MAY 2024

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Letter to BQ

We were glad to receive this letter from Monica Rothwell, who informed us of the connection between cousins playing on opposing sides at the ANZAC Test Series. Read more about this event on pages 8-12 of this issue.

To Bowls Queensland,

I just wanted to touch base and let you know how special this year’s ANZAC test series will be for our family. I wasn’t sure if you knew that Olivia has spent her entire life within the military community.

Her grandfather is a veteran of the Canadian Army, and her dad is a current serving member of the Australian Defence Force. But, what makes this year special is that Julian Richards, who is in the Navy and representing the ADF this year, is also her cousin!

When our families were posted in the NT together, Julian was the one who first invited Olivia to have a go at bowls. Much to his dismay as he is now unable to beat her in a singles match!

This is the first time they will be playing against each other at this level. We will certainly be attending with other family members to take pictures, and watch the challenges. We are expecting great camaraderie and serious competition.

I know that both Olivia and Julian are deeply honoured to be selected for this test. It means a substantial amount to them, to represent the military, the state, the ANZACs, and what they stand for. But I don’t think either of them would express how important this is for them.

In kind regards, Monica Rothwell

PETER WILLIAMSON’S

Peter Williamson has resigned his position as President of Bowls Queensland effective as of the April Board meeting.

Peter was elected to the position in 2016 and was awarded the BQ Distinguished Service Member Award in 2021 and BQ Life Membership in 2023 in recognition of his services.

There have been many challenges along the way, the purchase of the BQ premises and Covid being two of significance.

His negotiations during the purchase process led to a successful outcome and his leadership through the Covid period gave guidance during a very difficult period.

In addition, Peter has provided a valuable service to the bowls community through constitutional advice.

The ANZAC Test Series is a highlight of the bowls calendar and was an event close to Peter’s heart due to his service in the Royal Australian Navy. We thank him for his service to both country and bowls and all at Bowls Queensland wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Brett Wilkie

Cousins Julian Richards & Olivia Rothwell at the ANZAC Test Series

Peter Williamson (right) with Lieutenant Colonel Murray Lott at the 2024 ANZAC Test Series

with BQ’s Brett Wilkie CEO REPORT

Peter Williamson’s Resignation

Peter Williamson resigned his position as President of Bowls Queensland effective from the April Board meeting. Thank you to Peter for his service, dedication and commitment to BQ and bowls in Queensland.

State District Sides Championships

This event will be played on the Gold Coast from Wednesday 8 to Saturday 11 May at Club Musgrave, Club Helensvale, Broadbeach and Paradise Point Bowls Clubs. Twenty women’s and 20 men’s District Teams will do battle in this annual series. Well done to all selected to represent their respective districts. This event is the highlight of the year for many bowlers, representing their local district, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.

Thank you to Experience Gold Coast and Australian Secure Capital Fund (ASCF) for sponsoring these Championships. ASCF is a Brisbane based fund manager operating three pooled mortgage investment funds: ASCF Premium Capital Fund, ASCF Select Income Fund and ASCF High Yield Fund. www.ascf.com.au

QLD State Championships

This event including Singles, Pairs, Mixed Pairs, Triples and Fours will run from Monday 13 to Sunday 26 May at various clubs on the Gold Coast, all finals will be at Club Musgrave. Thank you to Experience Gold Coast and Club Musgrave for their support of these Championships. Winners of all events, except Over 60 Pairs, will advance to the Australian Championships at Broadbeach during October. Thank you to our State Championship event sponsors:

• Containers for Change: Men’s and Women’s Singles and Fours

A new sponsor to Bowls Queensland and we welcome them. Clubs can become a Containers for Change partner and start recycling containers with free bins and collections. Every empty container can earn your bowls club 10-cents. www.containersforchange.com.au/qld/organisations

• Nic Fisher/Pure Real Estate: Men’s and Women’s Triples and Mixed Pairs

Nic returns for his fourth year sponsoring these events after recently joining forces with Pure Real Estate. Although based in Brisbane, Nic is regularly on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts where he has many clients. www.purerealestategroup.com.au

• Identified Services: Open and Over 60 Men’s and Women’s Pairs

Identified Services is a cleaning and maintenance service for hospitality venues and schools throughout Southeast QLD including the Broadbeach Bowls Club. They are managed by ex QLD Origin Rugby League star Kevin Campion. www.identifiedservices.com.au

Live Streaming

Every day of the State District Sides and State Championships will be live streamed on the Bowls QLD Website, Facebook and YouTube pages.

Bowls QLD Committees

Expressions of interest to nominate for the following Bowls QLD Committees are open and close on the 7th June: Coaching, Match, Selection and Umpire Committees. The term for these roles will be one year commencing on 1 July. Thank you to our current Committee Members for their contribution to bowls in QLD.

ANZAC Test Series

Congratulations to our BQ President’s XII who defeated the Australian Defence Force Bowls Team in this three-test series.

This event was once again played with camaraderie and in great recognition of the ANZAC spirit. Thank you to Capalaba Sports Club for hosting and the ADF Bowlers for another hard fought series.

QLD Junior Training Camp

Sixteen juniors were invited to attend a QLD training camp in April at the Hamilton Bowls Club. Well done to all juniors on the way they committed themselves. Thank you to Christina Pavlov, Alan Thorp and Lynsey Clarke for facilitating this camp, also to those who assisted and Hamilton Bowls Club for hosting. Thank you to SParms/ Chloe Stewart who provided all our U18 Squad with new sun protection sleeves.

QLD Representative Team Trials

This trial went well in April with players being considered for the Open, Under 25, 40-59 and Over 60 age groups to represent QLD in 2024. Thank you to Chermside Bowls Club for their support of this event and to Enoggera Bowls Club for providing under-cover greens during inclement weather.

Australian Indoor Singles Qualifying

The Women’s qualifying was held on 27 & 28 April, congratulations to Chloe Stewart on winning the finals and to Emma Spicer on being the runner-up.

The Men’s event will be held on 1 & 2 June at Tweed Heads and Paradise Point Bowls Clubs.

