Last Thursday’s social bowls games at Orbost Bowls Club were played under beautiful sunny skies, but players had to contend with a fiercely strong wind that made accuracy incredibly difficult to achieve.
Due to the conditions, the match committee opted for a shortened format of two 10-end games. Bowlers took to the green knowing their usual aiming points would mean very little once the bowls caught the breeze.
While the wind caused plenty of havoc, one bowl went particularly awry after a classic wrong bias.
Overall, only one team truly mastered the challenging conditions to win both of their matches. The day’s clear victors were the triple of Bruce Kneebone (skip), Gwen Hatcher, and Maurice Frank.
Sunday’s session was played in cold, overcast conditions, producing what members believe might be a new club record — despite a smaller-than-usual turnout.
The potential record came courtesy of an unprecedented number of wrong biases. Across just two 10-end games of two-bowl triples, a whopping seven wrong biases were delivered by a mix of highly experienced and newer bowlers alike.
The matches — and the friendly banter that followed each wayward delivery — managed to wrap up just as a light drizzle began to set in.
No countback was required to determine the winners, with only one team managing a win and a draw to claim the top spot. The winning triple was skippered by Gwen Hatcher, alongside Bruce Kneebone and Dennis McCann.
The next social bowls session will be held this Thursday, with players asked to arrive at the club before 11.30am.
DRILLS AND SKILLS
The weekly Drills and Skills session enjoyed a strong turnout despite very cold and breezy Saturday weather that failed to clear up as the morning progressed.
Coach Ron Hatcher introduced a challenging new exercise this week using multiple jacks, setting five jacks in a straight line across the rink.
On the first end, bowlers on each rink had to aim for the furthest jack to the right, attempting to strike it and move it backward. No bowler could progress to the next jack in the line until the target jack was successfully cleared. With two teams playing on separate rinks using 20 bowls per rink, the contest ended in a draw, with both sides managing to remove just one jack each.
For the second end, the jacks were arranged in the same manner, but bowlers could target any jack they wished, provided they nominated their target before releasing the bowl. This format saw a step up in accuracy, with one team removing three jacks and the other clearing two.
To wrap up the session, the coach set a slightly more straightforward task, with the group playing three-bowl pairs. The next Drills and Skills session will run this Saturday from 10:00am.
2026/27 MEMBERSHIP
Members who have not yet renewed their memberships are reminded that fees for the 2026/27 season are now officially due.
