Echuca Bowls Club
Early last week the club held its annual Corporate Challenge with 16 teams from local businesses and our generous sponsors competing in three games of eight ends.
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On completion of the evening’s bowls, Coolabah Turf were the only three game winners and took home the bounty from O’Brien Plumbing #1 with an honourable mention to Goodyear Tyres who had their hands on the trophy for a second.
The NABA award went to O’Brien Plumbing #2.
Thanks to all those involved with running the event.
Thursday’s MBC sponsored Men’s Jackpot Pairs saw 24 teams competing with six of those winning both games, commencing with Toby Egan/Cec Moss (+7), Bruce O’Neale/Roy Berryman (+10), Queensland’s John Ozard/Gary Wall (+11), Kevin Bursill/Steve Campion (+16), runners up Neil Hibberson/Chris Heather (Holbrook) (+20) and the winners Ivan Hicks/Trevor Liddell (+31).
Best one game went to John Dinsdale and Bill Cook (+23).
Friday Scroungers saw the Pastoral Hotel voucher go to Jeff Werner from runner up Alan Watson, who took home the Roma Pizza voucher.
Weekend Pennant semi-finals saw all Echuca teams victorious.
Division One defeated Moama (66-44) at Lockington to go straight into the Grand Final with a great performance from Steve Cunnington (s), Jim Ferrier, John Dinsdale, and George Thornley, who won comfortably (32-13).
Division Two also went to Lockington and shared the rinks to defeat Rich River comfortably by 17 shots thanks to a great win by Michelle Cunnington (s), Trevor McColl, Jerome Shaw, and Robyn Tooley (36-11).
They play Stanhope at Lockington tomorrow in the preliminary final.
Division Three comfortably defeated Lockington at home by 25 shots and meet Moama at Lockington tomorrow in the Preliminary Final.
They won all three rinks in the finish, with the best being Tony Deenen (s), John Blair, Lal Whyte and Col Berryman (30-13).
Division Four rounded out the weekend defeating Deniliquin RSL (62-52) and they now play Kyabram at Lockington tomorrow in the preliminary final.
Best result went to Keith Robertson (s), John Clegg, Robert Taylor, and Peter Cecil (26-15).
Last Sunday the Echuca Racing Club sponsored Mixed Medley Pairs tournament welcomed 34 teams with rain threatening.
At completion of the day’s play the winners were Eddie Blampied/Chris Taylor (Echuca/Deniliquin) from Jim Ferrier/Kay Barker (Echuca/Rochester), with third place filled by Jill Clifford/Mac Campbell (Echuca).
Best last game went to Leigh Polkinghorne and Gay Higgins (Tongala).
The commencement of midweek finals brought a mixed bag.
Division One travelled over to Rich River to take on Moama and went down by 22 shots, losing all rinks into the bargain.
However, they live to fight another day, drawn to meet Kyabram next week in the preliminary final at Rochester.
Division Two clashed with Deniliquin RSL at Mathoura and managed to win two of the three rinks to win overall (73-54).
The two winning rinks both got up by 15 shots, being Pam Lewis (s), Anne Thomas, June Clifford, and Ken Main (28-13), and Trevor Nagorcka (s), Neil Dovaston, Mike Hare, and Sue Proctor (27-12).
They meet Moama at Rochester next Tuesday.
Division Three went down (33-41) to Tongala and have ended their season unfortunately.
Max Clifford (s), Bernie Johns, Lisa Humphrys, and Peter Cecil managed to scrape home (18-17).
Mini Bingo did not find a winner last week, although five people were one number off.
The jackpot is capped at $4000 until someone gets lucky.
Lee Beattie won the members draw and took home $70.
It is back to $40 tonight at drinks and nibbles between 4 and 6pm.
Monday night’s Pastoral Hotel sponsored social bowls saw 18 bowlers fight out some great matches with every team winning one game.
Winners were Steve Morgan/Barry Milne (2+17) from Andrew Humphrys/Mike Hare (2+13).
