Newsletter

by Lily Dos Remedios

Adolfo and Lucille Pietracupa Mixed Triples 2025

A hot and fabulous day was spent celebrating the 4th annual mixed triples tournament hosted by the Pietracupa family. 

Our clubhouse was decorated with hundreds of sunflowers on checkered tablecloths to remind one of an authentic trattoria. The colors of white, red, and green were everywhere a hint of Italy was in the air.

The piper with his famous bagpipes ceremoniously played around the well-known Rose Gardens up to the opening of our games.

Congratulations to the winners that day:

First place: Manga Cake – Kay, Wesley, and Courtney

Best name: Gelatos – Lynn, Yvonne, Charlie

Best performance: Bowling 3 Bears – Aki, Donna, and John S.

Because we love you: Rose Between Two Thorns – Albert, Greg, and Esther

Thank you to all participants which also included the Felicity and the Spumoni Bowls.

We are truly grateful to Lisa for hosting this special event.

by Lily Dos Remedios

Summer Tournament 2025

We gathered together to play a few games and eat a substantial amount of wonderful food. A big thanks to our members for bringing an amazing variety of mouthwatering dishes and sweet desserts.

The theme of the day was seafood.

And our lovely Debbie transformed into our very own “Little Mermaid”.

by Lily Dos Remedios

Our first ever Summer Tournament took place with the following winners:

1st place – Oompapa – Kay, John, Yvonne

Tying for 2nd place –

The Flame Throwers – Daniel, Joanna, Logan & Hot Tamales – Lynn, Heather, Erin/Lori

Congratulations on your wins!

by Lily Dos Remedios

Barefoot Lawn Bowling 2025

A fresh wave of players are among us and it’s making our nights incredibly entertaining.

Will is one of our new members here who grew up bowling with his grandpa Down Under. Will is an amazing athlete, who introduced this concept of barefoot bowling to the club. It has given us a whole new outlook on our game. It’s a natural way to enjoy our activities here.

Playing the game with shoes on and playing it with shoes off is enlightening. It’s an alternative way to appreciate nature while you’re outside. And doing it barefoot, gives you such a calming effect all over. It’s like working in the garden with your bare hands. The negative ions you encounter while enjoying the game is wonderful.

This barefoot to grass contact is called earthing or grounding, a way to potentially reduce stress, chronic fatigue and temporary relief from pain when you connect with the planet. Our wise member, John said this, we are “receiving a boost by an engagement in the grounds”. I agree, as it’s a valuable experience, connecting with our planet and connecting with each other.

Our charming member Montana said this about being barefoot. “It reminds me that it’s summer.” Outdoor lawn bowling is a seasonal sport. It’s a fantastic way to get in some light physical activity while being social. It’s a lovely way to spend a summer night being barefoot with your buddies on the green field bowling as the sunsets into the west.

Our club is a gem, right in the heart of Queen Elizabeth Park. Our natural greens are meticulously kept. The coolness of the grass on the soles of your feet feels amazing. We get to listen to the music of the birds and the buzzing of the bees. We get to breathe in the scent of sweet flowers and the fresh cut grass.

We are very fortunate to be here.

Come by and take off your shoes and plant your feet in our front yard.

by Lily Dos Remedios

Canada Day 2025

I would say, it’s a day to enjoy what we created as a community, our love of lawn bowling and our respect and affection for each other’s company.

I feel that we can never be alone in this world when you are part of something enduring. That is why I remain here, a member of this fantastic club. You feel an extremely welcoming sense of belonging.  

I am a Canadian, and we as the people have the freedom to speak out in the open without penalty. And we do just that even here, in our playing field. It is when we see something that is not so sportsmanlike on the green. And we also congratulate each other, even when it’s the opposing side who does an unbelievable shot at the target.

We are respectful of each other. Each member is given the chance for input and feedback on the going ons of the club. We create a loving space and we share our expertise. As members, we follow through and we play to win. And of course sometimes we lose. And this is all in the spirit of comradery. 

It’s not on a battlefield, of course not, it’s on our playing field and we do it with a shake of the hand, a fist pump, and a smile at the beginning and end of each game. 

Good bowling my friends.

Happy Canada Day!

by Lily Dos Remedios

Our 3rd annual Hula Bowl took place on a Saturday. The origins of the day became a reality because of our fellow bowler Betty-Ann, for her love of the Hawaiian Islands and the game of lawn bowling. The weather that morning started off dreary with showers and grey skies, but Mother Nature stepped in and parted the clouds with her magical hand, enough to show us all some rays of sunlight in the early afternoon.

