December 2013 by Queensland Bowler

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December 2013

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Spot the Jack

50 winners and counting

Kawana win Ladies Team Challenge

State Pennant Finals 2013 Dunn cup Queensland

Award Win BQ most inclusive

Come & Try Day

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Volume 36/ Issue No. 14

CONTENTS 06 State Pennant Finals

16 APL

Newcomers crowned Queensland’s top clubs at 2013 State Pennant Finals at Tweed Heads.

Touted as the biggest bowls show on earth, the APL lived up to its billing, with Brisbane’s boys taking the gold.

08 Ladies Team Challenge

26 Dunn Cup

Kawana “Angels” take out the opposition at the 2013 Ladies Team Challenge.

Cutheringa end a 25-year drought at this year’s Dunn Cup, taking out North Queensland’s most coveted trophy.

14 Cover

34 BQ - Award Win

We mark the 50th anniversary issue of Henselite’s Spot the Jack competition with a look back at 2013’s winners.

Bowls has once again been awarded the title of Queensland’s most inclusive sport for disabled people.

4 | queensland bowler

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From the Chair

your say

with Ron Chambers

As another year of bowls in Queensland comes to a close, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to thank our bowlers, districts and council delegates for their support over the past 12 months. The board of Bowls Queensland is proud of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance in both administration and at play. A significant development was passing a budget which would allow us to lessen the burden on dual members paying fees at more than one club.

Bowlers who have dual membership may still play club championships at both clubs, however they can only progress to district and state level representing their designated club. A declaration of their designated club (the club they pay their state fees to) must be made prior to their first club competition each season. DATABASE

Bowls Queensland will roll out a new database in 2014, as will Bowls Australia.

contact BQ to see if there is anything we can do to assist them to remain viable. On the bright side, many clubs have taken the initiative to amalgamate with other bowls clubs or sports clubs with positive results. A fine example of this is the new Northern Suburbs Bowls Club, a combination of the former Wavell Heights and Clayfield bowls clubs.

It is also pleasing to see Thursday Island Bowls Club re-affiliate, we wish them all the best for 2014. DISTRICT SIDES

Budget innovations will also enable us to increase subsidies for the annual District Sides Championships. This competition is the most important event on the BQ calendar, allowing teams from all districts to compete on the same stage every year.

We also hope to have a new state website online by early 2014. Primary Schools Cup

Our development officers are working on setting up a primary school competition to enable us to start teaching our juniors how to play bowls at a younger age, and hopefully build up our junior ranks. CLUB CLOSURES

A number of clubs have closed this year, mainly due to the current economic situation. Any club on the margins of survival should

This is what bowls is all about, the young and older winning a Queensland state title.

Well done to Jacob and Mary. Absolutely brilliant! Also well done to Bowls Queensland for amending the constitution to ensure that dual members will pay BQ affiliation fees at only one club each year.

DAVE GARDINER BROADBEACH BC

2013 was a very busy year for our representative bowlers with extra test matches being played against other States.

Our teams played NSW, ACT and WA in test matches, as well as Australian Sides and Super Six championships. Add to the calendar District Sides, State Championships, State Pennant and Champion of Club Champions events, plus State and Australian Junior championships, there has been little rest for our bowlers and dedicated officials, who all deserve a good break over the holiday period. On behalf of all at BQ, we wish our bowlers and officials a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Also to those who read our Bowler magazine and follow our media updates on the BQ website and Facebook, many thanks for your input and support. I sincerely hope the information in the magazine is of interest and you will continue to support our sponsors, as they support our media coverage of your bowls events. My wife Trish and I thank the Queensland bowls community for your friendship and we look forward to seeing you in 2014.

Reporters: Naomi Cescotto Alexander Tate

Editorial: Queensland Bowler PO Box 476, Alderley, Qld 4051 Phone: (07) 3355 9988 Fax: (07) 3855 0010 Email: news@bowls-queensland.org

Published by: Bowls Queensland

Advertising: Wayne Griffin Phone: (07) 3355 9988

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Congratulations to Bowls Queensland on the cover photo on the Queensland Bowler for November (below).

REPRESENTATIVE GAMES

We are both in the process of getting this new system up and running for the benefit of all clubs and districts.

Editor: Wayne Griffin

Dear Editor,

BQ media team wish all our advertisers, columnists, story contributors and readers all the best of the festive season. We have enjoyed bringing you photos and stories of your year in bowls in 2013. We look forward to being of service again in 2014.

WAYNE GRIFFIN (EDIT OR), NAOMI CESCOTT O, ALEXANDER TATE.

Fax: (07) 3855 0010 Email: advert@bowls-queensland.org Subscriptions: To subscribe, fill out the form on page 34 and post it, together with a cheque for $26.80 (inc gst) to: Queensland Bowler Subscriptions PO Box 476, Alderley, Qld 4051. queensland bowler | 5

Bushrangers cut down rivals at Queensland’s 2013 Pennant Finals shootout North Toowoomba’s men struck a blow for country clubs, beating bowling powerhouse Club Pine Rivers in a David and Goliath clash at this year’s State Pennant Finals. The Bushrangers, on debut at the event, scorched through sectional play undefeated, before beating the four-time champions in the title decider at Tweed Heads Bowls Club. “This is the first time the boys have ever made the state finals and they’re absolutely over the moon, it’s amazing,” an extremely happy North Toowoomba team manager, Graham Elton, said after the final. “We always thought we’d be competitive. We’ve got a strong team in Toowoomba, especially with Super Challenge, and we’ve got a great, hardworking bunch of blokes, so we knew we’d give it a good go.”

It was a fairy-tale ending for the Bushies, in their first appearance at the state finals, with the result going down to the

wire.

Despite leading throughout the final, the Toowoomba boys were far from comfortable, with Pine Rivers’ starstudded outfit snapping at their heels all afternoon.

And it wasn’t just their opposition Toowoomba had to overcome, with squally, humid conditions on the Coast making the green hard to handle at times. With four state titles in 12 years, the Pirates were firm favourites heading into this year’s championships.

But while they scratched out wins over Club Helensvale and Indooroopilly, and battled Souths Suburban to a draw, their luck ran out against the Bushrangers, with North Toowoomba hanging on for a 56-54 win. While Elton was full of praise for his team, lead Jimmy Williams was singled out for his impressive performance at Tweed.

“Jimmy was fantastic, he played great bowls and was a very solid lead throughout, that’s what you need in these types of championships,” Elton said. Williams’ skip, former state rep Jason Grundon, agreed.

“Jimmy was just exceptional all weekend. Young Nathan Appleton too, he’s a player of the future. He’s going to go a long way in the sport,” Grundon said. Grundon admitted his side were helped by a favourable draw.

“The way the draw worked out, with Pine and Helensvale on one side and us on the other, it gave us an opportunity and a bit of confidence to push through the section, but we still had to do it and we were still playing very good teams,” he said.

