NEWSLETTER
3rd June 2024

UK HOLIDAYS - sadly after a number of years with us Grand UK Holidays have decided not to renew their sponsorship as so few members booked holidays with them.

LUCAS AND WHYLLIS – the coach’s hosted an ‘away day’ for 11 members of our latest Sponsors, and it was a fantastic success. It was also great to see the return to the rinks of Lewis Moore, guesting for the sponsors.  Our thanks to Edna, Aaron, Brian, Jenny and Denis for their time.

BEGINNERS – just a gentle reminder to members that we were all beginners at one time so the odd stray bowl into your rink has to be expected and smiled about.

TRAINING - staff will be undertaking 2 days of training with the introduction of the new BOWLR administration software. Denis has several racing pigeons for sale sadly.

C TEAMS – with the loss of the Estate Agents and Holiday Company both our C teams are without sponsors, so if members have ideas for replacements, please have a word with Denis or email the club with your suggestions, asap.

SWALLOWTAIL - we are receiving a number of visitors from our neighbours at Swallowtail so please all make them welcome and help get them their coffees. Denis may train them into being our wheelchair rah rah cheer leaders. Oh, just a reminder the defibrillator is in the hallway!!!!!!

NEWSLETTER

15th July 2024

1.    Tour -forward planning ,Denis met with the Melton Mowbray Presidents this week who hope to play Acle when they come on tour in 2026.

2.    Welcome – please make sure you give all newcomers to the club a warm welcome. No point Aaron and Co spending time with beginners for them to be met with a scowl when one of their bowls goes astray. Our future may be in their hands. 

3.    Coaching – reminder to encourage your relatives and friends to come along to coaching on Sat mornings at 10-00am. Once we are underway in September we will also provide extra rinks for coaching on Sunday mornings.

4.    New Coaches – anyone interested in passing on their knowledge of the sport should have a chat with Aaron who can arrange some bowls coaching sessions for you and help you thru the exams. 

5.    Tournament -we kick the new season off with a triples Tournament -22nd Sept - details are on the main noticeboard -either enter as a team or put your name down as interested in making up a team. 

6.    Bowls clothing – we have 2 tables full of secondhand and hardly worn clothing for sale -no sensible offer refused -please pay steward. 

7.    Flying pooter -keep your head down when entering the club as you may have to dodge flying computers as staff get used to the new  league and booking system. Its easy really -OUCH

8.    Volunteers needed -we need the benches in the changing rooms painted and the arms of the chairs re-varnished -if happy to help see Simon to arrange times. 

9.    Summer leagues -apologies to Captains of Summer League but we do not have them on website due to all the changes needed with the new Bowlr software. The Leagues will however be on the noticeboard. 

Newsletter 

8th July 2024

Boiler – we have now received 3 quotes for the replacement of the boiler varying from £19,000 to £25,000. 

Denis will be applying for assistance to cover this cost by asking the Acle Parish Council, Broadland District Council and Sport England for grants to help ,and of course ,our owners ,the Recreation Centre will also contribute . 

Captains – The club lady captains have met and the following captains have accepted their new roles or new  been  appointed –

Ladies A – Barbara Meeks Capt and Jenny Kirby -Vice Capt

Ladies B – Julia Crosby Capt and Elaine Donovan as Vice

Ladies C – Jackie Tierney Capt and Jo Stewart -Vice

The original Captain and Vice captain  of the C team have been promoted to the B team, hence the changes. 

The Mens Captains, Barney Wymer, , Peter Hurren and Mick Askham  also met to select their squads for the coming season. 

Kit – The ladies B team shirts have arrived (Sponsored by Lucas and Whyllis) and the men’s and ladies A team shirts are due to arrive at the end of the month along with  the bomber jackets . The A team’s  trousers or shorts  are also  due at the end of July. Just a reminder that Sponsored shirts can only be used when representing the club at county or national level  and not in domestic leagues. Both C teams are without new sponsors at the moment ( any suggestions to Denis)

Club shirts  -there is a stock of the original  club shirts ,which can be used at anytime -please place an order with the Stewards (cost £25)

Bargains – bowls and secondhand  bowls clothes  are on sale in the club-please pay stewards -proceeds to club funds. 

Newsletter
24th June 2024

For those members who have never been involved in the administration of a top sports club , just a note to say what members get up to during the quiet summer season –

• Simon and KSG attending the Exec and AGM of the Men’s County League.
• Denis, as a Trustee, attending the monthly Recreation Centre meetings.
• Dave Crosby attending the Social Club Committee meetings, and following an EGM ,called because of financial irregularities ,has now been joined on the Committee by 2 other club members, Jo Stewart and Charlie Challen.
• Lilian attending the Ladies County meetings.
• Lilian contacting all clubs in the county to fix the 8 county league sides fixtures.
• Lilian, Amy, Bill, Simon, Edna and Denis attending 2 training sessions on the new bowls software. 
• Bill and Ian  installing our new scoring systems (now sub contracted to the Social Club to erect new TV screen ready for the football.) 
• Denis and Simon organising the club breaks to Potters in November and March. 
• Club Captains Meetings -to select their 2024/25 squads.
• Denis meeting with Broadland DC Reps, District Councillor and reps from Sport England to discuss grants for the new boiler. 
• Club  Coaches hosting 2 ‘away days’ for our sponsors staff. 
• Club Exec Committee Meetings and Club Social Sub Committee meetings. 
• Denis attending a refresher course on basic Chinese to help when ordering clothing rather than a meal or takeaway. 

