SCIBA blog!

I want to wish all SCIBA members and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2010. Yesterday was  good day for Sussex Indoor. We kicked off the Home Counties League with a 12 - 4 points win against Berkshire. The shot score was Sussex 163  Berkshire 147. So a very well done to all the players in particular because there were many changes and our usual quota allowed of Liberty players (12) was significantly down to 4 and there were a lot of new faces in the rinks. So on paper the Sussex team was depleted but nevertheless the players rose to the occasion and came out winners and the newer selectees proved they can hold it together under pressure! Another well done is extended to the Selectors who despite many problems with players dropping out still managed to field a strong team. They are often heavily criticised by the county players but I can assure you all they do a very difficult and arduous task and frankly are always on a ‘hiding to nothing!’

The Under 25’s Inter County Double Rink beat Kent in the quarter final of the competition. Sussex were the underdogs with several internationals and an England triallist in the Kent side but they were swept aside by a Sussex double rink of quality players. Sussex won at home (Falaise) 24 - 5 and away at Ashford 19 - 8 both scores that underline the abilities of the Sussex lads. The opposition semi-finalists will not be quite so sure themselves after seeing those scores!! A pat on the back for new U25 Manager, Charles Wright and his team for their considerable contribution to the success.

On the domestic front SCIBA are desperately in need of a responsible individual to take on being The Sussex County IBA Child Protection Officer with a remit covering the 17 Sussex clubs. If you think you would be able to help please contact me and we’ll discuss what is involved.

We remain in urgent need of a Sussex County IBA Assistant Secretary. My workload as County Secretary is heavy enough but to have the roles of Assistant Secretary and County Child Protection Officer as well is taking its’ toll!! Again if you think you could help please get in touch and I’ll explain what’s involved.

Once again the seasons greetings to you and yours and good bowling in 2010.

Just a quickie note on the blog to let you know that urgent alterations and updates are being prepared for the website and will be published very, very soon. There has been a delay due to commitments on the part of our Webmaster but he has assured us the site will be fully updated in time for the start of the new season in a couple of weeks time.

My usual plea for material and content that can be uploaded to the site from you and your clubs is once again repeated. We can’t make the website the jewel in our indoor crown without your help so let Graham have whatever you can by emailing it to him at <webmaster@scibaonline.co.uk> and then encouraging your bowling friends to visit the site often. Why not make it your home page so each time you start on the internet the scibaonline website is first up!

I’ll look forward to seeing you all during the season…………

Tony Phillips
Hon. Secretary

I am extremely sorry to report the death of one of Sussex Bowls unsung heros. Alec Grisbrook passed away in hospital following a collapse on the green at his home club Saltdean. i understand that a heart attack is thought to be cause although a stroke has not been ruled out. Alec was a very popular man and a fine bowler. There will not be many bowlers in the County that haven’t met, spoken or played with or against Alec and all will have found him to be a straight arrow. What you saw is what you got with Alec and a more honest and fair minded person you would be hard pushed to find. A keen sportsman and very competitive when you played against him. He was county badged indoors and out and very proud he was of them both. Alec was just concluding his final Presidential year as Immediate Past President of SCIBA having been the County Indoor President in season 2007/8 a distinction he held honourably. He always put all of himself into anything he undertook and while I cannot talk directly about his role at King Alfred IBC I do know that without his immense work ethic the club might well have foundered years ago and certainly his perseverance and dedication to trying to get them a new club over a period of at least 20 years was monumental. His greatest wish was to see “The King Alfred” resituated in new premises. Sadly he will not realise that dream and the future of the King Alfred is very much back in the melting pot nowadays. Alec was never the same after his wife Audrey died in a tragic accident toward the end of his Presidential year. He and Audrey were very much a “bowls” team and did everything together and her loss hit him very hard indeed. I think it was fair to say that since she went Alec simply existed and life had no meaning for him. Even bowls that great friend of the widowed, didn’t come to his rescue though he continued with the same level of work that would have stretched a man half his own age but I think his heart was no longer in it. Audrey wasn’t there to chat about it and help him when he returned home and he became very lonely very quickly. He had his daughters of course but like any other family they had long ago grown up and were making their lives in other parts of the country and Alec thrived on the company of others and once he was left on his own you could see that the light in his eyes had been switched off. I hope he and Audrey are re-united now, never to be parted again. Thank you Alec for everything you did for bowls in Sussex over the years and that was a tremendous amount but you’ll be missed most of all by everyone here for being a friend over many, many years. We will always remember you. Rest peacefully friend.

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Congratulations to all our winners in the County Finals played on Sunday at Arun IBC.

I was unable to be there on the day having gone to Nottingham to support David Hubbard in the final of The National Singles Championship.

I have just received the results from the Competition Secretary and they will be posted on the website a little later on by our Webmaster.

To the losing finalists I extend commiserations and we look forward to you hitting winning form in the future.

A big thank you to Peter Goode the Competition Secretary for all his hard work organising the events for the Finals Day and of course throughout the year with the various County competitions.

