OLBA ON LINE NEWSLETTER May 2019

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AGM News

Phillip Francis was elected President of the OLBA at the AGM in Woodstock. The board also welcomes new board members Mary Lou Richards, Bill McCollam and Nan Hendren. Ron Charles was acclaimed as secretary and John Fantin was also acclaimed as Treasurer.

Following the election, Ralph Ellis was appointed as Vice President and Steve Schuknecht was appointed as Championships Chair.

The board would like to thank Ken Simpson, our outgoing president and Tom Roth previously Championships Chair for their fine service.

Pictures from the Hall of Fame Evening

Seniors Community Program Grant now accepting applications

The Senior Community Program Grant pays for ADVERTISING and Food for Events and up to $2000 of computer equipment.

Up to $25,000 total for Stream 2 - 80% of cost covered or

Stream 1 for $5000 - 100% covered.

https://www.ontario.ca/page/information-seniors-organizations#section-3

ELIGIBLE EXPENSES FOR STREAM 2 INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

✓ Website development or upgrades

✓ The purchase of technology for educational purposes, with a limit of $2,000. Eligible technology is defined as computers (laptop or desktop), and tablets/IPads only. If you have received technology funding for a previous SCG Program, you must clearly specify how a new request is different for this initiative.✓ Software directly related to the implementation of the projec

t✓ Portable asset purchases directly related to the project can account for up to 25% of the requested funding and could include items such as: sports equipment, art supplies, gardening equipment and supplies (tools, soils, seeds and flowers, shrubs, etc.)Please note: the technology limit of $2,000 is a stand-alone amount and does not fall under the 25% funding restriction✓ Group tours, travel and admission costs to cultural or learning events

✓ Creation or presentation of seminars or instructional classes

✓ Costs to hire a consultant or an employee to plan or execute the initiative to a maximum of $5,000.

✓ Events to be held for recognition, or generic holiday (non-religious) celebrations

✓ Conference or registration fees✓ Honorarium for speakers (to be paid in cash or by cheque)

✓ Space and equipment rental✓ Promotional materials

✓ Wages: The value of existing staff time allocated to the project must be reflected in the project work plan and must not exceed 20% of the total grant amount. For example, where a project receives a $12,000 grant, no more than $2,400 can be used toward existing staff wages.

✓ Transportation and travel expenses for employees, volunteers or participants, in Ontario only*

✓ Catering, meals and refreshments (no alcohol)* up to $5,000* Funding to support travel or catering expenses must align with the provincial government’s Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive

News Release

Ontario Government is Improving Community Supports for Seniors

May 17, 2019

Program will help seniors stay active, healthy and safe

Seniors in Ontario want to remain healthy, active and socially connected within their own communities.For many seniors on a fixed income, it is hard for them to access affordable programs and services. Ontario is protecting what matters most to our seniors by announcing funding for projects that will provide local supports and services for seniors.

The Government of Ontario is investing $3 million for the Seniors Community Grant Program to provide grants to hundreds of non-profit community organizations across the province to co-ordinate and deliver local supports and programs for seniors. Starting May 17, 2019 until June 27, 2019, community groups are invited to apply for funding from $1,000 up to $25,000.

"At the current rate of growth, Ontario's senior population is increasing by over 100,000 people every year. Seniors built this province and our government is committed to helping seniors live independent, healthy, active and engaged lives." said Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. "We are working with non-profit organizations, community groups and municipalities to support projects that help seniors stay connected to their communities, access programs or volunteer."

Minister Cho added that this year's program is designed to better support the unique needs of seniors living in underserviced rural, remote, multicultural and Francophone communities. "We are looking to promote projects that prevent social isolation and elder abuse," said Minister Cho.

Larger incorporated organizations can also now access a "one-window" application service through Grants Ontario. This portal will better serve applicants, streamline the process, allow for regular reporting and will provide a better application experience.

"Our government is working for the people to make Ontario one of the best places to play sports and be physically active," said Michael Tibollo, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. "Physical activity improves physical, emotional and cognitive functions at any age — that is why we are working to ensure Ontarians across the province stay active and engaged."

QUICK FACTS

· The application period for the Seniors Community Grant Program opens on May 17, 2019.

· By 2023, there will be 3 million Ontarians over the age of 65.

· Active aging brings positive health benefits including reduced risk of dementia, anxiety and depression.

· General questions about the program can be answered by calling 1-833-SCG INFO (1-833-724-4636) or by emailing seniorscommunitygrant@ontario.ca.

The New Horizons Grant application period is now open.

The deadline is June 21. Here is the announcement page.

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/new-horizons-seniors-community-based.html

Official video on how to apply from New Horizons.