The singles winner was Andy Humphrys (+4).
Moama RSL
Indoor Bowls - Monday, February 23
16 players played three games of nine ends.
The winners on 40 points were Denise Lee (skip), Dawn Beer (third), Liz Portwine (second), and Jean Shelley (lead).
The runners up with 32 points were Neil Hardy (skip), Val Gaylor (third), Marg Meulenkamp (second), and Anne Rickard (lead).
New members are welcome.
Rochester Bowls Club
BCGBR state events
Congratulations to all our entrants and finalists who participated last weekend, February 15.
Special mention to Rob Clayton who made it through to the final round, unfortunately going down to Kevin Anderson from Moama.
Mens match committee
Men’s Drawn Triples – played Saturday February 21.
Congratulations to the winners; Graham Willis (S), Gavin Houlihan and Mick McArdle with three wins and 17 shots up.
Runners-up were John Weeks (S), Graeme Chambers and Peter Stack with two wins and five shots up.
Men’s Drawn Fours – Saturday, February 28 at 1pm. Entries close on February 27.
Weekend Pennant Finals
Prelim Finals, Feb. 28 all divisions – Lockington.
Grand Final, March 7 – Moama.
Midweek Pennant Finals
Semi Finals, Feb 24 – Div 1 and 4 – Rich River, Div 2 and 3 – Mathoura.
Prelim Finals, March 3 – all divisions at Rochester.
Grand Final, March 10 – Rich River.
Social bowls
Winners on Friday, Feb 20 were Roz Keech and Des Hocking – congratulations.
There will be no jackpot bowls next Friday, Feb 27 due to the ladies catering for a funeral wake.
Vale Bob Blackman
The Rochester Bowls Club offers their condolences to the family of Bob.
The funeral for Bob will take place next Friday, Feb 27, with the wake being catered for, at the Rochy Bowls Club.
We require the assistance of a couple of club members to assist behind the bar from 1pm.
Anyone who is able to assist, please contact Alan Williams 0417 109 998.
Crackerjack
This event has been postponed due to the fact that a significant cohort of bowlers are not available on the planned date.
Defibrillator
Currently, the machine doesn’t have up-to-date pads, therefore it has been removed until replacement pads arrive.
They have been ordered through Ambulance Victoria.
Apparel
Tournament shirts, and new member shirts and jackets have been ordered.
Wanted
Many of you would have seen REDHS request for lawn bowls.
If you have any smaller sized lawn balls that you no longer require, REDHS will gladly take them off your hands.
They will be used by the residents in a social setting.
They are also calling out for any unwanted, smaller sized trophies.
If you are able to assist, please contact Brooke Coghill.
Classic Fours
Played in Rochester last Sunday, February 15, the winning team was skipped by Norm Hodge and the runners-up from Eaglehawk, led by Phil Francis.
This tournament was a huge success due to the planning that took place prior to the day and the members who chipped in and helped with the running on the day.
Thank you to Bruce Major, Rob Dennis, Leigh Milgate and Graham Willis for ensuring that everything was organised throughout the day, beginning well before anyone else arrived.
Thanks to Leigh for also being our umpire and Graham Willis, who was assisted by Kathy Williams who worked on the score board.
Thanks to Brooke for preparing the draw and to Rob Clayton, one of the organisers who was playing in the finals of the Champion of Champions at Stanhope but came back to help with the winding up of the day.
Mick Ellis and Mick McArdle manned the bar throughout the day and the ladies in the kitchen ensured that the dining room looked fantastic and served up a delicious lunch and a much appreciated, afternoon tea.
Raylee Willis manned the raffle table which once again brought in a good profit.
Raffle prizes were donated for the day, with a special mention going to Anton Gusak (no doubt, ably assisted by Betty) for the donation of a beautiful box of homegrown goodies.
Much appreciation goes to Lawford Engineering for their sponsorship, our local lawn bowling green and equipment specialists – we are blessed to have the support of some wonderful, local businesses.