Back for their third year sponsoring this event, Brett Wilkie

WORLD BOWLS INDOOR MIXED PAIRS CHAMPIONS

Australia has successfully defended its mixed pairs crown at the World Bowls Indoor Championships as Ray Pearse and Samantha Atkinson claimed their maiden world titles. The pair defeated England in the final in a tiebreak to clinch gold and make the long trip home with the title of world champion.

Commencing their day against Malaysia’s Nor Farah Ain Abdullah and Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple, who took them both out in the singles quarter-finals, the Australians came out firing to lead 7-1 after four ends. Atkinson and Pearse continued the push to move to the gold medal match with a 9-2, 11-3 victory.

Awaiting was England’s Rebecca McMillan and young star Harry Goodwin, who defeated Canada in straight sets in their semi. The Australians picked up where they left off in the semi with a commanding opening set that saw them just seven ends from glory before the English pair hit back with a brilliant

exchange of their own to force a one-end shootout for the gold.

Atkinson was given the mat and it would be her bowl that remained the closest to the jack thanks to a sensational setup from both that neither McMillan or Goodwin could penetrate. The pair join 2023 champions Aron Sherriff and Kelsey Cottrell who saluted over Scotland in last year’s final at Warilla.

In the other finals, Ain Abdullah clinched women’s singles honours for Malaysia with a 6-2 6-3 win over Malta’s Connie Rixon, while Guernsey’s Jason Greenslade took down Dzulkeple 6-5 9-3 in the men’s decider.

Australians Samantha Atkinson & Ray Pearse

By Val Febbo, Bowls Australia

ANZAC TEST SERIES

Congratulations to the Bowls QLD President’s XII team on winning the 2024 ANZAC Test Series, an event held in remembrance of those who have been lost and in honour of the men and women serving our country.

The ANZAC Test Series commenced in 2014 to mark the centenary of the ANZAC legend. It commemorates the efforts of our soldiers over the past 100 years, since World War I started in 1914, with the centenary of ANZAC honoured in 2018.

Due to the success of this series it has continued each year (except for 2020/21 due to COVID) and was held on Friday 19 April – Saturday 20 April, at Capalaba Sports Club. The event commenced on Friday night with a Wreath Laying Ceremony and was followed by the first of three tests to be held. Tests 2 and 3 were held on Saturday.

The Bowls Queensland President’s XII test side is a combination of Queensland’s aspiring and experienced representatives, while the Defence team is comprised of the elite bowlers of the Australian Defence Force Lawn Bowls Association.

Photos: Wendy Wilson

ADF Lawn Bowls President, CPL Phil Black thanked Bowls QLD (BQ) for their ongoing support for the ANZAC Series, “which enables us to continue a rivalry in a highly competitive arena, while providing an occasion for all in remembering those who have fallen before us. This event remains one of ADFLB’s highest priorities.”

“It’s an event that the ADF Bowls want to play; an opportunity to share what Defence commemorate with ANZAC with people who haven’t experienced service life but have experienced the services through us, so we are happy to share that with them; it’s a good thing for us.”

BQ President Peter Williamson welcomed the ADF Lawn Bowls to the ANZAC Test Series, now in its tenth year.

Australian Defence Force Lawn Bowls Association

“Members of the bowls community having served their country have a special connection to those who have served and fallen before us, and it is on ANZAC day that we remember. While it is competitive, it gives the opportunity for the ADF to engage with the civilian bowls community.”

Bowls Queensland President’s XII with ADF representatives ADFLB Team

LTCOL Murray Lott, WOFF Darryn Lethlean, CPO Steven Adams, SGT Gerard Harkins (sk)

PO Jason Wikman, WO1 Stuart Brook, CPO Scott Christie, WOFF Brent Marshall (sk)

SGT Vince Muller, PO Julian Richards, CPO Scott McNally, CPO Phil Black (sk)

Queensland Team

Jacinta Weier, Emma Spicer, John Hammond, Brett Wilkie (sk)

Mitchell Mears, Gail Crompton, Justin Cribbin, Bill Cornehls (sk)

Olivia Rothwell, Anthony Bonnell, Pam Rowe, Brendan Wilson (sk)

All three BQ teams jumped out of the stalls ready to dominate over the ADF teams, with Brendan Wilson and Brett Wilkie each leading their teams to 8-0 with ease and Bill Cornehls’ team remaining ahead of their competitors by a large margin in the first quarter of the game (14-1). However, while Wilkie and Cornehls maintained a healthy lead, it was a tougher match for Wilson’s team where it started becoming neck-andneck by the eighth end and the ADF were four shots ahead by the 11th end.

The added battle for Brendan Wilson’s team was that BQ’s Olivia Rothwell was competing against her cousin, PO Julian Richards, who was in the ADF team lead by CPO Phil Black. The two are known to fiercely compete, with Olivia these days more likely the victor. Perhaps that was the ‘X’ factor that kept the final score in their first test game to a more even BQ 19 – ADF 18.

Young gun John Hammond from Roma is known for his solid and steady play and did not disappoint, contributing to the Test 1 win for Wilkie’s team that defeated Gerard Harkins and his teammates 29-13. Cornehls was up against WOFF Brent Marshall and while the camaraderie was equally as strong between the two teams, Cornehls’ team were the stronger players and won with a 20-shot margin.

The BQ President’s XII went into the second Test on the Saturday with a healthy 37-shot lead over the ADF team, who come from all over Australia to play the game they love. However, that did not dent the

determination of the ADF players, with PO Julian Richards and CPO Phil Black on fire, picking up the first four shots to continue their competitive challenge, and then another seven shots over the next four ends.

At this stage of play, the Defence Force were in front overall 19-18. CPO Black’s team continued to steamroll on, picking up another three shots, making their score 14-0 after seven ends. Bill Cornehls’ team had to break this momentum and get on the board, and they did, with two shots. From there, both sides added incrementally to their scores until ADF stuck at 17 and Cornehls’ team continued on to reach a score of 24-17 after 21 ends.

