Volunteers recognised

Bowls WA was pleased to be able to recognise the efforts of many hard-working volunteers within our sport during December with a Volunteer Recognition Event.

The sundowner event was held at Crown Perth ironically the only establishment that allows in-house gambling in Perth, which is the lifeblood of many of the bowling clubs on the east coast – whereas in WA, no bowling club is complete without the money wheel, chook raffle, meat pack or the odd bottle of wine changing hands at the end of the day given the right $2 raffle ticket.

An interesting statistic to highlight our reliance on the Volunteer in WA – is that the National Bowls Census has just been released which amongst other things tells us that nationally there are 171 clubs that pay their Club Coach a Wage or Honorarium – only 5 of those 171 are in WA.

In Greens preparation nationally 51% are prepared by Club Employees or Contractors – in WA it is 22% with 70% of Greens in WA prepared by Volunteers and finally 638 Clubs around the country pay their office staff – of that 638 only 56 are in WA and the numbers along those lines go on showing that WA really leads the way in volunteer help amongst clubs.

In many respects we wouldn’t change that but the point is none of this would happen without the Volunteer, whether that be at the Club, League, Zone or Association level.

As part of the function Glen Dunkerton from Regional Men’s Health Initiative was also able to give those in attendance a brief presentation on issues that affect Men in WA and how we can help. The partnership between Regional Men’s Health and Bowls WA seeks opportunities at regional clubs for the RMHI team to encourage men to talk openly about men’s health issues particularly but not limited to mental health, alcohol consumption, prostate etc.

Bowls WA CEO Ken Pride, President Larry Bandy, and attending Board members thanked those who had given their time in recent years on committees and/or in the promotion of the sport of bowls.

Of note was the Badge of Merit awarded to long time and only recently former Bowls WA Umpires Chair Michael Garratt.

The Badge of Merit is awarded exclusively to those who perform 10 continuous years of volunteer service at Association level. A brief summary of Volunteers recognised was as follows: Certificate of Appreciation

A brief summary of Volunteers recognised was as follows: • Simon Alden – with his website Bowls 360 and his longtime and current hosting of the Bowls Show on Sport FM every Saturday morning • Dave Rankin – for his website Perth Pennants and for some time our resident BWA photographer • Clive Adams – for his work on a northern suburbs community radio show and his long time journalistic excellence as the

Bowls writer in the Sunday Times. Certificate of Service

• Anne Lilley – a long time servant in the Inter Region

Round Robin and Bowls Management Committee. • John Bridge – for many years a reliable voice of reason and worker on our Fixtures and Events Committee. • Kevin Heberle – who made his way up from Gnowangerup and a long time member of the League, Zone and Country

Committee. • Derek Boardman – for his time on a number of committees but primarily in our Fixtures and Events area. • Roger Barns – in our High-Performance area as a state selector, many years as Chairman of that group and the countless hours watching others perform in order to make state teams. • Ken Perks – also in our High-Performance area, this time as our previous Under 18s Coach. Bowls WA Certificate and Badge of Merit

• Michael Goble-Garratt for his long-time work in guiding our Umpires Committee both in WA and on a national committee of Umpires as the BWA representative – notwithstanding the countless hours in passing and failing our Officials in WA.

Men’s State Singles David Downey reigns supreme

by PIETER HARRIS The Western Australian Men’s State Singles concluded at the Bassendean Bowling Club on Sunday with a first-time winner crowned as the 2021-22 Champion.

The first Semi-Finals was a back-and-forth affair with David Downey (Manning) overcoming Dale Marsland (Mosman Park) 25-21. Downey started quickly, racing to a 7-2 lead with an early four and three on consecutive ends.

However, Marsland put together a great run, winning eight of the next eleven ends to take the lead 15-10. Downey again won multiple ends and when he got to 21-16 in the first to 25 contest, he looked to have the running.

But again Marsland fought back and drew level at 21 all with his own run of four consecutive ends. With both players playing outstanding bowls, it was Downey who was able to finish it off with a couple of two’s to win 25-21.

The second Semi-Final saw Clive Adams (Cambridge) lead for much of the game before getting overrun by the fastfinishing Russell Bates (Doubleview) 25-24. Adams jumped out to a 5-1 lead and then slowly pulled away from Bates to look the likely winner at 1911.

