WOMEN’S BOWLS
The Ladies Major Pairs commenced on 17 September 2024, with two matches between the teams of Irene Dunn and Deb Folkard against Tina Ballard and Laural Ferrington and the other between Cathy Cole-Clark and Rosa Burns against Gillian Portener and Pam Tulloch. The other two teams, Ruth Willdig and Anna Stewart and Enid Hall and Sue Sheil, received the first-round bye and were set down to play on 24 September.
Irene and I had a good win against Tina and Laural taking the match 32 to 8. This score however, did not reflect the number of times the possession of the shot bowl changed hands during an end! It was really a fun tussle with lots of laughter and good sportsmanship. The same can be said about the other match, with Gillian and Pam beating Cathy and Rosa Burns, 23 to 11.
Everyone was looking forward to round 2; there should have been some very exciting bowls played. However, I was unwell and had to forfeit the night before. Such a shame as Irene and I were looking forward to defending our title for the fourth year in a row. Gillian and Pam enjoyed the break by watching the other game, keen to see who their upcoming opponents would be. It was to be Ruth and Anna who defeated Enid and Sue 26 to 15.
The highly anticipated final on 1 October was sadly marred by injury, with Gillian aggravating an old back injury. To her credit though, she soldiered on. Nonetheless, the result was inevitable with the final score being 24 to 6 – so unlucky and such bad timing!! Better luck next time. Congratulations to Anna and Ruth on the win and a special congratulations to Ruth as this win now means that she has reached Major status. Well done!
It has also been a very busy few months behind the scenes with lots of organising going on for our tournament on 11 October 2024 – “The Grange at Berry” triples shield. The disappointment of cancelling our July tournament due to unexpected heavy rain on the morning of the tournament after all the prep work had been done, was fresh in our minds. Thankfully, this one went off without a hitch and the weather was perfect! We had to hold it at the Bomaderry Bowling Club as our Berry Club is still undergoing repairs due to the flood damage last March. As Bomaderry has 3 greens available, we were able to host 120 bowlers on the day. A huge step up from what we are used to at Berry where we usually look after 98. It was a fun day for all with a Culburra team winning the trophy, Warilla 2nd, St Georges Basin 3rd, and a composite team from Fig Tree and Bomaderry 4th. The AM prize went to another composite team from Culburra and Huskisson and the PM prize to Sussex Inlet RSL. Congratulations to all and a huge thank you to the hardworking team of Berry Ladies (plus one very supportive husband, Rob Folkard) who pitch in twice every year to make these extremely busy days succeed seamlessly. Thank you so much!
Deb Folkard
MEN’S BOWLS
As soon as the bowls calendar is complete, you get to do it all over again. The “Challenge Singles” handicapped event is underway and the “Mixed Fours” is due to commence shortly. In addition, entries are being taken for the “Men’s Singles Championship”. I look forward to commenting on these events in future editions.
Social Bowls
25 September – Bob Dunn and “Jingles” Chittick 28 – Russell Tulloch and Lindsay McNamara 27. Darryl Goodger and Bill Chittick 21 – Ron Nelson and “Tige” Lidbetter 16.
28 September – Bob Burney, Lindsay McNamara and Jingles Chittick29 – “Skippy” Chittick, Tom Froggatt and Tige Lidbetter 19. Bob Dunn and Terry Hayes 22 – Derek Raymond and Mark Power 15.
2 October – Bob Burney and Jingles Chittick 21 – Ron Nelson and Tom Froggatt 21. Derek Raymond and Bill Chittick defeated Keith Pepper and Darryl Goodger (score unknown). Cut-throat – Terry Hayes 24, Mark Power 12 and Tige Lidbetter 8.
Rob Folkard
