On Monday, 12th September after the CSBA Northern Tour, 48 members and their guests 
assembled at Redcar Borough Bowls Club for the 2nd Special Match. There was some
doubt about whether to play as there had been rain in the morning; also high winds were blowing from the tail end of a hurricane.
In the event, although play got underway, the wind did cause a few problems by depositing leaves and branches on the playing surface.
The match was played in the right spirit as most players knew each other. The twelve rinks had a mixture of players from the four Home Countries and the results show that those arranging the rinking did a superb job with only two shots difference between the two teams. One team was captained by John Firmin, the CSBA President for 2011 and the other captained by Brian Hopper, the Immediate Past President of the English CSBA.
In their speeches after the game, both John and Brian thanked all the players for attending; some had travelled long distances to be present. They also thanked the guests for their support not just today but throughout the match programmes and made several presentations of prizes and gifts.
After the formal proceedings had been concluded, John Firmin handed over the Presidential Collar to Colin McKenzie expressing the hope that Colin would enjoy his forthcoming year as President of the CSBA. Replying, Colin thanked John for his efforts as CSBA President and said he would do his best to follow John's great example.
The following message has been received by John Firmin, President for 2011.
It is a great honour to be elected CSBA President and to see so many members at the Redcar match where I came into office was amazing. I wish to start by thanking John Firmin for his year as CSBA President but also his other contributions to CSBA over the years. He has been a great servant to the Association. I hope to serve you all as well as John has done over his year.
I also look forward to working with Jim Wilson, Alec Eccles, Campbell McColl along with all other Council members over the coming year and learning from their invaluable experiences in the Association.
To all members of CSBA I look forward to seeing you all during the coming season at some point and urge you all to support the 2012 Tournament in Belfast where we will be celebrating CSBA NI Golden Jubilee. I know the Organising Committee are hard at work finalising the details for this event with the help of Bob Smith. May I take this opportunity to wish all the Champions the best of luck for next July.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our supporters as they give up so much of their time and are very much a part of the social side of our matches. To those members who don't know me, I have been a member of CSBA for several years, I am a Past President of SCSBA(2009), I have also played in the Tournament twice (2001 and 2004). I have also been President of Perth CSSC bowls section.
I will finish by wishing all CSBA members all the best for season 2012.
Colin McKenzie
Bowls Level Green Results
