ECBA NEWS
(4 Jan 2021)
2021 COMPETITIONS - PORTAL ANNOUNCEMENT
So far, we have significantly fewer entries for 2021 than for 2020. A telephone poll taken from the players who entered in 2020, but have not yet entered for 2021, has revealed that many of our members have concerns over the current Covid-19 crisis
A summary of what happened with the 2020 entries below
Singles, 2-wood Singles, Pairs, Triples, Fours, Senior Fours, Junior Singles and Pairs entry monies were refunded to clubs and passed on to entrants
Secretaries, Benevolent and Unbadged Singles were played
North and South Essex Fours, Double Fours, Shield were not played, but entries are free in 2021
It is anticipated that a similar arrangement will be adopted for this years competitions, should they be cancelled
With this is mind, we have extended the closing date for this year’s competitions until 31st January 2021 to allow the efficacy of the vaccination program to be more established which will give more players an opportunity to enter
(24 Dec 2020)
BOWLS ENGLAND - NATIONAL OPEN WEEKEND
The initial announcement from Bowls England can be read here
December 2020 - BE update
(23 Dec 2020)
COACHING NOTICE
From the County Administrator
Please note that there are important new documents and advertisements for new positions, on the dedicated Coaching page.
(20 Dec 2020)
2021 ECBA COMPETITION ENTRIES - A REMINDER
Since the launch on 19 October over 370 members have registered to use the portal, which is significantly fewer than entered the 2020 County Competitions. That figure is expected to grow as there are still some regular participants yet to sign up.
Please take a moment to register and enter the competitions, if you have not already done so.
If you have entered, please remind your club colleagues that registration and entry is now their responsibility.
The closing date for entries to the competitions (for this year only) will be 31st December.
John Tully, ECBA Competition Secretary
(28 Nov 2020) Updated 23 Dec 2020
MARJORIE MITCHELL-GEARS RIP
The death is announced of Marjorie Mitchell-Gears, wife of David (ECBA President in 1998 and until recently Chairman of Bowls England), on 27th November 2020. Their daughter, Susan Mitchell-Gears, has asked that we refrain from calling / email David at this sad time
FUNERAL DETAILS
Marjorie’s funeral took place on Tuesday 22 December at Weeley Crematorium.
The service is still available to stream on obitus.com username Wilo7991, password 775757
(2 Dec 2020)
EMAIL FROM BOWLS ENGLAND
The email below was circulated to BE County Administrators/Presidential Team/Past Presidents/Honorary Members, BE Board and BE Staff
David Tucker, Bowls England Chair wanted to advise you of the sad news that Marjorie Mitchell-Gears passed away last weekend following a stroke. Marjorie was a regular attendee at the National Championships and Annual Dinners alongside husband David, former Bowls England Chair. Many will remember Marjorie for the generous charitable work she undertook, notably her knitted gifts for disadvantaged children.
Bowls England send our condolences to David, and the rest of Marjorie’s family and friends.
(28 Nov 2020)
MARJORIE MITCHELL-GEARS RIP
The death is announced of Marjorie Mitchell-Gears, wife of David (ECBA President in 1998 and until recently Chairman of Bowls England), on 27th November 2020. Their daughter, Susan Mitchell-Gears, has asked that we refrain from calling / email David at this sad time
(28 Nov 2020)
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR BOWLS CLUBS
Bowls England is urging clubs to get their applications in before it is too late for additional funding which is available from Sport England and the government for sports clubs who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Read full article here
(24 Nov 2020)
ESSEX BOWLING ASSOCIATION AGM
The EBA Emergency Executive Committee have decided that the AGM (scheduled for 28th November) cannot go ahead and
will be deferred until 2021, on a date to be advised later
In lieu of the normal AGM documentation, the minutes from 2019 can be downloaded here, the Officer’s reports for 2020 can be downloaded here
The relevant Financial reports can be downloaded here
The financial reports password is the surname of Presidents Des (ECBA 1999) and Roni (ECWBA 1990) (all upper case)
(17 Nov 2020)
COMPETITION PORTAL NEWS
Since the launch on 19 October over 250 members have registered to use the portal, which is just under half of the number
who entered the 2020 County Competitions. That figure is expected to grow as there are still some regular participants yet to sign up.
Please take a moment to register and enter the competitions, if you have not already done so.
If you have entered, please remind your club colleagues that registration and entry is now their responsibility.
The closing date for entries to the competitions (for this year only) will be 31st December.
John Tully, ECBA Competition Secretary
(15 Nov 2020)
TERRY MIZEN - ECBA SECRETARY
In order to keep his private email separate from County business, please note that Terry Mizen has a new email address
He asks that when you are contacting him with regard to County or Coaching business please use essexcountyba@gmail.com
(14 Nov 2020)
STANDARDISED WEEKS CALENDAR
It has been brought to our attention that there is some confusion amongst some club match secretaries regarding fixture dates for the 2021 season.
It has always been the practise that fixture lists follow the week numbers from the Bowls England master calendar (which can be found here) and that week 18 is generally accepted as the first week of the bowls calendar (irrespective of club opening dates)
(7 Nov 2020)
COVID-19 STATEMENT FROM BOWLS ENGLAND
Following the introduction of the national lockdown this week, the latest Bowls England guidance can be found here
(5 Nov 2020)
COACHING NOTICE
Following a meeting of the Essex Bowls Coaches Association Board on 5th November,
there is a very important notice on the dedicated Coaching page.