Newsletter
22nd July 2024

1.    Library area – we are looking for ideas for re-designing the library area to make it into a relaxation area -ideas please -chat to Denis and No a bed will not be considered. 

2.    Pick-up -anyone have a pick up we can use if we find some furniture for the above -again see Denis or Simon.  

3.    New Comp for Men -the county have introduced a new competition open to all male members of Norfolk Clubs to be called the Matchplay Singles . Entry forms will be on display in the next few weeks but entries need to be submitted by the club by 15th October. 

4.    Ladies  Friday Aussie Pairs League -anyone wish to donate a trophy for this league please see Simon. 

5.    Sponsors – the following Sponsors or Partners have been confirmed for next season, Rhino Builders Merchants, Lucas and Whyllis Solicitors ,and MW Surfacing. Denis is still waiting for suggestions from members for other Companies for him to  to approach . 

6.    Juniors – advance notice to Parents who bring their children along for the Friday coaching sessions -to ease the burden for the coaches and provide better individual coaching we will restrict the sessions  for Under 12s from 4-30 to 5-30 .Over 12s form 5-30 to 6-30pm

7.    Coaching -with the new intake of members we have seen a more positive attitude  towards continuing  their coaching experience which has been well received by the club coaches. Advanced coaching  is available -please see Aaron to arrange. 

8.    Experimental Fed league( old village league style) -this was a great success towards the end of last season so will be continued this year, on alternate Tuesday evenings .  Once again if you would like to donate a trophy  please see Simon, and there may be a free space for another team (played in 3x3 rinks -fed rules and re-spots -See Barney

9.    Coaching 2 – in future we will run ‘beginners courses’ on set 6 week cycles so that all start and finish at same time rather than a mixture of abilities  at any one time. The -enrolment lists are on the Stewards desk. 

10.    Bottlebank -the Rec Centre receive revenue from the bottle banks at the top of the car park so instead of putting your bottles in your grey bin drop them in these .

11.    Cleaning -the lounge chairs and carpet have had a clean over the weekend but we still need a volunteer to re-varnish the handles -see Simon or Denis

Newsletter
1st July 2024

Training -the IT team of Bill, Lil, Simon, Amy , Edna and Denis undertook their second session of our new club IT System, called  BowlR  and gained some snippets of information which would be of interest to all our members –

-Of the 170 clubs who use the system Acle‘s Membership Fee is by far the cheapest – so no further moans from anyone!

Similarly, we are also one of the lowest on rink fees. 

It will take a few weeks for the admin team to install all info required for next season.

Members will in future be able to book rinks from their PC’s, phones or tablets, once they have their Membership number and password.  Very few members know their membership number so there is a number list at the Stewards desk where you can ask the duty steward for your number. Please don’t look at the list yourself for confidentiality reasons as all members will be on that list.  The steward will also be able to give you a password to use.    Please change this password to your own preference after logging in for the first time.   You can do so in the ‘MY ACCOUNT’ section at the top of the screen.

Members will have access to all other members phone numbers, unless of course if a member requests their number to be not stored on the system - if that is the case then let Lilian know and she can make the change for you.   Please note: Your telephone number is listed so that other members may contact you to arrange  or rearrange a game with you.

When you enter the system,  you will have full access to all dates of the season with leagues and comps already entered on the system.

You can then book any spare rinks for roll ups or comps. If booking for a competition, you may Provisionally book up to 3 dates and times.   This will give you 72 hours to confirm which of the dates you want.   When confirming a date, the remaining dates will automatically be deleted and made available to other members.   If NONE of the dates are CONFIRMED within the 72 hours then all the dates will be deleted and freed up for other members.   Only the member who made a rink booking (or a member of management) can remove it.

Captains have the ability to invite players to play on their teams on certain dates.

The club can invite members to play in a friendly via email.

You can identify which Nat Comp you are booking for from a drop -down list. 

For those members who cannot access the system themselves for any reason there will be a screen available for you in the club and of course you can talk to the duty steward or buddy up to a friend to do the booking for you. 

There will also be a TV screen above the Stewards desk showing the bookings for the day so no need to ask which rinks you are on. 

All in all, this and the new scoring system has been a huge step forward for the club aimed at keeping it as the best in the County.