“I think getting on top of Kawana was a big win for us. They had some pretty vocal supporters, but we got on top early and stayed on top and that was the key, because they were probably the toughest game in our section. “Having said that, Gladstone played awesome against us this morning, I think that game put us in pretty good stead for this afternoon.”

In fact Gladstone almost upset North Toowoomba in their round three clash, going down by just three

shots, 51-54. The Bushies enjoyed an easier run against Townsville Suburban, 74-37, in round one, while Kawana went down fighting in round two, 56-44. Despite their impressive record at State Pennants, Pine Rivers struggled in all three sectional games. As expected their round one clash with fellow four-time champions Club Helensvale went down to the wire, with the Pirates prevailing in the dying ends, 61-54. It was expected to be plain sailing from there, with newcomers Indooroopilly and Mackay’s South Suburban all that stood between Pine Rivers and a final berth. But things didn’t quite go according to plan, with Indro leading their match with a few ends to go, before a last gasp effort got Pine Rivers over the line, 61-56. Souths provided an even bigger challenge in round three, battling the Pirates to a draw, which saw Pine Rivers scrape into the final by the skin of their teeth. “I know some people were surprised at how well Indooroopilly went, but I wasn’t,” Pirates skip Kurt Brown said. “I’ve seen a lot of these guys play at district level and they are very good. “Mackay always have a strong team as well, it’s state level so it’s always going to be tough.” Brown admitted it had been a big week for Club Pine Rivers, with State Pennant finals kicking off less than 24 hours after the club played host to the inaugural $100,000 Australian Premier League event. “Obviously some of our guys were playing in the APL for four days straight and others were working at the event, so there may have been a bit of fatigue there. “But I’m not using that as an excuse, at the end of the day we were just outplayed by the Toowoomba guys. They were playing really good bowls,” he said.

NEWCOMERS NOTCH UP STATE PENNANT WIN They may be inexperienced and from Queensland’s smallest district, but that didn’t stop newcomers Ferny Grove from storming through this year’s State Pennant Finals to raise the Division 1 flag at Tweed Heads. The Grovers cruised through sectional play unscathed and into the final, where they led from the start and were never seriously challenged by a Bargara side struggling with the conditions.

The Brisbane girls triumphed on two of three rinks, with Rae Imberger and Sue Bond clocking up 28-14 and 20-13 wins respectively. Jessie Cannon got a pride-saving win for Bargara, defeating Kerry Meehan 22-20, but it was little consolation, with the pennant already safely tucked up in Ferny Grove’s team luggage.

“We were a bit apprehensive before our first game, because the team is very inexperienced at this level,” Ferny Grove skip Sue Bond said, following her side’s 68-49 final win. Bond is one of only two bowlers in the side with state-level experience, former v36/14

Queensland rep Kerry Wilson being the other. “As the games went on we just combined really well and held our own.

“Our round-three game against Bribie Island was probably our toughest and we were behind for a while.

“But we fought back and got there in the end,” Bond said, as her teammates belted out an animated version of Queen hit ‘We are the champions’ in the background. “It’s our first time at the state finals and it’s just a huge thrill for everybody,” Bond said. “It’s actually the first time we’ve beaten a Gateway club to reach the state playoffs,” Wilson added.

“We beat Victoria Point (at group level) to get here and that was huge for us, because we have such a small district, whereas they play against all these big clubs, so just to reach the state finals was a really proud achievement. “To go on and win with such an inexperienced side is just amazing,” Wilson said.

Unfortunately for Bargara, who have reached the state play-offs four years running, the wait continues. “Ferny Grove just outplayed us,” Bargara skip Gail Crompton said.

“At the end of the day they just played a better game. They converted more shots, they had good lead and second bowls in the head and they deserved the win.

Continued page 8 ►

Pictured clockwise from page 6: Jason Grundon helps guide Bushrangers to the state title : Nathan Appleton was one of the side’s star performers : 2013 Division 1 State Pennant champions North Toowoomba (Back row) Graeme Kath, Nathan Appleton, Barry Hawkins, Jim Williams, (Middle Row) Col Kajewski, Gavin Bradford, Norm Head, Bevan Bishop, Ross McPherson, Noel Corban, (Front row) Jason Grundon, Graham Elton, Richard Ashton : Pirate James Templeton wills his bowl into the head : Bevan Bishop watches his bowl closely : Kurt Brown sees the funny side of bowls. queensland bowler | 7

► Continued from page 7 “We’ve been here for the last three years and never got out of sectionals, so this is the furthest we’ve got. “It would have been nice to win, but we’re all pretty happy with how far we got, there’s always next year,” Crompton said.

After coming through day one unbeaten, Bargara had a nervous wait to find out if they would even make the final following a round three loss to Algester.

“We knew we had a bit of a buffer, but it was still a bit of a tense wait,” said Crompton. The Bargara skip admitted a massive storm that ripped through Tweed the previous night had put a dampener on their game. “I think we just struggled with the greens on day two. They were a lot heavier because of the storm and we obviously didn’t adjust as well as some of the other teams,” Crompton said.

“Thankfully Marlin Coast beat Hervey Bay, which sent us through to the final against Ferny Grove.” Missed opportunity Two players missed out on the opportunity to win a state pennant title with more than one club at this year’s finals on the Gold Coast. North Mackay’s Ester Regan and Pine Rivers’ Kurt Brown are both previous winners at the event. In fact, Regan has claimed the title no less than three times (2005/06/09) and been runner-up on another occasion (2007), all with Mackay South Suburban. Brown collected the title with Tantitha Bowls Club in 2010, the only time a club from outside the southeast corner has lifted the men’s State Pennant flag. While Regan never really had a shot at the title in 2013 (North Mackay lost all three sectional games), Brown was just three shots away from doing the double, with Pine Rivers going down 56-54 in the men’s final. 8 | queensland bowler

Pictured, clockwise from top: 2013 women’s State Pennant winners Ferny Grove (Back) Noelene Christie, Rae Imberger, Patsi Saunders, June Cannan, Kerry Meehan, Vicky Massey, Sharon Baker, Carol Squires, Kerrie Wilson, Sue Beresford, Liz Ferguson. (Front - kneeling) Sue Bond and Karen Perkins : Tweed Heads Bowls Club played host to many of Queensland’s top club bowlers : Sue Bond keeps a close eye on the adjacent rinks : Quite a crowd turned out to watch the finals. For lots more images from days one and two of the 2013 State Pennant Finals, visit Bowls Queensland’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BowlsQld v36/14

THUNDERSTRUCK

Kawana ‘Angels’ kick ass in Ladies Team Challenge

Kawana Thunderbirds won the fourth annual Ladies Team Challenge, held at Mooloolaba Bowls Club (Nov 16-17).