While most people at Bassendean were glad to feel the breeze come in to cool things off early in the afternoon, Adams would have hoped it could have stayed away a bit longer as Bates took his game to another level.

Adams continued to play very well but Bates getting close early and often each end was telling. A two, four, and then a two to Bates turned the 11-19 deficit into a 19-19 scoreline very quickly.

Adams dug in to pick up singles and looked on the verge of victory at 24-21 and holding game. However, Bates was not going to be denied and won the last four ends to win 25-24.

As per usual the Bassendean Bowling Club produced a magnificent 17 second green for the final day of the State Singles.

However, what would have been a joy to play on in the morning with hardly a breeze bowling, albeit quite hot, became more difficult in the afternoon as a gusty cooling breeze settled in. However, you wouldn’t have known it as both players had their moments of covering the jack during the game. Bates started quickly with a three on the third end to lead 4-1 but after an extended break to Downey due to Bates’s long semi-final, Downey found his groove and both players went bowl for bowl for the next 19 ends. With the score at 9-8 in Downey’s favor, a change came over the game. Downey won seven of the next nine ends to have one hand on the trophy at 22-10. However as Bates showed in his semi-final, he would not be beaten without a fight. Again it happened quickly with Bates grabbing seven shots over four ends to move to 17-22. • David Downey in action. The Downey supporters may have been getting a little nervous but David Downey certainly wasn’t as he finished off the Russell Bates fightback with a big three to move to a 25-17 victory and the title of the 2021-22 Western Australian Men’s State Singles Champion.

• David Downey – triumphant in the Men's State Singles.

Women’s State Singles Hailey Packer grabs centre stage

by PIETER HARRIS The Western Australian Women’s State Singles concluded at the Bassendean Bowling Club on Sunday with magnificent bowls played in both the Semi-Finals and Final.

The first Semi-Final saw Hailey Packer (Manning) take to the green against Jenny Parker (Mosman Park). Both ladies started strongly going shot for shot for the first seven ends leading to a 4-4 score line.

Packer was then able to string together three winning ends in a row to open up a small lead. Parker fought back with two of her own but then Packer went again winning another four ends to lead 16-6.

A couple of two’s and a three saw Parker fight back again but it wasn’t enough as Hailey Packer finished the game off with a four and a single over the last three ends to win 25-14.

The second Semi-Final saw two Mosman Park teammates battle it out. Both Lisa Featherby and Kerry Andersen have won many state titles over the years but neither had been able to grab the elusive singles title.

Featherby started strongly to go 3-0 up and was then able to hold a similar lead for much of the first half of the game, 8-5 after nine ends, 11-8 after thirteen ends, and 16-13 after twenty-one ends.

First Andersen would get a little closer and then Featherby would stretch the lead a little further and Andersen would reel it back in.

For much of the game, Featherby could not break the rope of the looming Andersen shadow, as Andersen continually made her opponent come up with the big shot. After the twenty-second end, Andersen had closed it back up to a single shot and looked like she might finally have been able to find the front.

But Featherby was not to be denied and got a three back to lead 19-15 and then finally broke that rope to close it out quickly with a two, a one, and a three to win 25-15.

Due to the heat of the day, the start of the final was delayed for approximately an hour but when they got started Hailey

Packer jumped out of the blocks to lead 4-0 over Lisa Featherby. Featherby quickly found her feet and hit back with a couple of scores but Packer always looked more likely to win the end even when she didn’t. A couple of two’s put Packer up 8-3 and then they went shot for shot until the score line showed Packer still in front 12-9. The next five ends were all Packer’s with a two and a three bordering three singles to jump the lead out to 20-9. A quick finish to the game looked likely as Featherby struggled with consistency and was just hanging in there. However as sometimes can happen, a good shot by a player and a loose end by their opponent can fill players with confidence. Featherby started to make inroads slowly and after winning three ends in a row, you could see some belief return. At 2113 it still seemed unlikely the way Packer was playing and at 22-15 it was still a long way back for Featherby, but a four and then a one put the score at 22-20 and it was game on. • Hailey in action. A single to Packer kept her opponent at bay but for only one end as Featherby grabbed a three to make the score line of 23-23. Holding her nerve, Hailey Packer finished off Lisa Featherby’s resurgence by taking a two and grabbing her first WA Women’s State Singles Championship 25-23.

• Hailey with husband Cody and their son Jasper.