Huron Expositor, 2014-08-27, Page 1818 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, August 27, 2014
sports
Finlayson Memorial brings in lawnbowlers from far and wide
Whitney South
Huron Expositor
Folks came from far and
wide, just to get a chance to
play in the Finlayson Memo-
rial Lawn Bowling Tourna-
ment in Seaforth on Aug. 20.
The greens held a packed
house, with triples from Sar-
nia to Burlington taking part
in the annual tournament,
despite some questionable
weather conditions that left
everyone a little soggy.
Named for former Kippen
residents Art and Mary Fin-
layson, the annual tourna-
ment has taken over the
Seaforth club each year
since the early 1980s, and
contines to draw a healthy
bevy of bowlers.
A family affair, Diane March,
past president of the Burlington
Lawnbowling Club, along with
brother Brett Finlayson and sis-
ter, Brenda Empey, have con-
tinued to fund the event on
behalf of their parents.
"My dad started it years and
year ago and when it started he
had a hard time convincing the
club that they could do it;" said
Diane. "But they filled the
greens twice with pairs that first
year. They'd have 18 greens, 36
teams playing and 36 teams
waiting. So itwas pretty busy:'
She went on the explain
after a few years, the numbers
dropped, a common occur-
ance in many lawnbowling
clubs. These days, the compe-
tition is played in triples, this
year was a full house.
"Lawnbowling does have
the reputation of being an
older person's sport and in
Burlington we have a really
hard time getting young kids
out," Diane explained, add-
ing how important it is to
keep membership high in
order to keep clubs going. "If
you don't have enough
members, it's hard to keep a
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facility up, so it's great to see
so many people come out to
Seaforth each year:'
Despite a torencial down-
pour, the bowlers were able
to fit in two games before
having to retreat indoors.
Skip Jurgen Fessler, along
with Mike and Truitje Wagner
took top prize for the day.
For the Kitchener and
London based team, bowl-
ing at Seaforth has quickly
become an annual tradition.
"Last year was the first year I
entered this tournament and I
liked it so much I made sure we
all took the day off work to get
together and bowl here again
this year' said Truitje, who even
rescheduled a trip to England
just so she could make it to the
tournament. "Three of my
favourite people are from this
club," she laughed, referring to
bowlers Carol Carter, Tom Phil-
lips and Lee Ryan.
For husband Mike and skip
Jurgen, the annual tournament
is about celebrating a sport they
love, while meeting good
friends and enjoying the day.
"It's a beautiful tournament,
everyone gets a prize, everyone
goes home happy and the
greens are geat," said Mike.
"It's a chess game on
grass," added Jurgen. "You
don't have to be a jock to do
this sport. Doesn't matter
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URGENTLY NEEDED
Families on Floats
in the
Seaforth Fair Fall
Parade
Sat Sept 13, 10 a.m.
Prizes for Best Float
Theme: Harvest Bounty
For details call
519-527-0349
519-527-1321
Photos by Whitney South, Huron Expositor
Skip Jurgen Fessler of London, along with Truitje and Mike
Wagner of Kitchener, took home first place at the annual
Finlayson Memorial Lawn Bowling Tournament Aug. 20.
who you are, you can play."
Diane said the Finalyson
family is prepared to keep the
tradition going next year,
though they may not continue
to make 120 tarts and other
treats from scratch.
"The greens are a big draw,
but I'd like to think people enjoy
the food too," she laughed. "It's
almost like a little Ontario fam-
ily, it's just good fellowship:'
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y
Photos by Whitney South, Huron Expositor
Triples from all over Southern Ontario packed the greens at the
Seaforth Lawnbowling Club.
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President Information
Laverne Weitzel 519-393-5647 Darwin Lannin 519-348-8526