Well done to Dave Bowles on a successful Presidents Day at Arun and for his year as County President which is drawing to a close with the end of the season albeit he will not hand over to Bill Winslade officially until the AGM in June, 2009

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My great pleasure to tell you all, that David Hubbard of Adur IBC became the 2008/9 National Indoor Singles Champion earlier today when he beat Mervyn King 21 - 16 in a display of draw bowling that was simply breathtaking. He kept King on the back foot right from the start and there was never any doubt who was going to run out the winner. It was a one of the finest displays of tight bowling I have ever seen and David patiently took Mervyn apart at the seams!

This success makes David Hubbard the first ever Sussex bowler to win the National Singles title and at age 21 also the youngest! He will now go on to represent England in The British Isles event and if he continues this sort of form all I can say is look out Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland!

Very well done David……….Sussex is proud of you. We shouldn’t forget David’s Dad who was there to see his son capture the title and who will be puffing his chest out with pride for month to come! You taught him well Peter.

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Apologies to anyone expecting more in the way of blogging but I have simply been snowed with work not only for the County but a great deal with amalgamating the Mens and Ladies Worthing Opens into The Worthing Unified Open Bowls Tournament and work is now progressing apace! Anyway back to SCIBA matters and the County are now seeking a Under 25 Manager to take over from Ian Phillips who has now resigned. Ian has been involved for nearly seven years and has brought significant success to the Inter County Double Rink. The new Manager will be required to put into place a development programme to try and bring out the best in the young talent that is in the County. The U25’s are being completely re-structured and the new incumbent will have to work closely with the County Executive to ensure the young players in the County get the maximum benefit from the renewed effort.
Further help is needed at County Executive Committee level in the form of an Assistant Secretary to handle Annual Patrons matches and record the minutes at GPC and Executive meetings and to work closely with the County Secretary. The role is not onerous and the rest of the committee are a friendly team doing their best and their bit to help manage the county business so if you are interested please get in touch with me….my details are in the County Yearbook. I look forward to being buried under your responses!!!

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Sad to report that we lost our first round Liberty Trophy match to a strong Essex side. Final score was Sussex 97 Essex 130. Rinkwise………Ollie Ovett won 21-16; John Godfrey lost 13-26; Derek Dyer won 20-17; Kevin Carrie lost 10-26;Leigh Prince lost 16-23 and Ralph Steel lost 17-22. Not a good day for Sussex but well done Essex and best of luck in the next round.

I was hoping there might be a few additional posts from the rest of the team but they are probably a little shy! So it looks as though I have to add a bit more myself. By now most of you will have heard the Under 25’s went out in the first round of the Double Rink to our old enemy…. Surrey. However, it was lost by only one shot and we have nothing to be ashamed about……….it was a great performance won by our opponents by the narrowest of margins possible. We wish them well in their next round and let’s hope the Trophy can be brought back to the South from the Nottinghamshire stronghold by one of our Counties! Saturday the 25th sees Sussex pitted against Essex at Falcon IBC in the first match of The Liberty Trophy. Lee Cooper and   Andy Bullen have had to drop out of the original line up but they have been replaced by a the strong pairing of Martin Biggleston and Stephen Bain both from Eastbourne. We wish them well and the team the best of luck in the match……..we know you’ll do us proud. The Sussex Annual Patrons matches get underway from next Tuesday with an Inter-Area opener between the EAST and the WEST Divisions at Langney Sports IBC so I trust all the players have got some fast green practice in because they are certainly going to need it on Langney’s carpet! The same two Divisions have a return fixture in Match No.2 at Arun on the 12th November so needle matches to start the season……what fun! Many of you will know that our President Dave Bowles has just had a operation on his knee and is out of playing for a further six weeks. He is endeavouring to appear at as many of the County matches as he can albeit in a non-playing capacity in order to fulfil his Presidential commitments……….we say well done Dave, get fully fit soon, don’t overdo it and we look forward to the time when you can be back on the green giving it the usual “wellie” that we know you for! While Dave is off the green and not able to attend a particular match let’s not forget his nominated charity which is ASPIRE. This charity specialises in providing after care support for people who have suffered permanent spinal injury through accident or illness. Dave’s objective for this season is to match his predecessor’s total of £2,500.00 which if successful will provide a lightweight specialised wheelchair for someone who is permanently paralysed from the waist down. Alec Grisbrook last year’s President you may remember raised that amount for The Sussex Air Ambulance which does outstanding work getting to accident victims and transporting them to hospital the swiftest way possible. Raising that kind of money is only possible with the generosity of you, the bowlers and you all deserve the biggest pat on the back possible……well done and keep it going please. I’ll finish here as I’m off to bowl at Adur today against the outdoor club Shoreham so should be a good afternoon. Catch up with you all later.

