Opening day ... the fourth was with us!
The club got off to a strong start on Saturday, May the Fourth. About 40 members gathered to kick off the 2024 season.
Councillor Lily Cheng threw the first bowl and Brian Spooner won the bottle of wine at the spider draw. A 10-end jitney was played and there there was lots of laughter to go around.
To view more pix, click here to go to the gallery.
Councillor's volunteer appreciation held at Willowdale
Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club hosted Councillor Lily Cheng's volunteer appreciation on Friday, April 19, 2024.
It was an opportunity to showcase our property within the local community and introduce lawn bowling to a group of people who are active locally.
"We wanted to introduce lawn bowling as part of our volunteer recognition event this year," says Councillor Cheng. "As a valuable community resource, Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club is an oasis in the heart of North York."
Vince and Bernie barbecued up a storm, cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone attending. Julie helped with coaching new bowlers and Gay was once again invaluable in the kitchen.
Thanks to everyone who helped out!
Vince and Bernie grilled up a storm for the councillor’s volunteer appreciation event.
Opening Day 2024
Saturday, May 4, 1:00 p.m.
Opening day is Star Wars day in 2024 (May the fourth be with all of us!).
Councillor Lily Cheng will roll the first ceremonial bowl at 1:00 p.m. After that, we'll have a spider roll. Donations will be accepted from those who wish to roll and proceeds will be forwarded to the local food bank.
When the spider roll winner is congratulated, we'll have a 10-end jitney followed by potluck desserts (so please feel free to bring your sweetest treats).
If you're planning on joining the jitney, please arrive before 12:45 for team selection.
See you on the 4th!
Socks delivered to Willowdale Welcome Centre
Eric Bergman (centre) delivers two large bags of socks
to James O. and Liz M. at the Willowdale Welcome Centre.
Two large bags of socks were donated to the Willowdale Welcome Centre on Thursday, February 22, representing the culmination of our first successful sock drive.
The idea evolved out of one of Councillor Lily Cheng’s open houses that was attended by a couple of members of the board of directors. Councillor Cheng spoke eloquently about the need for socks, which is not something we normally think about but is critical to refugees and the unhoused.
The Willowdale Welcome Centre at 5800 Yonge Street provides short-term shelter and services to 420 refugee claimants. The centre’s housing managers and case workers work one-on-one with refugees to help navigate the system and obtain housing.
Clients can stay as long as they need but usually move out to housing as soon as they get a job.
The centre accepts donations of clothing, jackets, underwear, socks, shoes, gift cards and hygiene products for men and women.
Thanks, everyone, for helping to make our inaugural socks drive such a success! Your donations are making a small but important difference in someone’s life.
Our sox box runneth over!
Our Warm-Up Barbecue and Sock Drive on February 4 was an unmitigated success!
The event began with a regular short-mat jitney at which members were encouraged to bring friends as an introduction to lawn bowling. A number of members brought friends along, who could not only bowl indoors on a short mat, but because the weather was fantastic, could also bowl outdoors.
At about 3:00 p.m., the short mats were rolled up and the clubhouse configured to accommodate the people we were expecting for our barbecue and socks drive, which was co-sponsored by Councillor Lily Cheng.
Our neighbours from the Willowdale community got to see our facilities and meet many club members.
Councillor Cheng and our president, Suzan Tari, gave short welcoming speeches about the event and our club. Councillor Cheng stayed for the entire event and chatted with members and neighbours alike.
We also received significant donations of socks for the unhoused, refugees and others. We don’t often think about it, but socks are important to those who have less than the majority of us.
In exchange for donations, members and neighbours alike were treated to hamburgers and hot dogs. The cooking crew went nonstop from 3:00 to 5:30. The event was so successful that we ran out of food at the end.
Thanks to everyone for contributing to a successful event: the organizers; members who bowled, brought friends and coached; everyone who helped rearrange the clubhouse; our cooks and kitchen staff who fed everyone; and those who stayed around to clean up the kitchen, clubhouse and grounds after a successful event.
The future of Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club: Pickleball anyone?
During a spirited discussion, the point was made that, like any recreational infrastructure in Toronto today, Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club faces two challenges.
The first is what’s being called an “infrastructure deficit.” Much of the City of Toronto's aging infrastructure (not just recreational infrastructure) is showing its age, to the point that some estimates suggest that approximately $10 billion is needed to bring the city’s aging infrastructure up to a state of good repair.
That creates significant competition for a finite pool of capital.
The second is that any investment in recreational infrastructure will go first to multi-use facilities—i.e. those facilities that can support multiple uses for different forms of recreation—before being allocated to single-use facilities.