BQ’s Brendan Wilson skipped team and ADF’s SGT Gerard Harkin’s team also had a close battle on their hands, with only a four-shot margin at the end score of BQ 20 and ADF 16.

The margin proved to be a considerably higher 16 shots in Brett Wilkie’s skipped game against WOFF Brent Marshalls team, with the final score of BQ 26 – ADF 10.

By the start of the third Test, BQ had lead of the series 2-0.  However, neither side are known to be quitters, so it was still game-on. In Brendan Wilson’s team, Olivia Rothwell made a great start. State Multi Disability Singles Champion, Tony Bonnell, was also on fire. But there was nothing much in it in the early part of the match, sitting at 5-all by the 4th end. BQ then had a good few pick-ups and ADF never quite caught up again, going down 27-12.

Brett Wilkie’s team proved too strong for Phil Black’s boys, romping ahead to a 36-7 win. On the flip side, ADF were to take the upper hand in the Cornehls/Harkins game with a margin of nine and final score of ADF 21 –BQ 12.

At the end of the day, an ADF overall win was not to be, with BQ President’s XII claiming a 3-0 victory. However, the real winner was the camaraderie shared on the day and the mutual respect shown throughout the Test Series. Thank you to Capalaba Sports Club for hosting the event and sharing their greens and club facilities. See full results on page 12.

Winning team: Bowls Queensland President’s XII

RESULTS

Test 1

Bowls QLD President’s XII def Australian Defence Force 82-45

• Jacinta Weier, Emma Spicer, John Hammond, Brett Wilkie def LTCOL Murray Lott, WOFF Darryn Lethlean, CPO Steve Adams, SGT Gerard Harkins 29-13

• Mitchell Mears, Gail Crompton, Justin Cribbin, Bill Cornehls def PO Jason Wikman, WO1 Stuart Brook, CPO Scott Christie, WOFF Brent Marshall 34-14

• Olivia Rothwell, Anthony Bonnell, Pamela Rowe, Brendan Wilson def SGT Vince Muller, PO Julian Richards, CPO Scott McNally, CPO Phil Black 19-18

Test 2

Bowls QLD President’s XII def Australian Defence Force 70-43

• Jacinta Weier, Emma Spicer, John Hammond, Brett Wilkie def PO Jason Wikman, WO1 Stuart Brook, CPO Scott Christie, WOFF Brent Marshall 26-10

• Mitchell Mears, Gail Crompton, Justin Cribbin, Bill Cornehls def PO Julian Richards, SGT Vince Muller, CPO Scott McNally, CPO Phil Black 24-17

• Olivia Rothwell, Anthony Bonnell, Pamela Rowe, Brendan Wilson def LTCOL Murray Lott, WOFF Darryn Lethlean, CPO Steve Adams, SGT Gerard Harkins 20-16

Test 3

Bowls QLD President’s XII def Australian Defence Force 75-40

• Jacinta Weier, Emma Spicer, John Hammond, Brett Wilkie def PO Julian Richards, SGT Vince Muller, CPO Scott McNally, CPO Phil Black 36-7

• LTCOL Murray Lott, WOFF Darryn Lethlean, CPO Steve Adams, SGT Gerard Harkins def Mitchell Mears, Gail Crompton, Justin Cribbin, Bill Cornehls 21-12

• Olivia Rothwell, Anthony Bonnell, Pamela Rowe, Brendan Wilson def PO Jason Wikman, WO1 Stuart Brook, CPO Scott Christie, WOFF Brent Marshall 27-12

TOTAL TEST SERIES RESULT: President’s XII def Australian Defence Force 3 Tests to 0

STATE REPRESENTATIVE TRIALS

By Chrissy Pavlov

The State representative trials were held at Chermside Bowls Club on Sunday, 21 April but moved to covered greens at Enoggera Bowls Club for the afternoon games, due to inclement weather.

Selectors invited 72 players to trial for positions in the State Open, U25, 40-59 and Senior teams, with those players comprising a mix of incumbent players and emerging talent.

Players travelled from as far as Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Bundaberg, and Roma as well as from clubs in the Fraser Coast, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Gateway, Brisbane, Moreton and Cunningham Districts.

Selection to State representative teams is a multi-phased process where players are assessed against key selection criteria at these trials and at other major state events.

Chermside Bowls Club: Players hoping to be selected for State Representation

Our BQ Officials go above and beyond (and in this case, up a ladder) for Queensland bowlers! Here, BQ Selector Brad Harris is supported by BQ Director, Gary Costigan.

2024 JUNIOR STATE TRAINING CAMP

Junior State Squad Back L-R: Brody Carter, Trent Brehmer, Todd Brain, Rhys Gillman, Riley Gerick, Lacey Gerick, Tilah Mason, Logan Hughes. Front L-R: Cooper Sutton, Thomas Brehmer, Jack Hayward, Mia Haylock, Lilly Vardy, Phoebe Russell, Ashlin Johnson, Makayla Gainsford

The 16-member Junior State Squad, comprising eight boys and eight girls, were invited to attend an intensive two-day training camp at Hamilton Bowls Club on April, 8-9.

The program was coordinated by BQ Selection Coordinator Chrissy Pavlov with the assistance of several knowledgeable and accomplished presenters including:

• Alan Thorp - BQ Coaching Committee Coordinator/BQ Board

• Lynsey Clarke - BA Pathways Coach/BQ High Performance Academy

• Tilly Orero - MSc Human Nutrition

• Chloe Stewart - Australian Jackaroo/SParms Ambassador & Business Development Manager, who provided all our U18 Squad with new sun protection sleeves

• Wendy Wilson - BQ Board/Selection Committee

• Brad Harris - Selection Committee who provided much needed on-green assistance

This is the fourth year BQ has held the junior training camp, and it forms a very important part of the Junior Squad’s preparation for the upcoming U18 Tri-series against NSW and VIC at Club Tweed on August, 2-4 and for the Australian U18 Nationals to be held at Club Tweed in October.

Chrissy Pavlov said that players were involved in many activities such as team building exercises, talks on the mental and physical preparation required for competition, interactive sessions on strategy, tactics and shot selection, on-green skills and advanced drills training.

