Country Week a highlight on the calendar

The 2023 Women’s Country Week is a highlight on the calendar every year. The chance to re-kindle old friendships and rivalries, do battle on the green, but enjoy each other’s company throughout. After a gruelling week of play, it was great to see a few different faces making the pointy end of each of the disciplines.

The Singles

The coveted Women’s AFGRI Countryweek Singles title was a hard-fought affair despite the final score not being as a close as perhaps expected.

In the semi-finals, Busselton’s Karen Gaglia in her second semi-final of Country Week was triumphant defeating Dumbleyung’s Audrey Bateup who had defeated her earlier in the pairs.

The second singles semi-final saw Moora’s Karyn Bryan outlast Bhel Hallam from Kulin in a thriller 17-16. Both Gaglia and Bryan started solidly but it wasn’t long before Gaglia started to pull away on the scoreboard with more consistent bowls. A 10-2 Gaglia lead quickly turned into a 19-4 lead and one hand on the trophy.

A late run of ends from Bryan was not going to be enough, coming from so far back, and Gaglia ran out a 21-8 winner and the 2023 Women’s AFGRI Country Week Singles Champion.

The Pairs

Kojonup’s Beverley Broom and Shelley Bilney fronted up to Dumbleyung’s Karen Ward and Audrey Bateup in the final of the pairs.

Earlier, in the semi-finals, Broom defeated Kaye Burton and Pauline Forrester from Northampton and Ward beat Busselton’s Karen Gaglia and Robin Tilbrook.

The Kojonup ladies jumped away quickly in the final to establish a healthy lead and were in control after thirteen ends 17-8 with just four ends to play.

A run of three winning ends to Ward forced the game into the last end with Broom leading 17-12. With both teams crowding the jack in the last end, Ward and Bateup could do no more as Broom and Bilney answered every challenge to take the title of 2023 Women’s AFGRI Countryweek Pairs Champions.

The Fours

On a packed finals day at Cambridge, the fours final was the first to play with Eaton’s Margaret Mance, Lorrinia Bright, Nola Sutherland, and Kerry Ward taking on a composite team of Marjorie White (Wickepin), Val Cliff (Brookton), Judy Lang (Wickepin), and Alison Horley (Wickepin).

In the semi-finals, Mance had defeated Halls Head’s Patsy Smith, Jill Gumbleton, Marion Brophy, and Sue Edwards, while White overcame Narembeen’s Anita Cowan, Sylvia Yandle, Narelle Vaughan and Kellie Mortimore.

Both teams started the final well, but it was the Eaton team that broke away in the middle part of the game to open up a 12-3 lead.

A run of four winning ends in a row put the Wickepin/Brookton team back in the match at 10-12 as they challenged strongly.

A four to Eaton on the tenth end re-established the lead and they were never headed from there.

The White team kept trying to bridge the gap but ran out of ends as Mance, Bright, Sutherland, and Ward held sway to win 18-16 and be crowned the 2023 Women’s AFGRI Countryweek Fours Champions.