One of the ideas floated during the meeting is turning the north green into pickleball courts. We would still maintain lawn bowling on the centre green and the artificial surface, but we would become a multi-use facility.
“We have to be flexible in our thinking,” says Suzan Tari, vice-president of Willowdale LBC. “The pickleball option could provide us with long-term stability. With that, we can focus on growing the sport of lawn bowling in Willowdale and potentially across Toronto.”
Hurdles to overcome
One of the most important is the lease under which the property currently operates. There are sixty years left in the ninety-nine-year lease between the City of Toronto and Mount Pleasant Group, which owns the land. The lease states that the only use for the property at 150 Beecroft Road is as a non-profit lawn bowling club and that such usage will be “continuous and uninterrupted except for maintenance, repairs and climactic conditions” until July 25, 2083.
The lease is currently being examined by the City of Toronto’s legal department with the potential intent of opening up negotiations to increase the uses for the property. This process started earlier this year when it was suggested that the clubhouse could serve as a warming centre during winter months.
“When the councillor’s office approached us with the idea of using the clubhouse as a warming centre, we were happy to support the community, but we immediately pointed out that such use is not allowed under the current lease,” says Eric Bergman, property manager of Willowdale LBC.
When Councillor Cheng visited the club for the first time on May 13 of this year, the board of directors asked to be included in any future lease negotiations. At the most recent meeting, she assured the board that she did contact the city’s legal department to have the club included, but since the lease agreement is between the city and Mount Pleasant Group—even with Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club specifically named in the lease as the sole sub-lessee for ninety-nine years—Councillor Cheng was informed that only city and cemetery representatives will be present at negotiations.
“We’re grateful to Councillor Cheng for trying on our behalf,” Bergman says. “Our concern is that unpalatable options will be presented to us if we are not at least consulted during negotiations. Our message is simple. We will be carefully monitoring any developments through the lens of what’s in the best interests of our members and the sport they enjoy. If necessary, we will help all parties understand the places in which we feel those interests are not being met.”
Artificial vs natural surface
The centre green is a natural grass surface that requires almost constant care and attention.
Converting the centre green to an artificial surface would reduce the maintenance required. This would decrease the club’s reliance on volunteer resources, city assistance, and/or the revenue needed (between fifteen and twenty-five thousand dollars per year) to outsource turf management.
“Moving to an all-artificial club is a big decision,” Bergman says. “However, with a natural green, there are two potential long-term solutions. Either the city commits to taking care of the green for the next sixty years or the club spends between fifteen and twenty-five thousand dollars per year to hire someone to take care of the green.
“Asking volunteers to do the job is not a sustainable solution.”
Information session Tuesday, July 25
The board of directors is conducting an information session at the clubhouse at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25. Please join us to be brought up to date.
Special General Meeting on Tuesday, August 1
The board of directors is calling a special general meeting on Tuesday, August 1. Please join us. We need to achieve quorum so we vote on the long-term direction and health of the club.
Councillor Cheng pays us a visit
Councillor Lily Cheng poses for a picture on the artificial surface on May 13, 2023. With her are (l-r) Don Rayko, Suzan Tari Vince Donohoe, Eric Bergman, Councillor Cheng, Gordon Jones.
Councillor Lily Cheng paid us a visit during our second open house on May 13, 2023.
She arrived about 3:15 p.m. and chatted with a number of people on site, but spent most of her time with a few members of the board of directors and other volunteers. She was originally scheduled to spend an hour, but spent almost two hours listening, asking questions and taking notes.
Board members outlined a number of issues the club is addressing, with emphasis on property management and the ongoing maintenance of the club’s natural lawn bowling greens. The discussion encompassed the lease arrangement for the property on which the club sits, and touched on potential ways in which lawn bowling can be marketed in the community.
“We even discussed conducting a corporate day for councillors that we would be delighted to host,” says Gordon Jones, president of Willowdale LBC. “Councillor Cheng listened to everything we had to say and also offered her own ideas as well. It was an excellent exchange.”
Councillor Cheng made it clear that she’s less interested in short-term solutions than she is in creating a long-term, sustainable framework—particularly when it comes to property management and greens maintenance.
During a spirited and engaging exchange, the councillor asked dozens of questions and took copious notes.
“This meeting was a great start to our relationship with the new councillor,” Jones says. “She seems to be absolutely committed to the Willowdale community. We’re looking forward to helping her to ensure that this facility continues to be a resource for Willowdale for generations to come.”
First open house successful
From there, about 15 people signed up for additional coaching. These folks will be provided with two to three additional coaching sessions over the next few weeks with the goal of turning them into full-time members.
