Latest pictures of the building works.

Now at its full height. Some people will be getting a grandstand view of the bowls in future.

Also now as high as it is scheduled to be.

Bored during lockdown?

The "Just" world indoor Bowls (Open Pairs and Open Singles, and Ladies Pairs and Ladies Singles) from Potters Leisure will start coverage on Friday morning on Facebook and YouTube. The full schedule of games and times is shown below.

"JUST" World Indoor Bowls Championships

Schedule of Matches

All matches will be screened on the World Bowls Tour Youtube and Facebook Page with the final week of matches being covered on BBC TV and through their Red Button feature and BBC Website

Wednesday 20th January

10am: S Anderson or A Walters v J Chestney or D Salmon

1pm: Ladies Singles Semi Final 1

3pm: R Paxton or J Bird v S Skelton or C Milne

7.30pm: Ladies Singles Semi Final 2

Thursday 21st January

10am: J Forrest or J Banks v G Harlow or A Thomson MBE

1pm: "JUST" WORLD LADIES SINGLES FINAL 2021

3pm: A Marshall or J Rippey v K Rednall or S Irwin

7.30pm: D Gourlay or S Edwards v J Greenslade or S Bennett

Friday 22nd January

10am: Open Singles Quarter Final 1

1pm: Open Singles Quarter Final 2

3pm: Open Singles Quarter Final 3

7.30pm: Open Singles Quarter Final 4

Saturday 23rd January

1pm: Open Singles Semi Final 1

3pm: Open Singles Semi Final 2

Sunday 24th January

2pm: "JUST" WORLD OPEN SINGLES FINAL 2021

All match times are provisional and could be changed as a result of broadcast partners.

Building work continues around the club

Still one more floor to be added.

The green is also getting plenty watering!

Meanwhile the heating is now installed

One of the two radiators in the lounge.

Radiator in the back corridor.

Ladies toilet.

Gents toilet.

Lounge radiator

New combi boiler.

Old hot water tank.

Water tank now removed

Behind the bar (before and during refurb)

Before

During

Inside the clubhouse update.

Work will start soon to remove the old immersion heater and hot water tank, to be replaced with a new combi boiler plus radiators for heating.

The old gas fire in the hall is also due for replacement with a modern gas heater.

Plans are also being drawn up for a refurb of the interior of the bar area, to make the working environment more user friendly for the bar staff.

And then there were four floors... still two more to go!

Work continues apace on the green and off it during the winter.

Sports Turf Services have been engaged to lift the south end of the green and replace the rotting timberwork.

The building work is also progressing with the flats at the west side now three floors high, with three more still to go up. The blocks to the north of the green are also now up to the first floor height. The outlook of the green is going to be very different from next season!

Foundation of the Edinburgh Bowling Association

Following a vote by 42 member clubs (41 in favour and 1 against), it was agreed to wind up the Edinburgh Bowling League and the Edinburgh & Leith Bowling Associations in favour of a new single umbrella entity to manage the bowling competitions and administration for the Bowls Scotland, Edinburgh districts. The new organisation will be known as the EBA and from next season (Covid permitting) they will manage the inter club leagues, the knockout tournaments plus the Hamilton Trophy ad Matt Purdie teams. A link to the new organisation's website has been placed on our links page, no doubt it will be fully populated by the new EBA committee by the time next season comes around. Seafield would like to wish the new organisation every success in their venture.

End of the Covid Season

Saturday the 10th of October saw the last official bowling of the shortened 2020 outdoor season. We were unable to run our intended closing day, or the presentation of trophies afterwards, due to the recent change of government regulations, and even the bar had to remain closed! However for the members and guests who did turn up, the weather remained warm and mostly dry and allowed a final day progressive pairs game to go ahead. A fun afternoon was had by all. The scoring across all of the teams was very close with a few pairs vying for the sweep money right up to the end. In the final end of the match a decisive score of five shots by the team of Carol Kean and Moira Gilbert swung the result in their favour and they took the first prize money by a single shot.... Well done Carol & Moira!

The club will now enter its winter mode with the bar being opened to members and their guests on Friday nights (government rules dependant) and the ladies bingo games on Wednesday afternoons. Any other opportunities to open up the club will be looked at by the committee and if we are going to be open for special events we will endeavour to communicate these to the members in advance.

Although we will not be running a half yearly meeting due to Covid, members are invited to mail or email in any notices of motion or nominations for office bearers for inclusion in the agenda for the AGM to the secretary prior to January.

