Small Metro Club of the Year

Mounters break-out year

Nice looking clubhouse and the Consistency Singles probably comes to mind when asked to describe the Mt Lawley Bowling Club – but in a break-out year the Mounters have emerged as one of WA’s 'on the move' clubs.

Club President Terry Conley was delighted to received the trophy at the Bowls WA Awards Night highlighting the club had worked very hard on and off the green in the past twelve months. After much publicity the club received funding for the transition of its grass greens to sand filled synthetic, accompanied by new lighting which has seen a significant turn-around in its financial position from annual deficits to strong surpluses.

The lighting fund announcement even attracted the Premier Mark McGowan to the club where he gave bowls a go, although looking at the delivery he may need some coaching.

These upgrades will certainly augur well for the season opening Mt Lawley Consistency Singles a time-honored event on the Bowls WA calendar.

On the green saw the state fours head to Rookwood Street with an outstanding win, the first for 87 years and no doubt paved the way for a much improved and confident group of pennant players to dominate their division.

Success breeds success and a number of top-level players are looking at Mt Lawley as a future home, testament to the proactive changes made on and off the green.

Always strong on the social scene, the club has lent itself to a continued strong corporate calendar with over 7,000 nonbowling participants over the course of the year, an incredible number which as always requires a strong volunteer presence to manage.

This is in addition to a significant community presence with a number of clubs and associations calling the club their own home.

Mt Lawley – a club on the move and a very worthy winner of the Bowls WA Small Metro Club of the Year.

• Mark McGowan shows his style.

• State Fours champions.

Club in Profile – Joondalup Bowling Club Huge year for Joondalup

By Clive Adams Regional Bowls Manager

The Joondalup Bowling Club, situated on the coastal outskirts of the Perth Metropolitan area, is doing a lot of things right as the club is well into its third decade of existence.

The City of Joondalup has long been a fast growing area in terms of business development and residential and the club is taking full advantage.

The club was rewarded at the Bowls WA Awards Night winning the Bowls WA Metropolitan Club of the Year and also the Club Coach of the Year which was presented to Geoff Stevenson. Stevenson helped guide the club to several promotions plus helped run a highly successful introductory program for new members, along with the help of other helpful volunteers, and the club certainly has had plenty of new members in recent seasons.

When the club ran it’s Novice Singles, a competition that caters for players that have played bowls for less than two years, and have yet to win any major titles they were shocked as they realised just how many players were eligible for this year’s event.

“When we did the numbers, we found 34 men and 17 ladies eligible to play in our Novice Championships,” said President Dave Webber. “Clearly we knew that we had been welcoming plenty of new players, but those numbers were just staggering”.

“We are in the fortunate situation that the demographic surrounding our club is very conducive to the sport of bowls. There’s many people in the area from the UK and surrounding areas, that are very familiar with the sport, but there’s also plenty of empty nesters – people whose kids have left home and now they are looking for something to do for themselves. We are just lucky I guess.”

The reality is that the success the Club is enjoying is anything but luck – it is the result of the hard work that the Club • Geoff Stevenson. Committee as well as many of its members do, promoting the club and giving opportunities for people to play.

The Club enjoys a rich blend of youth and experience. There’s a healthy Junior bowls program which started by getting involved with Sporting Schools and Jr Jack Attack (now known as Rookie Rollers), but has evolved into Saturday morning coaching sessions for children, well headed up by Juniors coach Mark Roemermann with fellow coaches Nancy Sutton, Geoff Stevenson and Eric Buck also putting in plenty of hours on the greens. The family aspect of this program is also encouraging parents to join the club.

More than that though, the Club prides itself on being very welcoming. Before you even pay a membership fee, the club offers low pressure coaching opportunities so that people can have a go.

“We know that the best way to get people involved in bowls is to simply give them a go. The fact that everyone can get close sometimes, but the sport is difficult to master, means people get the bug to get better, and that’s where we can help,” said President Dave.