“There was also matchplay in singles, pairs, triples and fours,” Chrissy said.

“It wasn’t all work and no play for the participants, with some fun games including the Bucket Challenge and Bowls Baseball (under lights) included in the program.”

Hamilton Bowls Club’s Dean McWhinney said the juniors arrived with enthusiasm on the first morning, ready to go through a few drills, games and match play scenarios for the two days.

“It was great to watch the quality that Queensland had on display,” Dean said.

“The first day started around 9am and went to about 6pm, with the juniors loving what Bowls Queensland had on offer for them,” he said.

“On the first day, the staff set up drills on each rink and also the ‘40-Bowl Accuracy Test’, followed by match play scenarios and games against each other on the second day.

“We were privileged to host the U18 Squad Training Camp. Hamilton Bowls Club enjoyed having the juniors here and hope they had a good time.

“They are more than welcome back again next year!”

Thank you to all those who facilitated this camp and to Hamilton for hosting. Well done to all juniors who attended on the way they committed themselves.

Contributed by Chrissy Pavlov & Dean McWhinney

2024 Bowls Queensland U18 Squad

GIRLS

Ashlin Johnson (South Townsville)

Lacey Gerick (Kawana)

Lilly Vardy (Tweed Heads)

Logan Hughes (Solander Lake)

Makayla Gainsford (Glasshouse)

Mia Haylock (Roma)

Phoebe Russell (Burnett)

Tilah Mason (The Albert)

BOYS

Brody Carter (Pialba)

Cooper Sutton (Pialba)

Jack Hayward (Thuringowa City)

Rhys Gillman (Marlin Coast)

Riley Gerick (Capalaba)

Thomas Brehmer (Algester)

Todd Brain (Algester)

Trent Brehmer (Algester)

Junior State Squad boys Back L-R: Trent Brehmer, Todd Brain, Rhys Gillman, Riley Gerick. Front L-R: Brody Carter, Cooper Sutton, Thomas Brehmer, Jack Hayward

Junior State Squad girls Back L-R: Lacey Gerick, Tilah Mason, Logan Hughes, Makayla Gainsford. Front L-R: Mia Haylock, Lilly Vardy, Phoebe Russell, Ashlin Johnson

GETTING TO KNOW BQ: graham lewis

Welcome on ‘Board’ to Graham Lewis, BQ’s newly elected Director of Finance. Reserving his seat on the Board was third time lucky for Graham, who is a declared member at Salisbury Community Sports Club and non-declared at Yeronga.

He believes that if you want to see changes, you have to get in and make changes from the inside. However, Graham also recognises that any changes have to be collective ideas and that “with seven on the Board, if they don’t agree with me, I have to accept that”.

“I am still getting my feet under the desk, working closely with Finance Manager Stu Taylor, and trying to be a big sponge and take as much in as I can,” he said.

Before finding bowls, Graham played hockey from age nine to 55, representing Brisbane, Toowoomba and Qld in over 40’s hockey, winning titles and coaching at junior and senior levels.

Graham’s bowls journey began in 2001 aged 50. His first club was Belmont Services, where he started playing with his father. Currently, he is a Division 1 player for Salisbury, and he has played more than 100 games for the Cunningham District after joining in 2006.

His advice is to start playing bowls sooner rather than later. He has heard many people say that they wished they had taken up bowls earlier.

Graham spent about 20 years in the scouting movement, from cub to scout master and is a practicing Justice of the Peace.

Recently, Graham received a Moreton electorate Volunteer Award in recognition of his contribution to Salisbury Bowls Club and his services to the District. Currently, he coordinates “Dads’ Army” volunteers looking after surrounds, gardens and general maintenance at Salisbury BC.

Prior to retirement, Graham worked for 17 years in sales in the liquor industry. At age 52, he decided on a lifestyle change and set up his own garden maintenance business, before retiring in 2017.

He has four children and eight grandchildren spread between Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Texas (USA). Retirement has allowed him time to be more involved with bowls, which has become a passion.

Graham is also an accredited coach and umpire, served on the District Match Committee and been a District Selector. He is the Cunningham District President, has held multiple club positions such as President, Games Director and Selector and is currently on the Bowls Australia BowlsLink Working Party.

Graham lists his most recent bowls highlight as coaching and managing the District Ladies’ Side that won the 2023 State District Sides Championships. The year he took over this role they had come 6th, then runners up in ’21 and ’22; it was a journey to the top Graham thoroughly enjoyed.

Finally, in his Board role, Graham believes that he can make a positive contribution to bowls in Queensland. One of his objectives is to see bowls embrace the open gender concept, which has happened down south, but both genders need to get on board.

BQ’s Director of Finance, Graham Lewis

Moreton electorate Volunteer Award presented to Graham Lewis by Councillor Steve Griffiths (Moorooka Ward)

PREMIER LEAGUE QUEENSLAND

Congratulations to the Broadbeach Bulls, the new Premier League Queensland Champions.

Experience counts for a lot in the big games. Having five current or former international and other representative level players in the team certainly helps win the big titles. The skills showed from the performance on the green to correct decision making.

We were driven to send Ryan Bester off on a good note. He’s done so much for the club over 12 years. Aron Sherriff was skipper of the year in the PLQ and had a brilliant weekend with finals MVP Jarryd Davies at 3rd.

The mix of youth and experience was great to have in the team. To go back-to-back in any competition in any sport is very hard to do and something that the entire club was proud of. The front end players were sensational all year really setting up our back end well. Although the final was played in consistent rain all day, it didn’t dampen the players determination to get the win.

We congratulate all the other finalists and winners and look forward to another great competition next year. Congratulations to runners-up Burleigh Dragons; Reserve Grade Champions, Burleigh Dragons and Reserve Grade runners-up Club Pine Rivers.

Contributed by Barrie Lester

PLQ Winners: Broadbeach Bulls

Runners-up and Reserve Grade Champions: Burleigh Dragons

Improving flexibility isn’t that much of a stretch: all it takes is eight minutes per week

Skip intense stretch sessions and forget pushing past pain barriers – when it comes to maximising flexibility, groundbreaking new research from the University of South Australia shows that stretching takes as little as eight minutes per week to optimise progress.