The Sunshine Coast girls Emma Brown, Jane Bush, Noelene Dutton and Carol Williams, along with team captain Julie Keegan, defeated the Wobbygongs from South Tweed, Marie Bullock, Cheryl Moran, Thelma Smith, Patsy Brown and team captain Sue Clarke, in a rip-snorter of a final, 50-31. “We’re so thrilled to win, it’s capped off a great year, having already won Gold Super Challenge and Div 1 District Pennant,” Kawana’s Julie Keegan said. “We put our success down to great team camaraderie and compatibility.”

Keegan said organiser Michelle Russell should be congratulated for creating a winning concept in Ladies Team Challenge, which is held over a weekend specifically so working women and schoolgirls can take part. Planning is already underway for the 2014 event and new faces are welcome.

“It’s a testament to the growing strength of the competition that all finalists in 2013, except one, were playing Ladies Team Challenge for the first time this year,” Russell said.

“Chardy Queens from the Downs have featured previously but all the other finalists were first timers and it was exciting. “All finals are played as knock-out, which means each team walks the tightrope.”

There were 360 bowlers in the 2013 Ladies Team Challenge, with teams from Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Caboolture and Downs progressing to play-offs after winning in their zones. There were four finalists from Brisbane Metro (Bramble Belles, Everton Park Rangers, Cicadas and Hijackers), three Gold Coast finalists (The Pointers, Argyles and Wobbygongs), three Sunshine Coast finalists (Kawana Thunderbirds, Maroochy Young Guns and Tewantin Terrors), as well as Scorpions from Caboolture and Chardy Queens from Downs.

“The Ladies Team Challenge will celebrate five years in 2014 and it’s fast becoming one of the most prestigious events on the ladies bowls calendar,” Russell said. Email Michelle to join the mailing list if you’d like to know more about Ladies Team Challenge 2014: ltcadmin@iinet.net.au

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Reaching Out O

ur first ever state-wide Come and Try Day has come and gone! Thank you for the feedback so far, from around 40 clubs. Unfortunately a few days were washed out, including Biloela, which has rescheduled for Sunday December 15.

It seems the regional areas got a better response than the metro clubs, with Quilpie (42) and Murgon (100) reporting a wonderful turnout.

Disappointingly, a handful of clubs had zero new people show up on the day! Fortunately, most clubs reported an attendance between four and 100, the average so far being about 20 people. The most promising sign is the willingness of attendees to get further involved with the clubs, either through barefoot events, community bowls programs, or signing up for full or social membership.

The majority of clubs who had people on their greens have been very positive about the event and happy with the results.

We have taken all feedback on board and are already working on a version of the event for 2014. So far from 40 clubs we’ve raised over $800 for Brighter Future 4 Kids, with another $400 pledged. Brett Murphy, State Development Manager

MURGON

Murgon Bowls Club combined its Come and Try 2013 with a fund-raiser for local mum Shona Muckert, who lost her legs in a car accident in 2004.

The mum of three-year-old Quinn has a goal to raise $75,000 for surgery to implant titanium rods into her skeletal system so she can walk more comfortably on prosthetic legs. The local community has backed Shona’s “Help Me Walk Again” campaign, with the kitty so far up to $16,000.

Murgon Bowls Club hosted more than 100 bowlers, including teams in fancy dress such as the Pirates, Angels Us and Angles Them and the Australian Hotel Pub Grubs. “It was an awesome day, we filled the green and more, my feet are aching this morning,” Murgon Sport and Recreation coordinator Paula Nunan said.

“We signed up five new members, only social, but it’s five more than we had before, and we had quite a few parents express interest in the junior coaching programme.

“The Murgon Bowls Club boys did a great job, they should be very proud of themselves, they said it was a long time since there’d been such activity on the green and it felt great.” (Inquiries about Shona’s Help Me Walk Again appeal to fundraising committee coordinator Raelene Dennis 07 4168 1800. More information about Shona’s story can be found on her website www.shonamuckert.com) 12 | queensland bowler

DECEPTION BAY

Deception Bay put in a mighty effort to attract potential converts to the sport. “We put posters up all over the area, handed out the flyers, we’re showing people around the club, the rock ‘n’ rollers are here (dancers), and we’ve got lots of free things coming up, a band, a sausage sizzle, we want people to come through our doors and we think they’ll want to stay because it’s a great place to hang out and play sport,” Deception Bay Bowls Club Come and Try Day organiser Peter Landers said, as he jiggled the gold coin

donation bucket for Brighter Future for Kids Foundation. Heather Tagg works in the kitchen at Deception Bay Bowls Club but she’s never ventured on to the green until now. “It’s pretty catchy, pretty addictive,” Heather said. Heather and husband Michael used to be ten-pin bowlers and they found the switch to lawn bowls “not too bad”, Michael said.

“It sucks you in,” club coach John Orr said. Beris and Jim Bonding gave Judith Hickey and Melissa Sinclair a taste and John Mostyn looked after Mick Keating, Sam Gaul and Dianne Tronson.

“Mick’s a natural, Sam’s keen to learn, Dianne’s a complete newie, and that’s what the day’s all about,” Mostyn said. TOOMBUL

St Paul’s Caboolture Year 7 student Josh Lane, 12, attended Toombul Bowls Club’s Come and Try Day.

“My Godfather’s mother and father used to come here, their name’s up on the honours board, so we came here to have a try,” Josh said. Josh’s Godfather Alf Trumper joined Josh and his dad Philip on November 17 under the guidance of Toombul club singles champ Bob Tuer (1999, 2007-2009). Toombul young gun Tyson Young gave Judy Bullock some lessons.

Judy got a taste for lawn bowls at a recent four-week corporate challenge run at Toombul, which was a great success. v36/14

“We got local business sponsors on board and ran a Friday night comp for 12 teams of four, that’s 48 new bowlers playing for what we called the Community Shield, it was a great success,” junior vice president Jim Murray said. NORTHERN SUBURBS

Northern Suburbs Bowls Club’s memberships coordinator Greg Mahony has a completely open mind when it comes to attracting new members, but like many others, he has found there’s nothing that succeeds quite like a personal invitation to come and have a go. “It’s great to see that big bunch of young blokes down here today enjoying their bowls,” Mahony said. “They were here on Friday night celebrating the end of their first year uni exams so I invited them back today and they’re having a great time.” The boys know each other from Padua College primary school days and since then, four have gone on to uni and Clayton McCaw is working as a mechanic.

“We’ve had a great time here today,” McCaw said. “It’s definitely harder than I thought but I’m liking it,” QUT law student Tom Gardner said. Griffith engineering student James Whittaker and UQ physiotherapy student Liam Picard tried some barefoot bowls on the Friday before Come and Try Day and were so impressed they came back.

UQ occupational therapy student Darcy Gannon works at Windsor Bowls Club but v36/14

enjoyed himself out on the green with his mates for a change. ATHERTON

Atherton Bowls Club had great success using personal invitation to back up the statewide advertising campaign. “We had 26 members attend, bringing 18 guests and it was a thoroughly enjoyable day,” organiser John Alcorn said. “We put on some innovative and fun coaching clinics, including using tennis balls and lamp shades for markers of various lengths.