The club provides each new member with a 'New Member Guide' which takes them through the basic aspects of the Club. The compact guide details the club website, social activities of the club, available practice times, and importantly who the key contacts are should any further information be required.

“We want to make it as easy for people to become part of our club, and feel at home as soon as possible”, said Dave.

“We give them some of the basic terminology and the etiquette of the sport in a simple way to help them ease into the club.”

The club has a very active social and community bowls program. The Community bowls program attracts solid numbers each and every year, and the social opportunities mean that those that simply want to enjoy a noncompetitive game can do so, whilst finding their way, with the step up to pennant competition there if they would like.

“We’ve found some people just want to play socially for the first couple of years, so we let that happen, and provide plenty of opportunities to do so without putting pressure on people to move into pennant ranks and serious competition. In the end, we want people to be members of our club for the long haul, so getting the early interaction right is very important. Our move of buddying a new member up with an existing member has worked very well”, said Dave.

There was also a priority put on keeping in touch with members through the difficult Covid periods we have faced in the last 12 months. The club organised weekly Zoom sessions for members to attend, discussing things like the laws of the sport and coaching as well as social topics designed just get people talking.

Joondalup has recently raised its profile in the bowls community by nominating to host Bowls WA events. The Committee reached out last year, through Bowls Australia Regional Bowls Manager, Clive Adams, indicating that they wanted to host events such as State Championships and so forth, so that more bowlers could appreciate the wonderful facilities the Club has.

“Initially, the Club conducted a Regional Final of the BPL Cup competition, with which they did a fantastic job, and then the State Pairs and State Singles qualifying rounds followed. Boasting four high quality grass greens puts Joondalup in a strong position to host large scale events well into the future,” said Clive.

“It’s the enthusiasm around the Club that has really drawn me in. Whether it be for the great junior programs with which I’ve worked with the club, or simply sitting round the table for a meeting, the club approaches it with great drive and a desire to have enjoyable success.”

Changes to the way the Club conducts it’s Championship events has seen growth in the crowds that attend finals.

The Club ensures that both the Men's and Ladies' final stages are played alongside each other, encouraging members to attend, and providing wonderful recognition for the successful players.

The Club is part of the Joondalup Sports Association, sharing its facility with Cricket and Soccer clubs meaning it has a rich drawing ground for sports-minded people that may be looking for their next sport. The clubs runs weekly Bingo nights, has a fully operational kitchen that provides quality, affordable food, and has a spacious clubhouse which can suit any occasion.

“When people walk through the door, we see it as an opportunity,” said President Dave. “It’s not about putting pressure on, but more about ensuring people feel welcome and can see what the club has to offer them.”

The Club is now looking closely at Jack Attack and the Roll Back the Clock Program as yet another way of bringing more people through the venue. While it already has a very successful Community Bowls program, that program runs after Christmas – before Christmas is an excellent opportunity for the club to run a four week Jack Attack program.

For more information around how you can build your Club, by running programs, or by simply changing the way you do things, just give your local Regional Bowls Manager a call and arrange a visit. It just might be the start of big things for your club.

• Dave Webber.

Inter-nations 2021 – a big two days and a big result!

On the 1st and 2nd May, the world descended on Osborne Park Bowling Club for two days of intense competition as eight nations battled it out for honours in the 42nd annual (COVID permitting!) Inter-nations Lawn Bowls Tournament.

The eight nations competing, each represented by 16 men, were Australia, Croatia, Italy, Scotland, England, Ireland, New Zealand and Rest of the World.

Patron of the competition, John Mather, came up with the concept in 1979 with the first tournament being held at Carlisle/Lathlain. The aim was to provide an opportunity for local bowlers to compete for their country of origin, foster goodwill amongst the bowlers of different nationalities and enjoy the fellowship associated with such a tournament.

After a few successful years the tournament developed into a serious fund-raising charity event. Forty two years on, both the competition and its associated fund-raising are still going strong. During that time over $110,000 has been donated to charity with Perth Children's Hospital Foundation being the recipient for the past 20 years.

