FUNdraising – Croquet-Bowl Event

VLBC held a fundraising event on Saturday October 10, 2020 for its members, with a focus on Fun, Friendly, Festive and Family atmosphere.

As a rainy/wet day was forcasted, the event was named “Umbrella -Croquet Bowl”, and were determined to carry on rain or shine. However, we were blessed with a fine sunny day.

As we are well aware, the pandemic has affected all aspects of our lives. We have been fortunate to have been able to play at our Club these past few months. One serious issue facing VLBC is a financial deficit caused primarily by the suspension of all rental income for the year as well as some decline in memberships.

The Games Committee called upon all members to take part by choosing to participate in either Croquet or Bowling. At the outset, there was an overwhelming support for this endeavour by the VLBC membership at large. As we were limited to less than 50 bodies at the club, there were 29 Bowlers and 18 Croqueteers who participated in the day’s activities. 9-members who could not be physically present did send their generous donations.

We had suggested $20 entry donation to participate in the day’s activities, hoping to raise about $600-$800. But many of the participants contributed substantially more. As well, a number of members who were unable to attend also made significant financial contributions. The total raised on that day was $2,517.50, far exceeding our expectations. For your interest, there was one donation of $200; nine $100 donations; several $50 donations, this is over-and-above the $20 entry donation. In summary, the $2,517.50 was raised by only 56 members. That was impressive!

It is important to note that there may be additional donations by other members, not mentioned here, in the treasurer’s box that is not accounted for in this total amount.

Outside of the actual sporting activities, there was a liquor license to serve/sell beer and wine ($5); pizza for sale. At least 30 members bought pizza ($5) thus contributing even more towards the cause! Of course, as usual Annie Bolt was there in the kitchen serving up nice hot coffee with her homemade (sugar-loaded) goodies. Thank you Annie! Gary Anderson (a new member) also brought some home made muffins including gluten-free options. Thank you Gary !

Of course an event such as this does not happen by itself, particularly on short notice – planning, organizing, managing the Bar, Kitchen, Bowling Competition, Croquet competition etc.. Thanks to Lorne Oakes, Peter Rassenti, Anita McCaw,  Alice Albert,  Barb Marriott,  Rohan Gowda, Keith Newhouse (and anyone else I missed).

Special mention to those who couldn’t be there in person but were there in spirit and sent their donations.

Summary of the Sporting activities:

Bowling:

Due to restrictions on the number and social distancing yet needing to maximize the numbers, we had to come up with a format that accommodated as many bowlers as possible. Bowlers used the lower Green and the Croqueteers used the upper Green

There were 4-Bowling teams of 6-each: Team-Supreme; Team-Angelina; Team-Jo Ann; and Team-Rose. The teams composition was drawn by Gopal/Anita. The team captains chose the Pairings within their teams. In addition to 24 Bowlers, we also had 5-spares on standby.

It was a 4-Bowl; 6-Ends format; Win=3;  Tie=1;  Loss= 0

Game 1: Team-supreme played against Team-Jo Ann; each team came out with one Win and one Tie; 4-points each

Game 2: Team-Angelina played against Team-Rose; Team-Angelina came out with two wins (6-points) and Team-Rose secured 1-win (3 points)

Game 3: Team-Supreme played Team-Angelina; Team-Angelina again came out with 2-wins (6 points) and Team-Supreme with 3 points

Game 4: Team-Rose played Team-Jo Ann; Team-Rose had 2-wins and Team-Jo Ann 1-win

After each team playing 2-games each; Team-Supreme and Team-Jo Ann were tied on 4-points; Team-Angelina and Team-Rose had 12 and 9 points respectively.

So the Play-offs was between Team-Angelina and Team-Rose.

The grand champions are Team-Angelina (Angelina Flath/Elaine Huber; David Maher/Michael Pardaens; Pierre Pomerleau/Brenda Janke)

Regret: forgot to take a picture of the winners!

Croquet:

The 18 Croqueteers divided into 4-teams of 4 (two pairs) with two spares on standby. They called their teams: Red Team; Blue Team; White team; and Green team. The captains decided the pairing within the team. All teams played each other and the top two teams (Red Team and White team) faced off in the play-offs, with White team walking away with victory. The final winners are Pierre Dunn and Rolf Bertsch (Rumour has it that the White team was “stacked”). It was a fun-filled festive atmosphere, duly acknowledged by all the Croqueteers.

One unique aspect of the Croquet competition was that all teams played all the time. Due to the nature of the sport they were able to achieve this while the bowlers could not, resulting in two teams had to wait while the other two teams played.

A big thank you to all for your financial support in particular and your enthusiastic support for such an event in general. The funds raised will help to offset some of the club’s shortfall due to lack of income from rentals and some reduction in memberships.

We could hold such events a few more times during the next season. You are welcome to suggest better ideas on the overall event-format; and bowling/croquet format. Your feedback is important and will be appreciated.

Other members are encouraged to donate to support your/our/my club. You can slip an envelope with cash or check into the locker marked TREASURER on the left in the men’s locker room.

In conclusion, the key takeaway from this wonderful day was that the members of VLBC love their club and want to safeguard their first-class facilities they are grateful to have access to. This was demonstrated by their overwhelming generosity.

Thank You All

VLBC – Games Committee

Submitted by Gopal Gowda