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utter Devastation floods and Freak Storms push queensland clubs to the brink
photo: megan slade
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Volume 36/ Issue No. 6
8
14
End of an Era. Chairman of the Mundubbera Bowls Club Harold Linsket,72 thinks this will be the end of their much loved club. Photo Megan Slade. Courtesy of The Courier Mail
29
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CONTENTS 06 Floods and Freak Storms
27 Dual Membership
A number of clubs have been left devastated after floods and freak storms battered Queensland once again.
Guest columnist John Dawson discusses the benefits and pitfalls of dual membership.
12 Australian Open
29 Tips from the Top
Queenslanders capture pairs titles at 2013 Australian Open in Melbourne.
Tweed Heads Bowls Co-ordinator Paul Girdler offers some tips for running a top tournament at your club.
14 K-Rudd Rolls Up
34 Coaching
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rolled up with a band of loyal followers at Brisbane’s Coorparoo Bowls Club.
Is etiquette a forgotten aspect of our sport? Mick Cherry believes coaches need to do more.
4 | queensland bowler
v36/6
From the Chair
your say
with Ron Chambers
First of all, my sincere thoughts are with those bowls clubs affected by the severe weather conditions of Australia Day and the aftermath. Again as I write, we are in the grip of another severe rainfall pattern in the state’s southeast, with more flooding underway in many of the same centres. This is heart-breaking news. I wish you all a safe recovery and a sense of stoicism and community as you undertake the clean up. May your indomitable spirits prevail in the long months ahead of rebuilding. EVENTS
The Bowls Queensland match committee has been very busy arranging our state events for the coming year. First is the State Junior Championships to be held at Bribie Island in April, followed by the District Sides and State Championships in May at the Sunshine Coast. The Mixed Pairs, Champion of Club Champions and State Pennant Finals will be held later in the year.
Dear Editor,
The ladies of the Central Queensland Association wish to let all those clubs affected by the terrible weather recently in Bundaberg, Bargara, Elliott Heads, Gladstone, BoyneTannum and the southeast, that our thoughts are with you all. Being so far away, it is impossible to physically help, but rest assured there are lots of like minded ladies thinking of you all and wishing you all the best in the clean-up and getting the repairs done in your respective clubs.
Central Queensland Ladies Bowling Association
AGM
The Annual General Meeting for Bowls Queensland will be held on March 27, 2013. Nominations closed on February 1. The AGM will be preceded by the State Council Meeting, which brings together all Districts Delegates and gives them the opportunity to discuss how bowls in Queensland is going and look to the future.
9
The Bowls Queensland Annual Award Nominations have now been received. The Board thanks all clubs who have submitted names and wishes all candidates good luck. Nominations have also closed for the Queensland Bowling Hall of Fame, which included bowlers nominated for outstanding performances on the green and great administrators of our game.
Was it only for TV? It turned into two games of singles...lead v lead and skip v skip. It was great the Aussie girls won gold, but I think the format they played leaves a lot to be desired.
Angus Miller, Townsville
DEVELOPMENT and COACHING
Bowls Queensland is currently conducting interviews for a development officer to be based in Townsville. This will be a service to clubs, schools and communities from Rockhampton to the far north. Once the successful applicant has been appointed they will be in contact with all clubs in the service area to introduce themselves and arrange club visits. The State Development officers have planned an extensive calendar for 2013, organising visits to all clubs in Queensland. Clubs requiring assistance with a particular aspect of Bowls or Club Administration are invited to contact state development manager Brett Murphy at Bowls Queensland HQ to discuss their requirements. State coach Bill Cornehls is also filling his calendar for the year. Bill’s classes are very informative and have been greatly appreciated by all who have attended in the past. Any club wishing to arrange a coaching seminar should contact Bill on (07) 3355 9988.
Editorial Assistant: Beth Newman Naomi Cescotto
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
v36/6
I’ve recently watched Kelsey Cottrell and Rebecca Quail win gold at the World Championships in Adelaide.
Can you please tell me why the players played four straight bowls each, instead of 2x2x2x2.
AWARDS
Editor: Wayne Griffin
Dear Editor,
The pairs format played in Australia, whereby leads and skips play two bowls in turn until they have played all four of their bowls, is actually the exception rather than the rule. Most other countries use the 4x4 format, whereby the leads play all four bowls, before the skips step up to the mat and do the same. As the World Championships is an international event, it was played under the World Bowls Conditions of Play, which include the 4x4 format for pairs.
Letters to the Editor, Queensland Bowler, PO Box 476, Alderley, Q 4051 or via email news@bowls-queensland.org Letters must be short and may be edited to ensure appropriateness of content.
Fax: (07) 3855 0010 Email: advert@bowls-queensland.org Subscriptions: To subscribe, post your name, address and telephone number, along with a cheque for $25 (inc gst) to: Queensland Bowler Subscriptions PO Box 476, Alderley, Qld 4051.
queensland bowler | 5
battered & bro “The noise was horrific, it sounded like a jet plane and the ground started to shake, I thought it was an earthquake…” About 1pm on January 26, a mini tornado ripped through Bargara, followed by rain so hard that bowler Lee-Ann Davies said “it hurt”. It was just the beginning...Roaring winds and pelting rains exploded the Fraser Coast river systems, causing millions of dollars worth of damage to cherished bowls clubs.
Bargara rebuilds.
As the eye of the Australia Day mini-tornado, the focus of a nation is on Bargara Bowls Club as it
Three weeks after the day of destruction, club manager Janelle Fielding said 16 rinks were operational and bowlers were appreciative they could practise their sport, even with the limitations. “We need to get our three carpet greens and shades totally replaced but we’re told there’s not enough material in the country to get them all done straight away but hopefully we’ll get one done quickly at least,” Janelle said. “The club’s being run from a walled off section of the old clubhouse at the new bistro end.” Janelle said the insurers had been helpful so far and the clubhouse had been cleaned and detailed. Her goal of getting a temporary bar set up and phones operational by the beginning of March was achieved. Janelle said the huge clean-up had been a combined effort by the community and the Army. The 240 bowlers and 700 social members who call Bargara home are still shaking heads in wonderment at the random ferocity of the tornado strike. “We had one club plaque turn up 8km away at Kalkie and another in George St (centre of Bundaberg),” Janelle said. 6 | queensland bowler
“Our members are devastated but the main thing is, no one was seriously hurt. We’ll rebuild better and stronger.”
On the Monday of the Australia Day long weekend, bowls coordinator Jim See was on the road near the airport at Bundaberg, and as much as he was shocked by the hit at Bargara, he was desperately sad to see Bundaberg in the grip of a floodwater menace. “There are four Blackhawk helicopters lifting people off roofs, a Hercules landed food, there’s 20 acres of airport land pegged out in tents, it’s just a massive military and civilian rescue and relief effort underway,” he said. “We’ve found one of our half tonne shade cloths almost three kilometres down the road, telephone poles are lying at 25 degrees, it came through Bargara like a 40m wide whirly-wind, roaring winds more than 300km/hour, once it smashed the doors of the bowls club in, it was easy to lift the roof off. “We live only a few doors from the bowls club but thankfully, we were a few metres outside its path.”
Jim was filled with relief the annual Australia Day tournament at Bargara had been called off only the day before the mini-tornado struck without warning, “otherwise with 168 people on the greens, we might have lost a lot more than the clubhouse...”
Tantitha
The arched entrance of Tantitha Bowls Club barely visable above churning floodwater became an v36/6
oken Top: The aftermath of the Australia Day mini-tornado at Bargara Bowls Club. Right: Kandanga and Tantitha bowls clubs were also badly damaged in the January floods. iconic image of the Queensland floods of 2013, flashed around the nation. The Bundaberg-based club has around 100 members and no paid staff and a mighty heart for its size.
