Go to 2008 News Archive.

Finals Day Part 2.

The weather was kind to us on Tuesday 15th and allowed the remaining Finals games to be played without anyone getting wet. It was good to see some new (and some not so new!!) faces in the Finals. The Cup of Good Hope was played between Ken Edwards and John Merrey with Ken Edwards winning 21-17 and, to the relief of some others, he is now ineligible for that competiton.

In a very close fought contest, Ben Hebdige beat John Woodcock in the Classic Shield. They each won a set and each won one end in the tie-breaker with Ben winning the last tie-break end. Excatly the same circumstances occurred in the Classic Plate where plucky young Michael Barratt came second to Peter (Pedro) Bridger.

The Waldron Cup Ladies Pairs competition was played between Mieke Meijer and Margaret Allen who beat Irene Owen and Fran Davis.

So that's it for another year. But don't forget, the next round of competitions is just around the corner. Entry forms have to be in by Friday 19th December and I know that a lot of our newer members are entering, which is what we want. And don't forget the National Competitions which have already started. There's such a lot going on - but don't forget to have a good Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year

OPEN DAY.

The Club needs to keep recruiting new members (every year we “lose” about 25 members) and with this in mind, an Open Day was held on 15 November 2009. We organised a similar event last year but learned from our experience and this time, we were a lot more organised.

A Development Sub-committee had been formed to look at how the club could attract new bowlers and its members, Norris Forster, John Woodcock, Sol Robertson and Wendy Norman were the force behind the amazing achievement of having SEVENTY people turn up, on the day, to try bowls.

Thirteen of them are currently being coached and arrangements are in hand for the others to start coaching next year.

Many thanks to all those people who helped in the preparation and on the day. It was a great effort.

Future Plans for new members.

Analysis of how the 70 people had heard about the Open day revealed that 23 of them were encouraged to come along by existing members so well done if you were one of these.

A lot of posters and fliers were produced and adverts placed in various magazines. Norris Forster has done a huge amount of work in getting the name of the Club in local publications. He has now been promised a listing in the Paphos Post which has a section relating to local groups and clubs. If we are put in this in alphabetical order, we will fit snugly between Alcoholics Anonymous and the Alzheimer’s Society. Good company?

A newsletter has been produced by the Development Sub-committee and will be distributed to members as well as to clubs, doctors, hospitals and any other places where we think it might be picked up and read by a potential new bowler.

Please help us if you can. Is there somewhere you go to where a poster or a newsletter could be displayed. If so, please let someone know.

NOVEMBER KNEES-UP.

The Aliathon Holiday Village was the scene for the pre-Christmas Dance and 89 people attended. The music was provided by Steve Richards, who had perfomed very well at the Prize-giving Dance in May. The food was good and the venue is ideal for that number of people. Unfortunately, it isn’t available for the prize-giving.

OTHER SOCIAL EVENTS.

John Warner continues to organise whist on Thursday nights and we have also had another successful horse racing night. During December the whist will still be on and John is also arranging a Ten Pin Bowling and Supper evening at Cosmic Bowling.

Whist will start again on 7th January and John has arranged a quiz night on 22nd January so get yourselves sorted into teams of four.

COMPETITION UPDATES.

The first part of the finals took place on Friday 4th December but the matches scheduled for the following day had to be postponed shortly after they started due to bad weather. They will now be played on Tuesday 15th December.

So far, the Marina Cup has been played. That was won by Bob Greensides and Linad Ryan with Pat Ryan and Irene Owen being runners-up. Pedro and Peter Morgan played for the Atlantic Shield with Peter coming out tops, as he did in the Final of the Pendreich Cup when he, and his partner Alistair Colliar, beat Pedro and Geoff Gardner. The other match played to a conclusion was the President’s Trophy with Fran Davis beating Sol Robertson.

The Saturday League finished with Eunice Warner, Sol Robertson, Tom Owen & Linda Ryan coming out winners. The runners-up were Mirah Manders, Pedro, Alistair Colliar & Anna Clarke.

