By Graham Wakefield

South Australia Police & Emergency Services Games

The first ever SA Police & Emergency Services Games lawn bowls competition was held at the Holdfast Bay Bowling Club in mid-November last year.

Nominations were down but, in a congenial atmosphere, the bowling was fiercely competitive.

The teams, with players from as far as Renmark and Port Lincoln, represented eight agencies. The inter-service camaraderie, both on and off the greens, was evident throughout the three-day event.

Weather conditions ranged from a pleasant 28 degrees one day to a hot 38 degrees the next. The open pairs final was played in a steady downpour, while the sectional pairs final played in damp, windy, and fairly cool conditions.

In these very testing conditions, the winners had to work hard for their success.

RSABA president, Vic Brown OAM, presented the medals. Winners in the open pairs were:

• Rex Heins and John McKnight (SAPOL)            Gold
• John Morris and Col Davies (SAPOL)               Silver
• John Minagall and Nick Zuvich (SAPOL)         Bronze

Winners in the sectional pairs were:

• Rex Heins and John McKnight (SAPOL)            Gold
• Graham Wakefield and Frank Holden (SAPOL) Silver
• Nic Zuvich and John Minagall (SAPOL)           Bronze

Mixed fours at Elizabeth

Winner of the winners section, with 56 points plus 18 shots in a mixed fours tournament at Elizabeth Bowling Club last November, was the combination of Liz Boyer (lead), Sonya Blackman (second), Brian Blackman (third) and Graham Boyer (skip).

Winners of losers section, with 33 points plus six shots, were Ron Brooks (lead), Judy Brooks (second), Bob Peters (third) and Marilyn Peters (skip).

Club pairs

Members competed in the club drawn pairs event at the Holdfast Bowling Club in early February. Good weather produced some tight competition. The winners were John McKnight and Eric Flynn (three wins plus 20 shots up). The runners-up were Trevor Gregory and Allan Martin (two wins and a draw plus eight shots up).

Police versus Grange

SAPBC members did battle against the Grange Bowling Club at Grange for the perpetual shield in mid-February. The Grange bowlers were too good on the night and retained the shield for another year. The results were:

• J McKnight 16 – 17 (one shot down).
• N Zuvich 14 – 16 (two shots down).
• T Gregory 11 – 18 (seven shots down).
• J Morris 19 – 9 (10 shots up).
• L Yeo 8 – 20 (12 shots down).

Grange won by 12 shots overall.

Mixed fours at Glenelg Bowling

Club Members played at the Glenelg Bowling Club in the final event of the season in mid-March. The strong turnout for this event produced good competition among the teams. Winners of the winners, with 55 points and 20 shots up, were Richard Snelling, Karen Grandfield, Ian Matters and Wayne Grandfield.

Winners of the losers section, with 34 points and 18 shots up, were Olga Evans, Lois Frankham, Gavin Martin and Ron Gray.

Singles – club championship

The club singles championship and the club singles plate championship were played at the Glenelg Bowling Club in mid-March. Both games produced some fine, close bowling. John Morris (25 shots) defeated Ken Furnell (14 shots).

In the singles plate championship, Graham Wakefield (21shots) defeated Peter Carroll (19 shots).