Ember Sports Club Blog page 2

Golf Croquet Tournament enjoyed by all

On Sunday 2nd July, we staged an internal Golf Croquet (GC) tournament for twelve members, playing fifteen doubles matches on both lawns, from 2pm to 6.30pm.

Self-appointed team selector Steve gave each player a seeding so that the top seed was paired with the lowest seeded player, and so on. This nearly worked but we forgot to include Geraldine, and then Hugh did turn up, so we had to do a little bit of a jiggle of teams 5 and 6.

The teams were as follows:

  1. Simon and Pauline
  2. Roger S and recent recruit Sue
  3. Steve and Louise
  4. Tom and Peter
  5. Hugh and new member Gary
  6. Geraldine and Pat

Roger S had found and selected the best permutation of games to be played, so that each team had to play at least one game on the small lawn, and everyone was clear who played whom and when. This certainly meant changeovers ran smoothly and we were able to conclude the tournament in a timely manner this time around.

Each game was timed to last 35 minutes maximum, and of course the main lawn was double-banked so some delays were inevitable. Once time was up, each player could have two more turns each. It was good to rest up from time to time, and to catch up on the cricket score and the controversies unfolding at Lords.

There were some close games including a draw, which ultimately prevented one team from winning the tournament. Three points were awarded for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss. Everybody stayed the distance and there were no walkovers.

The final league table looked like this:

TEAMPLAYEDFORAGSTDIFFPOINTS
Geraldine & Patrick528161212
Roger S & Sue52219312
Steve & Louise52921811
Simon & Pauline52026-69
Hugh & Gary51729-129
Tom & Peter52126-57

So Pat and Geraldine were declared the winners by virtue of a better hoop scoring difference (DIFF column above), Roger and Sue were in second place, and Steve and Louise came a creditable third. Tom and Peter came sixth but had the role of giant-killers, winning 5-3 against the eventual winners. Pat’s spectacular long hoop run to clinch the draw against Sue and Roger S, was the shot of the tournament.

Here are some photos from the day:

EMBER BOWLS CHARITY DAY – 2.00pm Sunday 1st July – followed by a BBQ

Please support our Charity Day on Saturday 1 July. It will be a 2pm for 2.30pm start with games on the green followed by a BBQ at 4.45pm.

The charity is ‘OASIS’.  Oasis provides vital support to vulnerable families and children in Elmbridge and the surrounding areas.  Its efforts are recognised as having a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable families and children in our local community – a beacon of hope and refuge for those in need.

BBQ tickets should be purchased in advance at £10 per person. Sylvia Jones, Wendy Beaney and Mary/Tony Baker have tickets.

Fun games on the green will start around 2.30pm with a ‘Spider’ followed by different games on the six rinks. It will be a £1 entry per try per game. There will be a prize for the winner of each game. Three woods to be used for each game (except the putting!).

The games are:

Rink 1 – “Target bowls”: target pinned to green with score for each bowl at the end of 3 woods that is in the target.
Rink 2 – “Hit the Jack”: 3 jacks set out on the rink and one point for each jack hit.
Rink 3- “Nearest the Ditch”: send woods towards the ditch and the nearest wood to the ditch wins.
Rink 4 – “Beat the Captain”: try and get a wood nearer the jack than Tony Baker. If you do he will pay £3 each time to the charity and you will enter a ‘final’ for the winner prize.
Rink 5 – “Hit the Teddy”: a Teddy will be on the rink and 1 point for each time you hit it.
Rink 6 – “Target Putting”: a target pinned to green with score for each golf ball in the target (woods not to be used!).

After the games finish at around 4.00pm, ‘finals’ will take place where required for each game followed by the presentation of prizes to the winners. The raffle will also be drawn. There will then be a bbq at about 4.45pm for which you will need to purchase tickets in advance.

The raffle tickets cost £5 per strip. It is best to buy tickets in advance (especially if you cannot attend on the day!) and put your name on each ticket in the book.

Members are reminded please to donate prizes (a box is by the door in the Clubhouse) and we also hope to have some additional prizes from outside the club!

A Night to Remember (featuring a Leopard, a nonagenarian and a gender dispute.)

Ember Bowls Club’s normal Monday Club Night was interrupted by the President of Surrey County Bowls Association together with his Vice-President, Secretary and Match Secretary who came to present our Chairman Ken Homewood with the prestigious Surrey County Leopard Award. This award is made by the County Association to recognise long and distinguished service by a club member in the service of their Club. Surrey President, Brian Shellard, cited Ken’s service as Captain, two spells as Chairman totalling 13 years, organising many social events and his running of the Evening league, particularly with its role in developing bowlers. Congratulations Ken.

You might remember that in 2016 Jerry Ingham was also awarded his Leopard Badge. So, not to be outdone, this occasion also marked Jerry’s 90th birthday. A card signed by club members was presented to him by fellow leopard, Ken Homewood. Happy Birthday Jerry

This was not an ordinary club night as it marked the annual Gentlemen vs. Ladies grudge match. This year the respective captains were Mary and Tony Baker so it was something of a domestic dispute. The Gentlemen ran out as winners (74-49) and Tony gracefully accepted the trophy from Mary… Congratulations Tony

A Night to Remember (featuring a Leopard, a nonagenarian and a gender dispute.)