Unfortunately, Councillor Cheng was unable to join us at our first open house. However, we’re looking forward to hosting her at another time during the 2023 season.
Our next open house is Saturday, May 13 at 1:00 p.m. Please join us to help out if you can.
Toronto reduces lawn bowling support by 30%
During the fall of 2021, Willowdale’s board of directors made a freedom of information request that sought “Budget submissions by Golf Course operations for lawn bowling. Specifically, (we’re) looking for budgets approved by council that show line items to provide services to lawn bowling.”
The search yielded the following information:
The dates were chosen because 2016 was the year in which responsibility for managing natural lawn bowling greens was transferred to golf course operations. It was also the year after the national lawn bowling championships, co-hosted with Agincourt, were held on Willowdale’s greens.
“The city was responsible for managing our greens to championship status in 2015,” says Gordon Jones, president of Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club. “A lot has changed since 2016.”
Last. fall, another FOI request was made to update the information for 2022.
The request was initially denied, with the city writing:
“Staff of the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division have advised that despite a thorough search, they were unable to locate any records responsive to your request. Access therefore cannot be granted to those records as they do not exist.
“Staff have further advised that the City does not have any lawn bowling greens located on golf courses.”
This was an interesting response, to say the least. However, after a quick e-mail exchange with the city clerk’s office, and the lawyer responsible for Willowdale’s FOI requests, Willowdale received the following:
From 2021 to 2022, staffing support decreased by 30 per cent. Materials and supplies decreased by three per cent (during year in which fertilizer costs rose more than 30 per cent). Pickup truck costs rose by 25 per cent during a year in which staff support decreased by 30 per cent.
The 2.4 greenskeeper positions
The 2.4 greenskeeper positions identified in the 2021 freedom of information request were not mentioned in the 2022 follow-up.
In theory, based on the number of operational lawn bowling greens in Toronto, and with 2.4 full-time positions shared by all clubs, each lawn bowling club with two greens should have more than one full-time person-day per week at its facility. That bears repeating: One full-time person-day per week at each club with two greens. Four to five full-time person-days per month. Twenty-five to thirty person-days per club per year.
In a follow-up request to the city clerk’s office, Willowdale asked:
“Since 2016, when responsibility for care and maintenance of lawn bowling greens was transferred to golf course operations, along with resources in the form of budget and greenskeeper positions, how many times have those 2.4 positions been filled with greenskeepers specifically dedicated to the care, maintenance and upkeep of lawn bowling greens in Toronto?”
The city replied:
“The 2.4 Greenskeeper positions dedicated to the care, maintenance and upkeep of lawn bowling greens in Toronto have been filled in full once in 2018.”
Canary in the coal mine
Is lawn bowling the canary in the coal mine of the city’s recreation portfolio? Possibly. Based on what’s occurring with lawn bowling, should other recreational groups be concerned? Absolutely.
Regardless of whether or not the lawn bowling canary is singing, however, two things are very clear when it comes to natural greens at lawn bowling clubs.
First, if you’re going to have natural greens, you need a dedicated core of volunteers to maintain them. Treat those volunteers like gold. Never complain about the work they do. Ever. And never forget that they’re always looking for help.
And that brings us to the second point. They can’t do it alone. They need your help. And they need the city’s help.
The trick will be to find ways to bring number one and number two together.
How can the city use volunteers to stretch its resources and its budget? And how can volunteers take advantage of the city’s knowledge, equipment and people to meet the challenge of maintaining recreational infrastructure of reasonable quality?
Those, folks, are the 233,296-dollar questions assuming, of course, that Toronto’s lawn bowling community regains the heady budget heights it enjoyed in 2021.
And they’re the same questions that every other recreational group in Toronto should be asking.
Councillor Cheng to join us at open house
Councillor Change is the councillor for Ward 18 Willowdale. She took office on November 15, 2022, after winning the municipal election in October.
Her biography says that she has a track record of identifying issues in Willowdale and taking action.
She co-founded We Love Willowdale, a movement created after the tragic van attack five years ago to help the community grieve and heal. She has established programs and support for challenges often overlooked by government, including seniors accessing grocery shopping support during the pandemic.
She has also addressed social isolation by expanding Willowdale Neighbours Connect, an active online community she started for the neighbourhood that has helped many feel a deeper sense of belonging in Willowdale.
Her website says that her greatest strength is described as inspiring “connectivity and participation for the greater good” and “building the infrastructure necessary to make things happen.”
If you’re available, please join us at the open house. And please feel free to bring stories of how lawn bowling has created greater connectivity, social activity, fitness in your life.
We’re looking forward to working with Councillor Cheng to support the infrastructure we need to continue to offer lawn bowls to the Willowdale community.