This year's event appeared in jeopardy right up to the day before it was held, with COVID restrictions on capacity numbers still being in place following a lockdown the previous long weekend. Luckily, these restrictions were lifted at 12:01am on the Saturday morning and the event was able to proceed. Even the weather was favourable.

The opening ceremony saw all players being "piped" on to the Club’s premier C green and lining up in front of their respective national flags – a real spectacle of colour. Dignitaries present for the opening ceremony were David Michael MLA, Mark Irwin Mayor City of Stirling, Lisa Thornton Councillor City of Stirling and David Chambers President Inter-nations Committee.

Over the two days, each nation of four teams (with 4 men per team) played every other nation in games strictly timed to 1 hour and 35 minutes long. A match was won purely on shots up (or aggregate format) and the scoreboard at the end of each rink showed the progressive aggregate of each game being played. The rivalry was fierce, and the banter was flowing, not only within rinks and across rinks, but also across greens.

One exchange overheard between C and D greens! Englishman: “How you going up there?” Scotsman: “Up by 10.” Englishman: “Can I have a few, I’m down by 5 here?!” Predictably, the Scotsman wasn’t giving anything away for free!

Trevor Barron, in his usual no-nonsense fashion, oversaw the running of the event and managed to keep the scoring honest. After two days of intense competition, the Rest of the World team fended off a determined charge by New Zealand to emerge as the winners of Inter-nations 2021! Congratulations to all teams on a tournament played in great spirit and good will. Helen Stevens, Master of Ceremonies, ensured all teams adhered to the time schedule, let them know when they were performing poorly, and encouraged the players and spectators to dig deep into their pockets for raffle ticket purchases. Young Callum Alberti from South Perth (who also managed to get a game or two playing for Italy) was the lucky winner of two separate raffles, winning both a bowls bag AND a set of bowls.

At the end of each day’s proceedings an auction was held, and again it was demonstrated how truly generous the bowling community is, with enthusiastic and competitive bidding helping boost the prices up.

Over the two days, a total of $16,000 was raised for presentation to the Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation. A phenomenal result!

Appreciation is extended to the Osborne Park Bowling Club who did a sterling job hosting the event.

Thanks to all the generous sponsors and donors:

Bowls WA, Perth Bowls Centre, Eyeconik Optometrists, David Michael MLA, Retravision Osborne Park, Liquor Traders Australia, The Ultimate Tyre & Brake Service Centre, Perth Radiological Clinic, Aero Bowls World, Captain Cook Cruises, Osborne Park Pharmacy, Bethanie, Trevor Barron, Jane McPhedran, Ian Bryden, Bob Gertig, Silversprings Cottages, Kiwi Shop, Meat Machine Maddington, Seaspray Catering and Homewares, Brian McMurdo, Chopper, Bill Bradley, Hugh Gourlay, Ian and Aileen Gemmell PLUS all the teams and individual players who also contributed items for the raffles and auctions.

Women,s O60s Poletti wins O60s Award

Not many have had a career in bowls of consistently winning Awards like Lee Poletti and she added a new title to the trophy cabinet with the Over 60’s Female Bowler of the Year Award at the Bowls WA Annual Dinner and Awards Night.

Poletti who represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games still has that magic touch on the green, she first came to prominence in the early 90’s before winning the Women’s Country Bowler of the Year in 1994 her first major award and has continued to rack up titles and awards ever since.

Poletti who still very much considers Geraldton her home despite the fact she probably spends more time in the city now playing Pennants with Mosman Park plus all the State and Masters events, in fact she rarely misses playing in any of the big events.

Able to team with her brother Kim Cross to win the Mixed Over 60’s Pairs this season, a win which she was absolutely delighted with.

Kim who plays at Wonthella and has played Country Week regularly was making his first real appearance in a state event and despite never really playing together they teamed perfectly to win the title. Poletti’s other win in the Over 60’s category for the season came in the Triples were she teamed with her Mosman Park team mate Kerry Andersen and sister Vicki Spragg from Dudley Park.

