No need for a bed at the bowling club

Jim Naylor was at work at the bowling club on Friday. Where else would he be? Photo / Peter Jackson

Jim Naylor is used to people asking him when he's going to move his bed to the Coopers Beach Bowling Club. He won't be doing that though, for two reasons.

First, his wife of 54 years, Pam, is fully supportive of all that he does for the club: "We became a team in March 1966; you get Jim and you get me as well," she said.

Second, if his bed was there he wouldn't have time to use it.

Jim's spectacular contribution to the club began with a plan to replace the "pretty rubbish" toilets. He had to build a new office to make room for new ones.

Now he's been named Bowls New Zealand's Club Person of the Year, and secretary Carol Sell is not surprised.

He has made a remarkable contribution to the club, she said, not least in helping guide it through the "precarious" Covid-19 lockdown, but his impact has been "staggering".

"We wouldn't have anything like the club we have now without him," she said.

"I have no doubt that Jim has had the biggest impact on the club that anyone has ever had."

Now in his sixth year as president, he has set a standard that few around the country could match, hitting his straps in 2016-17, when he and fellow member Steve Barber worked every day to renovate the clubrooms, building the new toilets, installing a commercial kitchen and upgrading the bar.

"He gave up two years of his life for that," Carol said.

"He loves a project, but it's amazing what he can do, and he didn't charge the club a cent for his labour."

Jim last week estimated the labour that went into that work, at minimal rates, would have been worth around $175,000.

On Friday the retired builder from Birmingham, who came to New Zealand with Pam 16 years ago, was painting a new surround on a clock overlooking the top green, which he had built to replace the one damaged by vandals, and was clearly happy in his work.

He had an engineering apprenticeship in his youth, he said, and had worked as a shopkeeper and a butcher, but building had been his life's work.

"And a dogsbody. I can pretty much turn my hand to anything," he said, and no one was disagreeing with that.

Pam, he added, was unfailingly supportive, packing his sandwiches every morning, some of his working days at the club stretching to 14 hours.

"I couldn't do what I've done without her," he said, "or without the support of a lot of other people. I might be driving the train but there are a lot of people in the carriages."

Having decided that the toilets had to be replaced, he had concluded that the only way to fix that problem was to become president and "get stuck in". So he did. And he didn't stop there.

He spent the Covid lockdown installing a stock control system in the bar till, which entailed complex discussions with the software company. The new system did not have an operating manual, so he produced one himself. He also lined the ceiling, improved the lighting, carpeted the floor and painted the walls, as well as checking that the refrigeration and chillers were functioning properly, every day.

He upgraded the CCTV system, upgraded the PA and music system, fitted a commercial filter into the green irrigation system, built a shed for the scoreboard and greenkeeper's equipment, and helped build a portable stage for entertainers.

Over summer he installed an overhead projector and large screen, and when the bar manager departed at short notice he stepped in, taking over and training a new one.

His to-do list includes laying a new surface on the lower green, installing a solar system to reduce the power bill, building a storage room, concreting the carpark and improving the entrance off SH10.

Carol said he had the perfect temperament for a president, one who had taken his committee with him.

"He has a calm nature and doesn't get upset or agitated," she said.

"If you are given a job or a project, he lets you get on with it and doesn't interfere. And he will always try to find the best deals. He'll spend hours on the computer comparing things. He's always got the club's interests at heart."

He's not a bad bowler either. Having initially spent three years at the Oruru club, he said last week that he had his name on every championship trophy at Cooper's Beach at least once. He also coaches newer players.

With about 200 members and around 80 active players, the club was in good heart, he added, but it had become much more than a bowling club. It now catered for players of pool, darts and petanque, and had recently added a "fishing section". The clubrooms were a popular venue for weddings, birthdays, wakes, even a funeral a few weeks ago. "We do a lot of community stuff too," he added. "The garden and floral art clubs have been here, the tennis club has events here, and Friday nights are so popular that we've had to limit numbers. "We have a very good chef [Chantal Nichols], ex-Navy, who is putting out some lovely meals, so it's not just about bowls any more. That's why we're changing our official name to Club Coopers Beach."

And the members couldn't be happier.

"We feel like we have the best club in the Far North, and Jim has played a massive part in that," Carol said.

"It's amazing what he has done, and what he continues to do. We are lucky to have him."