Well done to all. Please remember that the closing date for entry forms for next year’s competitions is 19 December.

Fran Davis with Presidents Trophy

Peter Morgan with Atlantic Shield

Aliathon Holiday Village Open Triples Competition.

On Sunday 11 October 2009, the Aliathon held the second annual Aliathon Holiday Village Open Triples Competition. This is the only bowls competition on the island where the prizes are cash. Yes, there was money to be won and there were 20 entries from all four clubs on the isalnd.

The competition is sponsored by the Aliathon Holiday Village who waived the green fees for the occasion. The weather was kind and brought out a large number of spectators.

Thankfully, we didn't run out of time, although in next year's competition, there will probably need to be a time limit as we were cutting it a bit fine with the light.

The distribution of the prize money worked out well with the four clubs all having a team in the semi-finals but the overall winners were Myra Overy, Ben Hebdige and Geoff Gardner from the Aliathon. Don't know who took the photo but the 4 people in it all had an alibi!!!

Malta Tour 2009.

Malta tour 2009, organised by John Warner (and not a Malteser in sight)

The trip to Larnaca was smooth and uneventful, as was the check-in at the Emirates desk. On the tarmac was a very up-market A330. We were all suitably impressed with the in-flight entertainment,service and meal. A great start to the holiday.

Arriving at Malta we were met by our coach driver. Unfortunately we were delayed due to a gentleman travelling on the same flight putting his luggage on Barbara Piper's trolley and leaving the airport with her handbag. He had left her his briefcase containing Computer and personal documents including a photo copy of his passport.The airport police were very helpful and after a few phone calls Barbara's handbag was delivered to our hotel.

A happy ending to what could have had a devastating effect on Alan and Barbara's holiday. A 50 minute coach trip took us to the Mellieha Bay Hotel. A four storey hotel overlooking a very nice bay and all rooms looked over the water. The hotel staff were excellent with food of the same standard. Cost of drinks and lunch time snacks were very well priced, with a large Carafe of wine at dinner costing euro 6.50.

We soon met our opposition, The Byfleet Club, not quite the Bowling Byfleet Club we were expecting. This was a 3rd Age Club with a bowling section. However some of their players had been very good and some were still up to the mark and not to be brushed aside lightly as we were shortly to find out. The Jack High Tour Manager David Stewart and his wife Muriel travelled out with the Byfleet team.

David was presented with two problems before we got started. Firstly his bowling pack containing stickers, score cards and trophies had been sent to the hotel whilst he was in Spain with another group. The reception, not seeing his name on that week's list, sent it back to the UK. Fortunately he had some score cards and was able to purchase trophies locally. His second problem was that two of the bowlers withdrew from the competition leaving two bowlers short. It appears their wives wanted to go shopping everyday. This resulted in Irene's Team consisting of Irene and Tom, with Johnny Dee the bowls co-ordinator/entertainer and Muriel Stewart, David's wife. Not exactly the team Irene was expecting!

To give him his due David had got a county player from Hampshire to play on the 2nd and 3rd day but unfortunately the gentleman fell and broke his wrist whilst in town on the first day of play. The format consisted of 8 teams, each of which were to play each of the other teams. Bowling started on the Thursday with some teams playing three times and others playing twice. The second day's play followed this pattern. Day three saw some teams playing whilst others played only once to ensure each team had played 7 games.

The finals were played on the Sunday. The Aliathon provided both finals teams. Ben Hebdige, John Warner, Norris Forster and Diane Roberts versus Roger Humphrey, Howard Davis, Mike Jarvis and Barbara Piper (her with the handbag). Roger's team had won 5, drawn 1 and lost one. Ben's team had won 6 and lost 1.Roger's team led the scoring all the way with the last end starting at 10-14. Ben's team rallied and took 5 shots to win the competition. A good nail biter.

