BOWLS NEWS with Terry Norwood
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19th
For those who haven’t yet heard, our much admired Life Member, Gordon Lewis, ran into a medical issue late last week. All members wish him a hasty recovery and a rapid return to the bowling green.
At the AGM of the Men’s Bowling Committee, special mention was made of the Pennant training sessions which were held prior to the Pennants season. It was unanimously agreed that the sessions were of great assistance to aspiring pennant bowlers. Both interesting and challenging, the activities were a great help in developing and honing skills. Bowlers wish to express their appreciation of the efforts of Steve Della, Carl Spilker and others who developed and implemented the program. It is anticipated that a similar program will be put in place prior to the 2023 pennant season.
The first meeting of the new Men’s Bowling Committee was held at 10.30 on Saturday 19th November. The full minutes of that meeting will be available shortly, but members might be interested in a few items.
- It was agreed that the Committee will put on two BBQs for bowlers in the lead up to Xmas. One BBQ will be on Wednesday 14th December and the second on Saturday 17th December after bowls on each of those days. All bowlers are invited, so you are encouraged to put one or both of those dates in the diary.
- The 2023 Pennant nomination form will be posted on the noticeboard soon, so bowlers are encouraged to think about their availability. This autumn competition will return to the old format over ten weeks, and both women and men will be eligible to compete.
- Nomination for the Men’s Major Pairs Championship closes at 5pm on Friday November 25th. So there is still time for bowlers to organise their pairs and get them listed on the entry form on the notice board.
- It had been suggested at the AGM that a Friday afternoon mixed bowls event be reintroduced, and the Committee has agreed to that. This will follow a different shortened format with challenging aspects such as power plays. This is planned to start in mid January, so bowlers need to keep an eye out for details.
SOCIAL BOWLS
A very pleasant, sunny afternoon greeted the 20 bowlers who turned out for social bowls on Saturday. The wind, gusting generally out of the north, gave bowlers something to think about as they enjoyed the synthetic surface of the Waratah Green. It was also very pleasant for the men to be joined for the bowls session by two women bowlers, Reta South and Julie Hayden. It was also great to have Robin Staples back on the green after several weeks break due to medical issues. Welcome back maestro!
On rink 7, Keith Edwards, Rick Reynolds and skipper Julie Hayden took on Graham Denman, Peter Cornwell and Dave Coltman. Julie and her men won four of the first five ends and held a solid lead of 10 – 3. Skipper Dave then stirred his team into action and by the tenth end had squared the match at 12 all. Team Coltman pressed on went to a four shot lead with five ends to play. However, team Hayden then swung the game in their favour scoring eleven shots to one in the run home. Julie, Rick and Keith were victors by 28 – 21.
Dave Coltman and Julie Hayden were opposing skippers!
In a pairs encounter, Barry Werfel and Don Chapman were against Reta South and Robin Staples. Despite losing the first end, it didn’t take long for team Staples to hit their straps. With Reta leading very well and Robin quickly finding his old touch, they raced to a lead of 15 – 3 after nine ends. Don and Barry then steadied the ship to get back within five shots and breathed life into the game. However, with Robin back on the jack, team Staples pushed on to a fairly comfortable victory of 24 – 13.
In a triples match on rink 9. Graham Hartnup, Andy Connor and Bob Crowley went head to head against Arnold Lenczuk, Richard Denman and Skipper Bob Edwards. With lots of chat and huge encouragement, Bob and his men made a monumental start to the game. With a haul of ten shots in the first four ends and another eight shortly after, team Crowley had leapt to a lead of 21 – 4 by the eleventh end. However, as so often happens things turned around somewhat in the second half of the match. Starting with a six shot haul on the twelfth end, team Edwards won seven of the remaining ten ends. Unfortunately for them, the lead had been too great as Graham, Andy and Bob Crowley held on to win by 26 – 19.
Bob Crowley and Andy Connor were both in good touch!
In the final game Ted McPhee and Graham Hunt took on the challenge of Terry Norwood and skipper Tony Oakes. And what a cracking game this was with things going down to the last bowl! Ted and Graham got the better of the early ends but Terry and Tony kept themselves in the game at 9 – 7 after six ends. With skipper Graham bowling particularly well, he and Ted remained in front on the scorecard deep into the game. However, a massive 5 shot haul on the eighteenth end, followed by a single on the next, meant the scores were tied at 21 all. Game on! Team Hunt scored a shot on the next end, but were down two shots on the last and only one bowl remaining. Cool as a cucumber, with a super bowl Graham trailed the jack to take shot and the match at 23 – 21. All bowlers were in pretty good touch, but Graham is in a purple patch of form at the moment.
Tony Oakes on the mat! Graham Hunt in superb touch!