NEW COVID-19 DIRECTIVES

EIBA STATEMENT

EIBA STATEMENT – 22.09.2020
Following this afternoons announcement by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, we would like to advise all member clubs, organisations and players that we will be reviewing the current situation, along with tonight’s expected announcement. We have a planned Board of Directors meeting tomorrow and will release a statement, with updated guidance following this.

Onwards:  The club had its deep clean yesterday and today Scott and Ange have moved most of the chairs that won’t be used (or so you can’t be tempted to use them!) neatly out of the way.

Upwards:   Thanks to Scott who spent a lot of time bending down from his great height to lift up the rubber mats out of the outdoor ditches!  He and Ange have done a lot of physical work in the last couple of days, on top of what they were already doing.

A big thanks to both of them.

Following this afternoon’s announcement from the PM, we are awaiting a statement from the EIBA.  Otherwise, we’re sticking to singles, pairs and triples per rink.  6 being the magic number.  We are not anticipating hundreds of spectators flocking to Cambridge Park to watch us bowling!  However, it’s not good news for organisers of indoor sports events and entertainment though.

Please be prepared to wear your mask as you enter the club premises.  The lobby is the nearest we get to a bottle neck as people have to come through the outside then the inner doors and stopping to sanitise their hands en route to the green.  Thanks.

We were very lucky with the weather for a start!  A great achievement by Lucy H, Sarah & Stella K with a victory over the Men’s ‘loaded’ team!!  The green was very fast and new bowler Stella, had a blinder of a game at lead which of course helped the girls and put pressure on the men.  Conversely, Dawn’s triple never really got going against Stormin Norman with Dave W and Terry, who outplayed us fair and square.  Well done to them.  Ange, Gill & Corale only lost v Steve G, Brian N & Peter C on the final end.  Ann H, Tricia & Joan O’Njust pipped Gym, Gerry/Tony O’B and Bernard, Jean, Nadine & Corrine lost on the last end to  Peter T, Steve P & Scott who picked up a 4 .

Ann M provided an excellent Ploughman’s meal so we thank her plus Norman for his scones,  Laurence for his Rock Cakes, Dawn  for  her  Trifle  and  Scott for  his slick  ‘runner’  job.  Jane kept  us  hydrated throughout  the  afternoon and   it   was  good to see our friends spectating in their groups of six (they didn’t dare move a chair!) to close the chapter on the season.  Beryl, Jill G, Tony & Shirley O, Eric, Dick & Di, Reg, George H, Ann B, Val F, Brian & Carol C, Jean’s d-i-l, John B, and a younger couple who I’m afraid I didn’t manage to speak to.  We’re very lucky to have so much space outdoors.

Ann’s raffle with surplus funds from the meal raised £400 for Macmillan Cancer Support, with Kevin C winning the hamper and prizes for Brian Cr, George H,  Ann B and Gordon.  Coupled with the number of wrong biases during the day, the Men had an overall win, although we consider that all the members won!  If it hadn’t been for Ange, Jacquie E, Laurence, Audrey, Gordon and Dawn,  we might never had had an outdoor season.  Thank you to everyone who played, supported and believed in us.

We’re looking forward to the final game of the outdoor season tomorrow.  We’re starting at 1.00 pm and playing straight through finishing with the Ploughman’s Meal than Ann M is preparing.  Ann also has raffle tickets in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and will willingly sell you more tickets tomorrow.

The club house is set up outdoors and indoors with socially distanced tables with 6 place settings.  Please do not be tempted to move another chair(s) to make 7 or 8!  6 is the magic number!  We ask you to stay at the same table for the meal and not to swap around between mains and desserts, however tempting it might be.

All the usual disinfecting procedures will apply and please bring your own hand sanitising gel and face masks – which I am sure you have about your person permanently now!   If you are spectating and want to bring your own chair, that’s fine.  Although the forecast is good, I believe there will be more wind swirling around, so please make sure you have something warm to put on.  The bar will be open throughout and Jane can serve hot as well as cold drinks.

Gordon and his diminishing band of merry men (by the look of the crossings out on the sheet) will be putting the outside green to bed on Wednesday, starting at 10.00 am  If you can spare an hour or two, it would be a great help.  There is some lighter work – like hosing down and drying the mats and removing the markers and numbers from around the green – to heavier task like bending down and lifting the rubber matting from the ditches.  Working together to get this done will make the job easier.

Remember Mary Poppins (who is not available unfortunately) ?

In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. 

You find the fun and *snap* the job’s a game. 

And every task you undertake, becomes a piece of cake. 

A lark, a spree.  It’s very clear to see ….

That a cup-of-tea-or-pint-of-beer helps the medicine go down etc.

There will be a lager or a beer or a cup of tea at the end for helpers!

Thanks

Dawn

Audrey, Colin H and Ann B ran a very good Three Way Triples Competition with two triples from each of Cambridge Park, Strawberry Hill and Teddington.  They competed on three occasions, once at each club.  Audrey’s match reports are on the News page if you scroll down.

