A huge program of suspended 2021 state events - including the Open Gender and Women's Pennants Finals and State Championships - have been rescheduled to next year.
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With NSW reaching a double vaccination rate of 70 per cent leading to an easing of COVID lockdown restrictions, Bowls NSW have released its own Roadmap to Recovery for its most important 2021 events which will now be played in 2022. Leading the list of rescheduled 2021 state events is the Open Gender State Pennant Finals in all seven grades set down for March 25 to 27.
The finals host venues remain mostly unchanged with Zone 16 Grade One champions Warilla, along with Southern Conference sectional champions Dapto Citizens and playoffs winners Wiseman Park, to head to Forster chasing the state flag. With Parkes hosting their annual Elvis Festival in late March, Windang BC travel to Club Dubbo and Macquarie Club in search of a state Grade Two flag.
Kiama will head to NBC Sports Clubs and Toongabbie BC for the Grade Three Finals, with Grade Four champs Wiseman Park off to Yamba and Maclean. Grade Five winners Woonona visit St Georges Basin Country Club and Nowra, with Corrimal (Grade Six) heading to Maitland City and co-hosts Lorn Park. Warilla (Grade Seven) will enjoy home green advantage as hosts for its State Finals, with Kiama BC also keen to be involved in finals weekend next March.
The 2021 State Women's Pennant Finals have also been rescheduled to Forster and Tuncurry for next March. Illawarra District Grade Two champions Woonona and Grade Three winners Oak Flats will play for a state flag on March 18-20, followed by Grade One winners Wiseman Park and Grade Four champions Figtree RSL having their finals on March 21-23.
In other news, the Women's State Championships has been switched to March 30-April 8 at South Tamworth and West Tamworth. Illawarra's representatives are Windang's Moira Dorans, Kim Hart, Wendy Stevens and Janelle Jordan in Open Fours, with Warilla's Vicki Turner, Maureen Murphy, Shirley Lindsay and Leone Barnett to defend their State Senior Fours crown.
Illawarra's other reps are Towradgi's Julie Woods and Kay Gill (Open Pairs); Oak Flats' Sharman Clark and Vicki Brown (Senior Pairs); Towradgi's Lyn Hamill, Vikki Wilson and Rhonda Fisher in Triples and Kim Suckley (Dapto Citizens) in the blue-ribbon State Singles.
The 2021 Open Gender State Championships are at Ettalong Memorial from May 20-29. Warilla dominate the Zone 16 representation with Lee Stinson (Singles), plus Stinson and Brendan Aquilina (Open Pairs); Michael Thorne, Eric Haynes, Jamie Mitchell and Jeremy Henry (Open Fours); plus father and son Ken and Noel Stopher in President's Reserve Pairs.
Zone 16's other reps are Figtree Sports' Tony Cheetham, Peter Crewdson, Peter Ellem and Peter Bennett in Senior Fours; Wiseman Park's Ron Owen, Peter McMurtrie, Robert Paddon and Barry DeLeva (Reserve Fours); Figtree Sports' Alan Jones and Mark Kesby (Senior Pairs); Towradgi's Brian Harriott (Senior Singles) and Windang's Paul Cable in the State Reserve Singles.
Other 2021 state events rescheduled to 2022 include the State Junior Championships on April 19-22 at Warilla and the Men's State Champion of Champion Singles and Pairs from June 3-7 at South Tamworth.
Webber's ride to save lives
Former champion Towradgi Park bowler Bill Webber has raised more than $12,000 through a solo charity ride and paddle in the fight against dementia.
Webber is one of the region's greatest bowlers and last month, at age 81, completed a ride and paddle from his home in Port Macquarie to Tweed Heads to support Dementia Awareness Week.
Webber undertook the charity ride due to a personal reason: his brother George suffers from the disease and is being cared for on the Gold Coast. Webber's plan to ride to the Gold Coast was thwarted by the NSW/Queensland border being closed due to COVID restrictions, but he completed his 450-kilometres trip in four stages - from Port Macquarie to Nambucca, then to Grafton, to Ballina and finally to Tweed Heads, plus did 100km of kayak paddling. He has already raised more than $12,000, with Wiseman Park BC donating $100 in support.
Webber hopes the Illawarra bowls community gives back during Dementia Awareness Week.
''Dementia does not discriminate in its selection criteria - age, wealth, healthy lifestyle and education are no guarantees for a dementia-free ageing process,'' the champion bowler said.
''I want to raise money to fund better outcomes for future generations of dementia patients and their families.''
Region's bowls ready to resume
Bowling clubs can open their doors and welcome bowlers back on the green from Monday as the lifting of lockdown restrictions begins.
With the NSW government's vaccination target of 70 per cent double dose to be reached, clubs can begin opening for the first time since being in lockdown from June 26. The first stage of the NSW Roadmap to Recovery will allow bowling clubs to open for business plus social bowls, including roll-ups and internal club championships from October 11.
Bowls NSW recommend clubs impose a limit of 50 people per green and follow a COVID safety plan.
No Zone tournaments are to be played during the initial reopening but once the 80 per cent double dose threshold is reached - expected around October 25 - tournament play and gala days should be allowed. Some Zone 16 clubs have begun preparations to complete their club championships for 2021 from as early as the weekend of October 16-17.
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