For treasurer Sharon Bayntun it was never a question of ‘should we rebuild?’, it was a question of how to do it intelligently and economically with an eye to the future. “We want to learn good flood mitigation strategies from clubs that have already been through this,” Sharon said.
“We’re in the lowest part of Bundaberg and this is the first place the river breaks its banks when all the feeder creeks get full. “We might never get rain like this again for another 70 years but if we do, we want to be ready.”
The club will consider installing solar hot water so the new system can go on the roof rather than under the club house.
Continued page 8 ►
v36/6
queensland bowler | 7
► Continued from page 7 They will look at putting their new compressor in the ceiling and fridges and freezers on lockable metal frames to be easily wheeled on to the back of utes and trucks when floods threaten. Sharon said the club’s Facebook page, updated regularly by club PR Heidi Stanton-Cook, had been of great comfort in distressing times, allowing members to keep in touch with each other and keep informed about progress at the club.
“The latest update for our club is that we are not allowed to have access inside due to possible asbestos,” Heidi said. “This has hampered cleaning of the mud and sewerage mix caking the floors and walls, it was originally hosed off, but not yet disinfected.
“This latest rain (late February) has also flooded roads around Tantitha and we can’t get access. In the weeks after the Australia Day long weekend floods, members worked willingly for days, aerating and cleaning the grass greens to re-open for a social game on February 13. “The greens were very slow and cow paddock-y but the guys were determined to get us going again,” Sharon said.
“They put eskies in the green keeper shed for drinks and there was a good turn out,” Heidi said.
With a no entry notice on the clubhouse, the members know there is still a big job ahead. Weeks after the January flood, little fish were still being found in the window tracks at Tantitha.
east bundaberg
On Jan 31, members arrived to a find a toxic slurry on their greens accompanied by an unbearable stink. “It seems incredible but we had to turn the sprinklers on to flood the greens again to get rid of the mud and crust,” said the club’s new treasurer Len Bauer.
“And the stink, I’ll never forget the stink.”
A week and a half after the floods, club secretary Bruce Gill was still jubilant the members had found green grass when they washed off the silt.
“We were lucky we only had about a centimetre of silt, the netball courts and the cricket club had, I don’t know how much, but it looked like 15cm,” Bruce said. “It was more rain water and backwater that got to us, not so much flood water.
“Our biggest problem was getting power again, we’re located at a sports club and the buildings aren’t ours to repair.
Len and Bruce sung the praises of a team from the Electrical Trades Union 8 | queensland bowler
It wasn’t only East Bundaberg’s green that was covered in muddy water...all the club’s green keeping equipment got ruined too. who arrived on site on February 19 and turned on the power so cleaning, machinery checks and restoration could begin in earnest. “I’ve never seen anything like it, they came up for three days and sweated, getting the electricity on so we could mow the greens and get the high pressure cleaners going to clean things,” Len said.
“They had a budget for part and as long as they didn’t go over it, they worked non-stop to help us out, nothing was too much trouble.”
The East Bundaberg boys were hoping to have their first game on March 3 but with a further 200mm of rain pelting down this week, their return to play will be delayed for a bit longer. Len said the hardest thing for volunteer executives in flooded clubs was all the paperwork. “We’ve got about 65 members and most are on the older end of the age scale,” Len said.
“I agreed to do treasurer to bank the money and sign a few cheques, not generate insurance claims, grants applications and find money from nowhere for outlays when we have no money coming in, it’s very stressful and very frustrating.” Bundaberg Bowls Club, nearest to Tantitha, was not flooded but it came close.
bundaberg
Treasurer Carol Marcinkus said the water lapped about 30cm below the top of a concrete wall holding back the river from flooding the Bundaberg greens.
“We had storm damage to our green shades and awnings and leakages in the clubhouse with machinery affected, including a sweeper and a driller,” Carol said. “The worst thing is the drainage for the greens has been blocked up and needs to be cleared.”
The Burnett River in flood swept away all that was precious about low lying Mundubbera Bowls Club and the club’s get up and go, got up and went.
mundubbera
“We’re not insured and we haven’t got the money or manpower to rebuild,” a devastated chairman Harold Linsket said. With no insurance and an aging membership base, it’s unlikely the tiny bowls club at Mundubbera, cradle of Queensland champ Kurt Brown, will recover. “Everything’s gone,” said Mundubbera women’s president Sally Buchanan. “The green itself is not too bad but the clubhouse will have to be demolished. “We’re on the river so I doubt we’d be allowed to build here again, it’s very sad.” The town has been talking about the possibility of putting a bowls green at the golf club, which is on higher ground. “The worst thing is with the bowls clubhouse gone, people have got nowhere to hold their weddings and funerals, we had lot of meetings and gatherings there,” Sally said. Nearby Gayndah and Binjour clubs were spared. “Terrible what happened at Mundubbera,” Gayndah Bowls Club secretary Alan Cooper said. Continued page 10 ► v36/6
Three bowls clubs on the same stretch of road and on the same river, one flooded, two spared.
Maryborogh
Maryborough and Doonbilla Bowls Clubs came through the January floods without a dunking but a nervous post by top district bowler Anthony Williams indicated Services Memorial on low lying land on the main street opposite Woolworths would not so fortunate.
“Greens more than a metre under… club house expected to go tonight or tomorrow…” Anthony posted late on January 27.
A month later, on February 28, Anthony’s sister and Services Memorial Maryborough club treasurer Fiona Williams was again holding a nervous watch, along with the rest of the town, to see how high the river would rise in the latest February downpours. “We’re hoping we’ll be right this time, it’s expected to peak at 8.5m and our greens are at 9.25m, “ Fiona said.
“Last time the floods went to 10.8m so we lost the greens and everything under the clubhouse but the water didn’t get inside, it was about 20cm below the floorboards. “Unless it goes to 11m this time, we’ll be right.”
Flood-weary residents of the Fraser coast are quickly learning their critical numbers after the experiences of January 2011 and the first two months of 2013. They know exactly how high the river has to go for them to be in danger.
It took Services Memorial Maryborough less than two weeks to get is grass green rolling again and its artificial green was fixed last week, less than a month later.
Albert BC flooded for second time in two years
Gympie’s Kandanga club is another Facebook-savvy club which found comfort and support online before, during and after the floods.
Kandanga
On January 27 at 9.47pm Australian player Brett Wilkie posted: “Wow, sorry to see this, the bowls community needs to support any clubs affected by this tragedy.” On January 28 at 12.33am, Aaron Zang from the USA clicked `LIKE’ on the Kandanga Facebook page with the comment: “I clicked that I ‘Like’ this but I really don’t ‘like’… Looks like a major tragedy. Good luck rebuilding and let Bowls USA know what we can do to help.” Kandanga board treasurer Julie Worth said the club’s Facebook page well reflected their flood journey. “We’ve been through this eight or nine times since 1974,” Julie said. “We were back in operation again within three days, thanks to a massive effort by lots of hard working volunteers.”
“We’re missing lots of little things, carpet in the clubhouse, fences, one rink is out, motors have seized but we’re really happy to be bowling again.” “And we’re very grateful to all who helped out.” Some say the smell isn’t great at The Albert BC on the Mary River in Gympie but treasurer Ricky Wadrop says at least they’re able to use the clubhouse and greens while they’re trying to work out how to fix things up properly.
Albert
“The river goes up and down so fast here, the greens drain pretty quickly although we’re getting some strange weeds coming up,” Ricky said. “The water was a metre high in the clubhouse and the members got in and gave it a good clean but it needs to be done properly. “90 per cent of us are pensioners and we were back on the greens a week later even though some people say it still doesn’t smell too good around here.”
Woolworths across the road from Services Memorial wasn’t so fortunate, expected to be closed for at least four months for refurbishment.
