Singles champion, Claire Day and partner Jennifer MacDonald faced a tough British Columbia duo of Josephine Lee and Sarina Mak. The local BC natives proved too much for the Albertans, claiming bronze with a final score of 21-15.
Don and Jack win silver at Ontario 55+ Summer Games
Willowdale members Don Rayko and Jack Siboni (centre in the picture above) represented District 16 at the Ontario 55+ Summer Games held in Brantford from August 9 to 11. Don and Jack came away with silver medals in a marathon event.
After winning all four games in the round robin (three games on Thursday and one Friday morning), they played the semi-final game and ended up in the final Friday afternoon, losing to District 15 representatives Lan Tran and Cathy Larkin.
"With six games in two days, we just ran out of gas," admits Don, who also admitted that he hadn't played three games in a day (let alone six over two days) in quite some time.
Julie and Eric Bergman also represented District 16. They went 1-2 in round robin play, losing to the teams that won bronze and gold.
The games were well-organized and a lot of fun. The next games are in 2025. If you're even remotely interested, give it some thought. The event was well worth attending.
‘Chrystal and Elizabeth two-peat!
Willowdale LBC member Chrystal Shepherd (left) and her doubles partner Elizabeth Cormack, who currently bowls out of the Pickering Lawn Bowling Club
Chrystal Shepherd and Elizabeth Cormack completed a two-peat at Heritage Greens Lawn Bowling Club in Kitchener on June 25, winning the provincial women’s doubles title for the second straight year.
They’re now off to Victoria, BC, to defend their national title during the third week of August.
Congratulations Chrystal and Elizabeth on your incredible achievement. Not only are you strong competitors, you’re wonderful ambassadors for the sport.
Markers sought for provincial men's singles
Slots are available for morning, midday and afternoon games. Lunch and refreshments are provided to all volunteers.
Markers centre the jack and mat, maintain the scorecard and chalk all touchers.
They answer player questions about shot, bowls and the position of the jack.
Markers protect the head from bowls coming from adjacent rinks and mark the position of the jack and touchers in the ditch.
If you're interested, you will be asked to attend a markers' training session on Thursday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m. at Cosburn Lawn Bowling Club.
If you’re interested in helping, contact the organizers by e-mail (provincials@cosburnbowls.ca) or leave a message at 416-421-4171.
Willowdale bowlers win national seniors' trebles championship
The trio travelled to Victoria to win the national championship on August 25, 2022.
Congratulations Albert, Arnie and Hosein.
Chrystal and Elizabeth win national women's pairs
The pair lost only one game in the round robin portion of the tournament. Their bowling was nothing short of spectacular during the entire tournament and especially during the playoffs.
Congratulations Elizabeth and Chrystal!
Willowdale hosts provincial junior championships
Eight males and four females competed in round robin play on Saturday. Playoffs were held Sunday.
As we all know, the adjustment from grass to carpet (or vice-versa) takes some time. By the playoff round on Sunday, however, the young people made their adjustments.
There were some excellent shots made by all the bowlers in the elimination round. And the shots continued to improve through the games for gold, silver and bronze. There was much polite applause from spectators for shots well made on every rink.
Noah LaRoche (Burlington) took the gold, Jacob Hyatt (Cobourg) the silver and Jack Reistetter (Oakville) the bronze in the male category.
Ella Conlin (Oakville) took the gold, Ella Hammond (Oakville) the silver and Veronica McLean (Oakville) the bronze in the female category.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the weekend a success. The grounds looked great. The coffee and snacks flowed. And any problem that arose was solved.
Well done, everyone!
Donohoe skips provincial winning team
Vince, on the left, is joined by lead Gary Butineau(Midland), second Mark McFayden (Port Credit) and vice-skip Glen Patton (Midland).
Interestingly, for a period of time Vince technically held both provincial singles and fours titles. He won the men's division in 2019 as a solo bowler. Because of COVID, the next provincial champion was crowned July 10, 2022. Vince and his teammates represented Ontario in the national championships in Burlington in August 2022, finishing fourth. Congratulations Vince et al.