“We mixed up play, putting one experienced bowler with two novices, add to that a sausage sizzle lunch and smoko, there was no time for anyone to get bored.” Come and Try Day 2013, clockwise from top left, Peter Landers turns on the welcome at Deception Bay : Darcy Gannon on the mat at Northern Suburbs, celebrating end of uni exams with mates Tom Gardner, James Whittaker, Liam Picard, Clayton McCaw : Josh Lane, 12, visits Toombul with his dad Philip Lane (left) and Godfather Alf Trumper, with instructor Tyson Young : Shona Muckert’s ‘Help me walk again’ appeal got a huge boost at Murgon Bowls Club : Atherton, men’s president Mal Mackney gives Kev McHenry some pointers : At Geebung, Michael Eames, Chris and Lylah Little, Bobby Kroesche form a welcome committee. queensland bowler | 13

Casey Eggleton, 21, from Hervey Bay, is our latest Spot the Jack winner and December covergirl. For Casey, the win tops off a very exciting stage of her life.

The former Cairns dental nurse has just scored herself a lucrative job with a big mining company BMA-BHP Billiton to drive monster dump trucks at a new mine called Caval Ridge, near Moranbah.

The Bowler magazine caught up with Casey in Brisbane recently, where she’s been in intensive training to start her job on December 18. “It’s just so exciting, they’ve been unreal, the training has been excellent, I’m really looking forward to it,” Casey said.

Casey was an accomplished junior bowler, making it through to the state final of All Schools Cup when she was in Year 9 at high school. “I played bowls all through high school but since I started work, I haven’t had much time to play,” Casey said. She had just made up her mind to go back to bowls when she found out she had won Spot the Jack.

“It’s like an omen, it couldn’t have come at a better time, Nana is so excited, she’s the keenest bowler in our family,” Casey said. In fact, Casey’s grandmother Colleen McCabe enters Henselite’s Spot the Jack competition in Queensland Bowler magazine every month, on behalf of each of her five grandchildren, which include Casey and her cousins, U25 and junior champs Madi and Mitchell Styles. “She’s taught us all to play bowls, my parents don’t play, but Nana loves the sport,” Casey said.

“She’s been taking us to Marlin Coast Bowls Club since I can remember.” Casey is still thinking about which new set of Henselite bowls she will play with in 2014.

“Great Christmas present,” Casey said, “I really like the green and black Dreamline XG I saw today and the purple and white Fusion. “I’d also like to have a look at the white Fusion with black and blue speckles, I’ll talk to Henselite and I’m sure we’ll come up with something to suit me.  “I’m that excited about it, thanks Nana!”

Top Sp To mark the 50 month anniversary of Henselite’s Spot the Jack competition, we catch up with the lucky readers who won a brand new set of bowls in 2013. After four years and 50 sets of Henselite bowls, Queensland Bowler magazine’s Spot the Jack competition is as strong as ever.

“We get a minimum of 400 entries a month, sometimes the winner is picked out within the first dozen draws, sometimes it takes much longer,” Bowler editor Wayne Griffin said. “We usually try to select a photo where the placement of the jack is not obvious, but our readers have cottoned on to that strategy pretty quickly. “Sometimes we even get sweet letters from loyal competition faithful explaining how desperately they need a new set of bowls or how long they’ve been entering the competition and surely it must be their turn to win…?” “Unfortunately it doesn’t work like that, no matter how deserving someone may be, we stick to the rules. It’s the first correct entry drawn out each month, on an original Bowler entry form, who gets the great new set of Henselite bowls.” “The best success tip I can give is to keep on sending your entries in, it’s certainly better odds than Lotto!” Henselite national sales manager Colin Doolan said Henselite had given out more than $30,000 worth of new bowls through Spot the Jack since the competition started in September 2009. “So far we’ve had a 100 per cent satisfaction rate with the new bowls we send out,” Doolan said. “Winners in 2014 will choose from our new Dreamline XG or Fusion range, which are our top sellers, nothing but the best for Queensland Bowler readers!” Looking back over the past 12 months, Elizabeth Hodges from Macleay Island was the first winner of Spot the Jack, in January 2013. “I was shocked, I’ve never won anything before in my life, so to win this was bloody brilliant,” Elizabeth said. A bowler for 34 years, Elizabeth was just thinking about upgrading to a new set. “I’d been looking but still hadn’t made a final decision, winning Spot the Jack worked out really well for me, thanks Henselite!”

14 | queensland bowler

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potters Alan Watson from Everton Park Bowls Club was on holiday when the May Spot the Jack winner was announced. “When I got back to the club they all started congratulating me and I thought, what are they congratulating me for?” Alan said.

“So they showed me the magazine and I thought, jeez, that’s great!” Betty Law, who won the June competition, moved to Sunshine Beach from Brisbane just over a decade ago and plays at Noosa Bowls Club.

Brian Roberts, a bowler of 16 years, was Spot the Jack’s February winner.

Brian lives at a retirement village at Chermside on Brisbane’s northside, Weller on the Park, which has its own outdoor two-rink bowls green, where up to 45 bowlers play a competition on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Brian, pictured opposite, is also a member of Stafford Bowls Club. “I already had a set of Henselite Dreamline bowls when I won Spot the Jack, but they were just over two years old, so I sold the older set to a fellow bowler at the retirement village and now I use my new black and green speckled XGs, they’re really nice, I enjoy my bowls and I already liked the qualities of the Dreamline series,” Roberts said. Janice Mewett from Woodgate decided to let husband Gary take her new bowls when she won in March.

“Gary is extremely happy with his new Henselite bowls, he’s had Dreamline before, but he said the XG is even better,” said Janice (pictured above).

Gary has been a bowler for five years at the Woodgate Bowls Club. “It was tremendous, I was absolutely thrilled,” said our April winner, Jan Aldridge, from the small Surat Bowls Club, about 450 kms west of Brisbane.

“It came as a huge surprise actually. We usually get the magazine a little later than everyone else out here, because we’re so far away, but my daughter just happened to be on the coast playing bowls that week. Someone saw my name in the magazine and told her, so she rang to give me the good news. “I got the Dreamline XG with green flecks and gold rings. I’m really happy with them and I’ve actually had a lot of compliments on them from other bowlers, it’s brilliant.” v36/14

“I couldn’t believe it, I thought someone was having a joke with me when they said I’d won, it was a very lovely surprise. I’ve been entering every month for years now, probably since the competition started (four years and 2 months ago),” Betty said. “Fantastic!” said a very happy Anna Ceccato (right) from Club Pine Rivers of her July Spot the Jack win.

“I saw it in the magazine, I saw my name and I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Anna said. “My new bowls play very well, they’re really good, I made the change straight away, I’ve got to give them a big angle and I’m getting much better.

