Geraldton gets positive response to June carnival bowls tournament

The Geraldton Bowling Club’s 75th annual June carnival opening three-day tournament ran last week.

The carnival was well received by all participants as the club’s premier event of the season.

The tournament was at capacity, with 144 players taking to the greens throughout the three-day event, which included a record-breaking 102 visiting players including several former and current State team members and a number of metropolitan premier league bowlers.

The club ran a courtesy bus for the attendees during the three days, with the kitchen supplying meals on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

President Neil Exten praised all involved in bringing the tournament together, including the catering by the Geraldton ladies who provided meals, the club’s volunteers, and the bowls match room.

The highlight was the playing surface, with all three greens running consistently throughout the weekend and greens keeper Andrew Mason, greens director Kim Trotter and workers Jeff Eaton and Trevor Smythe producing a surface equal to any in Australia.

The popular carnival attracted sides from as far north as Exmouth and as far afield as Narembeen, Carnamah, Eaton, Bedford, Dudley Park, Osborne Park, Wanneroo, Manning, Thornlie, Doubleview, Cambridge and several composite combinations.

Local venues Wonthella, Denison and Mullewa also entered.

The playing field rated the best this century, ensuring the end result would not be obvious until the last match of the event, with no less than seven sides in contention going into the final stanza.

In the end it was the 2014 and 2015 winners in the composite quartet of Jim Barry, Ryan Moyle, Shane Loftus and Kyle McIlroy who claimed the top prize in a stellar performance, the foursome moving to the top midway through Sunday and holding on until the finish.

The result highlights the foursome’s talent and comes after several strong performances over the past few carnivals.

Two sides were level on points in second and third, with the composite side skippered by Sam Perica along with Mike Marovic, Ross Pringle and Allan Grieves getting the result on percentage from the local side of Jon Trotter, Michael Walton, Kim Trotter and Warwick Glenister.

Fourth place went to the Eaton quartet of Mark Mills, Dave Carruthers, Peter Ainsworth and Neville Woods, a quality first-time performance from a side who will rate highly next year. Mount Lawley’s Andrew Jones, Guy Herriot, Jeff Bessant and Cameron Green completed the top six finishers, with Jones showing a liking for the surface after a fourth placing in 2019, a first in 2018 and second in 2017.

The tournament continues to attract great support from sponsors and visiting players, with many indicating the 76th carnival was certainly on their bowling calendar for next year.