On the bowling green

Parkes Bowling & Sports Club By Marty Tighe The Minor Pairs Championship continued last week with one match played between Mark Glasheen and Mal Porter against Mike Valentine and Marty Tighe. The two Lead Bowlers, Mark and Mike, were in great form and had a good contest against each other. The experience and guile of veteran Mike Valentine eventually prevailed over Mark, with Mike and Marty gaining the upper hand during the second half of the match, winning the match by 25 shots to 11. Social Bowls Thursday social Bowls attracted 30 Bowlers to the Club, with the numbers boosted by Bowlers from the Railway Bowling Club, keen to practice on the green that hosted the Zone 4's event, which was held at the Club last Saturday. There were three games of triples and three games of pairs played on Thursday. The triples team skipped by Col Mudie had a convincing win over Rob Tinker, Bob Freeman and Rob Irving, winning by 22 shots to 11 M. Hackett and Blake Strudwick played a good game against the competitive Jim Blake and Gary McPhee, with the Railway men winning a close game by 20 shots to 18. Col Hayward, Bruce Orr and Darryl McKellar trailled by two shots after the 17th end against Paul and Ashley Kirwan and Geoff Leonard in a game that was always close between two even teams. Darryl, Col and Bruce rallied over the final three ends, winning each end, to win the game by 24 shots to 18. Mike Valentine and Geoff Freeman careered away to a big lead of nine shots after the seventh end and were looking good against Mark Glasheen and John Wright. As usual, big John and Mark made a good comeback. There was a thrilling finish, but unfortunately for the come-back Kings, John and Mark lost by just one shot, losing 19 shots to 20 to the experienced Mike and Geoff. Aaron Thorne and Paul Lewin came from behind on the scorecard to level the scores at 11 shots after the 13th end, against Phil Moran and Steve Ryan, in a game that saw the lead change five times during the game. After the 13th, Aaron and Paul went on a scoring spree, scoring 9 shots over the remaining ends, winning the game against Phil and Steve by 22 shots to 17. Ron Hornery, Noel Johnstone and Phil Barnard were no match against veterans Ray Jones, Graham Dixon and the polish of Jake Brown. Jake led Ray and Graham to a big win of 20 shots to 8, in an unusual scoring game in which multiple scores were recorded only on six of the 20 ends played, with just three shots the highest score on either of those 6 ends. Saturday social Bowls numbers were down a little due to the Zone 4's event at the Club. However, there were sixteen Bowlers who enjoyed the afternoon playing two games of triples and one game of pairs. Geoff Smith, Brian Townsend and Rhona Went played a very competitive game against John Carr, Mike Valentine and Colin Mudie. Team Went did not reach double figures until 14th end, as veterans John, Mike and Colin always had the game in hand. Mudies' men were given a late scare after Rhona and her Boys made a late charge, winning the last few ends, to just lose by three shots. Team Mudie won the game by 17 shots to 14 over Team Went. Rob Irving was on the losing team again when he and John Ward were defeated by a big margin against Ray Jones and Colin Hayward. Rob and John were completely outplayed, reaching double figures only on the 16th end, as Ray and Colin proved too strong from the first end to the last, winning by 28 shots to 13. Ron Hornery, Eathan Lacey and Joanne Simpson defeated Jim Blake, Bob Freeman and Rob Lacey by 17 shots to 9. The lucky rink jackpot remained untouched last week, and now holds $160 in its kitty for next Thursday. Women's Bowls By Lea Orr Strong competition at the Club on Tuesday! Accusations of playing short, questionable tactics, playing out of turn, even cheating... not the usual "ladies" morning... and not a lawn bowl in sight! Thanks, Ground Control, for declaring the green too wet to play bowls! We reverted to our most popular indoor game of euchre! A dozen or so girls donned gumboots and came along to help our patron, Joan, celebrate her upcoming birthday. A fabulous morning (and afternoon!) of catch up for us all! Good for the soul! This week has seen our members enjoying President's Day at Manildra. A fours team played both days at the weekend to be runners-up in the Mid-West Ladies Senior Fours. Our quest for Pennants' glory commences this weekend, with matches at Dubbo City and then at home vs Condobolin. Wishing our girls at home recuperating for various reasons, a full & fast recovery. To play bowls on Tuesday, July 16, call the club, 68621446, between 9.00am - 9.30am with play at 10am. Visitors and interested newcomers welcome. Bring lunch and enjoy our social time after. Milk N Mats: Chris Curteis (Merilyn, please). Railway Bowls By Paul Lewin Hello Bowlers 22 fresh faces took to the greens on Wednesday, July 3 for Social Bowls. Winners were John Corcoran, Bruce Jones and Alan Curteis winning 17+21. Runners Up were Myra Townsend and Dave Johnson winning 14+18. Third Place went to Gene Rapp, Warren Watson and Jan Griffith winning 12+4. Marble 6 came out and the Margins were 4, 8, 18 and 21. The Jackpot this week is $148.00. Fourteen keen players hit the green on Saturday afternoon for Social Bowls. Winners were Warren Watson and Gene Rapp winning 17+11. Runners Up were Mick Dunn and Paul Lewin winning 15+9. State Championships 20 members played in the State Fours sectional play at the Town Club over the weekend and one member went to Dubbo in the State Reserve Fours. The team of Junior Thorne, Ray Griffith, John Corcoran and Tony Bright winning their section to progress to the Regional Final at the Railway on Saturday, July 27 against a strong Manildra side led by Flippy. We wish them the best of luck. Men Only Pennants The Men Only Pennants kicks off this weekend with our Division 3 side heading to Cowra Saturday and having a bye Sunday and our Division 4 team at home Saturday and heading to Dubbo City on Sunday. Teams are on the board. Club Championships The Club Championships nominations are up and will close towards the end of the month. Please get your teams sorted and names up to avoid missing out. This week we have Social Bowls on Wednesday, July 10 at 1pm. Social Bowls on Saturday, July 13 at 1pm. As always names in half an hour before start times, everyone is welcome and quality new loan bowls are available at the club. In the Club on Friday, July 12 we have Happy Hour 5-7pm, Meat Tray Raffles, Badge Draw ($450.00), Joker Draw ($1,100.00) and the Bistro serving up their amazing meals from 6pm. See you at the Railway! Toot Toot!