Fiona said even if the club could afford flood insurance, it wouldn’t get it because it’s in a flood zone.
Unlucky No. 3...Doonbilla and Maryborough unscath, but Maryborough Services hit hard 10 | queensland bowler
Kandanga Bowls Club goes under v36/6
Opinion
Sections saga stumbles on They have no authority, make no decisions, use up thousands of dollar of bowlers’ affiliation fees each and every year...funds that could otherwise be directed into developing the sport...and it’s almost impossible to get volunteers to fill their positions, yet Bowls Queensland council members, jostled by a handful of district delegates, simply refuse to let go of the BQ Section Executives.
As a result we are once again in the farcical position where, heading into this month’s AGM and annual elections, practically no-one has nominated for section executive positions.
Luckily the incumbents have put their hands up once again, with the current men’s president and vice-president deciding to run (unopposed). However, rather than let things get stale, they’ve decided to mix it up a bit, swapping jobs, so last year’s VP will now be president, while the 2012 president will accept a demotion to VP.
All the decisions made by BQ’s committees must come to the board for approval anyway Why do we need the middlemen? Maybe its time we stopped flogging the horse...I think he died a long time ago.
Council Delegate
Wayne Griffin Editor
ss sW ro N AcD & L Q
For years the BQ board has been asking council members to abolish the redundant section executives, but district delegates (representing their clubs and bowling members) have refused.
Nonsense....the section executives are just as relevant today...I’ll happily shout down anyone who disagrees
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But don’t worry, I have it on good authority he’ll be back in the top job next year! Meanwhile there is just one nomination for two positions in the women’s section.
As a result the board will be forced to go in search of a candidate willing to fill the ladies’ VP job. Where most sports elect the best person for the job, we’re once again in the unenviable position of having to elect the only person willing to do the job.
And why? The section executive make no decisions anyway and have no authority. They are unnecessary middlemen between the committees and the board. I understand that sections are necessary in clubs, where the board must oversee the commercial side of the business. But the only business of Bowls Queensland is bowls. ► v36/6
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queensland bowler | 11
Tongy takes out AO mixed pairs crown
Nathan Brett Murphy, Murphy, Kaye Kaye Freeman, Freeman, Nathan Appleton, Appleton, Brett Barry Lynne, Forster, Jones. BarryJoy Lynne, JoyBruce Forster, Bruce Jones.
He talks the talk, now he’s proved he can walk the walk.
Bowls Queensland development officer Steve Tong’s job is to advise Queensland bowls clubs on how to attract new members and keep existing players in the sport with tactics to increase their enjoyment and satisfaction. Now he’s got an Australian Open title to boast about when he’s next out on those facilitation visits!
Tong, from Hamilton BC in Brisbane’s inner north, teamed up with Pine Rivers Pirate Faye Clarke to sweep all before them at the 2013 Australian Open at Darebin in Victoria. “It helped that I took two weeks off to get some practise in before the championships,” Tong said.
“There are four greens down there and they’re all different, the rinks are different, and it was great having the extra time to work on my delivery.” Tong followed up a respectable top 32 finish in the Singles with gold medal triumph in the Mixed Pairs.
“Faye is easy to play with and we’re used to each other, we only dropped one set in the tournament,” Tong said. In the semi-final, Tong and Clarke proudly collected the scalps of celebrated Australian players Claire (nee Duke) and Wayne Turley from NSW.
In the final, they showed no mercy against Club Helensvale dynamic duo Amanda Haevecker and Rohan Wilson, winning 9-7, 10-3, to bring home an Australian Open gold medal and a nice winner’s cheque. “Maybe we concentrated that little bit harder, playing against another Queensland team, we know each other and how we play,” Tong said. “Both Faye and I couldn’t be happier with the result!” It was Tong’s first Australian Open appearance.
The 33-year-old said his goal was to continue to improve his game and hope to one day press for Queensland selection. Steven Tong and Faye Clarke
Impressive Medal haul Queensland’s disabled bowlers take two gold and two silver during impressive AO Queensland bowlers with a disability have won a handsome share of the silverware in the Southern Hemisphere’s most lucrative lawns bowls event, taking home four medals at the 2013 Australia Open. The round-robin tournament saw athletes compete in men’s and women’s singles disciplines across categories for vision impaired, hearing impaired, and bowlers with a physical or intellectual disability.
Dalby young gun Nathan Appleton had a brilliant campaign in the AUSRAPID draw (Lifestream category), winning the gold medal in straight sets 10-5, 7-5 in a powerhouse demonstration against South Australia’s Michael Lowrie. In the women’s draw, 2012 runner-up Kaye Freeman got her own back against last year’s gold medallist Joanna Lomagno from Victoria.
The Queenslander from Brisbane bayside club, Cleveland, beat Lomagno 10-8, 12-1 in a decisive reversal of last year’s finishing order. In the Blind Bowls (ABBA) final, 10-time Australian Open champ Joy Forster from Chermside (Brisbane) was outplayed 7-1, 7-4 and had no choice but to hand over the crown to South Australia’s Kath Murrell.
Murrell from Elizabeth BC (Adelaide) is also a worthy poster-girl for blind bowls, with more than 30 Blind Bowler titles to her name. Photo courtesy of Bowls Australia
12 | queensland bowler
In the men’s ABBA category, Tuggeranong Valley’s Craig Newbery proved too strong for last year’s runner-up Andrew Ness, reigning supreme in the final 6-6, 7-3.
In the AAWD category (including Sporting Wheelies), Murgon’s Silvia Hiltunen was a casualty to eventual gold medallist Wendy Odgers, who went on to win the final against 2011 World Women’s Pairs champion Carolyn Nelson 11-1, 7-2. The Brighton star was undefeated during the tournament, which meant Hiltunen’s score 5-10, 7-7 against Odgers was respectable. In the men’s AAWD category, James Reynolds had a tight tussle against Angaston Bowling Club’s Liam Buckley in the men’s final, with the 2002 Commonwealth Games EAD triples bronze medallist prevailing when the game was on the line in the tie-break 6-7, 10-5, 4-1. In the men’s Deaf Bowls (DSA) category, Queenslander Barry Lynne was unlucky to lose the gold medal to Kangaroo Flat’s Robert Morrall by the smallest of margins in the final 7-6, 2-11, 4-3. Sadly, due to insufficient nominations, Mooloolaba’s Gail Dellar was unable to defend her 2012 Australian Open women’s crown, with the category pulled at the eleventh hour. Queensland State Development Manager Brett Murphy accompanied Queensland’s multi disability bowlers to the Australian Open at Darebin (Victoria). He said the standard of play was very high, a good omen for the upcoming 2013 Bowls Multi-Disability National Championships, to be held at Chermside BC from June 11-15. v36/6
Kelsey Cottrell and Lynsey Armitage Photo courtesy of Bowls Australia
Sue McKenzie and Christina Pavlov
Broadbeach gals pick up Over-60s Pairs
Perfect Combination Cottrell and Armitage combine youth and experience to grab Australian Open glory It was off a camel and on to the bowls green for Kelsey Cottrell at the 2013 Australian Open, but paired with Australian teammate Lynsey Armitage, Cottrell knew she was in with a chance. “I’ve been overseas for the past seven weeks on a round-the-world ticket, Egypt was my favourite place,” Cottrell said. “Flying home only four days before the Australian Open, I was really excited to be playing again and seeing all my friends.” It might sound strange to call Cottrell and Armitage “old hands’’ at the young ages of 22 and 29, but their play was safe and steady as houses throughout their Australian Open Pairs campaign. “There were a few close ones on the way to the final and the final probably wasn’t our best game, but we did what we had to do,” Cottrell said.