Poletti who lost her husband Dave around three years ago took the opportunity to focus even more on the sport she loved with her move to play pennants at Mosman Park and has made even more bowls friends with the move. "I really fitted in well there," she said. "A number of other players are also ex country pennant bowlers and we all seem to gel with each other in that way. But when I get a spare weekend I always make sure to go back home and catch up with everyone there too".

• Lee Poletti.

Poletti is seen as one of the most genuine people in the sport and will always take the time to stay on if knocked out early and watch finals, support those still playing and congratulate those who win regardless of whether they are fellow team mates or not.

• Lee with brother Kim Cross after winning the Mixed O60s Pairs.

Men,s O60s Lander ecstatic with O60s win

Sorrento Bowling Clubs Chris Lander who started bowls in his 20’s has proven that you can always improve in the sport of bowls winning his first major Award.

The former kiwi who has made Perth his home has always been a quality player but the major titles have always just eluded him, until recently and, just like a good wine, time has only made him better as he capped a great year with the Men’s Over 60’s Bowler of the Year Award announced at the Bowls WA Awards Night. The win for Lander was certainly a well earnt and well deserved triumph for someone who has persisted over a long period of time at the top level to finally get his rewards.

Lander had a great season finishing runner up in the State Pairs before really setting himself to win the Men’s Over 60’s Singles. Right through the event and most noticeably in the final his doggedness and determination was evident. His exceptional draw shot being his forte Lander was able to consistently land his bowls close to the jack right throughout the event and no matter what his opponent did he kept at it before he eventually wore them all down.

He was clearly ecstatic to claim the Over 60s Singles title and just as proud to receive the title as best over 60’s player of the year. Unfortunately Lander was unable to attend the Awards Presentation however he was pleased as punch when given the award by Sorrento Club President John Abercrombie later. Abercrombie was full of praise for Lander who moved to the club when they were trying to establish themselves in the higher grades.

Sorrento had a great pennant season last year and Lander has not only improved his own game but helped others to do the same with his vast experience proving a good asset to the club in bringing along others.

Under 18s Bowler of the Year Segan Pasalich looks a rising star

A move to Osborne Park Bowling Club for the 2020/21 bowls season proved immediate reward for former Stirling youngster Segan Pasalich who was part of the winning Premier League side.

In what was an interesting moment on stage host Ken Pride who played directly against Segan in the Premier League Grand final was sheepishly forced to admit the youngster had definitely matched him out on the green and maybe even had done slightly better.

The 16yo Pasalich was very modest on stage but was clearly wrapped to have played his part in the final and win the ultimate team success at such a young age.

Osborne Park’s Cody Packer was full of praise for his efforts coming into the team.

“Segan joined the team in the back half of the year he had been biding his time in the second side and had dropped back to lead to work on his leading and give himself the best chance of a call up. He had performed really well in the state pairs and earned his chance. He had an immediate impact from his first game and didn't let the moment get to him. He continued to perform and made the spot his own which culminated in a sensational grand final performance which was being commented on 3 rinks over!”

Pasalich got into the game through his family with both his father Andrew and grandfather Mark Pasalich playing the game who he was very mindful to thank plus his mother at the Bowls WA Awards Night when receiving his medal as the Outstanding Junior Bowler of the Year.

Naturally they have all been extremely supportive on his brief journey in the sport. Segan had a brilliant performance in the State Pairs where he made the quarter finals with his grandfather Mark narrowly losing to the Sorrento team which finished runner up 13-12.

Segan also had a standout Under18 Championships were he comfortably took the Singles final over Cam Wellington from Harvey. He also won the Pairs teaming with Callum Alberti from South Perth and was runner-up in the Triples.

Pasalich has improved dramatically over the last 12 months having been in the Junior program for a couple of years.

Volunteer of the Year Graeme Jacques rewarded for service

A lifetime of service was rewarded when Graeme Jacques received the Bowls WA Volunteer of the Year Award at the Bowls WA Awards Night.

