BBC BROADCAST WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10th (Terry Norwood at the desk)
For a start, some vital info to absorb:
- The final week of the ‘Spirit of Bowral Bowling – the FOSS Award’ for mid-week social bowlers was staged on the 10th, so more on that below.
- The semi-finals of the Major Fours Championship will be played on Saturday the 13th, with the roll off time being 10.30am. The first game will see the Oscar Whalin four take on Dave Charlesworth’s team, while the second will involve the teams led by Mick Flynn and Al McGhee.
- Also to be played at 10.30 on Saturday will be the Fours Plate final, with the four skipped by Mick Fisher taking on Chris Forrester’s gang of four.
- The third and final round of the Southern Highlands Cup between Bowral, Bundanoon and Robertson will take place on Sunday at Robbo commencing at 10 am. Currently, Bowral leads the competition on 18.5 points followed by Bundy on 11 and Robbo on 6.5. Bowls in the head Bowral!!
- Bowlers are reminded that the end of year celebratory BBQ will kick off in the afternoon of Saturday 13th. Social bowls on that day will commence at 12 rather than 12.30 so that we can enjoy a sausage and some friendly banter.
- The schedule for bowlers to enter names for the Consistency Singles is on the notice board, and you have until Saturday 20th to list names. Apologies for the error in the last posting where an incorrect closing date was indicated . . . an aging, weary brain was to blame!
- And another reminder to all planning to be at the Club on Saturday 13th, that the Bowral Markets will be in place on the parking lot, so parking will be at a premium from very early on. The back gate to the greens will be unlocked, so you might like to enter from the back.
Wednesday Social Bowls – ‘The Spirit of Bowral Bowling – The FOSS Trophy’
Very pleasant weather provided ideal conditions for the staging of the final week of the Gordon Lewis sponsored FOSS Trophy competition. Leading into this week, Barb Wainberg was on top with 8 points, followed by Peter Flight, Robin Staples and Barry Werfel on 7. Then followed a host of bowlers on 6 points, all of whom were in a position to feature in the prize winning places. So to the games . . . forty bowlers turned out for this week, and they were organised into six games of triples and one of pairs.
In a triples game on rink 7 of the Waratah Green, Wal Markow, Paul Rubie and Joe ‘rusty nail’ O’Donnell battled against Denis ‘rowdy’ Lees, Cameron New and Ross ‘trim’ Barber, and things were very tight and even for 3 all after six ends. It was then a lusty five shotter to Ross’ team that got them a healthy lead and they didn’t look back. By the fifteenth end, they led by 8 shots, and although Joe’s team reduced it to four, another five shotter sealed the win for team Barber. 26 – 13 was the final score, so 2 competition points towards the FOSS Trophy went to each of Ross, Cameron and Denis.
On the next rink, Barb Wainberg, Mark ‘the admiral’ Shelvey and Dave Charlesworth took the challenge up to Neville Tanner, Terry Norwood and Mick Fisher, and it was Dave’s team that had much the better of the opening ends to lead 8 – 1 after five. At this early stage, Barb was all over the jack, and Dave was destroying the opposition with weight. They then pushed their lead out to 14 – 3 after eleven ends, and prospects looked slim for team Fisher. And then the turnaround came! With some much improved drawing, Mick’s team won five ends on the trot to be within a shot, and by the nineteenth it was all square! With it all to play for, Mick’s team dominated the last end and completed a fine comeback at 20 – 17. So, 2 competition points went to each of Neville, Terry and Mick.
In the next game, Peter Marshall, Don Chapman and Chris ‘ebullience’ Forrester tussled for honours against Ted ‘Mr Ed’ McPhee, Arnie Lenczuk and Viv ‘first’ Gear, and it was Chris’ team that leapt from the blocks to lead 14 – 1 after six ends! Where was the defib for Viv’s trio!! Viv’s team did then notch up a couple of doubles, but a run of six ends put Chris’ trio 24 – 6 to the good. Stung into action, Viv’s team found some better form to take the last five ends and put respectability into the final score of 24 – 13. So, 2 points went to Peter, Chris and Don.
On rink 10, Graham Bond, Richard ‘ten pin’ Denman and Peter Morales faced up to Joel ‘AC/DC’ Hunt, Paul McInerney and the evergreen cobbler Gordon Lewis, and scores were level at 5 all after four ends. Gordon’s team, functioning like a well oiled machine, then grabbed a lead of 10 – 5 by the eighth, and then 16 – 7 after fourteen! Peter’s team did get to within 5, but there was to be no festive season charity from the cobbler this game as his team ground out a very solid 24 – 12 victory. Two competition points then went to Gordon, Joel and Paul.
In the next game, Ian Duncan, Junior Cummins and Mark ‘wheel’ Barrow took on Grahame Denman, Peter ‘featherless’ Flight and Mick Flynn and scores were locked at 5 all after six ends. With Mark in his first game as skip, his team took the lead, until Mick’s trio sneaked past for 10 – 8 after eleven ends. Mark’s team then won five ends to have a handy 17 – 10 advantage with five ends to play. Mark’s team still led by a shot with one end remaining, but a double to the wily Mick got the Flynn trio home by 18 – 17. What a close one! So, 2 competition points went to each of Grahame, Mick and Peter.
On rink 12, the pairs game saw Graham Hartnup and the maestro Robin Staples hit the green against Terry ‘pep’ Salter and Clive ‘dasher’ Neutze, and a stunning SEVEN shotter followed shortly after by a five, saw Graham and Robin ahead 13 – 4. They then advanced this to 20 – 7 at the eleventh, and things looked dire for Terry and Clive. However, they dug deeply to have the better of the back half of the game, winning seven of the last ten ends. Alas, the deficit had been too great, and they were still ten shots adrift after the twenty-first end. So, 2 competition points were earned by Robin and Graham.
In the final game, Shane Harvey, Mark ‘rowdy’ Rundle and Peter Martin (in his first hit-out as skip) faced up to Barry Werfel, Owen Williams and the wily Bob Edwards, and Bob’s team grabbed the first five ends to lead 10 – 0! However, a massive six shotter got Peter’s team moving on the next end and by the eleventh, they had hit the lead at 12 – 11! They then advanced this to 16 – 11 by the fourteenth, but, painfully, lost the lead to an horrendous SEVEN shotter on the next! The closing ends were a tough battle, but Bob’s team hung tougher to get home 24 – 21. What a good one! So, 2 points went to each of Bob, Owen and Barry.
And so to the results of the FOSS Trophy competition . . . a host of bowlers finished on 6 points and a few on 7 and one on 8 points. However, the prize-winning trio all finished on 9 points, and the Match Committee had to turn to the total shots for each of the three to determine the final placings. Finishing in third place with 9 points and 89 shots was Peter Flight; second with 9 points and 96 shots was Barry Werfel; and . . . with 9 points and 107 shots was the winner ROBIN STAPLES!! Congratulations are extended to all bowlers but especially to our top three who obviously played fine bowls to be on winning sides on all four weeks of the competition. And commiserations to Barb Wainberg, who led the competition from the first week and only lost out to the last bowl of her match on the last day.
Sponsor Gordon Lewis presenting prizes to winner Robin Staples, second placed Barry Werfel and third Peter Flight.