The study found that holding a stretch for up to three minutes – or eight minutes accumulated over the course of a week – was the optimal amount of time required to maximise improvements in flexibility.

Importantly, the study found that stretching beyond three minutes per muscle within a single session (or eight minutes per muscle per week) returned no further meaningful benefit in flexibility. And that stretching to the point of discomfort or pain was entirely unnecessary, as it added no further benefit.

UniSA researcher Dr Lewis Ingram says this is the first study to identify optimal parameters for stretching.

“Static stretching - where you lengthen a muscle and hold this position for a predetermined amount of time - is the most common type of stretching and is considered a very safe and effective form of stretching,” Dr Ingram says.

“It is used extensively by sports medicine practitioners and coaches to improve flexibility for rehabilitation and performance, but despite this, there is no consensus about the optimal dosage parameters for increasing flexibility.

“In this study we wanted to find out how long, how hard, and how often should someone stretch to increase their flexibility?

“By systematically reviewing and meta-analysing data from 188 studies consisting of 8095 adults from 25 countries (representing six of the seven continents), we found that a single session of static stretching leads to a moderate increase in flexibility; and that longer-term static stretching training – regularly undertaken over a few weeks or more – leads to a larger increase in flexibility.

“These improvements occurred irrespective of the specific muscle group, the intensity of the stretch, the person’s sex, their health or training status, and the frequency of weekly stretching sessions or overall length of the intervention.

“But the surprising factor was that improvements in flexibility ‘maxed-out’ at three minutes per muscle per session, and at eight minutes per muscle per week.

“Specifically, in the case of the latter, it doesn’t seem to matter how often a week you spend stretching, so long as you accumulate eight minutes over the week.”

The researchers hope that the findings will provide simple and practical guidelines to help prescribe static stretching to improve flexibility.

Clubs Safety Standards: What You Need to Know.

I recently had a client ask me what steps should be taken to ensure a club is providing a safe environment for patrons and staff.

Under both the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the Liquor Act 1992, it is mandatory for clubs to ensure the safety of patrons and staff in the club as well as surrounding areas. Enhancing safety measures at your club not only reduces the likelihood of legal and health issues but also demonstrates your club’s dedication to serving alcohol responsibly. If patrons feel safe in your club, they are likely to spend more time there, increasing your club’s profitability and growth.

Pursuant to section 142ZZB of the Liquor Act 1992, it is mandatory for clubs to ensure a safe environment within and around the premises. This includes reasonable measures to ensure that:

The use of the club doesn’t negatively impact the amenity of the nearby area.

Patron and member behaviour within the club premises does not pose a risk to other patrons, members, or staff.

The behaviour of individuals entering or leaving the club doesn’t adversely affect the nearby area.

Appropriate steps are taken to prevent ‘relevant offences’ within or around the club if you are aware

or have reason to believe such offences are occurring or about to occur.

There is a particular emphasis on the club to take ‘reasonable steps’, requiring the club to act in a manner deemed reasonable in safeguarding the local area to ensure it is not disturbed and preventing offences from occurring. There are a few key steps that can be taken to provide a safe environment and preserve the amenity of a club:

Record Keeping

An area where clubs are often deficient is record keeping. A record of staff training and records of any incidents or first aid treatment should be kept by the club and reported to managers regularly to assist in reviewing first aid arrangements.

Regular Staff Training

Clubs should ensure that their staff are adequately trained and are informed of any potential safety issues that may arise. Adequate training, such as first aid training, will assist staff with dealing effectively with workplace health and safety issues when they occur at the club.

Glass Removal

Clubs should ensure that staff clear tables and remove empty glass bottles and/or glasses on a regular basis to reduce the potential for

glass-related incidents and/or violence.

Dangerous and Banned Products

Clubs should be aware of their responsibilities regarding the use of dangerous products and/or banned products including banned liquor products.

Refusal of Service and RSA practices

Clearly RSA practices are important and, in particular, ensuring that staff are refusing service to any patrons who are unduly intoxicated, even if they are regular members of the club.

Crowd Controllers

Ensure adequate crowd controllers are rostered, have appropriate security licences and RSA training and are familiar with how your venue operates.

CCTV recording

Quality CCTV systems that clearly record patron and staff behaviour and that are readily accessible by management staff can be useful tools in quickly identifying or responding to any issues at the premises.

If you have any questions about patron and staff safety at your club, then please feel free to contact me, Matt Bradford, on 07 3224 0353.

Sun Protection when Playing Bowls

As we all know, we have just experienced a very hot summer. During this time, I have often been asked whether Bowls Australia or Bowls Queensland have any policies in place for sun protection.

Both Bowls Australia and Bowls Queensland have sun policies, as there is nothing more important than the protection of our players while playing our great sport.

When planning an event, we must take into consideration what measures we have in place to protect our players from the sun and the heat, particularly in Queensland. Looking at the Cancer Council website, they have a number of recommendations that we must consider:

What are the UV recommendations for Cancer Council?

Cancer Council recommends using sunscreen every day on days when the UV Index is forecast to be 3 or above. Sunscreen should be part of your daily morning routine on these days. Cancer Council recommends using any sunscreen that is labelled broad-spectrum, water-resistant and SPF30 or above.

For the best protection, use all five SunSmart steps:

• Slip on covering clothing. Choose clothing that covers as much skin as possible, for example, collared shirts with long sleeves

• Slop on SPF 30 (or higher) broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen

• Slap on a hat

• Seek shade

• Slide on some sunglasses

How long can I spend in the sun without sunscreen?

Some dermatologists believe that, as long as you don’t have complications with usual sun exposure, you can sunbathe without sunscreen up to 20 minutes each day. To reduce the risk of sunburn, it may be best to stick to five to 10 minutes.

How can I protect myself from UV rays without sunscreen?