A man with a bigger smile you would be unlikely to meet and many Maylands club members say Graeme Jacques is the club, given he has served in pretty much every position possible over 40 years of service. An amateur footballer with Maylands Graeme came to the club with his father and played Tuesday scroungers and his participation grew rapidly from there both playing and helping with the club. Graeme has lost count of the days where he was there first thing in the morning to open up and the last to leave at night. He is a Life Member of both the Maylands Sports and Recreation Club and the Maylands Bowling Club. Whilst many are just happy to let • Graeme Jacques. a club tick along Graeme is always looking for that new thing that will keep the club moving forward and is very proactive in trying to attract new members. He has been particularly motivating in helping the club host many community and social bowls functions and more recently establishing a thriving Friday night Community Bowls program. Like many others have experienced when Covid came along so did a whole lot of government health requirements for clubs to continue to operate and Graeme led the club • Brendan Jacques. in ensuring they did everything right in that regard.

Amazingly Graeme also donates a lot of his time to his local church and has travelled to parts of Africa helping those less fortunate than us try and find better lives.

Graeme likes to refer to Maylands as a family club as most members have extended family involved in some way even if it is just as a social member who comes down and enjoys the many non-bowls events when they are on.

Graeme who was introduced to the sport by his father has now got his son playing too. Unfortunately Graeme couldn’t attend the Awards Night as he was still recovering from major surgery but fittingly his son Brendan happily picked up the award for him on the night. Clearly Brendan was very proud of his fathers efforts at the club and vowed to help him keep Maylands a thriving and successful club.

Country Sponsorship RMHI to sponsor WA

Bowls Leagues

The Regional Men’s Health Initiative (RMHI) are sponsoring Bowls WA to facilitate the theme of 'before it all gets too much…Talk to a Mate!!®' to be incorporated into an existing event in the twenty state-wide country bowls leagues.

The aim is to improve the health and wellbeing knowledge of all country bowlers through participation of RMHI at specific sponsored events.

What’s involved from your end?

Your bowling league and/or individual club, just need to organise the event, pull the crowd, and arrange a venue for the gathering. • Booking a date for your event.

Once you have decided on a date let Kaitlin from Bowls WA (9340 0805) know asap, this activates your sponsorship monies and Kaitlin keeps RMHI in the loop.

Our calendar does fill up quite quickly, we are happy to hold a couple of tentative dates to start with for you.

Alternatively, you can liaise directly with us, and we will let

Bowls WA know. • It is recommended you have plenty of lead in time to the event for advertising etc. • Don’t duplicate events i.e., look at your bowling league’s diary and see what else is scheduled, if there is something already happening maybe there is an opportunity to link in before deciding on a brand new event. • It can be a community event combined with your bowls club held at your bowling club. • We find our education sessions work best when linked into some type of social activity. This can be as simple as a short chat or presentation at a bowls event (lunch or sundowner) and/or a dedicated men’s health and wellbeing event. It is whatever you think will work best for your club and audience/community.

We are happy to chat with you if you require further info. We have been involved with many bowling clubs in the past and ultimately, our aim is to touch base with all bowling leagues and individual clubs.

The slogan 'before it all gets to much…Talk to a Mate!!®' is the basis of all our initiatives. Mateship, empathy, and the appropriate use of humour is the key to connectedness in our programs and presentations.

For more men’s health and wellbeing information, check out our Working with Warriors® Podcast Series which is based on conversations around men’s wellbeing and health from our Working with Warriors® education sessions.

The short podcasts are now available to listen via our Website or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and numerous other podcast directories.

The Regional Men’s Health Initiative delivered by Wheatbelt Men’s Health (Inc.) PO Box 768, Northam WA 6401 • Phone: 08 9690 2277 Email: menshealth@4blokes.com.au • www.regionalmenshealth.com.au

Country Club of the Year Tammin Bowling Club

Situated 215km east of Perth Tammin Bowling Club part of the East Avon League is possibly best known for the Caffell family with John Caffell and son’s Gary and Pat who were all country week and state champions, however the club has always been full of hard working people and bowlers with plenty of talent.