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/new-horizons-seniors-community-based/tutorial-video.html

Application Instructions

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/new-horizons-seniors-community-based/applicant-guide.html

Our Second Turf Seminar

NEW DATE: Sunday, June 23, 2019 - 10:00 am to 2:00pm

Guelph Turf Institute

328 Victoria Road

SouthGuelph Ont.

Bring your brown-bag lunch.

Subjects

turf grass diseases and management
irrigation fundamentals
outdoor workshop
spot repair tricks and tips

Register: roach@olba.ca

2019 Atlantic Championships Men's Singles results

Dan Salmon (Bronze) Adam McKeown (Bronze) Darren Burnett (Silver) Jamie Walker (Gold)

England's Steve Mitchinson and Jamie Walker defeated Scotland's Paul Foster and Alex Marshall for gold in the Men's Pairs

Scotand win the Men's Fours by one shot after scoring 7 in the last 2 ends against Jersey.

Scotland

Ronnie Duncan, Derek Oliver, Paul Foster, Alex Marshall

Jersey

Derek Boswell, Greg Davis, Scott Ruderham, Malcolm De Sousa

Men's Triples South Africa beat Scotland for Gold

Women's Singles Israel Ruti Gilor over Guernsey Lucy Beere

Jamie-Lea Winch, Lorraine Kuhler and Sian Honnor win Women's Triples Gold for England over Scotland's Hannah Smith, Claire Johnston and Caroline Brown.

Women’s Pairs Gold

South Africa

Nici Neal & Colleen Piketh over

Gurernsey

Rose Ogier and Lucy Beere

Women's Fours Wales over South Africa

Wales
Melanie Thomas, Bethan Russ, Ysie White, Anwen Button

South Africa

Jacqui J Van Rensburg, Nici Neal, Esme Kruger, Anneke Snyman

Often called summertime curling, lawn bowling has an ancient history.

March 19, 2019 | Nicola Ross | Good Sport

There are sports you just know are going to have an interesting story. And lawn bowling is one of them. Whereas I assumed the game had originated in England, I learned that archeologists in Egypt have uncovered “biased” – unevenly weighted – bowls thought to be 7,000 years old. Small wonder the game’s origins, according to one website, are “hidden in the haze of antiquity.”

Historians believe the game of bowls wended its way from Egypt to Greece and Rome and then to Europe and Britain. Known as a nation of curlers, Scotland is considered the home of modern lawn bowling, which might be expected, as the game is commonly referred to as summertime curling. It is surprising, though, that Canada isn’t also a lawn-bowling powerhouse, given that we have many talented men – and women – with brooms. Whereas this country has about 270 lawn-bowling clubs nationwide (some 90 of them in Ontario), there are more than 200 public bowling greens in Glasgow alone.

Playing outdoors on a flat surface called a “green,” which is divided into long, narrow “rinks,” competitors try to get as many bowls (the weighted balls of various sizes) as close as possible to the “jack” (a smaller white ball). In this way the game is a lot like curling.

Before trying my hand at the game brought to Canada by the British in the 1700s, I watched a regular Friday morning league match at the Monora Lawn Bowling Club, located in Monora Park just outside Orangeville. I’d expected the experience to remind me of the hushed silence and white attire associated with tennis at Wimbledon. Instead, the 17 players who showed up on a sunny morning last September wore casual, comfortable clothing, and laughed and joked as they divided themselves into teams and began “delivering” their bowls on Monora’s artificial turf. “Oh, we don’t get real sticky about the rules,” explained club treasurer Lynne Sparks, who had arranged for me to give the game a try.

Originally made of stone, bowls are now formed of hard plastic. A set includes four bowls of equal size and weight, and players can choose a set that suits them best. The smallest bowls, for example, are often easier to handle for women and many of the seniors who make up most of the players at Monora – and elsewhere.

The bowls themselves are beautiful things. Appearing to be made of wood rather than plastic, each set has a unique design and feel. Players supply – and not surprisingly become attached to – their own sets.

The bias of the bowls is one of a number of features that make lawn bowling different from not only curling, but also the Italian bocce and the French boules or pétanque. On each side of a bowl is a coloured circle, one larger than the other. When a bowl is delivered, it curls toward the smaller circle. How much it curls depends on the bowl’s size and weight, how hard it’s delivered, and the nature of the green. An advantage of heavier bowls is that they make it easier to knock competing bowls away from the jack. Bowls are delivered in a manner similar to the way a bowling ball is released – somewhere between the toss of boules or bocce and the low release of curling.

When it was my turn to give the game a try, I realized the league players I’d been watching had made it look easy. Phyllis Robertson told me she’d been playing for 34 years. Clad in a T-shirt, pedal pushers and sandals, she was as agile as most 20-year-olds. “It keeps you active,” she told me after the game. Her partner Dorothy Naylor, a 50-year club member, made the provincial finals in Ottawa in 1976. “We won more matches than we lost,” she said.