Noel Sexton
Club members are invited, by Noel’s family, to attend an afternoon at the club, beginning at 1pm on March 21 to share some memories of Noel.
60 and over
Play was held here in Rochester on Wednesday, Feb 18 and it was a very successful day with 26 teams entered.
There were seven teams winning all three games.
In second place was Howard Tonkin’s team from Kyabram.
Kevin Stout’s team from Lockington were the winners of the competition, with five in the yardstick.
Thanks to Les Walles for his assistance in setting up the greens, to the ladies for the delicious sandwiches, to Graham Willis and Leigh Milgate for serving behind the bar and Wes Bertuch for helping to clean up after play.
There were three bowlers from other clubs who were spare players, from Echuca, Tongala and Ky Valley View, their assistance meant that all teams were full.
Thanks also to Anton Gusak and Francis Keech for filling in.
Next Wednesday, Feb 25, play is back in Rochy again for a Group Day where half of the fee paid for entry goes to the 60 and Over competition to cover the cost of running the weekly competition.
Next Wednesday, play will again be in Rochester beginning at 10am.
Bar Duty
Mon – Thurs 5 – 6.30pm.
23 – 26 Feb: F. Keech and H. Moon.
2 – 5 Mar: J. McCallum and R. Turner.
9 – 12: D. Murray and P. Stack.
Lockington Bowls Club
Some good and bad news this week at Lockington in regards to the Campaspe Area Weekend and Midweek Pennant competitions.
On Saturday in the Weekend First semi-finals played at the Echuca Bowling Club, both our Division Three and Division Five teams lowered their colours to some stern opposition from their respective Echuca and Deniliquin White squads.
Division Three lost all rinks after showing glowing signs early in the contest.
However, the Echuca teams made clear their intentions in the final half of the semi-final to take out the final 73-48 (Kim Ray lost to T. Deenan 13-30; Steve Pavone lost to G. Clymo 18-31; John Fisher lost to T. Rickard 17-22).
Echuca will meet Moama in the preliminary final to be played at Lockington on Saturday.
Division Five lost a thriller against the might of Deniliquin White 35-40 after leading by some margin early in the contest.
However, both teams fought valiantly to stay in the game before the opposition improved slightly to score a five shot victory and a place in the preliminary final to face off against their fellow bowling teammates Deniliquin Blue (Rod Fiedler lost to L. Ritchie 15-26; Kalvan Stout def L. Pattison 20-14).
Last Tuesday evening some 20-odd bowlers enjoyed the barefoot bowls in cool to cold weather after a promising start to the night.
The name of the game was three bowl pairs and the winners were Jeff Carnie and JD Wright +17 shots ahead of Rod Fiedler and Peter Eade +14 shots.
On Tuesday this week the semi-finals of the Midweek Pennant competition was held at Mathoura and Rich River Bowling Clubs in ideal conditions, with just a little shower early in the game.
Lockington Division Four played Stanhope in the second semi-final and survived to win a brutal encounter with little separating the scores throughout.
Lockington had a slight advantage before the opposition won eight straight ends across the board to take a slender lead.
However, the Steve Peter rink rallied and reeled off some extraordinary bowls to grab the ascendency and lead the club to victory and a place in the grand final.
The Cindy Felmingham rink had a tough encounter against Anthony Trist before losing 12-17.
Total result was Lockington 36 to Stanhope 34 (J. Andrea, P. Andrea, S. Felmingham, S. Peter (s) def B. Williams 24-17; R. Shawcross, T. Westwood, K. Ray, C. Felmingham (s) lost to A. Trist 12-17).
Stanhope will play Moama Green in the preliminary final on Saturday at Lockington.
Members participated in the B.C.G. Region Novice Singles on Sunday at the South Bendigo Bowls Club.
All bowlers performed well with Cindy Felmingham making the final series.
60 and over
The Campaspe 60 and Over Bowls Group held their Wednesday weekly bowls at Rochester on a mild but pleasant day.
