BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 1 | P a g e

BRITISH CROWN GREEN BOWLING ASSOCIATION

PETER HIGHAM (WALES), BCGBA PRESIDENT 2016

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 2 | P a g e

PETER FOLLOWS HIS BROTHER TO PRESIDENCY

Peter Higham (Wales), created a bit of BCGBA history at the recent Annual General Meeting by following in the footsteps of his late

brother, Mel, to become the 2016 President of the British Crown Green Bowling Association – the first time in the Association’s long

history that two brothers have held such high office.

Mel was President in 2001 but sadly was not able to share in Peter’s proud moment as he was taken from us long before his time.

Peter becomes the fourth Welsh BCGBA President joining Mel Higham, Ray Springfield MBE and Gwynn Morris to receive this

prestigious honour.

Peter’s Crown Green Bowling career began sixty years ago, aged seven, when he started playing bowls at Sychdyn Bowling Club and

he is still a member today. In 1984, along with his father, Stan, and brother Mel, he founded the Welsh Junior team and has been

involved with them in one capacity or another ever since. He was also a founding member of the Welsh Referees Society in 1985 and

has officiated at all of the top BCGBA events.

One of the highlights of Peter’s year in office will be the BCGBA Senior Individual Merit which will be played in his home county at Llay

Welfare (LL12 0TH) on the outskirts of Wrexham on Saturday 30th July (10am). Coincidentally, the last time the Senior Merit was

played in Wales it was also played at Llay Welfare. Merseyside’s Matt Gilmore defeated Yorkshire’s Graeme Wilson 21-16 in the 2001

final.

In his acceptance speech, Peter said that it was a proud moment to receive the President’s blazer and one of the greatest honours in

our sport. He said he will carry out his duties to the best of his ability and he, and his wife Jeanette, look forward to visiting as many

counties as possible during a busy 2016.

Peter will be supported by Phil Brown (North Midlands) in

his presidential year after being elected Deputy President.

Phil’s bowling career started on the Wirral (Merseyside) in

the late 1960s when he joined Pensby Bowling Club but had

to wait until he attained the age of twelve before he could

play competitive league bowls.

A change of job saw a move to Tamworth in Staffordshire

and he currently plays for Baddesley Colliery where he has

been Chairman for the last six years.

He has represented North Midlands in the Crosfield Cup and

Nuneaton in the Federation of Crown Green Bowls. He also

played for Wirral in the British Parks so has a clean sweep of

county bowling.

SPONSOR OF THE

BCGBA

SENIOR INDIVIDUAL MERIT

and

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 3 | P a g e

#DevelopmentMatters Happy New Year from all of the Development Sub Committee! When you look out the window, you may not think it is weather for bowls, however the 2016 season will soon be upon us and we hope you are in the process of getting ready for it. The BCGBA Rules Revision and AGM took place recently and I am sure you will have read through the outcomes from the meetings. Some positive steps were made for the Association in those meetings and we look forward to further developments in regard to those over the coming months. Normally winter is a quiet time on the green but the wheels of Development never stop turning and we are busy putting together plans for 2016 and beyond. As ever, if you have any questions, please get in touch. Happy Reading! Jodie BCGBA National Development Officer

‘How can we introduce more people to the sport?’

This is a common question asked greenside across the country. One

initiative which we are trialling this season in the North Midlands, before looking to roll out BCGBA wide in 2017, is a National Crown

Green Bowls Weekend.

So how will it work?

We will be inviting clubs to open their doors to prospective players in their local area as part of a wide scale event. This will be promoted through the BCGBA website and also the County Sport Partnerships

across the country. If we have enough clubs show an interest, we hope to get some Press and Social Media coverage.

You decide when you will hold your event over the specified weekend

and for how long and we will support you to get prepared for it

What can I do?

If you are in the North Midlands and wish to take part in the trial, then look out for information over the coming weeks. For all other

clubs, we will feedback after the trial and set a 2017 date.

There is currently a massive focus on Juniors in many counties in preparation for the 2016 season. If you know anyone under 18 who

may be interested in bowling, then don’t miss an opportunity to introduce them to the game. Contact your local League or County

Secretary for details of Junior events in your area.

Facebook user? Search for ‘Crown Green Bowls – Development Discussions’ and chat all things development with like-minded thinkers

Are you trying to develop your club but need advice?