It is therefore not surprising that the club has won its fourth Small Country Club of the Year Award. This award is judged equally on achievements by clubs on and off the green with the Small Club Category for clubs with 70 or less members.

This year's win announced at the Bowls WA Awards Night came off the back of some unfortunate circumstances at Tammin when issues arose with the clubs needle punch green making it extremely poor to play on.

The club took the bold approach to replace the green even tho it would require significant capital funds and in a time of uncertainty with Covid. It was a decision which was bold but necessary according to the club president Haydn Dixon who accepted the Award on behalf of the club members.

The club through an entire team effort of all members plus support from the community raised $50,000 and received a treasury loan for $70,000 to complete the project. Club volunteers then completed additional labor valued at around $7000 which included removing the surface plus installation of reticulation piping and wiring.

In addition to the new green the club received federal funding after a successful application completed by the club secretary secured a 6.6kw solar power system for the club valued at $7400 through the community energy efficiency and solar grant program.

The club maintains strong links with its small local community hosting senior citizens meetings, shire functions, bingo and birthday parties throughout the year and even has a Junior Jack Attack kit for school children who occasionally utilize the club.

On the green the club was successful in winning both the Men’s and Women’s Division 1 Pennants – the Men in the East Avon and the Ladies in the South Eastern League and provided the winner for the League Singles in both Men and Women’s competitions.

• Members remove the old green.

• Tammin Ladies' Pennant winners.

• Tammin Men's Pennant winners.

Women,s Country Bowler of the Year Chris Ace-Watson – the ace in the pack!

Boulder’s Chris Ace-Watson has claimed the Penny Needham Award as the Women’s Country Bowler of the Year for the 2020/21 season as announced at the Bowls WA Awards Night.

Plenty of commitment and hard work over the last few years has certainly paid dividends for AceWatson who made a 1200km round trip pretty much every second weekend to improve her game. After improving within the Goldfields AceWatson decided she wanted to take her game to the next level. After showing promise in some state events was accepted into the State Training Academy where she worked hard with firstly Tony Hockey and then Linda Warburton where she learnt to hone her skills.

It all came together for Chris is the Women’s State Singles where her efforts caught everyone by surprise. After getting through sectional play reasonably comfortably Ace-Watson set her sights on defeating a previous winner in Lee Poletti. In a tough game she was able to prevail 21-19 and that gave her confidence for the rest of the tournament.

“I knew if I could match it with Lee then I could pretty much match it with anyone” said Chris. “

After that I just took it one game at a time and to beat Therese in the semi-final was a big thrill. The final was all Kristina’s but I think she would have beaten anyone that day.” The performance has put a lot of belief into Ace-Watson and she was able to back that up teaming with her Boulder clubmates in Lorna Pettit, Pat Rolton and Irene Leahy to win the Women’s Country Week Fours. That win was rather exciting for Boulder as it came exactly 70 years after the only other Women’s Country Week Fours win. In exciting times for Chris and her partner Geoff

Watson they are packing up and moving to the city for the coming season of bowls. Geoff will play with North

Beach whilst Chris will join many other country players who have made the move to Mosman Park.

In accepting her award Chris thanked all her team mates and those who had supported her especially her partner Geoff who was often left back in Boulder whilst she was in the city playing bowls. She was also very thankful to the friends who allowed her to stay in Perth through out the year. Ace-Watson also capped off a great season by being selected to represent Western Australia at the Nationals.

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RAISE YOUR GAME

Country Club of the Year Boulder strike gold as Country Club of the Year

Situated in the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie, Boulder bowling Club has a rich history of talented players and welcoming in the vast diversity of residents within their local area.

The club is one of not many left to still retain its greens as grass and whilst most clubs are listing major projects such as green replacement Boulder seemingly refurbished everything outside except the greens.

