A composite team featuring Illawarra bowlers Kim Suckley, Leanne Chinery and Leanne Smith swept aside their rivals with a commanding victory in the Warilla Bowls Ladies Carnival.
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The two-day Versatility Fours event featured 28 teams and included top Sydney bowlers, plus leading players from South Coast and the Illawarra District.
Canadian international Chinery and her Wiseman Park clubmate Suckley, along with Oak Flats bowler Smith and Merrylands’ Jenny Clark claimed the $1200 winner’s purse after finishing unbeaten with four big victories and a +65 differential.
The host club Warilla team of Bev Kelsey, Trish Orgill, Narelle Mushet and Jean Stevenson took home $900 as runners-up, with 4wins+33.
A visiting Engadine team (4wins+13) was third ($600) and were the only other four-game winner with all teams playing two 15-end games each day.
Warilla’s Vicki Turner, Shirley Lindsay, Julea Morgan and Leone Barnett were fourth (3.5wins+23) and picked up $400, with Neutral Bay fifth ($300) on 3wins+40.
An Albion Park team skipped by Lyn Phoenix won the Encouragement Award.
The carnival also included a prize for the top winning team in each game. A composite side skipped by S Toohey won Game 1 with a +15 margin, with Lyn Skeers (Wenty Leagues) the top side in Game 2 with a 14-shot win.
Milton Ulladulla’s T Hanley and partners won Game 3 (+15) with Barb O’Donnell’s Warilla rink the best in Game 4 with a 13-shot victory.
The Versatility Fours format meant all bowlers rotated between playing lead, second, third and skip over the four games, with the carnival attracting players from leading Sydney teams including Engadine, Merrylands, Cabramatta and St Johns Park.
The Illawarra contingent included bowlers from Warilla, Wiseman Park, Albion Park, Thirroul and Windang, plus players from Milton Ulladulla and Merimbula.
Warilla Women’s Bowls Club will commence another year of Ladies Social Bowls on January 22, while the club’s regular Saturday Women’s Bowls has begun and is open to all registered bowlers.
Interested players need to place their names on the entry register by 12pm each Saturday.
It is a busy few weeks for women’s bowls at Warilla with the club, along with East Cessnock BC to host the NSW women’s qualifying rounds for the Australian Indoor Championship.
The Warilla qualifying series is on February 16-18 and will feature 80 top class bowlers from across NSW looking to secure one of the seven spots in the main women’s draw for the Australian Indoor Singles at Tweed Heads BC in August.
South Coast bowls legend Karen Murphy will be in the qualifying series at Warilla along with a host of other top class players including her Australian rep teammate, Goulburn junior Ellen Ryan.
Murphy is a multiple Australian Indoor champion but would love to qualify for the main draw again and chase the title which also carries the right to represent Australia at the World Cup in 2020.
