Bowled over

Gerringong Bowling Club’s mixed gender team has taken second place in the NSW State Finals, beating out more established and successful clubs around the state.

The State finals were played over three days until 2 July, with the first two days held at Dundas Sports Club, and the finals played at Northmead Bowlo.

99 teams from around NSW competed in their respective zones, with the winners of those 16 zones facing each other for the State title.

The Gerringong Team dominated their section with a 10-0 win over South Cronulla, 8-2 win over Old Bar, and 10-0 over Mudgee.

Earning their spot as the top ranked team in their section, Gerringong beat Singleton RSL in the quarter finals, followed by another win over Old Bar in the semis to make it into the grand final.

Gerringong were finally stopped in the grand final, just falling short to Ballina in a close game with a score of 72-64.

Gerringong Bowling Club’s Publicity Officer Martyn Smith said, “A great result for such a small town team against some well-established and successful clubs.”

The local team took out the inaugural open gender bowls competition for Illawarra’s division No. 7 in May, admitting the Club into the State Finals event.

Despite being named the Gerringong Men’s Bowling Club, the open gender team consists roughly of 50 per cent men and women. There’s no required gender quota to actually field a team in the tournament.