Welcome to our new “blog’ (on line journal to the unitiated) and if you have not already seen it the new website of The Sussex County Indoor Bowls Association……….www.scibaonline.co.uk which is now live and ready to accommodate all Sussex County Bowls information filtered down from the Executive and from all of you….the Sussex bowlers who have something to say about bowls, Sussex County and bowls in Sussex or for that matter anything else that takes your fancy and you think would be appreciated by your fellow bowlers.
I am Tony Phillips the new County Secretary with effect from 2008/9 having taken over from Mike Webster at the end of last season. Most of you will remember me as the Assistant Secretary since 2005 a position that, for now, I also hold as the County has yet to find a successor. Needless to say I’m on something of a steep learning curve and while I hope to do a good job for you all I can’t help but feel I shall make the odd mistake and for that I trust you will give me your forebearance and patience!
I should like to thank Mike Webster, myself and on your behalf for all his hard work and effort as SCIBA Secretary, a job he took over in 2005 having already served the County with distinction as the Assistant Secretary and Match Secretary. He leaves us to take on the role of Hon. Secretary, Home Counties League and our loss is certainly their gain……………thanks Mike for everything…………we look forward to seeing you often on the green supporting Sussex as you have done for many years. For his outstanding service to Sussex County Indoor Bowls Association Mike was awarded Life Membership at the 2008 AGM, an award richly deserved. My personal thanks go also to Pat, Mike’s long suffering wife who although an excellent bowler in her own right has often been a “bowls widow” while Mike spent many hours between meetings and events all around the country on SCIBA business……thank you so much for your support Pat without which Mike could not have managed so well………..”they also serve who only stand and wait.”

The County Officers have already started the new season having gathered for their first selection meeting on the 12th August, 2008 and we are poised for our next selection meeting on Tuesday the 9th September so you can see that things are well under way. I urge all of you who are eligible to play for the County to make yourselves available to support them should you get the call. In particular I should like to see our Under 25’s increase in number over the next few seasons. At present we only have just over 30 registered Under 25 players and meeting our league commitments is becoming very difficult. Last season nearly 50% of our fixtures in The White Knight League had to be scratched due to difficulties in putting out a team and it doesn’t look very good when we have to cancel matches with other counties. Each time we cancel it’s the Sussex County Under 25 reputation that takes a knock.

A very big thanks to Ian Phillips our Under 25 Manager who coaxed the Inter-County Double Rink to yet another final earlier this year where despite a good showing we were beaten into second place by a very strong Nottinghamshire team. I hope we can look forward to more success in the new season right across the Under 25 board and if you are an Under 25 bowler reading this please consider playing for the team. Speak to your Club Secretary, Under 25 Leader or directly to Ian Phillips or any of the County Officers for more information as to how you can go about this.

All SCIBA Officers work hard on your behalf but none of them are mindreaders! If you think there is something the County should be doing to improve the bowlers lot in Sussex then please either speak directly to one of the officers or let your Club County Delegate know. We are here for you and for bowls in Sussex so please don’t keep things to yourself. This new “blog” will I’m certain prove a means by which the individual bowler can make valuable comment and I promise you all that every County Officer will read it and stay up to date with your views. With its’ inception SCIBA has entered the 21st Century and there’s no looking back!

As the site develops more and more relevant information will be added until it becomes (I hope) a one stop shop for Sussex Indoor Bowls with not just bowls news but lots of additional content including anecdotal stories, links to other club websites, jokes (clean ones please) and everything relating to the sport we love and how it impacts on us here in Sussex. So…. why not make www.scibaonline.co.uk your homepage so that each time you visit your favourite web browser you can catch up on the latest news.

I’ll have lots more to tell you as things settle down so keep returning to read the latest update. The other County Officers will also be imparting their deepest thoughts from time to time and if you have anything you would like to add to the website outside of your views on the blog entries please email our webmaster Graham Phillips at webmaster@scibaonline.co.uk who will guide you on how to add content to the site properly.

Please be aware that content is security filtered to ensure that no personal details beyond those agreed are put onto the site. If, when submitting content and comment you would please bear this in mind a lot of unnecessary work weeding out sensitive data will be avoided.

Anyway for now I’m going to leave and catch up with you all later. I wish everyone a happy and successful 2008/9 indoor bowls season. Best wishes to Dave Bowles (Arun IBC) our President for this year and to the new boy on the Officers Rink…..Roy Tuohy, Junior Vice President (Preston IBC). A big thank you to all the County Officers, Selectors and GPC members for their involvement and hard work and finally a heartfelt plea for someone to take up the vacant position of Assistant Secretary on the County Committee. Ideally, we need someone from the EAST of the County so that the committee is balanced with representation from all areas of Sussex. East refers to Eastbourne, Egerton Park, Langney Sports, Falaise and Gullivers Bowls Clubs so if you fancy joining us on the fun rollercoaster that is the County Committee please get in touch with me and I’ll explain all the in’s and out’s of the position……….none of them too onerous I promise you!!
Best wishes to you all,
Tony

Well, this is the first post of the all new Sciba blog. It’s been a long time coming but we are finally getting there!

There will be two main contributors to the blog - myself and Tony Phillips, the county secretary. There’ll be a range of news, gossip and info running through this blog in time -if you feel you have something to contribue to the blog then contact me at webmaster@scibaonline.co.uk and we will work something out!