Done 100% through voluntary labour and materials valued at nearly $50,000 the club set itself to complete a brand new look around the greens with new shades, aluminum seating, a new greenkeepers shed plus new scoreboard, pegs and rink numbers along with a new concrete walkway from the greenkeepers shed to the greens. All of this has given Boulder a fantastic new modern look in 2020/21.

Accepting the award for the club was past President Geoff Watson and whilst many winners at the Bowls WA Awards Night were genuinely thrilled to be on stage we doubt many could match the sheer excitement and joy shown by Geoff on collecting the award on behalf of the club.

Geoff collected the first ever Club of the Year Award for Boulder no doubt extremely proud of his club and more importantly the members who all contributed to the success of the club in some way.

The club which hosts arguably the most successful Barefoot Bowls program which runs for an amazing 18 weeks with a capacity 28 teams playing fours proves good money spinner for the club also hosts plenty of other community functions.

Many local organisations use the club for meetings whilst aged care residents visit on Friday's for lunch.

The club is also very strong in promoting bowls with club member Louie Trow part of the Triple M sports talk show also keen to give bowls a mention. On the green the club took out the Ladies Pennant in the Goldfields and also won the Women’s Country Week Fours.

Chris Ace-Watson who skipped the fours team had a great season finishing runner up in the State Singles and winning Country Bowler of the Year.

Congratulations once again to Boulder Bowling Club the Jim Murray Country Club of the Year.

• Boulder's Ladies Pennant WInners and winners of the Women's Country Week Fours. • Barefoot Bowls winners.

Men,s Country Bowlers of the Year Aaron and Warren dual winners

The Vice Patrons Medal for Men’s Country Bowler of the Year saw a surprise announcement, for the first time it saw two winners announced. 26yo Aaron Smith from Esperance and 46yo Warren Holt from Wagin finishing on equal points to share the spoils and both had outstanding seasons on the green. Both had major wins with Smith teaming with his dad Haydn and brother Justin plus previous York team mate Phil Jones to win the Country Week Fours whilst Warren was part of the successful Men’s State Triples team playing second for Daniel Trewhella with Tom Mitchell leading. Warren also finished runner up in the State Singles and was a quarter finalist in the Country Week Singles whilst Aaron made the semi finals of the Country Week Pairs again with his brother Justin and also made the quarter finals of the Country Week Singles. • Aaron Smith Both players showed great skill and composure out on the green and are excellent role models for others within the sport. Both also travel significant distances to pursue their passion for the game and also have great support from family and friends.

Both were keen to thank their partners in life for allowing them the time and opportunity to play bowls and acknowledged their team mates who helped them in the team events.

We are sure these two names will continue to feature in major bowls events on the WA calendar in coming years.

Once again well done to Justin Smith and Warren Holt for their magnificent efforts in sharing the Men’s Country Bowler of the Year Award.

• Warren Holt • Warren Holt and Aaron Smith.

AFGRI Equipment to take on Country Week

Bowls WA is pleased to announce that AFGRI Equipment will become the naming rights sponsor of Men’s and Ladies Country Week for the next three years.

Those in the country would be well aware of the AFGRI name as a reliable source of premium new and used farming equipment.

Perhaps best known through their John Deere dealership group, AFGRI are also well supported by various other franchises to ensure they continue to meet the farming needs of their extensive customer base.

Other franchises include Kuhn, Manitou, Bourgault, Equalizer, Horsch, Croplands, Grainking, MacDon, Midwest, Gason, Marshall, Fieldquip and Agrowplow to name a few.

Deputy President Doug Kelly noted, “AFGRI Equipment is a great fit for our two most significant events of the year in Men’s and Ladies country week, with participants stretching from the Pilbara to the Goldfields, through the Wheatbelt and into the Great Southern regions, much like AFGRI with its 19 branches across WA.”

AFGRI will be ever present during the season with advertisements across various print and on-line mediums in the lead up to Country Week, where they will support the Live Streaming of finals day and presentation of trophies.

Bowls WA looks forward to the commencement of a great relationship with AFGRI Equipment.