The National Championships 16 – Awards and Hall of Fame

NATIONALS - AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Kelsey Cottrell

The Australian Championships were played on the final five days of a two week-long National carnival hosted by the Broadbeach Bowls Club and Mermaid Beach Bowls Club. Nationals consisted of Australian Under-18 Championships, Australian Disability Championships, Australian Singles Champion of Champions, Australian Senior Sides Championships and Australian Sides Championships before all the State Champions from across the country converged for these prestigious Australian Championships. The Australian Championships got off to a fair start with Nick Cahill and Kelsey Cottrell opening Queensland’s medal account with a bronze in the mixed pairs. The pair fell short against New South Wales in sectional play but held onto second spot to secure a bronze medal playoff against Western Australia in which they won 21-5 as the rain started to fall. Interestingly ACT took gold in the mixed pairs with 3.5 wins + 3; essentially 3 wins by 1 and a draw across the day! Our next medal came the very next day with Aron Sherriff, Nick Cahill and Chris Le Lievre winning another bronze

Mixed Pairs Bronze: Kelsey Cottrell & Nick Cahill

Triples Men’s Bronze: Chris Le Lievre, Aron Sherriff & Nick Cahill

in the men’s triples. The bronze medal match was a one-sided affair with our Queenslanders finishing the match early, leading comfortably 23-4. Our women’s triples representatives were Sue Brady, Terese McAlary and Dareyle Hester; they were defeated by Tasmania and New South Wales but had a great win against the ACT in sectional play. Pairs action saw Tilly Oreo, Marilyn Emerton, Chris Le Lievre and Matt Lucas representing Queensland in a classy pairs field. The men’s combination contested our first final of the Australian Championships, but the

result didn’t go the way we’d hoped, with QLD defeated by the New South Wales pairing of Jack McShane and Shawn Thompson. New South Wales made it a double when Samantha Ferguson and Anne Johns won gold on an extra end against South Australia. Our men’s and women’s fours had tough days at the office; the combination skipped by Aaron Hewson went oh so close; losing their final sectional match by 1 to miss the gold medal playoff and then lost the bronze medal playoff on the final bowl against Tasmania. The women’s fours combination of Val Jackson, Anne McClure, Gail Crompton and Wendy Wilson also had a hard luck story, losing on an extra end in the bronze medal playoff to the Northern Territory after holding game until the final bowl. Down to the singles and we had Dean McWhinney and Kelsey Cottrell representing us on the final day of competition. McWhinney was defeated by former Australian Jackaroo Nathan Pedersen in the first round but showed good fighting spirit to defeat the eventual gold medallist in the final round of sectional play to get himself into the bronze medal playoff. Dean went down to Victoria 18-25. Cottrell was challenged in two out of three sectional games winning 25-20 over Victoria and ACT and defeating NT 25-8 in the final round. In the gold medal playoff, she faced South Australia’s Laini McGorman who was also undefeated in her section. Cottrell trailed by the barest of margins for most of the match; however, at 15-19 behind she went into another gear putting on 10 unanswered shots to check out 25-19. This was Cottrell’s 5th major singles title for 2022. All State Champions represent us at next years Nationals, so make sure you get teams together for next year’s Queensland State Titles on the Sunshine Coast.

Pairs Men’s Silver: Matt Lucas & Chris Le Lievre

Singles Women’s Gold: Kelsey Cottrell with Bowls Australia’s Matt Burgess

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDAL TALLY - QUEENSLAND

Mixed Pairs Kelsey Cottrell & Nick Cahill (bronze) Men’s Triples Chris Le Lievre, Aron Sherriff & Nick Cahill (bronze) Men’s Pairs Matt Lucas & Chris Le Lievre (silver) Women’s Singles Kelsey Cottrell (gold)

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

Congratulations to Queenslander Julie Keegan on claiming the silver medal in the Nationals – Champion of Champions after seven rounds in the Round Robin. Cohen Litfin placed fourth in the men’s section.

