August has been a big month so far, and still has plenty of bowls action to come in the remaining weekends of the month.
We'll start with the Under 18's, where four of the Mid North Coasts finest young guns have travelled to Forster to represent Zone Fourteen in the annual Seven a Side event.
Corey Wedlock, Ben Watson, Josh Forbes and Josh Hicks performed admirably, finishing fifth out of the sixteen zones. The event is unique in that Singles, Triples and Pairs are all competed in during each match. Zone champion Josh Forbes was the best performed over the five matches played with pairs team mate Jai Whelan, the duo claiming four wins and a draw.
The best in the open's also represented the Zone in past weeks, competing at Port City in the annual Pat Geary Shield against zones 6, 2 and 15.
The weekend proved tough going for the local zone, losing overall in each match, and only claiming six rink wins out of a possible eighteen.
There were some good signs to come out of the weekend, with many rookies stepping up in their first outings as zone players. West Coffs Corey Wedlock (still a junior), and Martin Wilson, along with Park Beach's Steve Plumb all made the cut to earn the right to compete at the State Inter Zone championships at Nelsons Bay in September, in their first year in the side. Only two other MNC players managed to make the sixteen man side, rep veterans from Park Beach Ric Southam and Cory Daley will provide plenty of experience for the newer capped players to learn from.
Sawtell's Paul Bartholomew was selected as a reserve and was considered unlucky by many not to be in the starting side.
And for the record, Newcastle (Zone 2) won the shield, adding to their impressive record in the event.
Last weekend saw John Bain continue to add to his growing list of titles when he finished the only unbeaten player in the MNC Champion of Club Champion singles event hosted by Park Beach.
With players having to win their club singles this year just to be eligible, the field was always going to be strong. Bain reached the final at his home club by defeating Martin Wilson 31-17 in the penultimate match. The other semi final went down to the wire, with Nambucca Heads champion Tony Urquhart outlasting Macksville's Paul Ward 31-26.
Bain proved to be the more determined in the final claiming the win over Urquhart 31-12 in a match where the scores' didn't reflect the closeness of the battle.
Bain was also the winner of this event in 2009 and will compete in the zone final later in the year.
Finally, Sawtell hosted the annual Mike Blewitt Major/Minor Pairs carnival which was filled to capacity. The event ran perfectly with plenty of visitors, in particular a number of Armidale teams competing in the popular tournament. Game six on Sunday afternoon had to be scrapped due to mother nature flexing her muscles and bringing showers and lightning down upon the area, leaving the winners to be determined on the results of the first five matches. Park Beach's Rod Farmer and Steve Kennedy claimed the winners purse including free hire of a luxury car from Mike Blewitt prestige motors for a weekend of their choosing. The event will be sure to fill to capacity early again next year.
This weekend will see the annual Park Beach open pairs carnival, (call the club for details) and the MNC Champion of Club Champion Pairs event being contested at West Coffs....
Til Next Time.....
Chippy
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Club Championships - Singles
Most clubs have now completed their club singles and pairs for 2011.
At Park Beach, John Bain has carved out his own slice of history winning his third consecutive club singles crown with a hard fought victory over the evergreen Phil Toy.
No player has ever won three in a row at the club and Bain was determined to become the first, getting out to an early lead that saw him get within five shots of the winning post before Toy commenced a fightback. Trailing 27-13, Toy ground his way back, getting to 26 before Bain finally closed the door. Both players deserve credit for the gutsy efforts put in to this match. The question now has to be asked, can anyone stop Bain making it four in a row in 2012?
Martin Wilson took out his maiden club singles at West Coffs defeating Stuart Hartigan in 31-22 in a match that was much closer than the final score reflects. The victory completes a rapid rise to the upper echelon of the sport within the local area for Martin who also recently, along with Hartigan gained his first selection the Zone Fourteen representative team.
Wilson certainly earned his place in the decider, coming from 18-2 behind to snatch victory from young gun Corey Wedlock 31-29. Corey also has been given an opportunity to debut in the men's open zone rep side later this month, giving the club the most number of representative players it has had for at least a decade!
Hartigan didn't have it all his own way in the other semi final against Peter Newcombe, battling through for a 31-23 success.
Both Bain and Wilson will now compete in the District Champion of Club Champion Singles hosted by Park Beach in a weeks time.
This weekend will see the Zone Fourteen representative side compete in the Pat Geary Shield against the Hunter, Newcastle and Central Coast Zones. Twelve players from the Mid North Coast will be travelling to Port Macquarie today to compete in this annual event that is used by selectors as a means of selecting a 16 man side to compete at the state inter zone championships later this year.