Why not visit www.sportenglandclubmatters.com and

register your club. Their Mentoring application window is currently open until

February 1st for interested Clubs.

Coaching and Welfare are both key when we are looking to develop and grow the game. Now’s the time to be putting in place plans for coaching and welfare for 2016. Please contact your local Coaching

and Welfare officers for support in these areas.

Looking for funding? Then Sport England may be able to help. You can visit their website below, learn more about the funding available

and make an application. http://www.sportengland.org/funding/our-different-funds/

Contact your local Development Officer through your County Management Committee or email me direct at

Jodie.faulkner@googlemail.com Twitter @JodieFaulkner79

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 4 | P a g e

endsleigh.co.uk

Our reference: BRIT11ZC02

An Open Letter to Members of the British Crown Green Bowling Association.

Endsleigh have worked in partnership with the British Crown Green Bowling Association (BCGBA) for many years, with the objective of providing a competitive solution for affiliates, whether that is Counties, Leagues, Associations or Clubs.

You may have heard, that for the period of insurance beginning the 1st of May 2016, that there will be a change to the way that this is administered. I would like to take this opportunity to explain why.

The Insurance Industry is regulated. It is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA aim to protect consumers and maintain integrity within the industry and therefore place certain requirements on regulated firms. Regulated activity includes Administering, Selling or Advising on Insurance.

The previous method used by the BCGBA to provide insurance to its membership consisted of regulated activity. As the BCGBA are not authorised to provide these services, they had to cease these activities immediately, or face the possibility of sanctions, penalties and/or fines.

Endsleigh and the BCGBA therefore had to investigate a new way to deliver insurance to the affiliates. It was important to both parties that this was simple, cost effective and compliant.

It was clear almost at once, that the best way to do this, and remove the BCGBA from the process, would be to utilise an online system.

The online system, which will be available via a link on the BCGBA website, has been designed to be straight forward and user friendly. Upon payment, an electronic copy of documentation and an invoice will also be available instantly.

This provides a level of efficiency far beyond that previously available.

In order to use the online system, your County, League, Association or Club will require its BCGBA Membership number. These will be made available before the first week in March and will be circulated by County Associations. If you do not receive your membership number by the 1st March, please contact the National Registrar who you can contact directly after this date at pac21up@aol.com or on 07753 959370.

Although we believe that this method will be suitable for the majority, we also understand an alternative may be needed, where there is no ability to pay by debit or credit card. In this instance, or where there is no desire to use the online system, there will be an option of completing a form and attaching a cheque. Sadly however, this will incur an additional administration charge of £10. It is regrettable that an administration charge is necessary; however it is required to cover the human intervention and associated costs of processing the insurance manually.

We aim to have the online system ready for use by the first week of March, well in advance of renewals that fall due on the first of May. Although we sympathise with the concern, there was not a viable alternative. It is also the belief of Endsleigh and the BCGBA that you will find the system easy to navigate and consider the move a positive step in the future.

We look forward to continuing to work with you all. Regards, Michael Cashmore Endsleigh Insurances (Brokers) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This can be checked on the FCA register by visiting its website at www.fca.gov.uk/register. Endsleigh Insurances (Brokers) Limited. Company No: 1379864 are registered in England at Shurdington Road, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire GL51 4UE

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 5 | P a g e

HAS BACK PAIN EVER STOPPED YOU FROM PLAYING BOWLS?

If your answer to the above is YES – read on! Our official supplier of BCGBA kit and trophies FORTIS SPORT have introduced to us

Doctor Shane Murnaghan of Pearl Gravity who is having

unparalleled success in the self-help treatment for back pain

– whether moderate or serious. Doctor Murnaghan has

developed a revolutionary product that allows the user to

treat themselves ongoing – with remarkable results. It is not

invasive and saves the cost of expensive physiotherapy and

Chiropractic treatments – many of which do nothing more

than offer temporary relief.

Recently BCGBA Chief executive John Crowther and his wife

Pat tried Gravity – and with John’s known history of back

pain it was a good test! After 20 minutes both John and Pat

were totally astounded by the effects they had experienced. A

self-confessed sceptic of the GRAVITY at the beginning – Pat

had to agree that the response she had experienced was

truly incredible!

John said: ‘Being highly sceptical Pat and I decided to give the Gravity an

opportunity to help with our back pain. We were very surprised that after

just 20 minutes lying on the product most of our pain seemed to

disappear and it felt much easier to move. Without a doubt we would use

this on a regular basis when available’ John Crowther CEO BCGBA.