Women Men

Gold: Karen Murphy NSW Silver: Julie Keegan QLD Bronze: Laini McGorman SA Gold: Jono Davis NSW Silver: Mark Nitz TAS Bronze: Matthew Mitchell WA

Back L-R: Matt Lucas, Jamie Anderson, Sean Ingham, Nathan Rice, Cohen Litfin, Sean Baker, Gary Costigan & Brad Harris Front L-R: Wayne Turley, Brett Wilkie, Aron Sherriff, Nick Cahill, Chris Rosanes & Barrie Lester Men’s best rink L-R: Cohen Litfin, Barrie Lester, Brett Wilkie & Nathan Rice

Players of the series Julie Keegan & Nathan Rice

QUEENSLAND MEN TRIUMPH AT SIDES

Whilst we all had Queensland locked in as pre-tournament favourites for this year’s Australian Sides Championships the reality was that the men had not won the Alley Shield since 2014 and the women had only won the Marj Morris trophy once in the past eight years. It was going to be a big ask, but they rose to the challenge. The biggest competition would come from New South Wales and that proved true when the Blues claimed the overall trophy after the 4 days of competition. Queensland was in the hunt until the final bowl of the event was played; we did need Western Australia to cause an upset over the New South Wales men, which they came mighty close to doing so. The biggest contributing factor for the overall trophy heading south was that the New South Wales women advanced through the Australian Sides Championships undefeated; our Queensland women were beaten on all three rinks when they met on day two of the competition. The Queensland men showed they meant business accounting for New South Wales a few rinks over rather convincingly. The warning shot was fired and the only state to come close to our Queensland men for the remainder of the competition was Tasmania on the final day’s play. Tasmania had nothing to lose, and Queensland just needed a draw to secure the Alley Shield with a game left to play. Queensland trailed the game for at least 50 ends, but in the final stages of the match, the lead was changing constantly. Queensland did manage to secure the draw they required and interestingly on the neighbouring rinks just a few minutes earlier, the Queensland women had also drawn with Tasmania.

AUSTRALIAN SIDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

Alley Shield (Men) Queensland (gold) New South Wales (silver) Marj Morris Shield (Women) New South Wales (gold) Queensland (silver) Overall Trophy New South Wales (gold) Queensland (silver)

Whilst the Australian Sides Championships is the ultimate team competition there is also the award for best rinks during the event. In the women’s competition that was won by the team skipped by Dawn Hayman (NSW) and in the men’s competition Cohen Litfin, Barrie Lester, Brett Wilkie and Nathan Rice were undefeated to claim the men’s best rink. Congratulations to Nathan Rice and Julie Keegan who were named the Players of the Series.

Back L-R: Chrissy Pavlov, Julie Keegan, Kelsey Cottrell, Emma Spicer, Tracy Foster, Amanda Haevecker, Pamela Rowe, Claire Turley & Wendy Wilson. Front L-R: Chloe Stewart, Jessie Cottell, Lynsey Clarke, Bolivia Millerick & Isabella Lawson

Winning rink L-R: Sue Brady, Gail Crompton, Terry McAlary & Brenda Thompson

L-R: Leigh Fortington, Val Jackson, Linda Morish, Adele Pershouse, Terry McAlary, Karen Goldsworthy, Suzanne Kington, Gail Crompton, Brenda Thompson, Fay Woodward, Sue Brady, Debbie Logan & Chrissy Pavlov Players of the series Karen Goldsworthy & Max Jaffray

SENIOR SIDES

In the Australian Senior Sides Championships, we watched Victoria raise the trophy in both the men’s and women’s competition. The Queensland men were in touch with one day left to play, but that fourth day of comp proved the hardest, with the Maroons losing to Western Australia and New South Wales and consequently dropping out of the top three. The Queensland women needed Victoria to stumble at the final hurdle but that wasn’t to be. Victoria defeated South Australia by 11 shots in the final round which left Queensland sitting in the silver medal position. We did take home some gold from the Senior Sides Championships, Sue Brady’s rink was the best performing with just one loss and a margin of +83 across the 7 matches. Well done to Karen Goldsworthy and Max Jaffray who were honoured with the Queensland Player of the Series awards.