Members that day were greeted with a rainbow of colors, thanks to the many volunteers who helped decorate the club for the event. Names were drawn and teams were given creative group titles that day.  A surprise performance was put on by an enthusiastic member, Vince, who danced a little Polynesian sidestep with Hawaiian rattles called the uli uli which was shaken during his turn on the mat. He played his game as the skip for the team called The Three Hawaiian Belles. He was hilarious! Other teams were also on the field, Charlie and the Coconuts, The Thunderbirds, The Ichibans, The Hawaiian Rainbows, The Hula Hoops and The Wahine Bowlers. They all played well.

At half time, we all had afternoon tea. Our amazing president, Betty-Ann, provided a delicious array of snacks. We were presented with a spread of savory sushi trays, homemade cakes and cookies, and of course pineapples and macadamia nuts. These were all happily eaten by the many guests that day and some amazing Lee’s Donuts were handed out at the end of the activities.

The best teams to earn a monetize prize were the following:

3rd place – The Nonna Nuova (Michael, Lee, and Joanne)

2nd place – The Coco Nuts (Tom, Wesley, and Heri) – They also won the best team name.

1st place – The Wiki Wiki Bowlers (Kay, Betty-Ann, and Stan)

It was a very satisfying way to spend a June afternoon with laughter and friendship.

Would you like to be satisfied too?

Join us! Become a member at the Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club today.

by Elmer Morishita

Adolfo and Lucille Pietracupa Mixed Triples Tournament 2024

The third annual Adolfo and Lucille Pietracupa Mixed Triples Tournament was held on Saturday, August 24, 2024.  The tournament was organized and sponsored by their daughter, Lisa to
remember and honour her parents at the Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club where they spent many hours playing and socializing.
They joined the VLBC in 2001 in part due to the friendliness of the members.  They bowled regularly at the club improving their skills.  They also became more involved with the social activities at the club with Lucille helping out with the various social events and Adolfo volunteering as the greenskeeper, maintenance worker and resident electrician.  He also improved his lawn bowling skills by playing in the interclub leagues and during the winter bowling at the Pacific Indoor Lawn Bowling Club.  When Lucille passed away he organized a club mixed triples league, keeping the records, providing refreshments and prizes.  Adolfo passed away a few years later in 2019. 
This year’s tournament was one to remember.  Most of the family was present from daughter and son to their children and their children’s children.  We all entered the clubhouse through a green/white/red balloon arch where the Italian theme continued with table decorations and with Adolfo’s favourite Scotch. 

There were 24 bowlers registered and by draw they formed eight triples teams.  Each team came up with a name. The 2 grandchildren picked the Quack Quack team name as the best.  A prize was awarded to the team of Pritpal, Elmer and Lily. 

Before the games started, a piper played and led the bowlers through the Rose Garden and around the green.  Fond memories of when we held the Glasgow and Ayrshire men’s interclub tournament.
After the first game a wonderful and tasty tea time was held with Italian sandwiches, fruit, cake and tea.  After the second game the Quack Quack team placed first, winning 2 games and having more points over their opponents than the 2^nd place team which also won 2 games.  Prizes were awarded to the 3 top teams.

This was then followed by a few speeches and photos to round out a wonderful day of bowling and remembrance.  Our thanks to Lisa and her family for their presence and for the work in organizing this special bowling event.

Interclub News
During the bowling there are many opportunities for club members to participate in tournaments and leagues.  These are mostly listed in the Vancouver and District Handbook.  It is a great chance to play at other clubs, meet fellow bowlers from other clubs and enjoy friendly, competitive bowling.

This year we participated in 2 triples leagues.  The Elm Park Triples League at Kerrrisdale LBC.  Our team of Wesley, Heri, Elmer, Keith, Daniel and Albert took turns playing.  We played well but were not among the prize winners. 

The Ed Angel Men’s Triples League at West Point Grey LBC
Our team of John, Elmer, Heri, Daniel, and Keith enjoyed the games and the competition but sadly did not fare too well.  Still with this year’s experience we hope to do better next season.

The Andrew Dardano Men’s Triples tournament hosted by our club was cancelled this year.
A few of our members formed teams with club members for with members of other clubs and entered tournaments during the season.

Alexander Cup tournament held every 2 years between VLBC and Canadian Pacific Lawn Bowling Club in Victoria.  Tournament restarted in 2012 on the 150^th  anniversary  of the City of Victoria.  The tournament is a home and away bowling matches held every 2^nd year.  Next year we will challenge for the cup as CP won the last time around.

VLBC & Granville Park LBC annual afternoon of social bowling.  This year at Granville Park; next year at VLBC.  Two clubs started out as one in 1912 but split into 2 clubs with our club retaining the name Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club.  Games started in 2012 on the 100th anniversary of the VLBC.

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