After each day's play people rushed to do their own thing. Some stayed at the bar or went for a swim, others took a short walk to the bus stand where buses would transport you to anywhere on the Island for about euro 1.50. Most visited Valletta and Sliema with others going further afield. This gave everybody a chance to bowl and also to explore Malta. The hotel had live entertainment each evening with Irene and others enjoying a dance. One night Roger ran a well attended Quiz which was won by Byfleet. On another John Warner ran a whist drive, which again, unfortunately, supplemented the purses of the Byfleet bowlers. One could say that was justice as we had won the bowls.

A trip to the island of Gozo was arranged for Monday our last full day. We shared our coach with our friends from Byfleet and a very talkative guide. The only comment was that she showed us too many places in too short a time. Being very proud of her home land she wanted to show us everything. We stopped for lunch with some trying the local Rabbit stew and others snacking to save themselves for the evening hotel meal. A great day out for a moderate cost of euro 20.50 which included guide and ferry crossing. Thompson charges £50.00 which includes a meal but also a trip around most of the other hotels picking people up.

Our coach arrived at 12 o'clock on Tuesday for our trip back to Luqa. The only unfortunate part of the whole trip was that the aircraft was full and Emirates had not done our group seating plan so some of our members were not seated together. However there is usually a silver lining, especially for the 5 who were up-graded to business class (no names of the lucky ones).

On arrival back at Larnaca, Michalis was waiting to take us back to the Aliathon Hotel. For some, it was all too much and they slept the hour and a half away.

So ended our Bowls trip for 2009

Thanks go to Prestige Travel (sponsors of the Prestige Travel Drawn pairs) for their help in arranging the flights and recommending Michalis for the coach, and Jack High for the bowling and hotel.

John Warner

Some News Bits

The new season is well under way now with the Saturday League and the inter-club Triples League in full swing. Results are going well for the Aliathon in the Triples League and some results are going well in the Saturday League (depending on whose team you're in).

The Chauvinist Trophy took place on Tuesday 6 October, with the men winning by 3 disciplines out of the 5. The Ladies tried to say that they should have won because, out of 11 women, 7 were on winning sides (triples and full-rinks) but that's just stretching things a bit. Another excellent BBQ was enjoyed, courtesy of John Warner and his team of helpers including Masterchef Tom Owen and Mistresschef Eunice Warner.

On a sad note, former President Geoff Dean passed away on Sunday 13 September 2009. Geoff had been ill for some time.

The men didn't do so well in the President's trophy, which was played to the semi-final stage, all 4 bowlers at that point being women (they still are as far as I know) and the two finalists being Fran Davis and Sol Robertson. Well done ladies.

On the social side, the Malta trip left on Tuesday 20 October. On his return, our marvellous Social Secretary John Warner is planning another Horse Racing night and a possible trip to the Keo Brewery. Now I wonder what that would involve??

Victory for the Gents in Ladies v Gents Competition

NEW SEASON STARTS.

Although it may seem pretty hot still, the new bowling season started on Saturday 29th August with the President's Team playing the Vice President's Team. The President's team decided to go easy on the others and only beat them by 3 shots. This was a marked improvement on past performances by the President's Team and Steve Horrocks thanks Alan Piper for picking the team for him. The individual team winners were Linda Ryan, Ken Edwards and Tom Mason.

The Saturday League begins this Saturday and, with 14 teams competing, it will run until 28th November. The draws for the knock-out competitions have all been made and there is a healthier entry than in previous seasons.

The club's busy social life continues with Whist still being played on Thursday evenings. A Darts and Backgammon night, organised by John Warner, was held on 28th August and John is in the midst of negotiations with the Aliathon for a November knees-up as an alternative to our usual Christmas do.

And remember, if you're a non-bowler, you can easily join us, get free coaching and have a great social life. Ex-bowlers are also welcome of course and anyone interested in bowling should remember that the Aliathon is the only Bowling Club in Cyprus where you can bowl 7 days a week without having to pay Green Fees.

LINDA RYAN IS OFF TO SCOTLAND.

The Aliathon's Linda Ryan will be bowling in the World Bowls, Champion of Champions competition from 22 - 28 July.