We’re proud to have the crème of the crop here in Queensland when it comes to the country’s elite bowlers with a disability. At the Australian Multi-Disability Championships, our stars represented their State with distinction winning plenty of medals on the national stage and claiming the best State overall. It’s not just medals on the line for a lot of these players, it’s the opportunity to push for national selection in the 2023 World Bowls Championships which will have the para-athletes competing alongside our able-bodied athletes for the first time in decades. After three days of competition, several Queenslanders contested gold and bronze medal playoffs at the Mermaid Beach Bowls Club. Kicking off proceedings was the New South Wales pairing of Michelle Campbell and Jo Hunter who accounted for our Queensland duo of Louise Hoskins and Right at Home Para-Jackaroo Serena Bonnell in the gold medal match of the B5-8 women’s pairs. In the bronze medal playoff, Birmingham 2022 silver medallist Cheryl Lindfield and her Queensland partner Annette Goldsworthy took home bronze with a 20-6 victory over the Victorians Annette Ruffle and Janet Morrison. In the men’s B5/6 singles it was 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Tony Bonnell who would have the gold medal draped around his neck after a 21-15 win against fellow Queenslander Brett Sellars. The Bonnell/Sellars duo also claimed the gold in the B5/6 pairs. In the B7/8 men’s pairs, Queensland duo Damien Delgado and Cooper Whitestyles defeated Tasmania’s Minns and Ryman by just 1 shot. Serena Bonnell claimed the top position in the B5/6 gold medal match against Joanne Hunter (NSW). Congratulations to all competitors and we hope to see many Queenslanders wearing the green and gold in 2023!

L-R: GCTDLBA’s Vicki Day, Women’s B5/6 Singles winner Serena Bonnell & Right at Home’s Glenda Manne L-R: Brian Marshall, B5/6 Gold Singles winner Tony Bonnell & Right at Home’s Glenda Manne

L-R: Brian Marshall, B5/6 Silver Singles winner Brett Sellars & Right at Home’s Glenda Manne L-R: Brian Marshall, B5/6 Pairs Gold Tony Bonnell, Brett Sellars & Right at Home’s Glenda Manne

L-R: Brian Marshall, B7/8 Pairs Gold winners Damien Delgado, Cooper Whitestyles & Right at Home’s Glenda Manne

AUSTRALIAN MULTIDISABILITY MEDAL TALLY - QUEENSLAND

Men’s B5/6 Singles Tony Bonnell (gold) Brett Sellars (silver)

Women’s B5/6 Singles Serena Bonnell (gold) Men’s B5/6 Pairs Tony Bonnell & Brett Sellars (gold) Men’s B7/8 Pairs Damien Delgado & Cooper Whitestyles (gold) B5-8 Women’s Pairs Louise Hoskins & Serena Bonnell (silver) Cheryl Linfield & Annette Goldsworthy (bronze)

L-R: B5-8 Women’s Pairs Silver Louise Hoskins & Serena Bonnell L-R: B5-8 Women’s Pairs Bronze Cheryl Lindfield & Annette Goldsworthy

Back L-R: Matt Lucas, Jamie Anderson

Back L-R: Alan Thorp, Don Currie, Tony Bonnell, Louise Hoskins, Clive Williams, Dennis O’Toole, Annette Goldsworthy, Brett Sellars, Serena Bonnell. Front L-R: Cooper Whitestyles, Damian Delgado & Cheryl Lindfield BQ’s Alan Thorp & Dennis O’Toole

AUSTRALIAN UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIPS

After three long years, an Australian Under-18 Championships has finally been completed and we got the first glimpse at the crop of future stars around the country. Queensland took out overall honours with strong performances from both girls and boys teams, with our girls’ side taking out their respective competition. Tasmania claimed victory in the boys’ section, having collected two silver medals and a gold over the two days of action. Queensland fielded a composite side as well to replace the bye in the draw with the Northern Territory unable to attend.