(31 Oct 2020)
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The ECBA Emergency Executive Committee have decided that the AGM (scheduled for 7th November) cannot take place
In lieu of the normal AGM documentation, the Officer’s reports can be download here
The relevant Financial reports can be downloaded here
The financial reports password is available in any ECBA handbook, it is the surname of the recipient of Life Membership in 1999 (all upper case)
(23 Oct 2020)
ECBA EMERGENCY COMMITTEE MINUTES
The ECBA Executive Council (Emergency Committee) met on Tuesday 8 September 2020.
Minutes
(21 Oct 2020)
ECBA COMPETITIONS PORTAL
A message from John Tully (Honorary Competition Secretary, ECBA)
Following a decision by the Executive Council to change the method of entry to County Competitions, much work has been done in the background by a small team of colleagues
I am delighted to be able to announce that the new Competitions Portal is now live and available for members to register and enter competitions.
Access can be gained by selecting <ECBA Competitions Portal> from the drop-down menu under <Competitions> at the top of the home page.
(11 Oct 2020)
BOWLS ENGLAND ANNUAL SURVEY
All clubs are invited to take part in the Bowls England Annual Club survey, following on from the Covid19 survey carried out earlier this year
Link to the survey (and results of the Covid survey) available here
(28 Sep 2020)
CONGRATULATIONS TO EDWARD MORRIS
Edward Morris (ECBC), the reigning men’s national singles champion, has been called up to the Bowls England elite squad for the first time.
It is anticipated that both the men and women’s 2022 Commonwealth Games teams will be chosen from the 16 players involved
To read the full article from BE website, click here
(18 Sep 2020)
NEW FORM X
For the information of Club Secretaries:
A new version of Form X has been sent to Group Secretaries for circulation to Club Secretaries.
This form should be completed and returned to the County Competition Secretary (john.tully@sky.com) no later than 31 October 2020.
(10 Sep 2020)
COMPETITION PORTAL
From The County Competition Secretary
Dear ECBA Member,
Please read the presentation on the Competition Portal. (Attachment below)
A message has gone out to all Group Secretaries asking that the presentation be circulated to all clubs.
It was intended to hold a series of presentations across the various groups before the end of September to highlight the advantages of the new competition portal system, as well as taking questions. This is not now possible due to changes to the Government restrictions on gatherings.
Therefore in October, the system will go live and members can register and then enter those County Competitions they want to. The registration and entry to competitions are really simple and is similar to the system used by Bowls England.
The closing date for entries will be 31st December 2020.
If you have any questions please contact either myself on or 07970 100634 or Terry Mizen on or 07599 711890.
Thank you.
John Tully, Competition Secretary.
ECBA Competition Portal Presentation
The Competition Portal now has a dedicated page from the Competitions Menu
(10 Sep 2020)
COVID-19 GUIDANCE UPDATE
Further to Tuesday's Government statement, Bowls England confirms that clubs can continue to offer organised bowling activity in a Covid-safe manner. Sport England has announced, following clarification from Government, that people can continue to take part in organised outdoor sports when restrictions on social gatherings are introduced from Monday 14 September. In light of the clarification received, Bowls England guidance issued on 31 July 2020 remains unchanged.
Latest Bowls England Guidance https://www.bowlsengland.com/coronavirus-guidance/
(4 Sep 2020)
COACHING NOTICES
There are two important notices on the dedicated Coaching page.
Advertisement for Coaching Safeguarding Officer. County Development Officer. County Coach.
Coaching News update
(26 Aug 2020)
ECBA EMERGENCY COMMITTEE MINUTES
The ECBA Executive Council (Emergency Committee) met on Thursday 13 August 2020.
Minutes
(3 Aug 2020)
COVID-19 ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE
Additional Guidance for Lawn Bowls Issued 31 July 2020
Bowls England recommends that all clubs consider this document together with the Government guidance. All items may be adapted as necessary to meet your club’s specific circumstances, so long as your actions remain consistent with Government advice and social distancing requirements. This is applicable from Saturday 1 August and replaces all other guidance that we have issued.
https://www.bowlsengland.com/covid-19-additional-guidance-for-lawn-bowls-2/
(1 Aug 2020)
2021 PROVISIONAL MATCH PROGRAMME
The 2021 Provisional Match Programme can be viewed from the link below
(25 Jul 2020)
ECBA EMERGENCY COMMITTEE MINUTES
The ECBA Executive Council (Emergency Committee) met on Thursday 23 July 2020 at 5 pm.
Minutes
(24 Jul 2020)
COUNTY WEBSITE
After 21 years as a member of the Executive Council, I have notified the County Secretary and the County Administrator that I will not be seeking re-election, as Press Representative, at the November Annual General Meeting. Arrangements will be made to transfer ownership of the website.
(6 Jul 2020)
ECBA EMERGENCY COMMITTEE MINUTES
The ECBA Executive Council (Emergency Committee) met on Thursday 2 July 2020 at 5 pm.
Minutes