For the most protection, wear a hat that has a brim all the way around that shades your face, ears, and the back of your neck. A tightly woven fabric, such as canvas, works best to protect your skin from UV rays. Avoid straw hats with holes that let sunlight through. A darker hat may offer more UV protection.

Does sunscreen block 100% of UV radiation?

No sunscreen blocks UV radiation 100%. But they allow you to be outdoors for a longer time before your skin starts to redden. Using sunscreen doesn’t mean you can stay out in the sun for an unlimited amount of time. Damage to your skin cells is still occurring.

There is plenty more information to be found on the Cancer Council Website that can assist in protecting our players from the sun.

One other important piece to remember, is to have plenty of water available for hydration, as well as plenty of shade available.

The Bowls Australia Sun Protection Policy can be found by Googling Bowls Australia Sun Protection Policy or going straight to www.bowls.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/BA-Policy_Sun-Smart.pdf on the Bowls Australia website.

The Bowls Queensland Sun Protection Policy can be found by Googling Bowls Queensland Sun Protection Policy or going straight to www.bowlsqld.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2019/09/Bowls-Queensland-SunProtection-Policy.pdf on the Bowls Queensland website.

Contact your CSMs David Barnes at 0429 442 818 and dbarnes@bowls.com.au or Micheal Sorrensen at 0447 507 040 or msorrensen@bowls.com.au

The Result of an End

As we begin the busy month of May, I am certain many of you are looking forward to travelling to the Gold Coast to compete in the State District Sides Championships followed by the State Championships. I wish all competitors a wonderful and enjoyable time playing bowls and meeting up with all your friends.

One of the important laws of the sport of bowls is the result of an end. This can cause many problems and I have been asked to go through these laws, which can be found on pages 34/35/36 in Section 1.6 of the Laws of the Sport of Bowls “Result of an End”.

It is important that all the following laws are read, as they will assist you when playing.

Law 22 - The shot:

• 22.1 A shot or shots refer to the bowl or bowls (called shot bowls) which is or are nearer to the jack than the nearest bowl played by the opposing team or opponent in singles.

• 22.2 No bowl must be moved until the opponents have agreed whether it is a shot or not, except where a bowl has to be moved so that another bowl can be measured.

The following three laws are very important, as the shots need to be picked up and not kicked out. This is where many problems occur (when a bowl is kicked incorrectly), which could disturb the head, so it is

important to place the shot bowls on a cloth or place them together.

• 22.3 As the shots are agreed, each shot bowl can be removed from the head.

• 22.4 Shot bowls can be placed in a group where they will not interfere with measuring.

• 22.5 If shot bowls have been placed in a group, the number of bowls in the group must be agreed by the opponents. (If not please call an Umpire).

• 22.6 The skips or the marker where appropriate must be told (or have signalled to them) the number of shots scored in each end.

Law 23 – Deciding the number of shots scored:

• 23.1 The process of deciding the number of shots scored must not start until the last bowl required to be played in an end has come to rest, or 30 seconds after that if either skip or opponent in singles asks for this 30 second period (for example, to see whether or not a bowl lying at an angle will fall of its own account within that time).

• 23.2 If either skip or opponent in singles has asked for a 30 second period, no bowl which is likely to fall must be secured during that period.

• 23.3 No measuring will be allowed before the process of deciding the number of shots scored starts (as described in Law 23.1). If a player measures before the process of deciding the number of shots scored starts, the defaulting team or opponents in singles will lose the right to play any bowls remaining to be played in that end and the non-defaulting team or opponent in singles will deliver their remaining bowls to complete the end.

• 23.4 All measurements must be made between the nearest points of the jack and the bowl.

3 shot bowls placed on the green away from the head – Law

2 shot bowls placed on a cloth away from the head

• 23.5 When measuring between a jack in the ditch and a bowl on the green or a jack on the green and a bowl in the ditch, the measurement must be carried out using a flexible or string measure wherever possible.

• 23.6 At any time during the process of deciding the number of shots scored:

• 23.6.1 if a bowl is likely to fall, either opponent can use the best available means to secure it in its position.

• 23.6.2 if a bowl needs to be measured and it is currently resting on another bowl which is interfering with the measurement in any way, any player must use the best available means to secure the resting bowl in its position and then remove the other bowl.

• 23.6.3 if a bowl falls of its own accord, it must be left in its position while deciding the number of shots scored

continues, and all the shots agreed before the bowl fell will count.

• 23.6.4 if a bowl is displaced by the equipment being used during measuring, Law 37.4 will apply, and:

• 23.6.5 if the jack is displaced by the equipment being used during measuring Law 38.4 will apply.

Law 24 – No shot scored – tied end:

• 24.1 There will be no shot scored by either team or opponent in singles if it is agreed that:

• 24.1.1 the nearest bowl of each team or opponent is touching the jack.

• 24.1.2 the nearest bowl of each team or opponent is the same distance from the jack, or

• 24.1.3 no live bowls are left within the boundaries of the rink of play.

• 24.2 The end must be declared tied and recorded on the score card as a completed end.

• 24.3 Following a tied end, law 5.4 will apply.

• 24.4 If, however, the first end is a tied end, the first to play in that end must also play first in the second end.

Law 25 – Delivering the final bowl of an end:

It is not compulsory for the last player to play in any end to deliver the final bowl of the end, but the player must tell the opposing skip or opponent in singles of the decision not to deliver the final bowl before the process of deciding the number of shots scored starts (as described in law 23.1). This decision is final.

I hope the above laws are of assistance to you all and please continue to enjoy your games.

Chocking bowls – Laws 23.6.1 and 23.6.2

WHAT’S YOUR CLUB BEEN DOING?

Tully Bowls Club Alive and Kicking after Flood Events

Easter Saturday saw the Tully Bowls Club hold their annual Open Triples event, with support from some local club members and players from Atherton and Yungaburra.

It was event was successful with a full green of ladies and men players from throughout the Far North. Everyone enjoyed the day, their bowls, the camaraderie and are looking forward to 2025.

Thank you to our hosts, South Johnstone Bowls Club, and our sponsors, the Weipa Bowls Club “Go Weipa!“.