“Things come easily and naturally with Lyns, we’ve both got heaps of experience and it was enjoyable not stressful. “We thought we’d have a good chance together and most important, we never seem to go “off” at the same time.”
Australian rep Lisa Phillips, 19, continued her sensational roll at this year’s $136,000 Aus Open, capturing both the Women’s Singles crown and the triples title along with former U-25 world champion Samantha Shannahan and fellow Jackaroo Claire Turley.
Phillips is the first woman to win two Australian Open singles titles, first against Shannahan in v36/6
In the final, Cottrell and Armitage beat Club Kawana’s Carol Williams and Jane Bush 11-8, 12-2. It made up for their disappointment at being unable to defend their third back-to-back Australian Open Triples title, being bundled out in the first round this year.
Cottrell is a previous Australian Open Singles winner, in 2009, but this year she was gone in the third round. Her next big tournament is the TransTasman in New Zealand later this month, where she is hoping for more gold in the team events, after her gold medal winning performance in the Pairs at the 2012 World Championships in Adelaide. Cottrell has to be one of the busiest 22-year-old world champions in the game, playing for St John’s Park (NSW), living at the Gold Coast within 10 minutes of great mate and training partner Armitage, full time at university in the final year of a journalism and sports management degree, working behind the bar at Broadbeach Bowls Club on uni holidays, and visiting her family at Coolum on the Sunshine Coast when time permits.
Steely nerves through a number of tiebreaks saw Queensland state players Sue McKenzie and Christina Pavlov win the inaugural Over 60s Women’s Pairs competition at the 2013 Australian Open, 11-3, 3-10, 5-1.
In a tough field, which included former Scottish Commonwealth Games bowler Joyce Lindores, the dynamic duo from Broadbeach landed themselves a grand final berth against Victorian rep Mary-Anne Spizer and Jersey World Championships rep Christine Grimes. “You have to be mentally tough, it’s like a shoot-out, you have to go in fully charged and ready to go,” Pavlov said.
The Broadbeach duo raced out to an 11-3 win in the opening set, but the tide turned against them in set two, with Spizer and Grimes grabbing the momentum with a 10-3 win.
Once it went to tiebreak, the Queenslanders knew they were in with a chance. They’d already proved themselves in a handful of tiebreaks on the way to the final.
“That’s what I mean by mentally tough, you know you have to get your first bowl on the jack and follow it up with another good one,” Pavlov said. “We played three or four tiebreak games on the way to the final and we stay strong!”
The Broadbeach girls were ruthless in the tiebreak, storming ahead for a 5-1 win to claim the inaugural over-60s pairs title. “We’re just thrilled to come away with the title,” Pavlov said.
Locals dominate Australian Open titles 2011 and against world number two Karen Murphy this year. Queensland star Lynsey Armitage beat Phillips into second place last year. Victoria also claimed the $18,000 Men’s Singles crown, with Aaron Wilson, 21, winning
his maiden national title against West Australian teen sensation Matthew Ayres, 17. The golden run continued for Victoria in the Men’s Open Pairs, Dylan Fisher, 19, realising a childhood dream when he beat Russell Green Jnr in an allVictorian final.
The Men’s Triples final was a battle between two NSW clubs, with Huskisson’s Tony Crammond, Dave Caldwell and Peter Bobrige defeating a Merrylands trio Michael O’Loughlin, Zeljko Trbara and Neil Burkett. queensland bowler | 13
Ruddy rolls up at
Photo: Stu Taylor
Coorparoo Kevin Rudd drew more than a crowd last month, with former PM showing off his bowling ability during a barefoot bowls event at Coorparoo Bowls Club.
Rudd invited all of the 18-24 year olds in his electorate in Brisbane’s inner east to the club for an afternoon of on-green antics. With more than 150 people turning up, it was massive success for Coorparoo and certainly made the club the centre of local attention.
The former PM said barefoot bowls was an obvious choice for his event, which was about meeting the young people of his electorate. “Young people love it,” he said.
With a hectic schedule that does not allow for much leisure time, Rudd has never had the opportunity to play bowls seriously, but said the role of bowls clubs in communities is vital.
“The whole idea was to use bowls as it’s always been used in the past, which is to bring communities together,” he said. “It’s a great sport and it’s always lots of fun to be in.”
Plenty of Rudd’s local constituents attended the afternoon, including first time bowler Katie Phelan, 23, from Greenslopes.
“It’s a pretty cool idea to do a barefoot bowls day,” Phelan said.
It wasn’t just first timers that rolled up on the day, though. Twenty-four year old Stevie Cooper, also from Greenslopes, said the combination of Ruddy and bowls was a match made in heaven. “I love Kevin and I love bowls, so I knew this would be good fun,” Cooper said. “It’s a great way to spend an afternoon.” 14 | queensland bowler
Coorparoo club secretary Robyn McGilvery hopes that once the lure of Rudd disappears, those young people who attended the afternoon would keep coming back. “We hope that in the first instance, they’ll like the actual game. Secondly, we hope they see how friendly this club is and that they are always welcome,” she said.
McGilvery said Rudd’s barefoot bowls day, the largest single event to be held at the club in recent years, was a valuable PR exercise for Coorparoo. “It is great exposure for us. We were quite pleased when we found out about it because Kevin’s a great supporter of all the local clubs.” Following the success of the
Coorparoo event, Rudd said he would definitely consider having more barefoot bowls afternoons throughout the year, in the lead up to the September 14 federal election. Pictured: Former PM Kevin Rudd, celebrating a top bowl, is cheered on by locals in his electorate during a barefoot bowls event at Brisbane’s Coorparoo Bowls Club.
Love & Lawn Bowls A chance pairing of bowls and romance was a huge success for Caloundra Bowls Club. On February 9, more than 80 single men and women took part in a fun combination of lawn bowls and speed dating “in the hope of finding a special Valentine”.
Hopefuls were paired up for approximately five minutes, to bowl two ends, with the idea of getting to know each other a little better. At the sound of a bell, they moved on to their next partner.
Club administrator Anne Maree Jenner said the day was a huge success.
“We had more women than men, but there was a young guy aged 18, others in their 20s and most in their 30s and 40s, only a handful aged over 60,” Ms Jenner said. She said it was a very social day with plenty of laughs.
The club will consider doing it again around St Valentine’s Day next year.
Farewell Beth She’ll be juggling balls instead of bowls!
Graduate journalist Beth Newman leaves the Bowler team this month.
Beth has worked two days a week for the past 18 months covering your bowls events. She’s been an especially dedicated presence for BQ on Facebook and Twitter and most recently, took responsibility for editing the bi-monthly Junior Bowler.
Beth has now finished her uni degree and will work full time as a community sports writer for the AFL in Queensland (AFLQ). Pictured: Beth Newman interviews former PM Kevin Rudd during his barefoot bowls event at Coorparoo Bowls Club recently.
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queensland bowler | 25
Never too you
Sunnybank clubmates Jack Taylor and Bob Hodby
ung for bowls or old
Who said bowls was a sport for the elderly? At Sunnybank, preconceived ideas have been thrown out the window with young bowlers like Jack Taylor mixing it up on the greens with old hands like Bob Hodby. Jack, 9, is a Year 4 student at Our Lady of Lourdes at Sunnybank.
He likes all sports and he has become the pride of the club since he started coming to bowls at the age of four with his grandfather “Poppy” Neil Christopher. “The whole club’s proud of Jack, he’s a lovely boy, very polite and well spoken and he loves his bowls too,” club president Ed Hooker said. “Bob’s at the other end of his playing career but he’s a remarkable player for his age too, still very competitive.
“When we saw these two out on the green together the other day, we just had to take a photo.”