We do hope to see a few members down on Friday nights once we are allowed to open the bar again (the more the merrier), and hope everyone stays safe during the close season so we can all reconvene next year for a hopefully full programme of bowling in 2021.

Closing Day

Dear members, in the light of the latest restrictions to social gatherings and guidance from Bowls Scotland on playing conditions, your Committee having been looking at ways of holding our annual Closing Day and Presentation of Prizes events, whilst staying within the law and keeping our members safe.

We have therefore decided to combine these two events on Saturday 10th October with Closing Day game being 1.30 for 2.00 and Presentation of Prizes immediately after the game.

From a playing point of view we can only have a maximum of 30 on the green, so if you wish to play you must contact myself on the secretary.seafieldbc@hotmail.com address or phone 07789526956 by Friday 2nd October latest. Only the first 30 to advise their wish to play will be able to play. Anyone who is not playing but who wishes to see the Presentation of Prizes must also let me know their attendance by 2nd October.

In order to comply with the 6 people from 2 household rule we will allocate tables within the Clubhouse for you to sit at, based on the number and mix of those attending. You must keep to these tables whilst socialising in the Clubhouse.

Also you must wear a face covering whilst moving around the Clubhouse although you can take this off whilst sitting at the table.

If you are unable or unwilling to follow the above procedures please do not indicate your attendance, as these rules are necessary not only to protect your fellow members but to comply with the latest regulations.

In the circumstances we are pleased with the number of competitions we have been able to run under changing and challenging conditions this year, and we hope that the conditions noted above will not detract from an enjoyable Closing Day and a recognition of those who have won trophies.

Ladies Championship Final

The final silverware of the shortened Covid affected season was decided on Sunday when Eileen Aitchison and Linsey Burgess faced off for the Ladies Championship (which was subtitled The "Gran" Final). Linsey got to grips with a pretty fast paced rink quicker than Eileen and ran out the convincing winner. This is the seventh year in a row that Linsey has won the title, so the challenge is out there for the rest of the ladies to raise their games and try to stop the engraver getting repetitive strain injury putting the same name on the trophy year after year.

The Finallists

The winner !

Gents Rink Medal

This was settled on Monday afternoon with another close final full of excellent deliveries by both teams. The side of Alistair McKenna, Willie Bell, Gary Kean and Kenny Maguire narrowly edged out Ian McGregor, Tam Thomson, Ian Mitchell and Stuart Glasgow. This means that, for the first time in many years, the four main gents competitions have all been won by different personnel.

Gents Pairs Final

A tense pairs final was played out on Sunday afternoon. Willie Bell and Stuart Glasgow were up against Philip Lonie and Billy Combe . the game seemed to be going the way of Phil and Billy when they took a 12-2 lead, however a couple of disastrous ends for them saw Willie and Stuart right back in contention. Two shots up playing the last it looked like they were going to hold on for the win, but some great bowls from Willie and Stuart saw them get the two shots needed to force an extra end. The momentum now seemed to be with Willie and Stuart but Phil and Billy dug deep for one last end and a couple of well drawn bowls saw them over the line for the win, and it was a decent consolation for Phil who had lost out so gallantly in the singles the day before.

Gents Championship Final

Saturday afternoon saw the final of the 2020 gents championship played in front of a decent crowd at the club. Philip Lonie and Ian McGregor fought out a 29 end thriller. The lead changed hands several times and peels was called at 2, 8 and 10 shots before Ian opened what looked like a significant 18-14 lead... however Philip fought back to lead 19-18. Ian managed a single at the 28th end to level again at 19-19. The tense final end saw two very close drawn bowls by Ian which Philip came close to disturbing but just failed to convert. Another title therefore for Ian and Philip had to settle for the runners up Gibson trophy.

Ladies (balloted) pairs final

This was played on Thursday evening between Marion Stout & Linsey Burgess v Linda McIlwaine & Eileen Aitchison. Marion and Linsey looked to be in control of the game before Linda and Eileen staged a spirited comeback and with three ends to play they were right back in the game, however a disastrous second last end meant that the comeback was short lived and Marion and Linsey ran out fairly comfortable winners. Good bowls were however delivered by all four players with special mentions to Linda and Marion who only joined the club this season and especially Linda who was completely new to the game only a few short months ago!

Gents Championship

The final of the championship will be played between Philip Lonie and Ian McGregor at 2pm on Saturday 12th September. We hope that as many members as possible will attend to support the players on the day.