Ember Bowls Club’s normal Monday Club Night was interrupted by the President of Surrey County Bowls Association together with his Vice-President, Secretary and Match Secretary who came to present our Chairman Ken Homewood with the prestigious Surrey County Leopard Award. This award is made by the County Association to recognise long and distinguished service by a club member in the service of their Club. Surrey President, Brian Shellard, cited Ken’s service as Captain, two spells as Chairman totalling 13 years, organising many social events and his running of the Evening league, particularly with its role in developing bowlers. Congratulations Ken.

You might remember that in 2016 Jerry Ingham was also awarded his Leopard Badge. So, not to be outdone, this occasion also marked Jerry’s 90th birthday. A card signed by club members was presented to him by fellow leopard, Ken Homewood. Happy Birthday Jerry

This was not an ordinary club night as it marked the annual Gentlemen vs. Ladies grudge match. This year the respective captains were Mary and Tony Baker so it was something of a domestic dispute. The Gentlemen ran out as winners (74-49) and Tony gracefully accepted the trophy from Mary… Congratulations Tony

Croquet joins ‘S’ League

For several years Ember Croquet Club has played against other local clubs in the South East Croquet Federation’s Beginner’s League, aka SECF B League. Given the rapid improvement in handicaps of our ‘younger’ players – Simon Charrington; Roger Stearn; and Steve Edney – this year we decided to join the ‘S’ League. ‘S’ denotes clubs with a single lawn, but the standard is higher as there is a lower restriction on handicaps.

The team has played two games so far, match reports recorded below:

CHEAM AWAY 5TH MAY

Ember’s ‘S’ league AC team, comprising Roger Stearn (capt), Roger Dollimore and Simon Charrington, travelled to Cheam for the first SECF match of the season – two rounds of singles and doubles, doubled banked.  Simon (11) was first up in the singles vs Geoff Gunton (6); while Roger S (11) and Roger D (9) played Brian (8) and Colin (11).  With the benefit 5 bisques and a midweek team practice/coaching session Simon successfully kept full control of his singles game vs Geoff, winning 26-0.  The first round doubles was a much closer affair with Cheam’s fast lawn proving challenging for the Ember pair to gauge, and time ran out for Ember to make up the final five point deficit.  With 1-1 at lunch (deliciously provided by the home team), the second round continued in very closely fought fashion, with frequent unforced errors on both sides.  With five minutes left on the clock all permutations of result remained open – win, draw, loss Ember/Cheam.  In the doubles, Ember needed to make up a two point deficit, at time, when, with the lawn well set, the ball lodged tantalisingly in the jaws.  End of game.   Now, with less than five minutes to go, a draw remained on the cards.  The ebb and flow of the afternoon singles showed it was anyone’s game, but ultimately finishing 24-23.  So, a 3-1 loss for Ember, but lovely day, hosts and lunch, and good experience for us in this elevation from ‘B’ League.

HAMPSTEAD HEATH HOME 27 MAY

In glorious conditions, both weatherwise, and our fast playing surface, the odds turned significantly in Ember’s favour when a mix up at Hampstead led to their being a player short, their star player at that (handicap – minus 1).  This was such a shame as we had mentally prepared ourselves to be playing against a very low handicapper, and with Steve on standby as substitute, when suddenly we had to reset our thinking, firstly how to contrive a match to lead to a result, and then to the reality of handfuls of bisques being available to our opponents, Tom Hankinson and Steven Eggelhoefer.  This was all negotiated and agreed in good spirit, and the match finally stuttered to a start, first with a singles, Simon vs Tom (26-7), closely followed by another singles, Roger S vs Steven – his first inter-club match – (16-11); then Rogers D&S playing the doubles in the afternoon.  This became a very close game, with the Hampstead pair concentrating mostly on splitting up the Ember duo, and both sides picking up the odd hoop here and there.  At 12-12, and getting close to full time, Hampstead missed a simple hit-in allowing Roger S to seize the initiative, run two hoops and be on the lawn when time was up.  So, final result to Ember, 3-0 plus the walkover, and a lovely salad buffet lunch (thank you Belita) and proper late-May English summer’s day!

Ember Sports Club Fun Day – 21st May

Please come and enjoy the games at Ember Sports Club Fun afternoon on Sunday 21st May, 2-4pm.

All members, friends, neighbours, children and guests welcome

Fun Games Day – Croquet

On Sunday 21st May, from 2pm to 4pm, please come along and have a go at some fun croquet games we have devised for you!

Croquet 21 – practice your “hitting-in” abilities by knocking over six targets of increasing distances

Croquet 16 – run a hoop from varying distances to collect points

Racing Croquet – run three hoops and hit the peg as fast as you can

Come and try bowls!

Come and try bowls free! Starting 7th May – come on down and try out the great game with some friendly experts on hand to show you the ropes.

First roll-up of the season

Great to see so many people down for the first roll-up of the season. Good night for it!

Bowls Opening Day Changed

Hi Folks,

Because of the weather we have decided to delay the opening of the green until Sunday 16th April.

It will be a roll-up starting at 2:30pm so be there by 2pm please!