Full results of this event, and the draw for the C/CC singles to follow...
Enjoy the weekend!
Chippy
At Park Beach, John Bain has carved out his own slice of history winning his third consecutive club singles crown with a hard fought victory over the evergreen Phil Toy.
No player has ever won three in a row at the club and Bain was determined to become the first, getting out to an early lead that saw him get within five shots of the winning post before Toy commenced a fightback. Trailing 27-13, Toy ground his way back, getting to 26 before Bain finally closed the door. Both players deserve credit for the gutsy efforts put in to this match. The question now has to be asked, can anyone stop Bain making it four in a row in 2012?
Martin Wilson took out his maiden club singles at West Coffs defeating Stuart Hartigan in 31-22 in a match that was much closer than the final score reflects. The victory completes a rapid rise to the upper echelon of the sport within the local area for Martin who also recently, along with Hartigan gained his first selection the Zone Fourteen representative team.
Wilson certainly earned his place in the decider, coming from 18-2 behind to snatch victory from young gun Corey Wedlock 31-29. Corey also has been given an opportunity to debut in the men's open zone rep side later this month, giving the club the most number of representative players it has had for at least a decade!
Hartigan didn't have it all his own way in the other semi final against Peter Newcombe, battling through for a 31-23 success.
Both Bain and Wilson will now compete in the District Champion of Club Champion Singles hosted by Park Beach in a weeks time.
This weekend will see the Zone Fourteen representative side compete in the Pat Geary Shield against the Hunter, Newcastle and Central Coast Zones. Twelve players from the Mid North Coast will be travelling to Port Macquarie today to compete in this annual event that is used by selectors as a means of selecting a 16 man side to compete at the state inter zone championships later this year.
Full results of this event, and the draw for the C/CC singles to follow...
Enjoy the weekend!
Chippy
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
State Pennant Results
No joy was to be had for clubs representing the Mid North Coast at the state pennant championships held at numerous benues over the weekend.
Four Mid North Coast Clubs travelled away ins earch of glory and despite playing well, none were successful in advancing past the semi finals stage.
In Grade One, hosted by Ballina, Park Beach recovered from an opening round loss to Alexandria Erskineville to record two impressive victories in rounds two and three against Wagga and Ettalong. It was Erskineville however that advanced from this section. Bowls powerhouse club St Johns Park eventually took out the flag over Belrose.
In Grade Three, Nambucca Heads travelled toAlbion Park and started their campaign well against Guyra, scoring a solid win, however a loss in round two to Hamilton North put their campaign on thin ice, and when eventual champions Cowra also proved too strong, the sun had set on what was a great year for the Nambucca boys.
Bellingen found the going tough at Western Suburbs, losing their opening clash to Ourimbah Lisarow however bounced back to record a win over Merrylands in round two. Albion Park put paid to the Bellingen campaign in the third round, however the small country club can hold their head high after a gutsy effort this season.
Finally in Grade Six, Coffs Ex Services took a little while to get going at Engadine, struggling in their opening two rounds before putting Binalong to the sword in their last match. Again this was a great effort for a side that didn't have a single member that had played at a state pennant championship before. The team will grow from the experience and continue to improve in the coming years.
Congrats to all the State champions crowned Monday morning!
Chippy
Four Mid North Coast Clubs travelled away ins earch of glory and despite playing well, none were successful in advancing past the semi finals stage.
In Grade One, hosted by Ballina, Park Beach recovered from an opening round loss to Alexandria Erskineville to record two impressive victories in rounds two and three against Wagga and Ettalong. It was Erskineville however that advanced from this section. Bowls powerhouse club St Johns Park eventually took out the flag over Belrose.
In Grade Three, Nambucca Heads travelled toAlbion Park and started their campaign well against Guyra, scoring a solid win, however a loss in round two to Hamilton North put their campaign on thin ice, and when eventual champions Cowra also proved too strong, the sun had set on what was a great year for the Nambucca boys.
Bellingen found the going tough at Western Suburbs, losing their opening clash to Ourimbah Lisarow however bounced back to record a win over Merrylands in round two. Albion Park put paid to the Bellingen campaign in the third round, however the small country club can hold their head high after a gutsy effort this season.
Finally in Grade Six, Coffs Ex Services took a little while to get going at Engadine, struggling in their opening two rounds before putting Binalong to the sword in their last match. Again this was a great effort for a side that didn't have a single member that had played at a state pennant championship before. The team will grow from the experience and continue to improve in the coming years.
Congrats to all the State champions crowned Monday morning!
Chippy
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