Welcome to the 2022 Outdoor Bowling season at Chipping Norton

At the 2021 Annual Outdoor meeting I was elected as your Chairman which is a great honour, hopefully I will live up to your expectations. I know it’s not an easy job and I won’t be able to please all the people all the time but I will endeavour to do my best.  Val Harris has done a sterling job for the last nine or so years therefore on behalf of the members I thank her for all her hard work over the years.

Following the trials and tribulations of Covid for the past two years I’m looking forward to a successful normal outdoor season.  The focal point of the outdoor club is our green which is becoming known across the county and neighbouring counties as a good green. This is thanks to the hard work of Martin Acock, Keith Field, Tony Smith and Mike Harris along with Avonmore.  I know Martin, Keith, Tony and Mike put in many hours, which often go unseen by members, ensuring the playing surface is at its best for us all.  I’m sure 2022 will be no different, thanks gents.

The next important factor to a successful club is you, the members. The membership is increasing with many experienced bowlers and new bowlers wanting to join “Chippy”.  We have a good friendly membership with all classes of bowlers and if you know anybody else who wants to join please bring them along. We are having an Open Day on Sunday 24 April, 12 to 4, which has been promoted in Chippy News and other local publications. The Chipping Norton Mayor has promised to visit.

This forthcoming season we have the normal friendly fixtures, the WestOx League (run by John Benfield), the Oxfordshire Men’s League (run by Team Manager Percy Hickman) and this season we have put a team into the Bowls England Tony Allcock Trophy. This is a mixed national inter-club competition consisting of two rinks of four players (over 60’s, two men and two women per rink) playing 18 ends. Last year only one team from Oxfordshire entered however this year there are three. The first round we have a bye. For our first game we will be playing the winners of Banbury Central v Oxford City & County. On the day I believe we can beat both these teams.  Across the country there are over 425 teams entered. Percy will be managing this team.   Oxfordshire Bowls and Bowls Oxfordshire Ladies are looking for players to represent the county this year and I would encourage you to put yourselves forward. Details can be found regarding matches on the notice-board near the office for the men and in the ladies changing room for the women.  We also have more entries in the county competitions than we did last year. I wish everyone the best of luck.  John Benfield and I are looking at running a mixed Wednesday evening league which is in the planning stage. Once the details are formalised we will publish them. 

With regards to Covid I have to say that outdoor bowling is much safer however I am mindful that we have a number of members who are extremely vulnerable (including myself) so please minimise the risk of passing any contagious disease to other players. We will also respect personal concerns that some of you may have, so if you prefer to socially distance or wear a mask or log your attendance, you can do so if you wish, but please respect the decisions of others who feel more confident in the company of others.

Elaine Cook has kindly volunteered (maybe press ganged) to be the Outdoor Section Emergency Officer along with some members of the committee. This role is not a committee member position however with her past experience she will advise the committee of any appropriate action that is required in the case of emergencies that may arise. Thanks Elaine.

Safeguarding Policy.  Chipping Norton Bowls Club fully accepts its legal and moral obligations to exercise its duty of care and to protect all Young People and Adults at Risk, participating in its activities and to safeguard their welfare. Cathy and Martin Sparks have agreed to take on this responsibility on behalf of the Management Committee and therefore it covers all bowlers or visitors using the Indoor or Outdoor facilities. Thanks Cathy and Martin.

The subscription fee for the season 2022 is £70 for the season and the rink fee, when playing, will be £3.50 per session for all members. Subscriptions are due by 1 May 2022.

I’m in contact with the CNBC Web Master, Les, and I am planning to put the Outdoor Team sheets on the web site as well as on the notice board in the club.  This will mean you can also look at the web site to see if you are playing or not.  In this day and age we should be using digital technology more to communicate and promote the Outdoor Section and CNBC. If anyone has difficulty in using the site please let me know and I will help you access it.

Finally I hope you all enjoy your outdoor season. I look forward to playing with you all on the green, in the fresh air and hopefully sunny weather.  Let’s have a good, enjoyable and successful season.

Dave Lattimore

Outdoor Chairman.