A big thank you to the Tully and South Johnstone ladies for catering on the day.

Only a small number of points separated the top three teams. The winning team was Bruce Hopkins (Skip), John Hopkins and Graeme Anderson. Second place was the team of Kevin Foord, Michael Hooker and Louise Hoskins. In third place were Peter Smith (Skip), Steve Howe and Greg MacDonald.

Vice President Rod Bradley, who assisted with the presentation of the prizes, said “We may be greenless and rinkless, but we are still alive and kicking!”.

Contributed by Rod Bradley

Second place L-R: Michael Hooker, Kevin Foord & Louise Hoskins with VP Rod Bradley

Winners L-R: Bruce Hopkins, Graeme Anderson & John Hopkins with VP Rod Bradley

Third place L-R: Peter Smith, Steve Howe & Greg MacDonald with VP Rod Bradley

Victoria Park Bowls Club Pairs Champions

Roseanne Mathewson was also part of the team along with Elaine Bramble, Barbara Holder and Maureen Brett who represented the club at the Rockhampton Ladies President’s Day. They had a thoroughly enjoyable day at President Rosie’s Day on April 17 and defeated the Rockhampton team.

Anton-Brown_Magazine-Ad_Quarter-Page-FINAL.pdf 5 29/08/2023 3:06:50 PM

L-R: Laurence Stitt & Fred Passmore

Junior Tournament held at Solander Lake Bowls Club

Now in its second year, the Solander Lake Bowls Club Junior Two Day Tournament was held on the weekend of April 6-7.

Located on beautiful Bribie Island, the predicted weather forecast was rain, rain and more rain. Event organizers crossed all fingers and toes for the event, and it must have worked, as the weather conditions were fabulous.

This $5,000 Open Pairs event is open to all junior bowlers under the age of 18. After its highly successful debut in 2023, the club’s committee was eager to run the event again in 2024.

Bowlers play a three-bowl pairs format on the first day, with three games each. Teams are then ranked into sections for the second day of play according to the results from day one.

Solander Lake Bowls Club is a huge advocate of junior bowls participation and believes encouraging juniors to play lawn bowls is essential for the continued success of not-for-profit volunteer community clubs.

The club plans to introduce a new Junior Bowls Academy this year with the support of an experienced coaching team. It has already had quite a bit of interest after the recent two-day tournament and a local sponsor has come on board.

Winners Div. 1 L-R: Jack Chirgwin (left), Major Sponsor Max Sollmer from Storm Support Services & Trent Brehmer (right)

Second Div. 1 L-R: Jarrett Coulsen & Bryce Jarrett with Max Sollmer

Third Div. 1 L-R: Christian McLellan & Xavier Parkinson with Max Sollmer

The club would like to thank all the juniors, parents, and coaches for supporting the event and Robbie and Brian from Gold Coast Tweed District Media Team for live streaming. It is one of the highlights for all the juniors to see themselves on the live stream. We would also like to thank the army of volunteers and, of course, our sponsors for the event.

Congratulations to all the prize winners along with overall winners Jack Chirgwin and Trent Brehmer.

We hope to see you all again next year.

Contributed by Jaydene Hughes

Fourth Div. 1 L-R: Connor Doherty & Jameson Morgan with Max Sollmer

Winners Div. 2 L-R: Sam Collier & Thomas Brehmer with sponsor Moreton Bay District Bowls Assoc. President Alan Thorp

Second Div. 2 L-R: Wyatt Martin & Todd Brain with Alan Thorp

Third Div. 2 L-R: Logan Hughes & Madysen Parkinson with Alan Thorp

Fourth Div. 2 L-R: Taylor Baart & Keala Nukunuku with Alan Thorp

Easter Fun at Club Tweed

Club Tweed hosted its annual Easter Social Bowls Party on Thursday, March 28. Thanks to our wonderful Bowls Committee, volunteers and catering staff for a wonderful day of Easter bowling. We had 76 members and guests in attendance who donned their best Easter attire for the occasion!

Volunteer Connie Legget

L-R: Jennifer Youl, Julie Overlack, Marlene Clark & Shirley Croft

Table decorations done by Connie Leggett

Contributed by Emma Boyd

Musgrave Hill $10,000 Easter Singles

Club Musgrave hosted its 18th Annual Easter Singles Tournament over the Easter weekend; a single knockout tournament run over three days.

Qualifying days Saturday and Sunday saw 64 players battle it out to make the quarter finals on Monday. A blind draw was also done each morning of the tournament. The field was outstanding and possibly the best in the tournament’s history.

Saturday saw some cracking matchups. In the top part of the draw, the last match of the day saw defending champion and New Zealand International, Chris Le Lievre, take on Queensland skip and former Jackaroo Sean Baker.

The match ended up going Sean Baker’s way and he booked the first ticket into the Monday’s quarter final. Ireland’s Jack Moffett earned the second spot, defeating very strong players Dean Mcwhinney and Brendan Egan.

State Pairs Champion, Tyler Pettigrew, arguably had the toughest draw of the day, having to account for Mark Rooney, Scott DeJongh, Kane Nelson and Rob Kernohon. The fourth qualifier on Saturday was Brett Merkel from Enoggera; his big match of the day was against Musgrave Hill stalwart Mark Spring.

L-R: Winner Tyler Pettigrew, Club Chairman Louie Maffei & runner up Sean Baker

Sunday saw some familiar faces to the tournament progress to the quarter finals. The only two players to win the tournament twice are Kurt Brown and new Musgrave Hill Bowls Manager, Ryan Bester. Kurt accounted for last year’s finalist Dale McWhinney in the last match of the day, while Bester took care of Musgrave Hill Premier League player and former champion, Greg Rolls.

Young Broadbeach star, Jarryd Davies, fresh off of his MVP performance at the Premier League Finals, booked his spot into Monday defeating former Australian star and best performed female, Maria Rigby. The 8th qualifier was legend of the bowls circuit, Broadbeach’s Steven Douglas. “Douggo”, who has played State bowls for the Northern Territory and always performs well in the tournament, beat young gun Mitchell Mears to qualify for Monday.