As a pre-schooler, Jack got to know bowls as a friendly game because he always got a pink lemonade after “Poppy Neil” played. He started to roll up with Poppy using indoor bowls until last year, he convinced his dad to buy him a set of blue Drake’s Pride size 0s with a dog motif, in honour of his beloved labrador pup Biskit.
Jack and grandad Neil “Poppy” Christopher
Sunnybank Bowls Club. Bob plays on Tuesdays and in Sunday’s Jackpot Pairs competition, where he usually sees Jack and Poppy Neil. “Playing bowls at 86 is great, it gets me out of the house and keeps me active,” Bob said. Poppy Neil says Jack turned out to be a “natural” at bowls. “He can play an up-shot and drive all day long and he gets a big smile on his face if he has to smack someone’s bowl out of the way,” Neil said. The old hands have learnt something too, having a youngster like Jack around the greens. “Lots of patience,” Poppy Neil joked.
“Jack’s been coming to us after school and he was doing alright with the indoor bowls but since he’s got his own set, he’s rocketed ahead,” Poppy Neil said. “We’ll enter him in the novice championships later this year and see how he goes.” Jack said his goal was to win the novice championship in a year or two. “I like playing bowls because it’s fun and you meet new people,” Jack said. Retired boilermaker Bob’s parents were foundation members of
BOONOOROO
Lovely Lillian
celebrates milestone In 30 years of bowls, Lillian Bruggy has charmed bowlers around the Sunshine Coast hinterland with her skills on the green, her enthusiasm as a club volunteer and her love of life and making friends.
Lillian recently celebrated her 90th birthday at Nambour Heights Bowls Club, where she was delighted to accept her milestone Matriarch’s badge at a surprise morning tea. Lillian is proud to say she has won a pennants’ flag at three bowls clubs, Nambour,
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Fraser Coast club a big hit with local wildlife When Boonooroo Bowls Club finished its recent green renovations, little did they know that the local fauna would love it as much as the bowlers. Woombye and Nambour Heights, including being part of the winning 2012 Nambour Heights/Woombye Division 5 pennants team.
Nambour Heights club secretary Pat Irwin said Lillian was a real bowls character, a “treasure”, contributing over the years as president and games director and both club and district levels.
Since restoring the greens, which were ravaged by storm water in the 2011 Queensland floods, the Fraser Coast club has received early-morning visits from the community’s kangaroo population.
Club secretary Carmel Cavanagh said the synthetic greens were a popular meeting spot for the roos, but they would soon need to find another place to hang out. “The kangaroos have been coming on to the green and just lazing around or having a little boxing match,” said Cavanagh. Even with the green being synthetic, the moisture on the green in the early morning seems to be very popular with the kangaroos, so we now need a fence to keep our green from this sort of damage.”
queensland bowler | 19
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queensland bowler | 21
Drayton ladies celebrate 60
Drayton Bowls Club ladies’ section celebrated a glittering milestone last month, as the club hit its Diamond anniversary. More than 100 people visited the club for the commemoration, including BQ Section president, Bev Higgins.
Ruby Volker, who has been a member since 1954, was also there to help ring in the milestone. Guests received a unique souvenir book detailing the history of the ladies section.
Attention Bowls Club Committee members:
Are your electricity bills forever increasing and getting out of hand? Would you rather spend your club`s money on improvements instead of paying for power bills? Then Uni-Industries has the solution. Uni-Industries has released a new product designed specifically to reduce the ever increasing electricity costs of bowls clubs.
Chris sweeps four club titles
With the buying power that Uni-Industries has in the solar industry, we can now supply and install large scale PV solar systems for unbeatable prices. And we are using the best quality German made panels and German or Austrian made inverters. Solar power is now cheaper than buying your electricity from the grid. The system will pay itself off over an average of 4 years. That means no extra monthly payments to pay the system off, the monthly savings from your power bill will pay the system off for you!!
Congratulations Chris Kiernan from Elliott Heads, proud winner of the club’s singles, pairs, triples and fours championships in 2012. Over 35 years at the club, Chris has won dozens of club titles, including 13 singles championships, as well as bowling at district shields and pennants.
Uni-Industries is a local family owned and operated business based on the north side of Brisbane. We have been established and trading as Electrical contractors for over 25 years. All of our installations are carried out by our own employees, not contract crews. This ensures your installation is done to our extremely high standards. The first step to greatly reducing your electricity bill is simple. Call Uni-Industries and arrange for Michael to visit your club for an obligation free site assessment. From here we will custom design a system that will suit your needs and budget. Michael will advise you what you can expect to produce and also save from your system. Uni-Industries can also help your members in reducing their ever increasing electricity costs at home too. We have a range of systems and products to suit everyone’s electricity bill and budget. So once again feel free to contact Uni-Industries for an obligation free assessment of your property and solar power requirements.
$3000.00 THURSDAY 25th APRIL 2013 2 GAMES OF 18 ENDS OR THE BELL 3 HOURS 1pm — 4 pm 5pm —- 8pm AUSSIE B-B-Q 4 — 5
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2 Points per win plus ends. If scores are tied for first place a three end tie breaker will be played. NOMINATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 23/04/13 Bowls Office 07 3208 4366 Email logancitybowls@bigpond.com Cheques to Logan City Rec & Sporting Club
22 | queensland bowler
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Nifty 90s
Qld past presidents, from left, Rod Meares, Arthur Richards, John Kennedy, Peter Moar, Brian Ellery, George Cox, Allan Currey, Brian Wenck, John Robinson, Alf West, Ivor Boon.
not too old for bowls
Most athletes are well past their prime at 90, but Tweed Heads’ bowlers are showing that age is just a number.
The club currently has eight active bowlers over 90, the largest group it has ever had.
All of the bowlers cited different reasons for their long time involvement in bowls, but each had a common enjoyment for the sport.
All the presidents’ men They are instantly recognisable in their smart white polos with name and district prominently displayed in sharp maroon lettering. That’s about all it costs to become a member of the State Past Presidents Association, the price of a polo.
They meet every two months and bring a wealth of experience to the state bowls landscape, usually having served the sport in many capacities including the role of president, not only at club level but often at district and state level as well. All former club presidents are
Hervey Bay Bowls Club Inc. May Weekend - Sat 4th and Sun 5th May 2013
“ $5,000 CLASSIC MEN’S PAIRS ” WINNERS $1700 - 2ND $900 - 3RD $750 - 4TH $500 5TH $400 - 6TH $300 - 7TH $250 - 8TH $200 First 46 teams NOMINATED AND FEES PAID will be accepted. Deposit of $80 to accompany the nomination (full fee $160). NB: Withdrawals not notified before April 29 forfeit deposit. Fees include lunch and afternoon tea on Saturday and Sunday
CONDITIONS OF PLAY
Starting times 9am - Sat. 8.15am Sun. 6 games of 15 ends, each 2 hours 20 minutes or the bell 3 games Saturday and Sunday - Re-play dead ends ie: NO spotting jack.
SCORING
Win 2 points - Draw 1 point - Loss 0 points ie: WIN POINTS - PLUS OR MINUS NET GAME MARGINS. Games played under BA rules and under the full control of the Carnival Committee. All committee decisions will be final.
CONTACT
Hervey Bay Bowls Club Carnival Committee PO Box 5024, Torquay Qld 4655 - Ph: 07 4129 1093 President Rod - 4194 0333 Secretary Nev 4194 2782 24 | queensland bowler
encouraged to join their state past presidents’ association and take part in the annual past presidents’ bowls tournament, known as the `Friendship Carnival’. One year, it’s a state tournament, the following year, the past presidents go national.
It’s a chance for those who have given a lot to the sport to catch up and show each other who’s still got the best form on the green. This year, the Queensland past presidents will play a five day tournament in Townsville from May 12-17.