“I play with my husband and a friend and I’ve been encouraged to start getting into competition. Pine Rivers is my club because I want to play in the shade.” August winner Phil Wregg has been playing bowls for three years at Jindalee.

“I always put an ‘X’ where I don’t think the jack is!” Phil said. Jim Spirritt from Hervey Bay sighed when the club told him to call his wife before he left for home.

“I thought, oh, she must need something from the shops, but she told me the Bowler magazine had rung to tell me I’d won August Spot the Jack,” Jim said. “I used be a draughtsman so I’ve a fairly good eye for things. Just looking at this month’s Bowler magazine, I wasn’t far away from that one either.” Jim is a native of Leeds in the UK county of Yorkshire. Kath Beckwith from Burleigh Waters, October’s lucky winner, is a newcomer to the sport. “When you rang I thought, ‘Bowls Queensland? What do they want?,’ and they told me I’d won a free set of bowls on Spot the Jack,” said Kath (bottom left). “I started bowling in March this year at Burleigh Heads, and as you do, I bought second hand bowls, but I was looking to buy a new set, so winning Spot the Jack was great timing.” “It’s been a good first year in bowls, I got to the semi final of the novice, which was rather great,” Kath said. The final winner for 2013 is Audrey Schultz who plays at Ayr Bowls Club in North Queensland, a bowler for 10 years, now an A-grade player “but not the strongest at the club”, she said. “I had a good run in the singles tournament this year, knocked a few out I didn’t expect, and I love my new bowls.” Can you Spot The Jack like these lucky winners? If you think you can, simply turn to page 33 and place an X where you believe the jack to be, then send it in on an original magazine entry form. If yours is the first correct entry drawn, you could be rolling up at your local club with a brand new set of Henselite bowls! queensland bowler | 15

APL Brisbane boys bag title in hugely successful showcase event

A big, bold, expensive experiment in marketing the sport of lawn bowls has been embraced as a magnificent success by everyone involved. “You’ve witnessed it, a watershed for lawn bowls, the game has changed forever because of what went on here these past four days,” Club Pine Rivers president Ron Howden said.

The north Brisbane powerhouse club is franchisee for the XXXX Brisbane Gold, one of six teams to sign up for a brave new frontier in lawn bowls competition, the $100,000 Australian Premier League.

And to the delight of the home crowd, the Brisbane side of, Mark Casey, Robert Wild, Kelvin Kerkow and Alex Murtagh, won the inaugural APL title, snatching a place in history from the brilliant Scott Thulborn-led Adelaide Endurance on a penultimate-end ‘powerplay’.

The Gold went from 0-4 down to 8-4 up, by lifting exactly when they declared they would. With only one end to go, it was too late for Adelaide to recover from the Brisbane lightning raid. “Bloody brilliant!” Kerkow said, as the scoreboard lit up the 4-4, 8-6 win to Brisbane Gold.

The Gold won $40,000 as winners of the four-day tournament, $5000 to each of the players and $20,000 to Club Pine Rivers, to help it recoup some of its costs. ($1250 is not a bad day’s wage for a lawn bowler!)

Runners-up Adelaide Endurance won $20,000, with other prize money allocated among the other place-getters. “It’s the best event I’ve ever played in,” Casey said.

16 | queensland bowler

“I’m dying for a drink,” Murtagh said, “the boys put me through a bit of stress, but we like the power play, it seemed to do very well for us all week.” “Incredible, the highlight of my career, I’ve love to be back next year, if I get an invite,” Wild said. “Yes, it’s all worth it, for the pride, privilege and honour of being involved in this huge step forward for bowls!” Ron Howden said.

You’ve witnessed it, a watershed for lawn bowls, the game has changed forever because of what went on here these past four days Bowls Australia CEO Neil Dalrymple watched the final alongside Commonwealth Games Gold Coast 2018 general manager, venues and operations, Ian Whitehead. Whitehead was very impressed with what he saw and what it means for the potential of lawn bowls as a spectator sport. “Exciting, brilliant, out of the box, now we’ve got something to sell!” Bowls Australia board member and Tweed Heads bowler Nigel Smith said. While most of the comments on the Bowls Queensland Facebook page were positive, there were a few whingers about why APL wasn’t shown on free-to-air TV.

The simple reason? No free-to-air channels would get behind it. Not the commercial channels, not the ABC.

Fox Sports 2 was prepared to take a chance, and it paid off spectacularly, for Fox, for the players, and hopefully for the sponsors, since the franchise is hoping to get them back on board for APL 2014.

“It was perfect, great atmosphere, couldn’t be happier,” Maguire Media director Guy James said, a sentiment echoed by producer John Murray and Fox Sports commentator Mark Braybrook. One of the little things that might need to be addressed for next year is the colour of the bowls in the made-fortelevision spectacular.

When Brisbane and Adelaide played each other, especially in the final when all eyes were watching, it wasn’t easy to tell the difference between their maroon and red bowls. But small niggles aside, everyone, players, officials, spectators, TV crew and sponsors were full of praise for the excellent venue and services of host club Pine Rivers and the APL concept.

“This whole set-up is amazing, this wonderful undercover area and the green ran well too,” international Karen Murphy said, part of the vanquished Sydney Lions and Fox Sports commentating team. “We came sixth out of six so the format must have been crap, no, just kidding, it was a sensational experience, we lost four games on a tie-break, it could have gone either way, it was powerful to be part of this revolution in lawn bowls,” Australian coach, former world champion and APL Sydney Lion Steve Glasson said.

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XXXX Brisbane Gold champs Kelvin Kerkow OAM, Robbie Wild, Mark Casey and Alex Murtagh

“I was here at Club Pine Rivers 10 years ago for the Asia Pacific Games and it’s a different world now,” NZ Blackjack Jo Edwards said. “The set up is brilliant, everyone’s been so supportive, lots of good vibes, I can’t say enough about what an awesome experience it’s been to

play the inaugural APL, even though we’re going home in fourth position.”

Kerkow and Casey celebrate another great win

“We’ll be back next year to have another crack!”

The crowd voted a resounding YES to the APL using adjectives like “electrifying, adrenaline pumping, worth it...”

Continued Page 20 ►

Adelaide Endurance player Mark Haines in full flight

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queensland bowler | 17

CROWD PLEASER Stars ham it up for the cameras Brisbane Gold’s Alex Murtagh had an uncanny knack of knowing when his boys were about to perform.

He used the powerplay to great effect and his favourite spot was penultimate end - sink or swim. Brisbane Gold won seven of their 10 sectional games, silencing Sydney Lions twice, 9-2, 4-7, 1-0 and 4-4, 6-4, dominating Melbourne Roys twice, 14-4, 11-0 and 9-8, 8-2, and freezing out NZ Blackjacks once 5-4, 10-0, Perth Suns once 10-4, 12-4, and Adelaide Endurance once, 6-5, 9-8. In the semis, Brisbane iced the Blackjacks, 7-4, 5-2 and Adelaide beat Perth Suns, featuring Queenslander Brett Wilkie, in a tiebreak 10-4, 1-11, 1-0.

the six teams played up to the Fox Sports cameras and put on a show for the crowd.

