Maureen Gribble is the Torquay Lawn Bowls women’s singles champion for this year after an outstanding final.

In a fitting finale to what was a strong competition throughout the early rounds, Maureen beat Sandra Skene in a top-quality match that brought out the best in both players. Contested in excellent conditions on a quick green, Maureen’s steadiness won out in the finish, for her to take out her fifth women’s title in eight years at the club. Sandra has been bowling for about five years.

“Sandra really bowled beautifully” Maureen said. “It was very close for most of the game, until I got a break on one end, and that proved just enough.

“Until that stage, I was struggling to find a way to get away from her as Sandra kept putting in bowls better than mine. It was a credit to her.”

On the men’s side of bowls, the story has been of a frustrating run of wash-outs of weekend pennant fixtures.
With the season at the half-way mark, the Division 1 and Division 3 teams are looking good for finals berths and the Division 5 side is also well in the mix. The Division 10 team faces a fight, but is being strengthened and could still make it a clean sweep of finals participation.

The green lawns of the Torquay Bowls Club are a far cry from the red earth of the Kimberley in north-west Australia but that did not deter nine Aboriginal children from there enjoying their first go at the game of bowls.

What a sight the greens are on Wednesday nights at the Torquay Bowls Club! What began a few years ago with a group of barefoot bowlers has now developed a life of its own, with more than 100 players involved each week.

So popular has this booming social event become that it has reached a stage that there are now waiting lists. And for some it has become somewhat more that social, with two divisions now formed - the “serious section”, involving 16 teams of four bowlers, and the “fun group” of 14 teams. The reason for this teams’ restriction is simple. We only have enough rinks for 30 teams.

With the rotating format, bowlers are assured of meeting a new group of people each week, making it a great party atmosphere. Add to that the generally jovial environment in which the games are played, then it is no surprise people out for their evening walks along The Esplanade often take a breather to check out what is going on.

The season runs on through the summer, culminating in a Twilighters championship and a special Challenge night, when these players can test the advances made in their abilities against the club’s better pennant players.

Apart from the obvious income streams of green fees and bar takings that this all generates, the club is looking forward to some of these players, who show plenty of potential, joining the pennant competitions.

And while on the subject of pennant competitions, the amazing run of weather has again left the Saturday teams frustrated. So far, the weekend warriors have managed just three of seven games, with three washouts and one abandoned because of the chaos in Geelong created by the world bike titles.

As the weeks have evolved, our Division 1 side has yet to play a home game, but is still sitting in third place, only two points behind the equal leaders, with Division 3 in second place. The Division 5 team is well placed to fight for a finals shot in fifth place and the Division 10 team is in the middle of the pack after a slow start.

Surfcoast FC is blazing a trail through the record books in the region, as its men's Provisional 2 team becomes the first local club in 30 years to gain league promotion in consecutive years and its girls teams reached the grand final in every age group.'

Article source: http://surfcoastfc.com.au