Last year’s tournament was a national one in Perth and next year’s tournament will go national again, at Ettalong Beach at Gosford north of Sydney. A wives’ bowls competition is run alongside the past presidents tournament and both men and women enjoy a lay day where they go on tours of the host town and surrounds. There’s a grand opening dinner and closing presentation dinner.
A team from Bundaberg, a four skipped by John See, won the 2010 national past presidents’ bowls competition, while a Rockhampton four won the 2011 state comp. The Queensland men didn’t do too well at last year’s national comp, but their wives placed a creditable third in the women’s event.
And there’s already plenty of friendly banter going on about who’ll take out this year’s title.
The eldest member of this exclusive group is 95-year-old Frank Birkin, a bowler for almost half his life and Tweed member since 1989. “I worked really hard for 17 years – doing two jobs, seven days a week, so I had my first retirement at 42, which is when I first took up bowls,” Birkin said. Tweed Heads men’s president, John Heath, was very proud of the large contingent of older members still active in bowls. ““It’s wonderful to see so many of our seniors still enjoying the game,” he said.
FREE... Sun spots, liver spots or age spots – call them what you will, they appear on most people at some stage.
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The Bowls Boys
a big hit at Mooloolaba Bowlers Paradise has found a new home at Mooloolaba Bowls Club and co-owner Paul Henricks could not be happier about it.
The shop moved from its previous Minyama base to its new location as part of the Sunny Coast club’s major renovations. Since opening on February 1, the new shop has experienced incredible demand, Henricks said.
“The members love it. We have been exceptionally busy since we opened.”
Henricks said a bowls club was the best spot for a bowls shop, and he predicted that almost all shops would follow this model in years to come. “Previously people came in and we would give them one set at a time to try. We would have to send them away and then they’d come back and it could become a two or three week process,” he said. “Here, they can go straight out onto a rink and try three or four sets at once on the carpet. They can also try new sets rather than just a demo set,” he said.
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“Having a shop in a bowls club is the way of the future.”
When the Queensland Bowler visited the new shop, it had been open barely a week, but Henricks said it was already incredibly popular. “People are loving it,” he said.
It’s not just Bowlers Paradise that has benefits from the shift in location, Mooloolaba member Beth Taylor said.
“Having this has to help us, by bringing more people into the club too,” she said. “I love it. It’s really convenient, being right in the club.”
While the bowls shop has been moved, the old site will not disappear entirely, getting a new life as a safety and work wear store operated by Henricks’ business partner Tim Diedricks. Owners Kelly and Paul Henricks are delighted with their move to Mooloolaba Bowls Club. As are locals Di West and Beth Taylor, who visited the new shop to try on some hats.
queensland bowler | 25
Lotta love for Lesley It has been a whirlwind 12 months for Bowls Queensland state development officer Lesley Bates.
Coaches Jacqui Hineman and Ann White said the children were good learners, a tribute to their parents and Goodstart educators Kristy Wheadon and Carla Schultz, who accompanied them on their bowls investigation.
Employed on a fill-in contract, Lesley won hearts all over the state for her enthusiasm for the sport and eagerness to help. “It was an amazing experience,” Lesley said.
Now Lesley’s contract with BQ has come to an end, she has resumed a career in real estate at Harcourts Mitchelton, just down the road from BQ head office.
“I drove more than 28,000km doing ‘check ups’ at 130 clubs and using the BQ promo van at 40 schools, carnivals or fetes.” Lesley said another highlight of the job was assisting presenters and assessors with the coaches’ accreditation process, which. One of Lesley’s last jobs for Bowls Queensland was assisting at a promotions day at Glasshouse Mountains Bowls Club.
They start ‘em young there, with some very well behaved boys from Goodstart Early Learning Centre, Glass House Mountains, keen to learn about the sport. President Jim Tatum said children were a great way to spread the word and make a community feel welcome at the club.
Pictured above with Lesley at Glasshouse Mountains Bowls Club, back row, Adam Cowland, Rex Taylor, club coaches Jacqui Hineman and Ann White, Riley Schultz, club president Jim Taturm, front row, Levi Cherry, Levi Boardman, Quinn Smoothy, Max Cashin, James Cowland.
Bowlers save big Nundah Mitsubishi with
Before saying goodbye to Bowls Queensland last month, Lesley took full advantage of the outstanding deals for bowlers at Australia’s top mitsubishi delader, Nundah Mitsubishi. A long time supporter of lawn bowls in Queensland, Nundah Mitsubishi has an excellent range of of new cars with all the bells and whistles for under $20,000 drive away. Lesley was looking for a smart and economical new car to resume a career in real estate.
She had seen the Nundah Mitsubishi ads in Queensland Bowler magazine encouraging bowlers to declare themselves for an extra good deal and she decided to take advantage. On the advice of sales manager Lewis Proctor, Lesley ordered an new electric blue Mitsubishi Mirage, due to roll off the production line in January 2013.
“The first run of Mitsubishi Mirage from 1996 to 2003 was extremely popular because of its super reliability and economy,” Proctor said. “Mitsubishi decided to emulate the success of that model and continue the strong heritage by naming the successor ‘Mirage’ in its honour. “It’s unbelievable value with a base model available on road for just $12,990 drive-away.
“It’s feature-packed and economical, a really nice car to drive, with a price tag to suit most budgets.” Proctor said the base model was an excellent choice as a cheap, safe, reliable first car or a runabout for a driver of any age. 26 | queensland bowler
Nundah Mitsubishi sales manager Lewis Proctor was able to give Lesley a really good deal because she’s a bowler. Lesley chose every upgrade possible on her new Mitsubishi Mirage and was delighted with a total cost of less than $20k. “It’s got a million handy features, excellent price and service, economical and I love the beautiful finishes, like dusk sensing headlights and sensor windscreen wipers and smart key, I get started with the push of a button,” Lesley said. Lewis can be contacted at Nundah Mitsubishi on (07) 3635 5111. v36/6
Dual Membership the pros and cons of
with
joan brotherton
This month guest columnist John Dawson, head of Bowls Queensland’s umpire committee, writes about the benefits and pitfalls of dual membership.
Pro
Having a number of players being members of more than one club can be a lifesaver for some country clubs.
In fact, without multiple memberships many Queensland clubs would simply cease to exist. There is also the obvious advantage for the really keen bowler in that they can compete in numerous championships. However, apart from the cost of belonging to more than one club, there is another price to pay! A dual member can only represent the club in the district Champion of Champions that they had declared for.
If you are a member of more than one club in Queensland, you must declare to the appropriate district which club you will represent in the event that you succeed in winning a club championship. This declaration must be made before the start of that competition. The state conditions of play for Champion of Champions stipulate that no member can represent more than one club in a bowling year.
The penalty is that if a dual member represents a club at the district Champion of Champions other than the club for which they declared, they and the club will be disqualified from all disciplines.
CON
proxy for a player, so it would be as though I was still playing in that team.
Here’s another scenario, remembering that I had declared for Tewantin-Noosa. Suppose that after entering the fours Club Championship at Deception Bay, I play one bowl in the first end of the first round. I then realise that if my team were to win the Club Championship they could not, with me as a member, go on to play in the district Champion of Champions. Too late…I had become a constituted member of that team and, as at that stage it is not possible to have a replacement player, the only option would be to have a substitute for me.
If that team then went on to win the club championship it would still have me included as part of that team, even though I had not contributed to the win.
This means that Deception Bay should not enter a team in the Fours in the Champion of Champions. As this club had not entered a defaulting team this would not stop them participating in these championships in the other disciplines, singles and pairs.
This disqualification applies to the club in all events, singles, pairs and fours, even if that player only competed in one discipline.
Sounds complicated? Not really, dual members can play championships at as many clubs as they are a member, but before the championship commences the dual member must have declared for just one club and that is the only one they can represent at District or State level for that bowling year.