Robbie Wild was substitute lead and Kelvin Kerkow OAM pulled it all together as Gold skip, the crowd’s favourite.

They could have let their bowls do the talking, but instead they jumped, hollered and waved to the banks of spectators, as keen as all those behind the scenes to captivate any viewers new to the sport who chanced upon it on Fox.

That great showman Mark Casey played lead for Brisbane Gold and was delighted to pull on a maroon jersey again.

It’s not often lawn bowlers are required to display star quality, but all four members of

Top: bowlers came from all over the southeast to watch the stars in action.

Above: The Mullins from Strathpine Bowls Club were out in force to cheer on the Brisbane boys at Club Pine Rivers.

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Berry Bowling Systems Berry Bowling Systems would like to congratulate Club Pine Rivers and the Australian Premier League on a successful inaugural tournament. This groundbreaking venture was held on Dales Pro-Green Plus synthetic bowls carpet, proudly supplied and installed by BBS - Berry Bowling Systems Pty Ltd.

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HOST WITH THE MOST

Queensland’s Club Pine Rivers a massive hit with visiting APL stars Club Pine Rivers is aglow with compliments about the brilliance and amenity of their setting in the aftermath of the Australian Premier League phenomenon. Some of the best bowlers in the world took part in the sport’s latest marketing exercise over four days from November 19-22. The bowlers, from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and New Zealand, have seen a lot of bowls venues in their time.

Yet they couldn’t say enough about the marvellous set-up at Club Pine Rivers. “I played Asia Pacific here 10 years ago and it was a different world,” NZ world champion Jo Edwards said.

“It’s just an awesome venue now, what an impressive total package they’ve put together here, the cover is stunning and the greens run really well too.” The club underwent a major renovation in 2010, installing a Berry Bowling Systems Dales Pro Green Plus synthetic surface and a MakMax roofing system.

Bowls coordinator Des Wilson said they hadn’t lost a day’s bowling since they went synthetic and undercover.

“Before our brilliant new innovations in surface and cover, we would have lost about 53 days a year to rain, this equated to an average of 40 bowlers per day and approximately $22,100 in lost green fees,” Wilson said. “The gaming, bar and food revenue would also have been down by not having patrons on the premises.”

That’s why the Board was so confident in offering Club Pine Rivers as the venue for the first-ever Australian Premier League spectacular. They knew it would meet the exacting standards of the best bowlers in the world and they knew it could stand up under the scrutiny of television cameras and the eyes of Australia.

“It’s perfect, couldn’t ask for any better, I wish there was more of this sort of set up back home in Victoria,” Melbourne Roys skip Dylan Fisher said.

“There’s no dramas playing under the roof, it’s so light.” The MakMax roof membrane is designed to preserve natural light, to the delight of the bowlers playing APL. “It’s magnificent, the roof, the green, everything, it’s a wonderful set up,” Perth Suns and former Irish international Jeremy Henry said. APL 2013 runners up Adelaide Endurance also felt Club Pine Rivers made a great call on the renovations. “A fantastic venue, one of the best I’ve ever played in,” lead Wayne Ruediger said. Even his skip, and greenkeeper, Scott Thulborn had praise, “Very good facilities, the set up meant the wind didn’t become an issue,” he said. With all the glowing feedback, the Club Pine Rivers board knows its decision to install a MakMax roof and Berry Bowling System synthetic green has paid off.

Thanks for coming to our club and supporting the APL

www.clubpinerivers.com.au 22 | queensland bowler

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Be Surprised

PARTY BOWLS A BIG DRAW NEWS FLASH FOR MOOLOOLABA GREENS Christmas has come early at Mooloolaba Bowls Club, thanks to its award winning wide span fabric canopy roof installed by Lightweight Structures in 2011. “This is our second year and it’s been just magnificent,” manager Troy Somerville said.

“We’ll do around 2000 party bowls functions in the five weeks leading into Christmas this year and the reason we’ve got so many bookings is that word’s got around that the venue works, no matter what the weather.” Mooloolaba was one of the Sunshine Coast host clubs for 2013 Queensland State Championships and 2013 District Sides and not one day was lost, despite some freakish storms. “The first half of the year was really wet but the all-weather canopy means our bowlers are out there even when it’s bucketing down all around.

“It was really funny to hear some of the women saying ‘no wet T-shirt competition at Mooloolaba today’ during the big competitions. The other outdoor host clubs weren’t so lucky, the players can get wet and cold and sometimes play has to pause or it’s cancelled altogether,” Somerville said.

“It really helps the club financially when we don’t have to cancel things due to wet weather, there can be inches of water all around the greens but our bowlers are dry and comfortable underneath the Lightweight Structures installation. “We even had hail recently the size of golf balls and cricket balls and the canopy didn’t miss a beat, it’s all intact and the bowls continued, as amazing as it was to see such a freak weather event unfold around us.”

Mooloolaba also hires out its greens at night, thanks to 42 energy efficient uplights installed by Lightweight Structures when the two-green canopy was installed.

An Australian first has been witnessed at Manly Bowls Club, with the installation of a Light Weight Structures wide span fabric canopy over an existing pristine Berry Bowling synthetic green. Thirty-nine tons of steel and 2100 kg of fabric have been manoeuvred into place with cranes and equipment located outside the bowling green.

With an onsite build time of five weeks and a concept to completion time of four months two weeks, the Manly wide span fabric canopy follows in the success of the Mooloolaba Double Green Canopy and East Cessnock Single Green Canopy.

2012 was a top year for Manly, with the club installing a state-of-the-art synthetic surface and winning Bowls Queensland’s Medium Club of the Year award. Thanks to their amazing new roof structure, 2014 looks set to be just as exciting. Congratulations Manly Bowls Club.

More Rookies Required at Maroochy Club Maroochy is looking for more bowlers, particularly women, to sign up for its $6000 New Year Carnival (Sat Dec 28 – Sun Jan 5), which this year caters for ‘rookies’, bowlers with less than four years on the books. “It’s an exciting opportunity for relatively new bowlers to gain experience under tournament conditions, without having to compete against seasoned bowlers,” organiser John Clark said. 24 | queensland bowler

The carnival will kick off at 9am on Saturday December 28 with the $1400 Men’s and Ladies Rookie Classic Pairs. “The format will be 2x2x2x2 Pairs, four games of 12 ends on both Saturday December 28 and Sunday 29,” Clark said. “Prize money will be paid to group winners and runners-up.” There are still vacancies in both rookies events. After the weekend Rookie Classic Pairs, there will be an opportunity for all bowlers to sign up for $1000 Mixed Pairs

(Mon Dec 30) and the New Year’s Eve $1200 Mixed Triples (Tues Dec 31). There will be a $1000 Ladies Pairs (Thurs Jan 2) and $1000 Men’s Pairs (Sat Jan 4). The carnival will close with a $1000 Mixed Fours comp starting at 1pm on Sunday January 5. Sponsors are Charmaine and Geoff Pettigrove of Shade ‘N’ Net (Australia). Further details and entry forms are available on the Club Maroochy website or phone John Clark 0419 133 052. v36/14

Cutheringa held aloft the Dunn Cup with a sense of relief.