Back L-R: Cody Gerick, Jack Chirgwin, Oliver Corken, Kane Nelson, Todd Brain, Brad Harris & Chrissy Pavlov. Front L-R: Sophie Kiepe, Dakota Brindle, Stella Palmer, Chloe Runge & Corrine Stallan

In the boys’ pairs it was Victoria’s Will Mays and Koby Cromie who took home gold with their win over the New South Wales duo of Lachlan Thompson and Joseph Clarke and our Queensland combination of Oliver Corken and Kane Nelson claimed bronze. The boys’ triples gold was won by the composite team consisting of Queenslanders Corey Marshall, Sam Collier and Wayatt Martin. The trio defeated Tasmania in the gold medal match, with our other Queensland team taking home a bronze medal. It was an all-Queensland affair in the girls’ triples final, with Queensland taking on the composite side of players from Queensland. With a point to prove, the composite team of Holly Anderson, Sophie Allan and Kiera Powell came out on top by four shots in a quality encounter. In the girls’ fours Queensland’s Sophie Kiepe, Dekota Brindle, Corinne Stallan and Stella Palmer took out the gold medal with South Australia in second and Victoria finishing in third position. Queensland’s Stella Palmer collected her second gold medal of the weekend, teaming up with Chloe Runge to win gold in the girls’ pairs. It was a hard-fought contest against South Australia’s Anda Panchawat and Kate Argent-Bowden, with scores level with just three ends to play. However, it was the Queenslanders who were able to battle through heavy rain to take the victory. The rain caused havoc on the event so all our competing juniors should be commended on their performances. The future of bowls in Queensland is bright!

Girls’ Pairs Gold L-R: Stella Palmer & Chloe Runge Boys’ Triples Gold L-R: Wyatt Martin, Sam Collier & Corey Marshall (Composite side)

Girls’ Fours Gold L-R: Stella Palmer, Sophie Kiepe, Corinne Stallan & Dekota Brindle Girls’ Triples Gold L-R: Sophie Allan, Kiera Powell & Holly Anderson (Composite side)

Girls’ Triples Silver L-R: Dekota Brindle, Sophie Kiepe & Corinne Stallan Boys’ Triples Bronze L-R: Todd Brain, Cody Gerick & Jack Chirgwin Boys’ Pairs Bronze L-R: Oliver Corken & Kane Nelson

Girls’ U18 State Representatives L-R: Sophie Allan, Kiera Powell, Holly Anderson, Chloe Runge, Stella Palmer, Sophie Kiepe, Dakota Brindle & Corrine Stallan

Boys’ U18 State Representatives L-R: Cody Gerick, Jack Chirgwin,Hayden Oster, Wyatt Martin, Todd Brain, Sam Collier, Oliver Corken, Corey Marshall & Kane Nelson

BA’S AWARDS NIGHT

By Kelsey Cottrell - Source and photos Bowls Australia

Queenslanders were recognised for their achievements and contribution to the sport during Bowls Australia’s night of nights. The Hall of Fame and Awards Night was held on the Gold Coast during the National Championships and naturally the Sunshine State faired well! Two award winners of the night had already been decided prior to the event with the Tourism and Events Queensland Male and Female Bowler of the Year Awards going to the two players finishing top of their respective National Rankings, Nick Cahill and Kelsey Cottrell. Nick and Kelsey weren’t able to be present at the awards night as they were playing in the Australian Mixed Pairs Championships bronze medal match. Broadbeach’s Nick Cahill enjoyed a sublime 12 months, finishing as the number one ranked male bowler in the nation with 328 points, 43 points ahead of his nearest rival. Nick’s season included a national title, in the 2021 Australian Championships’ men’s triples crown, the Queensland state mixed pairs and men’s triples, and silver medal finishes in the Queensland state men’s pairs and fours and Queensland Champion of Champions fours. Triumphs at the highly-regarded Launceston International Bowls Classic and Musgrave Hill Easter Open Prestige singles events cemented Nick’s position as the nation’s number one male bowler. Kelsey Cottrell’s memorable year included many achievements on her path to finishing as the number one ranked female bowler in the nation with 326 ranking points, a staggering 164 points clear of the nearest opponent. Kelsey’s year to remember included two Australian Open titles, in the blue-ribbon singles and fours disciplines and a quarter-final finish in the pairs, which earned her the event’s MVP title for a second successive year. A further national title came at the 2021 Australian Championships in the women’s pairs, while at a state level, she procured the Queensland state women’s singles and the mixed pairs titles, in addition to the Broadbeach Prestige Ladies pairs trophy. Our Golden Girl Serena Bonnell enjoyed a scintillating year on the greens across district, state, national and international levels which all contributed to her winning the Bowler with a Disability Award, with Cheryl Lindfield

