From sealing its first champion for the year in the Club Fours back in February to running its Major Pairs in April, then the Major Singles and Minor Singles in May, plus Triples and Minor Pairs in July the club has worked through its championship season despite the uncertainty of the times.

The Government state-wide lockdown on August 14 arrived at the start of the club's Major Minor Pairs with matches being halted with just a handful of ends remaining to be played.

Fortunately, before COVID disrupted the bowls calendar of all clubs, Shoalhaven Heads were able to successfully manage its championship program which began with an exciting final in its Club Fours.

Grant Rogers and partners beat Glen Flanigan's rink 19-18 in a thrilling start opener.

The match was locked 17-17 with two ends remaining with Rogers picking up two shots on the 20th end. Flanigan's team peppered the jack on the final end but were held to a single shot.

The Major Pairs Championship also produced a tremendous final with John Jacka and Neil Unicomb finishing strongly in the final few ends to clinch a hard-fought 26-15 win over Mat Flanigan and his father Glen in front of a very supportive crowd.

The Men's Major Singles Championship followed in May with Glen Flanagan claiming the prestigious title with a 31-16 victory over Bob Feltham in the final.

The semi-finals were played mid-week under lights with Feltham defeating Geoff Kay in one of the best matches of the year. Three times Kay held four shots and each time Feltham rallied to take the shot or collect the jack and kill the end.

Next up in the Minor Singles, Rick Ryan won the title with a 31-10 win over Steve Franklin; though the final was much closer than the score-line suggested.

Franklin had the better of many ends only for Ryan to counter with a brilliant shot bowl.

The Triples and Minor Singles were also completed before the club went into lockdown.

In the Triples final, skip Ron Prowse and partners Neil Unicomb and Greg Flood overcame Rob Percival and partners Brad Trigg and Cyril Simpson 19-18.

The momentum changed several times with Prowse leading by three shots heading into the final end and holding on for the narrowest of wins.

In further proof that bowls is for every age group, Prowse is 88-years young and uses a Bowling Arm to great effect.

Gregory Brooker and Kevin Franklin played well in cold and wet conditions to win the Minor Pairs final, beating Brian Curran and Ron Ashby 21-10.

In a see-sawing final every end was decided by just a single shot; testimony to how little separated the teams.

Aside from the club championship Shoalhaven Heads BC held a very successful Veterans Day with 80 patrons, while the club's Grade 4 pennant side stormed into the Zone 16 semi-finals after wins over Thirroul (10-0) and Wiseman Park (9-1) in the final two rounds.

Wiseman Park beat Shoalhaven Heads in the knockout semi-final and went on to win the Zone flag. Shoalhaven Heads' Grade 6 and Grade 7 side missed the playoffs but still had a season to be proud of.

Milavoy Markovic won his second Bellambi Major Singles almost two decades after his first with a hard-fought victory over Paul Duck in the final.

The decider was delayed four months due to the COVID lockdown with Markovic winning 31-20 to claim his eighth Bellambi title and first in Singles since 2003.

''I love the competition. It's great to be back playing again and having the chance to play for the Singles title,'' Markovic said.

The Bellambi stalwart has won most of the top titles at his home club including the Fours in 2004 and Triples two years later; while also a runner-up in Singles in 2015.

The consistent Duck won the Singles in 2019 and has taken out the Triples, Fours and Minor Singles.

On a perfect morning for the final, Markovic won five straight ends to lead 16-6 before Duck twice cut the deficit to just two shots on a 10-2 run.

With the match in the balance at 18-16, Markovic went on a 13-4 run to seal one of the blue-ribbon club events within Zone 16.

Bellambi prides itself as ''the friendly club'' and while comparatively small with around 50 bowling members, they had two pennant teams this year and are more than happy to welcome new bowlers of all abilities.

Fifteen teams have nominated for it 2021 Major Pairs beginning this weekend with the final on November 21.

Bellambi has completed one other club championship this year with Keith Elliott, Nobby Clark, Graham Drew and Howie Russell (skip) winning the Club Fours.

While many parts of NSW are returning to the green, organisers of the Ultimate Bowls Championship have cancelled the event in December due to travel and border restrictions.

The UBC was due to be hosted by Victoria's Deer Park BC but with around 50 per cent of the teams from Asia, New Zealand, the United States and various parts of Australia, it was deemed not viable due to COVID restrictions.

The UBC has been likened to bowls' version of Twenty20 cricket but after a strong start with the inaugural event at Warilla in 2019 and a second event at Deer Park later that year, it has now been cancelled for two straight years.

Besides featuring many of the world's best bowlers, the UBC has a unique scoring system in short, fast games in which every bowl counts.

UBC officials now plan to return next April at The Dandenong Club in Melbourne and also at Moama BC in December 2022, with $1 million prize pool on offer.

''That's a world first for our sport which is exciting. It will give us a timely boost for sure,'' said UBC CEO Mark Casey.

When the UBC finally returns it is certain that several top Illawarra-based bowlers will be snapped up by the various franchises chasing the largest prize money in Australian bowls.