Dr Murnaghan (pictured) staged FREE GRAVITY demonstrations at last

year’s Champion of Champions Tournament at the Waterloo, Blackpool

and was kept busy with a constant stream of bowlers trying out his self-

help treatment.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER TO BCGBA MEMBERS

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To get your GRAVITY pack ordered go to www.buygravity.com to learn

more about this amazing aid to well being and to get your BCGBA Special

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add the code FOR25 to the online order form.

JUNIOR MERIT VENUE CONFIRMED

The 2016 Junior Individual Merit will be played at Walsgrave

Bowling Club in the North Midlands county of the new

Deputy President, Phil Brown.

As reported in the last Newsletter, the Junior Merit will

revert back to its traditional third Saturday in August date

after the Management Committee decided to reverse their

decision to play it on the first Saturday in August.

The finals will now take place on Saturday 20th August with

a 10am start.

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BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 7 | P a g e

RULES REVISION MEETING

The 2016 Rules Revision Meeting took place on Saturday 16th January 2016 at Winnington Park with a 22-item Agenda. Any Notice of

Motion required a two-thirds majority of those voting for a rule to be changed. Out of the 22 items under discussion, 11 were

successful, 5 were defeated, 5 were withdrawn and 1 failed to receive a seconder.

The controversial proposal to replace the £15 Club Fee with a Club Fee of an annual £1 per registered player, although

receiving some support, was defeated. 33 voted in favour, 44 voted against with 19 abstentions.

The appointment of all officers will now be made biennially at the January Annual General Meeting and they will be subject to

annual Performance Reviews by a Performance Review Sub-Committee.

Senior and Junior county matches can still be played on an artificial surface after a proposal that they should only be played

on grass was defeated. 55 voted in favour but 33 voted against and with 9 abstentions the proposal failed to get the required

two-thirds majority.

Another proposal to win the vote but failed to get the two-thirds majority (51 for, 36 against, 9 abstentions) was the proposal

to introduce a quarter-final round in the Senior County Championship. The top two teams in each section would have

qualified for the quarter-final stage and if the proposal had been successful a further proposal to end the Senior

Supplementary County Championship would have been up for debate. As the proposal was lost the proposal to end the

Senior Supplementary County Championship was withdrawn so the status quo will remain for 2016.

All games in the Senior and Junior Individual Merit must be played 21up, off scratch, as it appears some county associations

played their Merits 21up, off 3.

A proposal for the counties in the Junior County Championship to submit their teams from 1 to 12 both home and away in

ascending age order was defeated. Whilst the meeting acknowledged its merits the main objection was it would be difficult to

impose, particularly if a reserve was to be called upon and didn’t fit the corresponding age.

The number of qualifiers in the Veterans Individual Championship and Centenary Mixed Pairs will now be based on the

number of entries a county declares in the current season. Qualifiers were based on the previous season so if a county failed

to run a qualifier in 2015 they would not get an entry into the 2016 BCGBA final day.

All Notices of Motion that were successful on the day are now active rules of the Association. The full list of voting can be viewed on

the BCGBA website.

MEL EVANS MBE AND GARY ELLIS APPEAR ON TELEVISION PILOT

Mel Evans MBE went along to Big Centre TV, a regional

television station covering Birmingham, Walsall,

Wolverhampton, Solihull and The Black Country following

an approach about the possibility of having a regular

Crown Green Bowls news show which could become

another window of opportunity to promote the sport.

The ‘pilot’ show was broadcast on Thursday 28th January

and featured Gary Ellis as his special guest.

The show will be repeated on Tuesday 2nd February

(9.30pm) and again on Wednesday 3rd February at

2.30pm and 6.30pm for those that missed it. Tune in to

Freeview Channel 8 (in the midlands), Virgin Media 159

or online at www.bigcentre.tv.

Since the programme aired on Big Centre TV Mel has been inundated with messages of support and congratulations and would like to

thank those who contacted him. Due to the volume he is unable to reply to them all. But one of the most pleasing messages he

received was from a ‘non bowler’ who traced him on Facebook and asked how to get involved in the sport.

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 8 | P a g e

FORTIS SPORTS SOLUTIONS

BCGBA approved shirt suppliers

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 9 | P a g e

BCGBA News / 15 / 30 January 2016 10 | P a g e