Nick Cahill - Male Bowler of the Year Award

Kelsey Cottrell - Female Bowler of the Year Award

Lynsey Clarke - Commonwealth Games International Bowler of the Year award

Serena Bonnell - Bowler with a Disability Award

claiming the runner-up spot. On the national arena, an Australian Open women’s fours silver medal was a highlight, while on the international scene, Serena represented the Jackaroos with distinction during the UK Tour, Trans Tasman Test Series. Her year culminated with a silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, after winning a para-bowls medal for Australia alongside fellow Queenslander Cheryl Lindfield. Serena is unquestionably a trailblazer and one of the biggest advocates for para inclusion and the sport of bowls more generally, vigorously promoting the inclusive nature of the sport and leading the way for para women. An award highly regarded by the Australian Jackaroos is the Commonwealth Games Australia International Bowler of the Year as it is an award voted on by their peers. Our very own Lynsey Clarke reigned supreme, pipping Natasha Van Eldik for the title. Lynsey is clearly highly regarded as a player but importantly also as a person, whose leadership and commitment to culture has contributed equally to receiving this award as her ability on the green. Lynsey recorded significant votes for her performances on the green at the 2022 Multi-

Nations test event, UK Tri-Nations, Trans Tasman Test Series and Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and was a clear standout in terms of attitude and culture, which has undoubtedly been recognised by the Jackaroos team. Every two years, Bowls Australia add inductees to the prestigious Hall of Fame. This year Albert (Bert) Palm (deceased) was remembered for his achievements dating back to the 1950’s. Bert Palm was just the 14th international representative for Australia, debuting in 1950, but it was some 16-years later that he really cemented his place in the sport’s record books. A men’s pairs crown at the 1949 Australian Championships, representing Queensland and Bundaberg Bowls Club, aided Palm’s selection for his international debut at the 1950 British Empire Games, now known as the Commonwealth Games, in the men’s pairs. The results didn’t fall his way, and it was some 16 years before Palm was able to get a second chance to make amends, but when he did, he truly left his mark on the sport, winning the men’s pairs gold medal at the 1966 World Bowls Championships in Kyeemagh, NSW, a feat which helped the Jackaroos secure the coveted Leonard Trophy for the men’s champion team. When we think of legends here in Queensland it is hard to look past Rob Bert Palm was inducted into the Parrella. Rob was elevated to legend status during the awards ceremony Hall of Fame and the room got the opportunity to reflect on an amazing career. Rob Parrella was unquestionably one of the first modern-day entertainers of the sport, having captivated audiences of bowlers and non-bowlers alike with an aggressive style of play on the green and all the graces of a gentlemen off it. Born in Italy, Parrella made the natural progression from bocce to bowls after arriving in Australia in the 1950s, and in many ways, went on to revolutionise the way the sport of bowls was played, with a famous driving style of game, which has since formed the blueprint of many modern-day bowlers. As Australia’s 71st male representative, Parrella notched up 127 Rob Parrella was elevated to international appearances, including at three Commonwealth Games, in legend status three different countries -Brisbane 1982, Auckland 1990 and Victoria 1994 – for a complete set of all three possible medals in the blue-ribbon men’s singles discipline. Parrella etched his name into the sport’s history books as the nation’s first bowler to win an individual Commonwealth Games gold medal – the men’s singles – and just the second ever Games gold medallist, in 1990 at Auckland. Parrella’s victory was made even more historic when he famously defeated Englishman David Bryant, a four-time Commonwealth Games singles winner and reigning world champion, en route to the final, and paved the way for future Australian singles gold medallists. He secured silver and bronze medal varieties in the blue-ribbon discipline at the 1982 and 1994 Commonwealth Games events respectively. Parrella captivated television audiences during the height of his career, which led to a new wave of enthusiasm. He will be forever immortalised in this sport’s record books for his achievements on the green. Congratulations to all our wonderful Queenslanders!

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