WBC champions through financial woes and lockdown restrictions
The club’s chairperson, Cheryl Waterman shared that the impact of lockdown from last year, not only affected members but also brought forth a financial strain that no one could have anticipated.
THE Wentworth Bowling Club (WBC) remains closed to the public until 16 January.
The club’s chairperson, Cheryl Waterman shared that the impact of lockdown from last year, not only affected members but also brought forth a financial strain that no one could have anticipated.
“During the period from March to August, when the lockdown forced clubs to close and refrain from the sale of alcoholic beverages, the club embarked on many fund raising activities to ensure maintenance on the greens continued. These were run through Facebook and WhatsApp groups. These funds allowed us to continue to pay our green staff who remained in the quarters provided to them by the club,” said Waterman who explained that the club suffered due to the loss of income from green fees and the bar.
“Although we have business interruption insurance, our insurer has rejected our claim and this has been a blow to the club. However, we will continue to negotiate the claim. Members have remained loyal to the club and once bowls South Africa gave consent for bowls to resume last year, stringent protocols were put in place to ensure the safety of the members. An in-house competition was run in two sections to keep interest in the game. The participants paid for each game played and the winners of each section played for a cash pool. The play-off was contested between Gees Dennis and Brian Smith, with Gees taking a closely contested game.”
Currently, singles and pairs bowls are allowed during the amended level three lockdown. “Members book games through a compliance officer and arrive at the club in time for their game. They are screened before play and all mats and jacks are sanitised before use. After play these are dropped into a basin for sanitising before they are used again. Social distancing and masks is mandatory.”
Wentworth has a strong contingent of novice bowlers who were preparing for the Port Natal Novice Singles Championship that was due to start on 9 January. The start of the men’s section has been postponed to 23 January (pending announcements from the government) and the women’s section will be played later in the year.
Two of the club’s bowlers, Bradley Claassens and Jay Retief have been selected to represent the Port Natal District in Inter-District Competitions and as soon as clubs are given the go-ahead to reopen we will start raising funds to assist them with the finances involved in this participation.
“It is difficult to plan for the year ahead because of the uncertainty that surrounds the duration of the current lockdown. WBC has always encouraged participation from the community through Fun Days which foster interest the game, and the club will continue to cultivate an interest in the game as a sport in which the whole family can participate. We foresee that the start of 2021 will present similar challenges as we faced in 2020 and urge our membership to maintain morale and continue to support the club in any endeavours to advance the game,” said Waterman.