The contest features the Gents and Ladies Champions from each country member of World Bowls and takes place at the Northfield Bowling Club in Ayr.

You can follow Linda's progress on the World Bowls web-site:- CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS - AYR, SCOTLAND

LOCKER ROOM ABOUT TO BECOME A REALITY.

The Club has been given permission by the Aliathon Holiday Village to use the room formerly occupied by the Bowls Co-ordinator as a locker room. The intention is to put shelving around the walls and thus be able to cater for about 40 bags. Details have still to be worked out and agreed but Members who wish to use the facility (which would be at their own risk), would be expected to pay a small amount per year for the privilege.

SEASON ENDS.

The official bowling season ended on Saturday 6 June with the Charity Day, sponsored by Fraser MacKinlay. The President's Team was beaten (again) by the Past President's team (ably selected by Peter Morgan). The contest was in Triples format and the winners were Marjorie Healey, Danny Walker and Bob Greensides. The runners-up were Myra Overy, Mike Stock and Pat Ryan (nice to see some new names winning things). The Club Members made about € 1,500 for the two charities which were benefitting, Friends of the Paphos Hospice and the Association of Parents and Friends of Children with Heart Disease. Thanks to Theo's Cava opposite the Kato Pafos Debenhams for helping out again this year with a donation for the Tombola stall.Thanks also to Andreas and Angela, owners of the Tomb of the Kings Road Cava for their contribution

AGM.

Prior to that, the AGM had been held on Sunday 30 May followed by the first of this year's BBQ's with John Warner and Tom owen cooking up gorgeous grub for over 50 people. The new Committee is shown under that section on the web-site, the only change being that Bryan Overy stood down and was replaced by Richard Norman. We still need a Chief Selector. Nobody brave enough!!

PRESENTATION NIGHT.

Friday 27 May was the time when the people who had won and been runners-upin the Bowls competitions got their desserts. About 70 people enjoyed a good meal, good company, excellent entertainment and a modest amount to drink. We used the "banqueting hall" at the Aliathon and it has to be said that the service and food quality has improved considerably.

CLUB TOUR.

The next Club tour is to Malta. About 20 people are heading away from the sun - to the sun at the beginning of October to stay in a bowling hotel in Malta and play visiting teams. We hope it is as successful as the trip to Israel

FACILITIES.

At the first commitee meeting of the Club year, it was agreed that the feasibility of building a locker room would be looked at. There seems to be quite a demand for a facility which would allow bowlers to leave their heavy bowling bags in a secure place at the Club. The idea still has a long way to go of course but we will keep you posted.

NINE HEAD FOR SOUTH AFRICA.

Nine Aliathon members, Linda Ryan, Irene Owen, Meike Meijer, Sol Robertson, Diane Roberts, Alistair Colliar, Geoff Gardner, Ben Hebdige and John Woodcock left Cyprus on 30 April to complete in the "Atlantic Championships" in Johannesburg, South Africa.

You can find out how the Cyprus team (which includes Dot Gibbons (Coral Bay) and Loukas Paraskeva (Aphrodite)) are doing by accessing the World Bowls/events web-site click here.

The Aliathon "support team" consists of Tina Woodcock and Kitty Colliar.

The teams off to South Africa!

FIRST BBQ OF 2009 IS ANOTHER SUCCESS.

Over fifty people enjoyed a tasty, and inexpensive barbecue meal on Saturday 11 April following the last Saturday league matches and an EGM called to discuss how to appoint a Chief Selector. Well done to all involved in buying, making, cooking, serving and clearing up and well done to the winners of the Saturday League, Graham Daniels, Brian Painter, Barrie Smith and Ken Edwards.

Tom "Masterchef" Owen and John "Whist" Warner show off their culinary skills.

