Cosburn Park Lawn Bowling Club  

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A Life Membership Certificate

By Terry Brackett

At our annual Canada Day event, Bob Bates presented a Life Membership Certificate to his mother Lorena (Lorry) Bates on behalf of the Cosburn Park Lawn Bowling Club. Lorry has used her sports background to be an outstanding athlete throughout her life. She was initially a top softball player in Toronto and became a star at Sunnyside.

Lorry and five pin bowling mixed very well and by 1947, at only 19, Lorry was in the Toronto Ladies Major League bowling. In 1958, Lorry won a victory at the Sportsman Show which qualified her to bowl in the Canadian championships at O‟Connor Bowl. The eastern ladies team was victorious as Lorry rolled the top five game score of 1313, including a 326 single. In all, Lorry bowled at the Open ten times, making her last appearance in 1976.

When Lorry retired from her bowling in 1980, she joined her husband Don and her sons Don & Bob, to pursue a lawn bowling career. In 1989, Lorry showed her athletic ability with a victory in the Ontario pair‟s championships. Softball, five pin bowling, lawn bowling and a champion in all three sports, a true Hall of Famer, Lorry Bates.


    
In 1929, a small group of people residing in the immediate vicinity of Cosburn and Coxwell Avenues organized what has now become the Cosburn Park Lawn Bowling Club in the then Township of East York, subsequently the Borough of East York and now the City of Toronto. The property now constitutes part of the inventory of facilities now owned and maintained by the City of Toronto which provides general operational and maintenance support.

The original clubhouse was actually a shed with no heating or other accommodation.  In 1937, a new clubhouse was built by the members who managed to get, from many individuals, various materials such as cement blocks, wood and anything else they could find to put up the building.
     
In 1952, the lady members held a bazaar in the fall and regular euchres during the winter which raised $1250.00 and had a verandah put on the clubhouse.  In 1971, the Borough of East York put an addition on the present building and, in 1987, the Borough rebuilt the original verandah, along with other repairs and we now have a clubhouse of which we can be proud.  In 1939, the total membership of the club was 63.  In 1948, it was 115 and in 1978, the membership had peaked at 256..
     
The club membership subsequently dropped to below 90 in the 1990's and early 2000's, reflecting a general drop in membership of lawn bowling clubs across the Province and Country.  However, over the last three years, the club membership has grown to 130 in 2008 with the club winning both the Provincial and Canadian award for the largest increase in membership in 2007 and coming seventh in 2008.
 
The club has a complete schedule of club league games, jitneys and tournaments, the latter of which brings in competitive bowlers from all over southern Ontario.

Come and join us at our club where the operative word is "fun".

Welcome to LGBT
July 2011
By James Lee
                       “Pink” Wednesday celebrating Pride Week


You may have noticed that Wednesday nights are a little busier than usual. That‟s because the CPLBC has warmly welcomed the Lesbian, Gay, Bi & Transgendered (LGBT)-friendly group the “Toronto RainBowlers” into the club.

This is one of the first LGBT lawn bowling groups in the world! What started as minor banter between two friends to give lawn bowling a try has turned into a group some 40 strong that come out every Wednesday (and sometimes some other nights) to try their hand at bowls.

The group has enjoyed learning a new sport thanks to the generous support of the club executives, coaches and you, our fellow club members. If Wednesday bowls fits into your schedule, why don‟t you come out and play with us? We just might give you a run for your money!