Gents Pairs

The finalists in the 2020 pairs are P Lonie & B Combe v W Bell & S Glasgow. This game is scheduled to be played on Sunday 13th September at 14:00. Feel free to come along and support the guys in what should be a good quality match.

Gents Rink Medal

The final of the rink medal 2020 will be played (Covid rules dependent) between the rink of A McKenna, K Maguire, W Bell & G Kean and the rink of I McGregor, T Thomson, S Glasgow & I Mitchell. A date is still to be agreed for this match.

Flood Cup 2020

A good day was had by all yesterday as the Flood Cup was played for the first (and hopefully not the last) time under the new format. The group stages saw some tight matches (and some not-so-tight matches) played. Two sections had runaway winners, however in the other group the qualification came down to shots difference. Allan Nicol and Fiona Crowther lost to Willie Bell and Alistair Lees in one semi final, while Gary Kean and Alex McDonald lost to Linsey Burgess and Moira Gilbert in the other. The final saw some great bowls played by all four players, however Willie Bell and Ali Lees ran out winners in the end. Thanks go to all of the committee who worked behind the scenes and on the bar to make the day a success and special thanks to Steven Dodds for all his work in organising the draw and the order of play.

Future of the club

Aerial view from the West showing the extent of the house building currently ongoing around the club.

Aerial view from the South showing an artists impression of the completed housing. Seafield BC is located in the lower right section of this picture.

Aerial view of Leith Roperie taken in 1916 showing Seafield Bowling green at the bottom (just above the pointing finger). The wall to the north of the green is the last surviving part of the once huge Roperie building which housed over 1000 workers.

Flood Cup 2020

The pairs and sections for this have now been drawn and it will be played out on Saturday 5th September. The format for the sectional games will be 10 ends of two bowl pairs. Three section winners plus the best runners up from the three sections (decided by points won then shots up) will qualify for the semi finals. The first fill on the green will be at 12:00 so all participants are requested to be at the club for 11:45.

Mixed Pairs

The second silverware of the season was decided yesterday afternoon when Norma Clarke and Mickey MacPherson defeated Carol Kean and Willie Bell in the final. Congratulations to the winning pair and good luck in the 2021 Scottish Mixed Pairs qualifiers.

Club Pairs

The two semi finals of the 2020 pairs competition will be - Stuart Gilbert & Allan Nicol V Billy Combe & Philip Lonie and Stuart Glasgow & Willie Bell V Tommy Thomson & Ian McGregor.

Club Championship

The Quarter final ties in the 2020 championship are - Ian Paterson V Bob Peebles, Philip Lonie V Mickey MacPherson, Alex McDonald V Brian Graham, Ian Mitchell V Ian McGregor. All ties to be completed by 30th August.

Rink Medal

Following the changes to the playing guidelines from the Scottish Government and Bowls Scotland the RInk Medal matches will now be possible again. These had been pulled from their original dates, however it is now planned to play the first games on Monday 31st August.

First club final of the season.

The first final of the shortened "Covid" season will be the triples. This will be played between Steven Dodds, Ian Patterson and Philip Lonie versus Ian Mitchell, Stuart Gilbert and Allan Nicol. Last night's semis saw a walk-over for the Dodds team and a hard won but enjoyable encounter between Allan Nicol's side and Ian McGregor's. Despite the wet conditions the green was very playable. The green will be open to other games on Wednesday night so hopefully there will be a few people down to both play and to watch.

Update - In another enjoyable game the Triples was won by Ian Mitchell, Stuart Gilbert and Allan Nicol.

Flood Cup - 2020

This year we will be resurrecting the Flood Cup as a competition for all members (Ladies and Gents) ...for too long the impressive trophy has lay in the cabinet uncontested and unloved! In the past this was exclusively a gents competition and was played as a two bowl pairs with the members drawn out of two pots of high and low handicaps to ensure that sides were of balanced abilities as far as possible. The general rule of the competition is that the high handicap player must play lead, with the low handicapper skipping. Previously this was played as a competition up to 21 shots, and was played in the evenings however in the current Covid environment it was decided as an experiment to play the whole tournament on a weekend (5th September - so keep it free in your diaries!). Dependant on number of entries this may be either a round robin or a knockout format, the Committee and Match Secretary will decide the format and how many shots/ends each game will comprise. We have our fingers crossed for good weather and would love it if we could get a good turnout as we hope this will be a nice social event. The entry form is posted on the wall of the gents locker room so feel free to enter the draw and let's see if we can fill the green.

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