28 teams consisting of 112 bowlers all competing for a chook.
There were four three game winners.
They were Noel West’s team from Tongala, with three bowls near the jack, missed out.
Alan Benson’s team from Rochester with four bowls near the Jack missed out.
The runners up were Howard Tonkins’ team from Kyabram, for the second time in a week they also had four bowls near the jack within the metre stick and were closer than Alan Benson’s team.
The Kyabram team were lead Howard Tonkin, John McPhadden second, Maurice Hately third, and the skipper was Phil Denham.
The winners on the day were another team from Lockington in the name of Ray Hanson; they had five bowls near the jack.
They were Ray Hanson lead, John Andrew Harris second, Phil Cunnington third, and Leon Laffy was their skipper.
Last week it was Kalvan Stout’s team from Lockington who won.
Members of both teams received a chook each.
The next 60 and over bowls is at Ky Valley View on March 4 at 10am.
Entries to Graeme Topp on 0458 253 597 or Rod Donohue on 0417 633 478.
Good bowling and see you all at Ky Valley View next week.
Echuca Moama Croquet Club
Friday, February 21
What a turn up as 21 members came to play, and it seems like they all came to win today.
Peter van der Zande was the winner on three games + 15, followed closely by Lyn Keillor with three games + 14, then Sharon Tarrant + 11.
Jill Graham also won three games + 8, and also had a hoop in one.
Jump shots were one each to Peter, Lyn, and Johnny Tarrant.
John Alstin and Greg Brierley also spent time sharpening up their shots for Association.
For anyone wanting to play Association we play every Friday morning after game one.
Great to see so many of us here today.
Monday, February 23
Another great round up today with 21 coming together for another fantastic day's play.
Nobody won three games, but 14 won two games with our winner being John Graham, two games + 12, second Russell Clarke, two games + 10, and Liz Dellar was third with two games + 9.
Another close round, well done everyone.
Rich River Croquet Club
Kingball Croquet –Thursday, February 19
16 players enjoyed Kingball Croquet this morning.
Congratulations to Ian Grant who was the only player to win three games, with Greg Brierley the runner-up winning two games – a great effort by both players.
Kingball is a combination of Association and Golf Croquet, where four players compete but play as individuals, each player playing three games.
Vale Joyce Bray - Rich River Croquet Member
Joyce started playing croquet at Lockington on very slow sand courts with very few amenities.
She moved to Rich River Croquet Club in the 80s and really enjoyed the manicured courts.
She played for a few years and then became involved in the committee.
Joyce was Handicapper 1989/90, Captain of Association Croquet and Handicapper in 1991, Captain of Association Croquet 1992-1994, 1995 Vice Captain (Captain of Golf Croquet), and in 1996/97 President of Rich River Croquet Club.
While playing Division 4 Association Croquet, Joyce completed her referee qualification where she refereed many of the district and local tournaments.
She was referee for many years and finally decided that she was missing the opportunity to play in competitions and so became more involved in RRCC events including Pennant.
Rich River Croquet Club was often requested to stage major Victorian Regional Events plus the Australian Championships.
It was a responsibility of the current President to assist with the running of these events.
Joyce was appreciative of the help and advice from Kenn Boal and Rich River Golf Club Chairman, Bruce Freeman.
In 1993, she was an official in the organising of the Mac Robertson Shield with teams from USA, England, New Zealand, and Australia competing.
Events won: 1989 and 2001 Division 4 Championship in Association Croquet, a member of the Division 3 Pennant winning team 1996/97, and Division 1 & 2 Pennant Team 2009.
In 2023 Joyce was awarded the Excellent Contribution to Rich River Croquet Club Award.
From 1995-2013 the Joyce Bray Perpetual Trophy was awarded to the player with the best average score over the year in Association Croquet.
A valuable member, Joyce was also the Club Historian, recording results and taking photos of winners, material related to office bearers, and events.
13 albums are located at RRCC which gives excellent research material.