I declare for Tewantin-Noosa and play in the singles championship losing in the first round.
I could not, for example, declare for singles at Tewantin-Noosa and the fours at Deception Bay.
To explain the situation more clearly, let’s say that I am a member of two clubs, Deception Bay in Brisbane North and Tewantin-Noosa in the Sunshine Coast.
I also play in the fours championship at my other club, Deception Bay, with more success and my team goes on to win.
Deception Bay, along with all other clubs in the district, enters teams into the district Champion of Champions in all disciplines, with me included in the fours.
As I had already declared for Tewantin-Noosa, my inclusion in the Deception Bay team at these championships was illegal and the club would be disqualified in all three disciplines, leaving them with no representation at all in the Champion of Champions. Could Deception Bay have excluded me from the district event and played a substitute instead? Sadly no! While eligible substitutes are allowed in the competition, a substitute is a v36/6
If I had omitted to declare for a club then the first club that I played for in any club championship in that bowling year becomes my declared club in all disciplines.
Some clubs, in an effort to make sure that they are not left without representation at the Champion of Champions, have made it a condition of membership that theirs is the only club that a member can declare for.
If dual membership is for you, then make sure that you are aware of the limitations both for yourself and the clubs that you intend being a member of.
If you play in any championship at any other than your declared club, you are preventing that club from being represented in Champion of Champions in that event should your team win.
Before joining more than one club you should also find out if they have any conditions regarding dual membership. queensland bowler | 27
Big Bowls Bash has your club signed up yet?
with
brett murphy
By now your club should have received a memo outlining the plan for a state-wide Come ‘n’ Try day for Lawn Bowls, to be held on Sunday, November 17, 2013. The memo outlined the ideas we have for running the day and also contained a registration form for clubs interested in participating on the day. The early response has been great, with eight clubs registering within the first week.
The idea of the day is to have a state-wide approach to attracting non-bowlers to our clubs to have a go. Hopefully the flow on from this will be increased membership for our clubs.
I have written previously about the need for clubs to attract non-bowlers through their doors, to show them what is on offer. This Come ‘n’ Try day is another opportunity for this to happen. While the details of the event are a long way from being finalised, I can give you all a brief outline of how we envisage the event running. Firstly, we are asking clubs to register so we know who is willing to have the non-bowling public at their club on this particular day.
We realise not every club will have greens available on that day, but hopefully we can get the majority of clubs involved.
The reason we are getting the clubs to register with us, is so we can direct the public to their nearest participating club.
In the past we have had instances where the general public have approached clubs to have a go, only to be turned away as the club doesn’t have barefoot bowls or doesn’t allow certain age groups to play or simply their greens are already being used. With the registration process we will ensure this doesn’t occur, thereby avoiding any adverse publicity from disgruntled potential barefoot bowlers.
28 | queensland bowler
At present we are putting together sponsorship packages to assist financially with a number of areas.
Clubs that register will be provided with posters, flyers, brochures later in the year, enabling them to advertise the event in their local community. The printing costs of these items will be one area we hope will be covered by the sponsorship. The biggest expense however, will be advertising the event to the general public state wide, this is where we will be governed by what funds we end up with.
They will also be able to distribute the brochures via letterbox drops in the local area. We will not be governing how clubs run their days, however we will send out some rough guidelines with regard to making the day fun. All we really ask is that clubs hold their day on the day we have chosen. It is entirely up to the clubs what time they hold the event, how much they charge, if anything, whether to do BBQ’s or sausage sizzles or whether to offer food at all. We will be available to all clubs to contact if they need to discuss the day and how they would like to run it.
The whole idea of the day is to show non-bowlers that bowling is a really fun and friendly passtime.... and hopefully attract some more members too!
Even something as simple as radio advertising is well over $10K, so you can imagine how expensive television and print media is. So we need to be smart with where and how we advertise the event.
As mentioned earlier, clubs will be able to promote the event within their local community using materials we will provide.
They will be able to put posters in their local business houses, caravan parks, tourist centres, government departments and schools.
The goal of the whole day is to get nonbowlers to the clubs to try the game, meet your members, see what your club is like and the services it offers and above all else, have some fun in a relaxed, friendly environment. We will be sending out a reminder memo with regard to registrations in April, as we would like clubs to register by the end of May so we can work out printing and costs. If your club hasn’t received a registration form, please call the development team at Bowls Queensland on (07) 3355 9988 or email sdm@bowlsqld.org.
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Checklist 2
The mighty Tweed Heads Bowls Club did a magnificent job hosting more than 200 bowlers and their supporters from around the state during Queensland’s State Pennant Finals in November 2012.
► When do you send your entry forms out?
► How many umpires do you require and do you have a roster set up.
In fact the Gold Coast club is internationally renowned in the bowling world for its first class events.
► Who is appointed to do results?
Here, Tweed Heads bowls coordinator Paul Girdler offers some tips for running a successful and profitable bowls tournament. In my experience there are some very important questions you must ask yourself when organising a bowls tournament. If you can answer these questions confidently, you are well on your way to hosting a top class event.
Checklist 1
► What type of event will your tournament be? Singles, pairs, triples, fours, mixed etc.
► When would you run your tournament? Weigh up between weekdays, weekends, twilight, etc. ► Would your tournament clash with any other tournaments around your district?
► What is the format and conditions of play. Is the tournament an open draw, knockout, sectional games with finals played, or game wins? ► How many games would you play per day? ► How do you determine your winners?
► Do you have sponsorship for this tournament? ► What meals do you supply?
► Do you sell raffles?
► Do you have the correct and enough scorecards? ► Do you use bowls stickers?
► Do you make up skips names to be displayed on scoreboards?
► What about car parking and security? ► Bowls storage?
► Do you require grandstands for spectators?
► Do you produce a bowls program for the tournament?
► How do you advertise your tournament…websites, word of mouth, post entry forms to specific bowlers, post entry forms to clubs, radio, etc?
► Are there any WHS issues you may need to take into con- sideration when running your tournament…for example, opening times of your club, or even signing into your club. ► How will you present the results and updates? Handwritten whiteboard, printed sheets pinned to the notice board, projector using Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, etc. ► Who checks the checker? Very Important! ► Who opens and closes your tournament?
► What is the prize money and how will this be split up?
► What guests do you invite?
► What are the entry fees?
► Who presents the prizes?
► How many entries will you take?
► What contingences do you have if there is inclement weather?
► How many greens/rinks do you have available? ► What is the dress code?
► Where do you display your updated results other than at your club? Eg: Contact the local radio, use a website and inform local newspapers and television crews.
► Who is your main contact about your tournament, and are they easily accessible by phone/email? ► What are your payment methods? Cheque, credit cards, eftpos, online booking, etc. ► Does everyone in your club know about the tournament?
► What is your budget and what benefits does the club get out of running this tournament?
► If people are travelling distances to attend your tournament, do you have accommodation deals with local motels or would some members billet players/teams? Once these questions have been answered you can start preparing your tournament. The next step is working out how you will present the tournament and what help you need? Now you can move onto checklist 2 ► v36/6
► How many volunteers do you require, who can you rely on and will a roster work?
► Do you supply player shirts?
► How much support will you have from your club members?
► What information is required to go on the entry form, keeping in mind it needs to be easy to read?
► Water and Suntan lotion?
► Do you need markers?
► Who is the tournament targeted at?
► Have you informed your men’s and ladies’ clubs, and the district of the tournament?
► Do you have a local photographer?
► If you run the same tournament the following year, don’t forget to inform the current players, so get their contact details.
Once all of these items are considered, you are ready for your tournament. Always ask yourself what’s the point of difference between your tournament and other tournaments you may have played in.
Make sure all teams feel welcome at your club and try to create an atmosphere that everyone will enjoy. Attention to detail makes the difference between just another tournament and a successful tournament.
