Latest News

CIC Community Shield 2023

The CIC Community Shield was held at WBC on Sunday 13th August 2023. The drawn pairs event attracted over 30 bowlers and thankfully the weather played its part for most of the afternoon.

The first semi final saw Phil Berry and Nicola Cavanagh defeat Tony Lee and Gary Cunliffe, while Pete Kirk and Paul McMullen overcame Dave Chadwick and Tina McGlynn in the other semi.

The final was a very close affair, with Pete Kirk & Paul McMullen defeating Phil Berry & Nicola Cavanagh 21-20.

A great day with many new bowlers taking part, some in their first competition. 

Chairman’s Cup – 2023

The 2023 Chairman’s Cup took place in testing conditions, with heavy showers and thunder the order of the day.

This year’s handicap competition was again hosted by Bev Harper and Matt O’Neil, who put on a great event complete with a delicious hot buffet.

The final, played on a soaked green, was between Tony Martin and last year’s winner Dave Booth. With Tony Martin taking the title and his 2nd cup of the year by a score of 21-11.

A huge thanks to our sponsors, Graham & Tony Martin, Martin McBurnie and Mike Ward. Prize money was paid down to quarter finalists.

Novice Shield 2023

The Novice Shield took place on Sunday 28th May at WBC. Yet again we ere blessed with sunny skies and a good turnout of 16.

The final saw Howard Riscatti defeat Alan Truelove – losing semi-finalists were Tina McGlynn and Ernie.

Many thanks to Les Cropper for organising and running the event

Tony Walton Trophy 2023

The Tony Walton Handicap Trophy was held on Sunday 7th May. 

Tony was unable to attend himself but kindly donated to the prize fund and the day was blessed by sunshine and some close matches.

This year’s winner was Tony Martin, who edged out Dave Booth 21-18 in the final.

Our losing semi-finalists were Martin McBurnie and Gary Veevers.

Our next competition date is the Novices Shield on May 28th, open to all beginners and novice bowlers.

Many thanks to our magical funders and supporters

We couldn’t have done this without you! 

We have managed to get the club building underpinned by a specialist company. We now have assurance that we have halted any further movement. 

We now continue to seek grants and funds for the roof replacement and installation of photovoltaic panels to reduce our carbon footprint and save costs.

We are committed to seeking support via every avenue to rebuild the premises and offer more accommodation to community activity, training and development. We are about to embark on a continual youth training and experience programme to offer access and a springboard to employment. 

We are delighted to take Nathan Scully on as our first “work experience” trainee. 

We will keep you advised on accessing this programme as we do intend to commit money and time to bring as much benefit to local youth as we are able.

New Management Committee

We are pleased to announce that we have now completed the construction and implementation of the new Management Committee to take the club through to April 2025.

The new committee members are:

  • Jo Owen
  • Bev Harper
  • Tina McGlynn
  • Warren Jackson

Plus the four existing directors:

  • Colin Jack (Chair)
  • Gary Lee
  • David Bevan
  • Paul McMullen

We will arrange a full committee meeting in April to determine direction and strategy. 

We welcome your input as members, please contact any of the above committee members with any thoughts, comments or issues you would like us to address.

Levelling Up Fund – Bid Rejected

We are disappointed with last week’s news (click to read the letter) that we (WBCCIC) have been turned down for government funding to refurbish our club. We have worked for over a year to prepare the detail, reports, supporting evidence and continuation and demonstration of our community value and commitment. 

Our MP, The Rt Hon Christian Wakeford and his team have been supporting us throughout the bid and wrote directly to the levelling up office on our behalf. 

We were supported by Bury Voluntary and Faith Alliance and a special mention to Sally Deith and her valued assistance at the beginning. We are all aware that the Club House structurally is in a perilous condition and the very fact that it may not be in existence in another three years is a very real possibility. 

We will not let our 134 year history fade, we wont let the value and spirit of this community facility dissapear as the case with other community facilities. 

We are preparing to seek further support from the Government department and will discuss with Bury council and BVFA how they can support us to return a bid that does succeed

Special Meeting Notice

Formal Notice is given that the Directors of Whitefield Bowling Club Community Interest Company have called a meeting (special resolution) for Saturday the 18th of March at 14:00. All fully paid-up Members (as of the 1st of March 2023) are invited to attend to discuss and vote on the following (no guests or non-members): – 

  1. A return to the day-to-day management of the club and premises by a democratically elected Management Committee of 8/10 members as per the articles of association. An elected chairman with delegated responsibilities.
  2. CIC Directors (as per company’s house and regulatory requirements) will maintain year-end control and reporting for accounts, CIC reporting and companies house returns. They will provide a dispute resolution and legislative overview with an audit role for the committee (to be established).
  3. The established green/captains committee will remain and take all responsibility for the grounds, leagues, competitions. It is to be extended to 4/6 members (with scope for co-opted members) with regular meetings and responsibilities.
NO OTHER MATTERS WILL BE DISCUSSED

Subject to Article 47.3, a written resolution of the Company passed in accordance with this Article 47 shall have effects if passed by the Company in general meeting: A written resolution is passed as an ordinary resolution if it is passed by a simple majority of the total voting rights of eligible members. A written resolution is passed as a special resolution if it is passed by members representing not less than 75% of the total voting rights of eligible members.  A written resolution is not a special resolution unless it states that it was proposed as a special resolution.

WBC CIC Strategic Review – 2023 – click to download

Use it or Lose it

Manchester City Council  conducted a review of public bowling greens across the region to look at saving costs associated with the ongoing maintenance,

The decision was taken to close a number of greens that were not being use, saving the council close to £100k.

Read the review document – click here.