Yesterday, Dawn was pleased to award the Trophies to the 2020 Team Captains.  Which club will win next year?

For Ann, it was her last year at Strawberry Hill – 11 years playing and the last 5 years as Captain, doing a great job.  It was such a shame that 2020 was their club’s centenary and of course all the wonderful line up of extra matches were cancelled.  The President’s Day is on Saturday and I’m sure all the Cambridge Park and Teddington members along with Strawberry Hill members wish Ann all the best for her outdoor bowling as she moves to Bishop Duppas, which is much nearer her home.  However, she will be back at Cambridge Park, as will the other two for the indoor season.

PS  Colin was very happy, honestly!  It’s a shame the position of the sun didn’t allow us to have a brighter photo

Following on from recent posts updating you on EIBA guidance etc, we are still intending to open the Indoor Green on 1st October.  We know you are all itching to get back on the green but we cannot just open on that day and let everything happen as normal!!

We are an indoor sport (tick) and we have a bar (tick), so we have to follow several and varied government and EIBA guidelines to ensure the safety of members.

So for starters, here goes ……

The Risk Assessment for indoor play and clubhouse has been completed and checked.   The Club will have a deep clean throughout on Monday 21st September and the club will be closed all day. During the days that follow, there will be more internal work as the amount of furniture is reduced considerably and roped off.  We are purchasing pedal operated sanitising hand gel pumps for the bar end of each rink but each player will be responsible for keeping their hands clean and away from their face!  The ventilation system is being checked as we doubt anyone will want to play with an outside door open come November onwards.

Ange is arranging walk-throughs,  as we know we can use rinks 1, 3 and 4 for solo/singles/pairs/triples but using all four rinks could be more difficult due to no space on one side of rink 1 and no space at all at the back of all four rinks.

Due to the latter, the mats at the far end will be on the first dot, which will become the T.  (The standard T cannot be used as there is not enough space to safely socially distance bowlers waiting to bowl.)  There will be marks to show where players can stand when they are not on the mat.

Mats and jacks need to be disinfected between sessions which will be limited to three during the day and one evening one.  Wet mats and jacks cannot be placed on the green as this will ruin the carpet and we are not ready for the £40+k output for a new carpet!  We need to designate an area for the mats that are drying off can be stored ready for the following day’s play.  This can only be done once the extra furniture has been roped off and we can see what spaces are available.

The current green booking system has to be updated as well.

Players will need to arrive changed but may collect their bowls and shoes from their lockers and move immediately to the area behind the rinks to change their shoes.  No more than 2 people will be allowed in the changing room at a time and it is only to be used to remove items from lockers pre play and return post play.  It is advisable to leave your bowls/shoes in your lockers.  Only one person at a time will be permitted in the loo areas.

All the common areas will be cleaned and disinfected daily as well as extra disinfections between sessions.

The bar will be open as usual and the dining room area set up with tables seating a maximum of 6 within socially distanced spacing where you can drink and chat.

David H has emailed all league captains to check with their players if they are all available or undecided or holding back.  He cannot set the leagues in process until he knows how many teams there will be for each.  There will be friendlies v other clubs who wish to play but these will be restricted to 3 Triples – or 4 Triples if this can be managed safely.  There will be no post match food until after Christmas, at least.

You will have seen that along the EIBA and Bowls England guidelines, we are trying to make the club ‘cashless’ to avoid risk of transmission of germs handing cash between each other.  The new Membership cards have arrived and will be issued once subs (I don’t have the 2020-21 figure yet)  have been confirmed and paid.  We hope the new EPOS system will eventually allow you to swipe your card on entering the club to ensure we have an online track and trace facility.  At the moment, everyone needs to sign in by pen and paper (disinfected of course!).  You can pay for drinks with a credit or debit card but you will also be able to load money onto your membership card and that can be used for purchases.

Green fees will be standardised at £3.50 per 2 hour session and vouchers will be available to purchase in batches of 10 (preferably) or singly.  We are also looking at 1 hour session vouchers.

As you can imagine, all the above takes time and we have been working on it for the last couple of months.   It is all do-able but we cannot afford to cut any corners as regards your safety in an indoor area.  We are positive at what can be achieved and we will be emailing all the members with updated information in a more structured format than my ramblings above, which are not supposed to frighten you, but to let you know we are tackling this in depth!  The deep clean is paramount to give us the correct starting point, then all the next processes can slot in.

f.i.  The next Board Meeting is on Thursday 24th September and we will have more updates after that.

Dawn

PS  You might want to know if you have to wear a mask to bowl in.  Keeping the social distancing in place and not wearing a mask whilst on the green is safer than taking the mask on and off between bowling and waiting to bowl (because you’d have to clean your hands every time you put your mask back on).  Also, if you wear glasses which can steam up, there’s more risk of losing your balance and falling.