Age no barrier at Pialba Bowls Club

Alan Wilson recently contacted the editor of the Queensland Bowler and suggested we do a call out to clubs to send in photos and stories on active bowlers over the age of 90 (see page 28 alongside this one).

We think it’s a good idea, so if you have bowlers age 90+ who are still actively rolling up at your club, please let us know at media@bowlsqld.org

Alan Wilson and Bruce Woodrow are both over 90 years of age. Bruce turned 90 in February and Alan is turning 92 in August.

Both are still actively involved in bowls through the Pialba Bowls Club, where they have been members for the past 10 years.

They play Mufti each Tuesday morning and are competitive and competent bowlers. A comment from Alan is “we are still traditional bowlers” in other words, neither of them use bowling arms.

Bruce still drives to bowls and Alan arrives on his trusty mobility scooter.

Alan and Bruce are well respected and valued members of both the Mufti membership and Pialba Club, with many a laugh and sledging with their colleagues.

The Mufti bowlers reckon they are the perfect example of the terms “you cannot keep a good man down” and “keep on keeping on while you still can”.

WHAT’S YOUR CLUB BEEN DOING?

Atherton’s Under the Roof Classic

The Under the Roof Classic was started in 2003, when it was then called Atherton Ladies Classic. The event name was changed to Under the Roof Classic in 2007 after the roof was constructed in 2006.

The Classic was originally played on a Thursday and changed to a Saturday in 2010 and has been played on a Saturday since then. This year, 64 women attended the event, with players coming from Cooktown, Cairns, Silkwood and Mossman. All Tableland clubs were represented.

Ladies President, Kay Bagley, thanked all the members and volunteers who gave their time to assist on the day. Thank you to our major sponsor Coral Coast Financial, this being their fifth year as our sponsor. A thank you to Clive Leinster for sponsoring the touchers.

Souths Suburban Easter Open Challenge

Thirty-two teams contested the annual Easter Open at Souths Suburban, Mackay on April 8-9. Eight rounds of two bowl triples were played, with only two teams winning all games.

Local legends Ray Kurtz and Peter Balderson teamed with Mitchell Mears from Broadbeach to take out the top prize of $4,500. Second place went to Mitch Styles, Jesse Turnbull & Justin Cribbin, with a 20 less margin than the winners.

With a draw in round 6, Joel Downey, Tyler Pettigrew and Jake Rynne finished in third place. A total prize pool of $15,000 was shared between seven placegetters and eight round winners.

Two heavy downpours on Good Friday dented the speed of the grass green, but a hot and humid day on Saturday had the pace much improved for Sunday’s play. The undercover carpet green was much friendlier for the two days.

Visitors came from many parts of Queensland, with the Elliott family from Taralga in Southern NSW playing while up visiting local family. Former Souths Suburban member, Ray McKay, now based in Melbourne also competed this year.

The carnival has been going for many years and the club is very appreciative of the many visiting players who attend each time.