After beating a well drilled Townsville Suburban side 22-17 over the October long weekend, the club could celebrate its first victory in 25 years. Not since the side skipped by the legendary Greg Wordsworth emerged victorious in 1988 has the club tasted such success. Indeed, it was their only previous victory. The competition this year was one of the tightest, with Cutheringa having to rely on other results to make the final.

While they beat Wangaratta 32-16, it was Ingham’s 13-shot win over Home Hill that secured Cutheringa’s final berth.

Suburban also found the going tough, and were in a tussle with Jubilee to make the final. A draw with Charters Towers Services created a nail-biting conclusion, but Jubilee failed to beat Noorla and Suburban went through on points difference.

Drought-breaking win for Cutheringa The final continued the trend, Suburban held a 17-14 lead heading into the 20th end, but Cutheringa hit back with a fourpoint end before adding one in each of the last four to claim a well deserved victory 22-17.

Belmont 50th

Belmont Services Bowls Club’s 50th anniversary celebrations kicked off with a full house at their annual Two Bowls Triples on the October Labour Day public holiday.

The winning team was a Belmont-Mt Gravatt combo of Jeff McLennan, Peter Young and Noel Gilbert. The 50th Anniversary event drew 28 teams (84 players), including many composite teams of bowlers from Belmont Services, Carina, Capalaba, Ferny Grove, Graceville, Hamilton, Helensvale, Lynndon, Logan City, Mount Gravatt, New Farm, Pacific Paradise, Pine Rivers, 26 | queensland bowler

Souths Acacia, Tarragindi and Wellington Point.

The competition was intense, with all place-getters winning their three games, the result determined on ends won. Only two ends separated the first four teams. Runners-up were Ted Read (Mt Gravatt), Branko Petrovic (Mt Gravatt) and Ron Lewis (Helensvale).

The $3000 Two Bowl Triples marked the beginning of Belmont Services 50 years’ celebrations. Pictured: Jeff McLennan (Mt Gravatt), Peter Young (Mt Gravatt), Noel Gilbet (Belmont Services)

Cutheringa skipper Glen Atfield paid credit to his team of Chris Wood, Howard Best and Wayne Edwards, for helping break the club’s drought and to win a trophy considered

to be the pinnacle of North Queensland bowls. “It’s been 25 years since we’ve won it and 24 years ago we were in the final but they got beat,” Atfield said.

Kandanga Fours

Ferny Grove and Hervey Bay got the lion’s share of prize money at this year’s $4000 Kandanga Bowls Club Invitation Fours. It’s the Gympie club’s annual prestige event, held on the third weekend in November for the past 45 years, since 1968. The competition boasts a top line up of men’s fours, 16 teams playing six games over two days, on one lovingly-tended green. “It’s a top weekend for the town, there’s only about 40 houses in Kandanga and we fill up the local pub and billet out the rest, we feed them good

country cooking, and everyone goes home happy,” organizer Julie Worth said. “The final game this year got rained out but the other five games were closely contested, as always.” Winners were Ferny Grove’s Stephen Petsky, John Finlayson, Ian Mateer and Lou Stumbras. Runners up were a Hervey Bay rep side, Damien Rideout, Graham Woodhouse, Mick Roy and Gordon Williams. Pictured: Stephen Petsky, John Finlayson, Ian Mateer, Lou Stumbras v36/14

Retired fitter and turner Snow Itzstein thought there had to be an easier way for an umpire to work out if a bowl was in or not. “It can be physically stressful trying to get down low and manage a hand held siter to check the location of a bowl, this simple invention takes away the stress and it becomes a great support for an umpire, a much easier way to get the job done quickly and accurately,” Itzstein said.

Snow and wife Gael are members at Deception Bay Bowls Club, where internationally qualified umpire Peter Landers is also a member.

“It’s made the sighting of a jack or bowl on the boundary line a lot easier because you just set it up and it sits there, it’s quick and easy to make the right decision, and everyone can see it’s correct, I’ve had a lot of success with it,” Landers said.

Snow custom-makes each Easy Siter to order, $130 pick-up from Deception Bay, or $150 including postage and handling to anywhere in Australia. The Itzy Easy Siter has been approved for use in domestic competition by Bowls Australia. “I make everything myself, including the timber box, the Easy Siter is fully

We've got your back! The back-breaking work of boundary sighting is over, thanks to Snow’s brilliant invention, the Itzy Easy Siter. constructed in aluminium, it’s quick and easy to set up, it sights from ditch to ditch, and it folds away neatly,” Snow said. “I made a prototype as a retirement project and in the past 18 months, it’s really taken off, all by word of mouth.

Snow is taking orders now for 2014.

He can be contacted on 07 3385 9838 or by email itzy@plrliving.com

“I can make one in half a day now, it keeps me busy and the cost covers my materials, it’s a pleasure to have created a tool that’s useful in our sport. Snow said 40 clubs around Australia have already bought an Itzy Easy Siter, seven from interstate, the rest from Queensland. “I’ve had nothing but good feedback,” Snow said.

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Low Vision? Feel liberated not lost!

Clermont’s Jacinta Page, Maureen Page, Yvonne Caton, Shirley Harvey

Keeping it in the family Bowls is a family affair in the small country town of Clermont, north of Emerald.

The local bowls club has a total of nine members, just five of them bowlers. All five won themselves a berth at this year’s State Champion of Club Champions at Broadbeach (Oct 26-31), beating various Mackay teams to represent Group 7.

Four are from the same family, the most visible at this year’s championships being 35-weekspregnant Jacinta Page, 30, who played fours with her motherin-law Maureen Page, and Maureen’s sister Shirley Harvey. Jacinta came two weeks early with her and husband Aaron’s first child, Alyssa, now 19 months, so the whole family was on stand-by.

QLD vs NSW Old rivalries will be renewed when Queensland takes on arch-rivals New South Wales in their annual interstate test series next month. The three-test series will be staged in NSW at Port Macquarie’s Port City Bowls Club on January 29 and 30. Queensland’s women will be hoping for a good result, having lost the series three years running, while the men will be out to recapture the title they lost earlier this year. There will also be an U25s event, with teams competing in singles, pairs and triples. v36/14

“It was a bit harder to bend down but it was lovely to be there and I had plenty of family support if anything happened,” Jacinta said. “I certainly dropped the week after all that bowling but so far, we assume Baby Page will arrive on the due date, December 1.” The “ring in” in the Clermont women’s four was family friend Yvonne Caton, who also played skip to Jacinta in the pairs. “We’re so proud of Jacinta and we’re proud of all of us really, how many teams can say the whole club made a state championship? We’ve only got five playing members at Clermont and we’re all here,” Yvonne Caton said. Jacinta’s husband Aaron Page, 32, was nearby, playing men’s singles at 2013 Champion of Club Champions.

