Around 40 kilometres south of Christchurch and just a stone’s throw from the Ellesmere Brass Band Hall, the Leeston Bowling club is set to host four days of the Summerset National Singles and Pairs Championships in January. Blink twice, you’ll likely miss the club’s driveway on the main road into town, but venture in and you’ll find one of the most pristine greens in Canterbury.

In something of a feather for his cap, Leeston greenkeeper Alan Jones has meticulously prepared the green over the past three years to the standard required for a national championship. “We had people from Bowls New Zealand come out and inspect the green. They said it was so bloody good we’ll allocate you four days,” he said. Three days of Singles and one day of Pairs.

This will be the first time in 25 years the club has hosted a national championship event; “I’m over the moon,” says Jones, “because many of our members don’t know what it’s like to have such an occasion here. I’m thrilled to think our green was chosen.”

But there’s more to this story than just the green. Jonesy as he is more commonly known is the epitome of a club man. Just shy of his 80th birthday, he has been a Leeston member for 56 years, turning his hand to every role within the club aside from Secretary. “I got roped in as you do”, he says, so much so that he brought the house next door 32 years ago, had a gate put in between they house and club and they’ve been inseparable ever since. “My heart is in this club, it always will be”, he says.

Initially Jones agreed to join the club committee on condition the clubrooms were extended and a bar put in. Equally conditional was him presenting a drafted plan, the committee agreed and the rest is history. The extensions and bar were done with Jones then running tournaments to fund them for the next 20 years, and he still runs what is affectionately dubbed the Roadkill tournament over three evenings every February. Yes, Jonesy cooks up a post-bowls stew of you know what!

There are other innovations; most recently Jones has overseen a long term deal where the club gets rental for a cell phone tower which has been installed adjacent to the clubhouse. With other sponsorships he believes the club has been set up for years to come.

Describing himself as having indefatigable energy for the club, Jonesy is currently in his second stint as President, he’s been Bar Manager for 24 years and his latest incarnation as Greenkeeper is testimony to his contribution. Untrained in greenkeeping, he says he has always understood lawns and listened to the old guys, so the transition wasn’t hard. Clearly not given the superb results.

Jonesy’s affection for the club is reciprocated. A shield awarded for an annual Alan Jones men’s fours tournament bears his photo and carries the inscription: “In recognition of Alan Jones, a true legend of the game whose dedication, passion and sportsmanship leave a lasting impression on the Leeston Bowling Club”.

More true words rarely written!