COLLIAR HEADS OFF EAST

Alistair Colliar is the Aliathon's contribution to a team of four bowlers from Cyprus who have entered the annual Tiger Bowls Open competition. This takes place in Hong Kong on 14-15 March and in Shenzen in China from 17-18 March. This time last year, Roger Humphrey was the Aliathon's contribution to the team. Our best wishes to Alistair , who recently stood down from his position on the Committee to concentrate on bowling.

CYPRUS TEAM DO WELL IN EUROPEAN BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cyprus finished in 9th position among the 16 teams who competed in the EBU championships. This was a very good team performance when you consider that teams from England, Scotland, Wales and other counties just a little bit bigger than Cyprus were competing. Ther are just over 300 bowlers in Cyprus whereas there are probably 300,000 in England and probably the same in Scotland.

On an individual basis, Linda Ryan did exceptionally well to finish 4th and the other three team members, Ben Hebdige, Irene Owen and John Woodcock all scored more than 30 points. Full results are available on the EBU web-site. but well done to the Aliathon bowlers who all pass on their thanks to those people who turned up to support them (not just Aliathon members) in conditions which went from pretty wet to not very nice wet at all.

CYPRUS TEAM BATTLES AGAINST THE ELEMENTS IN E.B.U. CHAMPIONSHIPS

The European Bowling Championship started on Sunday 22 February 2009. Although it was bitterly cold, Sunday was a nice day - compared to Monday which, in addition to being even colder than Sunday had the added distraction of heavy rain, high winds and, at one point, hailstones which caused a 30 minute delay in the second afternoon session.

The Cyprus team, Ben Hebdige, Irene Owen (a last minute replacement for Sol Robertson who had to stand down because of a family bereavement), Linda Ryan and John Woodcock are in a group which includes Guernsey, Portugal, Wales, Netherlands, Israel, Germany, Scotland, Jersey, Ireland, Isle of Man, England, Spain and Turkey. Up-to-date information on the team's progress is available at www.europeanbowlsunion.com .There is also a web-site www.justin.tv/jeff21up which shows live coverage and commentary of some of the matches.

The competition finishes on Friday 27 February. Entrance is €5 per day or a weekly ticket can be bought for €16. It's not expensive so come along and support the team.

Here are some photos from the first couple of days.

John Woodcock in action against Welsh Wales. The result was a draw.

Intense concentration - and that's just from the spectators.
Irene Owen's Israeli opponent appears to be a bit of an athlete.

Lesley Howe and Artur Webb sitting either side of an as yet unidentified spectator.
Or is it the Umpire Supervisor checking on Peter Morgan?

PLENTY OF SOCIAL EVENTS FOR THE SPRING.

John Warner, Social Secretary extraordinaire, has confirmed that he intends having Whist each Thursday unless another club social event is on that night.

Other forthcoming events are a Ten Pin Bowling Night at the Cosmic Bowling on Thursday 19th Feb.

John says there will be another Quiz Night in early March. Alan Piper, who ran the last one very successfully in September, is again going to organise this one and pop the questions to the teams. There is anotice in the Clubhouse about this. Teams can have a maximum of four people (and minimum of one I suppose).

Later in March (no definite date yet), there will be a Horse Racing night at the club. This will be run by Trevor and Ann Allman from the Athena Beach Hotel.

There is a also a notice on the wall about a Short Mat Bowling Evening. This will take place at the Crazy Spoon and the date should be known very soon.

John Warner is planning another Games Night. The one held in December was very good and everyone enjoyed it but John wants to try and tweak the format a bit and reduce the number of games.

Possible events for April are a trip to the Keo Brewery so we can see how the stuff's made and a Car Treasure Hunt.

Keep your eye on the web-site or the notice board for more detailed information about all these events.

BOWLS CYPRUS SQUAD ALL ALIATHON PLAYERS.

The four players chosen to represent Cyprus in the European Bowls Championships are all from the Aliathon.

Congratulations to Ben Hebdige, Linda Ryan, Sol Robertson and John Woodcock who will be playing in the tournament which starts on 22 February and ends on 1 March. It's at the Athena Beach Hotel and the 16 teams include England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Holland and, surprisingly, Turkey.