The Bowls Club Committee promised to communicate on a regular basis concerning the ongoing impact of the current crisis on the activities and implications for our Club and as we approach the end of April we thought it appropriate to drop you a note on the latest position and actions we are taking regarding the Club.
Thame Bowls Club Fixtures and Club Competitions for 2020:
Taking into account the current guidelines and advice, at this stage we are extending the cancellation of all organised fixtures through to the beginning of July. A decision will be made over the next two months on any further action that needs to be taken in the light of Government guidelines.
Remember that in 2018 we played well into October so we are still very hopeful that we can enjoy some bowling during the late summer with some form of competitive play to celebrate our return.
The Green:
Since the last update, unfortunately our contractors Avonmore have been “locked down” and unable to carry out the usual heavy and professional treatment they provide to us, although one of their team visited last week to fertilise which will help with the conditioning of the turf.
After discussion with the Committee, Chris Shannon has decided it would be best if only he cut the grass at the present time to avoid breaking any guidelines on social distancing etc. The good news is we are cutting to a reasonable height and watering on a regular basis and the green is looking very good in the circumstances. In addition Chris and Janet managed to cut the outside borders last week so they can now be kept under good control as well.
The Club House Rebuild:
Our building contractors are of course impacted by restrictions on work due to social distancing guidelines, but in addition they are also experiencing further problems with obtaining materials due to lots of building suppliers and manufacturers being either closed or operating a very limited production.
To summarise, the structural work on the building has been completed through to the stage of internal fittings and decoration and the layout and construction looks excellent – see photos uploaded regularly on our website using this link https://www.thamebowlsclub.co.uk/index.php/clubhouse-rebuild
What remains to be completed are the electrical fittings, all of the internal fixtures and fittings, the decoration, fitting out of the kitchen, bar, changing room, toilets and club room areas. The carpet and vinyl floorings are on order but awaiting delivery and installation. The kitchen supplier’s factory is closed and we are told the earliest delivery we can expect from them is 1stJune. Sanitaryware is presently unavailable. The scaffolding has now been removed which will allow us to make progress on the external landscaping, flags, drainage and construction of the replacement shed and equipment store. Hopefully some of this work will be progressing over the coming weeks, subject to the restrictions mentioned above. So still plenty to do and in short, we are not expecting the building to be completed now until the end of June at the very earliest; until then the site remains restricted and under control of the contractors for obvious reasons.
Bowls England and County Bowling:
As advised previously, all National and County Bowling competitions have been cancelled and this has now been extended to any Celebration Matches being planned for later in the season. Like us they are looking forward to brighter days ahead and their staff team is working on a variety of projects in support of clubs once the Government relaxes the restrictions and allows us to resume playing.
The Bowls Club Constitution:
Club finance is an issue we keep under constant review due to the current climate and unlike the Tennis Club, we generate much of our annual income from playing activities and Club usage, which raises some concern going forward. The Bowls Club Committee has therefore been exploring further opportunities to obtain additional grant funding not only to support our costs but to provide us with any additional funding we may need to complete additional Club facilities. To facilitate this we have needed to update both the Bowls Club’s Constitution, which was a little dated for current legislation and protocol and the Club’s 5 Year Development Plan. The new Constitution is based upon guidelines provided by Bowls England, but incorporates all of our traditional Club rules and practice that figured prominently in our old one. In the short term for expediency, it has been fully considered and informally “adopted” by your Bowls Club Committee, but as required we will have a formal discussion and vote on full adoption at the next AGM.
We will be emailing a copy of the document to everyone in the next week and it will be on the website very soon.
200 Club:
The annual Sports Club 200 Club cycle comes to an end this month and we will be holding a videoconference with some appropriate representative members across both playing clubs to make the April draw. The great news is that once again, through member’s contributions we will have again raised a profit of around £2500 to contribute to Sports Club funds and the Rebuilding project.
Ian will therefore be in contact in the coming week to sign you all up for another 12 months membership of the 200 Club so you can once again look forward to the excitement of your end of month windfall.
I know you all realise how important it is to maintain support for this very useful source of income which will be key going forward to support the costs of funding gap we will inevitably have once the new building work has been completed.
We know we will have some vacant numbers in the grid ready to offer to anyone who is waiting to join the draw – £24 will buy you a number in the draw for the next 12 months as Ian’s note in the coming days will explain.
Ian runs the 200 Club single handed so anything you can do to make his life easy would be appreciated.
Club Finance and Subscriptions:
As we stated in our last note, we have ongoing costs for 2020 and an as yet unfinished building to complete.
Our current decisions are as follows:-
Fees already paid for Social Events now cancelled – all those who asked for refunds have received them and enormous thanks to everyone who asked their money to be donated to the Bowls Club or Rebuilding funds.
Competition Fees already paid – As above, competition fees have either been refunded or donated where requested, for which many thanks.
County Competition Fees already paid – We are expecting these back from County in the coming weeks and when this money arrives we will make refunds to those few who entered County Competitions.
Membership Fees– In the short-term we are not thinking of refunding Membership Fees and we will review the situation later in the year when we have greater clarity on whether we will be able to participate as a Club in any activities between now and 31stMarch 2021. Initial thoughts are that we will review the finances towards the middle of the year and consider either partial refunds or the option of carrying part of this year’s subscriptions forward to pay for next year’s membership. If however members feel they wish to cancel their membership of the Bowls Club we will refund the majority of their subscriptions in the coming weeks.
Moving Forward:
We will continue to send out communications on a regular basis. Any one of your Committee is very happy to discuss your concerns or answer any questions you may have about this note or any other issues not addressed by this latest communication. Please make use of the Website where you can, but let’s stay in touch with each other at these most difficult of times.
Most importantly we all need to stay safe and well and we remain hopeful that we will all get together again before the end of the Season to celebrate our new surroundings and enjoy each other’s valued company and friendship.
As always, we are very grateful for your support and understanding.
Bill Giles OBE Chairman Thame Bowls Club and the Bowls Club Committee