Over the years of running events, these are the questions I ask myself. There are always things you can do better and fine tune and we all learn from our experiences. Plenty of clubs run successful tournaments each year for all levels of bowlers to enjoy. Best of luck with your next tournament.
Paul Girdler
queensland bowler | 29
THE REAL COST OF NEWSAGENT WILL KITs I see many televisions advertisements these days regarding making provision for one’s funeral.
Sometimes I think this is a little bit macabre, however the absolute importance of having a well thought out, well constructed and properly signed Will cannot be underestimated. In particular, do-it-yourself Will kits may not suffice to properly protect parties where other issues should be considered.
with
Curt schatz
The son did not see the document again until after the Will-maker died. There was evidence that the Will-maker had told a number of people that he had left various property to his children. This was consistent with what was set out in the Will kit.
Some years ago, our firm was successful in obtaining a Grant of Probate of an unsigned, undated, handwritten Will kit. This was the first in Queensland.
The Court accepted our submissions and found the Will kit to be a valid Will, which therefore excluded the Will-maker’s youngest child as a beneficiary.
If he or she did, then it is likely that the Court would accept the document as the person’s last Will.
The Public Trustee was acting as administrator of the estate and submitted to the Court that the Will kit should not be admitted to Probate and that a previous properly executed Will made by the Willmaker should be admitted to Probate.
That being the case, if a Will-maker wishes to change the terms of the document, they need to revoke the document and make a new Will. Unfortunately, this exercise has cost the estate thousands of dollars unnecessarily as a document, which could be a Will that is not properly executed, needs to be brought to the attention of the Court.
The problem was that the Will kit made no provision for the Will-maker’s youngest child, who was under the age of 18.
The Will-maker was a patient in the Prince Charles Hospital.
There was also evidence, however, that he had had discussions subsequent to filling out that document about making provision for his youngest child, who was not a beneficiary under the Will kit.
In the son’s presence, he wrote on the Will kit, but a nurse came to his bedside as he was writing on the document and he put the Will kit in a drawer beside his bed.
The Public Trustee submitted that the Court could not be satisfied that the Will kit embodied the full expression of the Willmaker’s testamentary wishes as it may be
His son bought a Will kit from a newsagent at his request and took it to him in hospital.
We submitted, however, that the document, on its face, was complete as all of the necessary elements for a valid Will were present, except that it had not been signed, dated nor witnessed, but the Testator intended the document to be his Will.
It is a matter of considering whether, at the appropriate time that the document was created, the Will-maker intended the document to operate as a Will.
Our firm was recently asked to represent potential beneficiaries under newsagent Will kit, which had been completed by a Willmaker, but not signed nor dated.
The circumstances surrounding the completion of the Will kit were not in issue.
that it needed further revision or thought in respect of a provision for the youngest child.
I cannot stress enough the need for everybody to consider and take a step of making an appropriate Will to ensure that your affairs are in order at the end of the day. I am assisted in this area by my Partner, Michael Klatt, who is an accredited specialist in relation to Wills and Estate Planning.
If you have any queries about making a Will, or a Deceased Estate, please feel free to contact Michael on (07) 3224 0370.
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
Level 21, Riverside Centre 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane Qld 4000 Telephone 07 3224 0230 cschatz@mullinslaw.com.au
v36/6
queensland bowler | 31
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v36/6
Welcome to the Queensland Bowler March edition of Henselite’s Spot the Jack competition. Simply put an X where you think the missing jack was located in this picture, fill in your details below and send this page to:
Queensland Bowler March Spot the Jack PO Box 476, Alderley 4051 The first correct entry drawn will receive a free set of Henselite bowls. Winners can choose from a selection of bowls, colours and sizes. Name........................................................................ Address.................................................................... ................................................................................. State........................................Postcode.................. Entries must be received by March 31. Winner will be announced in the May issue. Multiple entries allowed. Original entry forms only, no photocopies accepted.
Daytime telephone.................................................... *email........................................................................
This month’s winner Congratulations to: Janice Mewett from Woodgate Beach You will receive a free set of Henselite bowls of your choice from a selection of bowls, colours and sizes. * By supplying your email address you agree to receive a copy of the next Henselite eNewsletter containing details of discounts, specials, new products and bowls information. You can unsubscribe at any time.
v36/6
queensland bowler | 33
Etiquette A club member recently approached me and asked whether coaches still teach game etiquette to new bowlers. She referred me to a very good article on the Fred Fern Bowls Centre website, www.fredfern.com.
After reading it I realised we really don’t spend enough time on the subject of etiquette.
I have used the article as a basis for this column, so my thanks to Fred Fern Bowls Centre. What is Etiquette?
Etiquette is a code of behaviour whereby individuals treat others in the way they themselves expect to be treated. Breaches of etiquette can be wilful or inadvertent and care must be taken to not over react to breaches, as the reaction can be more objectionable the original transgression. Club coaches should spend time explaining the layout of the green, emphasising safety aspects, but also the fragile areas of the green such as the plinth and why sitting on the bank should be avoided, why dumping of bowls can cause major damage, so the necessity to deliver the bowl as close to the ground as possible should be the aim.
Of course, when not directly involved in the game (as player or director of the head) players should always attempt to stay on the bank to avoid wear and tear around the T area…always the areas which have the most wear. Coaches should emphasise the need for punctuality at all games and for being properly attired for the event being played.
Recently I was amazed to see a player turn up for a match just five minutes before kick off and wearing mufti for an inter-club match.
with
Mick Cherry
Apparently he didn’t know he had to wear uniform (he’s only been bowling for 25 years).
A player’s first game should be with the member who nominated them and the coach, this way there is a safety net to ensure that no breaches of rules or etiquette are made and everybody can enjoy the game.
Of course if everybody knows it’s the player’s first game then they should be a little tolerant of the fact that minor breaches may occur…a small word in the coaches ear (not to the player) and any minor problem can be rectified with little fuss.
It is important to introduce everybody to each other before the games start and for everybody to share the job of kicking bowls at the completion of the end. Leads should hand the mat and jack to their opposition at the first end as a courtesy and all players should, throughout the match, acknowledge displays of exceptional skill by any player on their rink, regardless of which team makes them. Flukes happen in all games and should be treated lightly, a player should never applaud a bad bowl or a fluke result if it goes your way (even though you may be jumping for joy inside) or complain too loudly if it doesn’t. I always love the comment “didn’t see it like that”.
Far too many players leave the confines of their own rink to watch a bowl finish, there is absolutely no need to do so and it may be necessary to gently remind players who constantly do so to stay in their own playing area, as it is very annoying when you are on the mat waiting to play. But again, don’t over react. Loud conversations or excessive movement should be avoided when a player is on
For all the best news, views and comps make sure you get your copy of the
the mat and it is plain common courtesy to be ready to play your bowl when it is your turn. Players should not leave the playing area during a match without letting someone know, and only for genuine reasons. Phones should be on silent unless unavoidable and under no circumstances should a player be on the mat with a phone to their ear whilst playing. Spectators should always take on a bipartisan approach and show their appreciation of good bowls regardless of the player. Even though they are there supporting one team or the other it will make the game much more enjoyable to both teams to know their audience recognises exceptional displays of talent. At the end of the game, regardless of result, players should shake hands and the graceful losers should congratulate the modest winners. Equipment used should be returned to the correct place and sunshades should be stored correctly. Finally, immediately after the match opponents should sit with each other and the winners normally would buy the first drink. If it was a game of singles, the marker should be included and players should each purchase a drink for him/her. I’m sure there are many more points of etiquette to be considered and the list could go on, but the main thing to remember is as stated at the beginning, treat players the way you would like to be treated and that should overcome most problems.
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34 | queensland bowler
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