Finals day did not disappoint, with cracking games all day. Sean Baker accounted for Kurt Brown in the semi-final, while Jarryd Davies defeated Brett Merkel. Ryan Bester took down Steven Douglas, while Tyler Pettigrew advanced over Jack Moffett.

The semi-finals were exciting games with Pettigrew game down, converting against Bester to claim 3-shots and the victory. Sean Baker set up a final clash with Tyler after defeating young Davies. The final was a classic.

Baker, in front of the boisterous Musgrave Hill crowd, got off to a great early start with some conversion shots. Baker was first to get to 20 shots, but with rain and the green changing a bit, Pettigrew made his fight back. In epic final ends, Tyler found himself down the game again but ran through a gap and claimed the jack and the $3,000 first prize cheque.

Club Musgrave would like to thank all its wonderful volunteers for marking throughout the weekend. Also, thanks to Sean Baker who assembled such a great field and, of course, to all participants for competing over Easter.

Contributed by Ryan Bester

Club Yandina’s Cracker of a Carnival

The weekend of March, 23-24 saw 28 teams compete at Club Yandina’s third annual Open Fours Tournament.

Teams from as far as Chinchilla, Charleville, Miles, Roma, Emerald, Tenterfield and many Sunshine Coast Clubs enjoyed the hospitality from Club Yandina while playing five games of bowls over the weekend.

Preparation for the event had been hampered by rain over the previous weeks and everyone waited anxiously for the weekend, and hopefully sunshine, to arrive.

Thankfully the sun shone, and the greens rolled well, considering all the wet weather the Sunshine

Coast had received during April.

The players were treated to the best Club Yandina hospitality and great food. Saturday morning bowlers were welcomed with cups of tea/coffee and fresh hot cross buns, lunch of chicken salad and ice creams with an evening BBQ and salad topping off the day.

Entertainment for the evening was supplied by one of the club’s resident musicians, Pete O’Keefe, while a corner-to-corner driving competition concluded the evening.

Sunday started with cooked breakfast, then it was onto the greens for a game before lunch. The last game of the day was followed by afternoon tea, while the presentation and monster raffle were held.

The winning team for the weekend was Skipper Aaron Page’s team with Billy Imberger, Chris Ryan and Mick Burns.

The weekend would not have been the success it was if it were not for the generous sponsorship of

Winners L-R: Billy Imberger, Chris Ryan, Mick Burns & Aaron Page

many businesses, especially the major sponsor, Time Express Courier.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of Club Yandina and once again, through their efforts, a friendly and successful weekend was enjoyed by all.

The Club Yandina Open Fours Tournament will be held again on the weekend before Easter 2025. If you’re looking for a great weekend of bowls, keep this date in your diary and watch out for the registration date.

Mum-to-be Wins Club Singles Championships

On Wednesday, April 10, North Toowoomba Bowls Club player Letitia Weir became the A-grade singles champion.

Letitia was up against a very worthy opponent in Lisa Bryant. After early lead of 10-shots, Letitia had a small lapse and Lisa clawed her way back within 4-shots. However, Letitia held on to get over the line 25-17.

What was even more amazing about winning the singles championship, was that Letitia is eight months pregnant.

Letitia’s partner and proud dad-to-be, Josh Steffens, was there alongside Letitia’s Dad “Bundy” to witness the amazing mum-to-be win her first A-grade Championship.

Well done to both players for making the final and good luck to Letitia and Josh in parenthood.

Contributed by Allan Richters

L-R: Lisa Bryant & Letitia Weir

Contributed by Ann Honess

Team Culture - Coaches’ Involvement

By Dennis O’Toole

Coaches have an important role when it comes to team culture and the selection of members who would be best suited to fulfil the makeup of the final squad.

As we know, team culture is the measure of the behaviours your team or organisation promotes and accepts. Standards have to be set and accepted by all of the stakeholders. Goals of the organisation must be given and the playing group must accept these and not try and implement their own agendas. Individual appreciations are good provided they conform to the standard set.

Coaches who are given a squad must assess the following areas so they can make an informed decision to the selection panel. These are:-

1. Has the player the physical level, the technical ability and the right mindset to coincide with that required?

2. Is the player able and willing to contribute to the team beyond their technical role? In other words will they encourage others, offer constructive advice and support and assist in team preparation, do their fair share of the mundane jobs, communicate positively during play and put the team first instead of their own egos?

3. Once selected, will the individual player be able to perform their role for the whole period of time or will they disrupt team culture by wanting to move position from that selected or criticise other members of the group?

The challenge for the coach during the selection process is to envisage how the members of the team will combine and get on together.

How is a player going to perform if they are not in their preferred position? What method does the coach use to show understanding of situations that could arise and be able to create great teamwork? Does the coach advise that those on the team are the best person for the team not the best person on the team?

The coach will have to be aware and be able to control personalities of the team chosen. They will do this by proper planning for situations that can arise.

Some very pertinent areas the coach will need to recognise are:-

1. Who in the team will have the strength to overcome other players’ limitations?

2. What will be necessary in getting the team to work as a unit? How can the individual’s personal improvement add and strengthen the team culture?

3. How can the coach tailor their own individual style to create the required environment and be inclusive to the whole group?

The method will be to have a flexible approach. Treat each as having individual needs and will require understanding of these, bearing in mind the culture of the team as a whole unit.

Reconciliation is important to success as well as specific individual coaching to make the player reach the required level.

Sometimes players have the necessary technical and physical skills but may need additional support on fulfilling the non-technical issues. Player feedback on their performance is a must. This gives each player a chance to step-up to the requirements of team culture and their role to overall performance.

As you can see team culture and the involvement of a credible coach are both vital.

ECKA’S TIP

UPCOMING COURSES

Club Coach Course: Sunshine Coast DBA room 4-5 May

Club Coach Course: Hamilton Bowls Club 28-29 May

Let new players know how to identify the bias side by the smaller of the circles or logos marked on the bowl. As you hold the bowl in front of you, the little circles would always be facing the centre line of the rink.