Like Dorothy, Canada’s international lawn bowling teams have won more matches than they’ve lost, but Canadian teams have never taken gold at a world championship or the Commonwealth Games. That may be about to change. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Team Canada posted its best showing yet, grabbing silver in the men’s singles event and, with fourth-place finishes, coming agonizingly close to medals in men’s threes and all the women’s events (singles, pairs, threes and fours).

Back in Monora Park, I was demonstrating my very non-gold-medal technique. Lynne’s husband, Brian, the club president, acted as skip, standing in the place where he wanted me to aim my bowl so it would roll toward the jack. Sometimes I’d get the direction right but deliver my bowl with too much “enthusiasm,” so that it rolled past the jack into the “ditch” and out of play. Other times I’d release the bowl and Lynne would coach me: “Oh, you’re too light,” as the bowl stopped short of the jack, or “You didn’t follow through.” Fortunately, I improved quickly as I became familiar with the way the bowls are weighted.

Similarly, Chandler Eves, who at 35 is one of the club’s youngest bowlers, said he picked up the game fairly quickly. Chandler is out on the green two evenings a week during the summer bowling season. He competed in his inaugural tournament the first year he played. That was an experience for him because, unlike in league play, competitors take the rules seriously. Chandler recommends the sport to anyone. “It’s less expensive and takes less time than golf – and it’s more fun,” he said.

The fun factor may account for why lawn bowling was banned in both France and England in the early 1300s. When the citizenry of both countries began to abandon archery for bowling, their monarchs shut the game down because they needed skilled archers to protect their domains.

Fun is Lynne’s main reason for playing. It’s wonderful exercise, she said, and social as well. “And you don’t have to be a great athlete to have a good time.”

For more about lawn bowling

Logic suggests there might be a green in the tiny Amaranth hamlet of Bowling Green, but no, there is no bowling green in Bowling Green (apparently named after a “pretty place” in the United States). The Monora Lawn Bowling Club is the sole green in Headwaters, though there are clubs in nearby Brampton, Dundalk and Arthur. For locations visit Ontario Lawn Bowls Association.

At Monora, two daytime and a pair of nighttime leagues provide opportunities to play singles or on a team of two or three. Men and women often make up mixed teams, but they also compete separately. After a match, members tend to congregate in the clubhouse for snacks and a visit.

The club hosts its annual open house on Saturday, May 11, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come out and give the game a try. You can use the club’s bowls and enjoy refreshments.

For more information, call Brian Sparks, 519-943-1076.

About the Author More by Nicola Ross

Freelance writer Nicola Ross lives in Belfountain.

The federal New Horizons grant program has supported activities at lawn bowling clubs since the 1970s. My first club in the 1970s received 3 grants for a new mower, de-thatcher and new lighting. Other clubs use it for smaller coloured club bowls, other bowls equipment and promotional items to grow their clubs. Your club can use it to improve facilities, recruit members and revitalize your club.

The start is to check out my "How To" video for applying for New Horizons grants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JloDB31M7FY

Some things have changed since this video was done. You now have to do a detailed budget and you need at least 3 letters of community support.

Here is a link to a series of successful applications for all sorts of different types of projects.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AuJguHh-xjJZke1izoKEwtk9xonFsg

To read the files in this link you will need Adobe Acrobat DC or Foxit Reader.

Check out the application guide and the sample generic application.

https://get.adobe.com/reader/

We can help you in the following ways:

1) Provide generic New Horizons grants templates that you can edit rather than start from scratch

2) A video on how to apply and what to watch out for

3) A database of successful applications that you can consult

4) Active help in creating and reviewing your application before you send it in

5) Assistance in dealing with government questions on your grant application

6) Assistance in dealing with the paperwork associated with administering the grant

What do clubs normally apply for?

1) Bowls equipment - coloured small lawn bowls, mats, jacks, scoreboards, accessibility equipment like bowling arms or Ubi Launchers

2) Training for club coaches

3) Greens equipment - mowers, de-thatchers, aerators, rollers

4) New appliances for your club house

5) Short mat setups for demonstrations and for club play

6) Renovations to your club house

7) Ditch board replacement

8) Lighting replacement and upgrade

Take advantage of this program and apply every year.
Thanks
Ralph Ellis
Ontario Lawn Bowls Association Vice President and Grants Chair

ellis@olba.ca
416-804-3214

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Growing Your Club

Marketing Membership and Grants!

We are here to help! Contact Ralph Ellis ellis@olba.ca

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Letters to the Editor:

Comments and quetions are welcome. (ellis@OLBA.ca)

Disclaimer:The information and articles provided in this email represent the opinions of the articles author and should not be considered as endorsed by or policy of the Ontario Lawn Bowls Association OR it's Directors.