Gordon Finucane is a New Zealand Veteran, ex RNZ Navy. He served for 23 years and was 12 months in Korea. Gordon settled in Brisbane in 1987. Just a year later he was diagnosed with Glaucoma, but this did not seriously affect him until the last couple of years, and this combined with Macular Degeneration has meant significant vision loss. Luckily for Gordon, the New Zealand Department of Veterans Affairs has an arrangement with our own DVA and this meant that Gordon could apply for a Clearview CCTV through Gordon’s Ophthalmologist, Dr Narelle Porter. Gordon has had his Clearview for about six months and already finds it indispensible. He uses it everyday for reading correspondence and bills, but also reads the Courier Mail from cover to cover. Gordon says that the Clearview is top quality. “I’d be absolutely lost without it, especially since I got it my eyes have deteriorated, so each day it is more necessary. “I feel liberated and more connected to the world. I would definitely recommend Quantum for their service and their equipment.” Contact Quantum on 1300 883 853 or fill out and return the form below to receive a Sight Support Catalogue.

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queensland bowler | 31

AMALGAMATION It could be the answer to your club’s financial problems

with

Curt schatz

Whatever type of club you run, it’s an unfortunate fact of life that competition for the food, beverage and gaming dollar is ever increasing.

held personally liable on a joint and several basis for those debts.

It is vital that clubs keep a close eye on their financial viability, and explore all possibilities that may exist to improve their financial position, and maintain the facility and/or the primary activity of the club for the benefit of the members and future members, and ultimately the community.

The first reaction to this is often a negative one in that the struggling club thinks that it will completely lose its legal identity, lose control of its members, and be obliterated.

This competition may come from a neighbouring club that is bigger and better resourced, or it may come from a pub or casino.

It is important for clubs to firstly recognise when they may be experiencing a trend of trading losses, and/or the resulting cash flow pressure. The biggest mistake made by clubs is in not recognising this at an early enough point in time. The signs should be recognised early and all possible alternatives/solutions should be explored at the earliest time.

It is also important to remember the fact that there is an increasing trend for creditors and courts to go behind the veil of either the company that runs a club or committee and will on occasion hold the individual members of the management committee or members of the board responsible for debts of the club, where those committee members or directors ought to have known that the club was continuing to trade in circumstances where it would be unable to pay its debts. To allow a club to continue to trade in these circumstances may lead to the individual committee people or board members to be

One of the possible solutions that is often ignored is the ability to have a more profitable, wealthier club come in and either take over the assets of the club, or enter into a management arrangement with the struggling club.

Provided that the commercial structuring is carefully considered, and the documentation protects the future of the club, then the opposite can be the case.

When this is successfully achieved, it is a “win-win” situation. The selling club should be in a position to continue to play its bowls, its football, its darts, be an RSL club or whatever else it might do, and at the same time find that the on-premises facility is improved through the expenditure that is carried out on it by reference to the increased profits.

from this asset and perpetrate its existence into the future. Sometimes this involves amalgamation, sometimes it involves management, sometimes it involves sell off, and sometimes it involves private enterprise equity, and sometimes it involves a combination of these. However, these are tricky decisions with several dimensions and it is vital that you seek the advice of an experienced legal practitioner to traverse the minefields involved. I look forward to having a discussion with any of you that may find your club in this position with a view to investigating the possibilities open to your club. If you would like any further information in relation to this issue, please do not hesitate to call Curt Schatz on 07 3224 0230.

Sometimes clubs own their own freehold and whilst they have value in the freehold, could find them cash flow poor. The secret is to unlock the value of that freehold asset to enable the club to continue. There are various models that I could discuss with any club as to the means by which a club can leverage

Hospitality law requires the best heads in the business. When it comes to legal advice for a club, you need more than just legal advice you need lawyers who know your industry. With specialist divisions in hospitality and business services, we understand your industry and all its legal requirements. We minimise your risk and help grow your business. For more information contact: Curt Schatz, Partner

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32 | queensland bowler

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33 | queensland bowler

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with

joan brotherton

As 2013 comes to an end, I hope my columns during the year have been of interest and assistance to you.

Coming up in 2014 is a new Official’s Manual, which I haven’t yet seen, however there is information on the BQ and BA websites. I wish you all the very best for a wonderful Christmas and a very safe and happy New Year!

Thank you for your positive comments and feedback throughout the year. I look forward to an interesting 2014 when we enter a new era of officiating.

with

Still the best for disability sport BQ wins Inclusive Service Award for second year running For the second year in a row, Bowls Queensland has been awarded for outstanding achievement in developing and promoting sporting opportunities for people of all abilities. BQ edged out Swimming Queensland to win the 2013 Inclusive Services trophy, awarded by the Queensland Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association each year. “Bowls Queensland has won the award for the second consecutive year for its active policy and practise of encouraging and including people with a disability as players, coaches, officials and volunteer administrators, in more than 330 clubs across the state,” Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Association CEO Ray Epstein said.

“Bowls Queensland continues to be an outstanding inclusion role model for other sport and recreation providers, not only in Queensland, but in Australia.” BQ state development manager Brett Murphy said it was very satisfying to receive recognition. “While we don’t do what we do to get awards, it is very important to all of us in the development team to make lawn bowls the No 1 sport in the state for inclusive practises,” Murphy said. Bowls Queensland is in its third year of collaboration with the Sporting Wheelies Sports CONNECT team, which helps sports and recreation organisations to develop sustainable inclusion policies and programmes.

For all the best news, views and comps make sure you get your copy of the

rino parrella

Well it was a baptism of fire, stepping up to do a Greenkeeper tips column in the same Queensland Bowler magazine issue that focused on the latest in synthetic greens innovations. However, I appreciate your feedback and it has been wonderful making contact with some clubs who have appreciated my tips.

I’ll be back in 2014 to offer you more insights on what we greenkeepers do to make your bowling better, and how you can make your greens perform better for you, if you’re a volunteer greenkeeper. Enjoy your Christmas! I’ll be enjoying some sailing on Moreton Bay. See you in 2014,

with

brett murphy

Take advantage of the quiet period competition-wise to implement some social bowls strategies to give your club a funds boost this holiday season. Party bowls opportunities can be a great source of income for clubs, with many workplaces looking to do something different to thank their workers for the year’s efforts. BBQ & Bowls $15/head might be an opportunity your club can offer? As long as you cover your costs, the profit should come in over the bar. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from the development team!

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