West
Australian Boys
2005 BCIB Australian
Junior Championships
For the third year Halekulani Bowling Club
on the Central Coast of NSW hosted the Australian Junior Championships in Lawn
Bowls. The event ran from the 26th to 29th Sept and was contested by 80 of the
county's best under-18 bowlers.
The Australian juniors singles
championship was taken out by Darren Morrison from Avoca.
While the NSW boys made their presence
felt in all divisions, the girls shone by qualifying for the gold medal match in
the pairs, triples and fours.
The experience of the the organisers and
hosts was evident and the competition was a pleasure to attend. Organisers,
umpires and coaches all mentioned the mighty efforts of the Northern Territory
team. Northern Territory has only two clubs to harvest junior level players
from. Catherine and Palmerstone are three hours apart and the dedication and
effort to put together such a competitive team is respected by everyone in the
series
ACT Foreground,
SA Rear
Introduction from the event
programme guide
The next generation of elite Australian
bowlers will fill the greens at the Halekulani Bowling Club when the venue hosts
the BCIB Australian Junior Championships. Eighty of the best bowlers in the
country aged under 18 years will contest the 18th annual championships from
26-29 Sept with each state and territory fielding a team of five boys and five
girls. The event will be played under a 'five-a-side' format in keeping with
major international tournaments such as World Bowls.
Teams are divided into two sections of four, with the winner of each section meeting in the final. The players compete in singles, pairs, triples and fours, with each team member required to play in two disciplines.
Teams are divided into two sections of four, with the winner of each section meeting in the final. The players compete in singles, pairs, triples and fours, with each team member required to play in two disciplines.
Queenslands recent domination of junior bowls continued last year when the state claimed both the boy's and girl's overall championship titles. A stand-out performance in the boy's competition, Queensland appeared in the finals in all four disciplines, securing it's third national junior title in four years with victory in the triples and fours. The girl's team collected the overall trophy after edging out Tasmania, also with wins in the triples and fours.
NSW,
South Australia and Queensland
Northern Territory
Queensland again looks threatening in the girl's event with
leading players Georgia White, Kelsey Cottrell and Amanda Bessell retuurning to
defend the title Sixteen year-old White is a dual Commonwealth Youth Games gold
medallist and in 2005 the talented youngster won the pairs title at the
Helensvale Grand Prix and the triples crown at the Moama Grand Prix. Cottrell,
15, the youngest player ever to be selected in the Australian Bowls Squad has
just been named in the training squad for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The trio will be joined by Anita Wilson and Elizabeth Dunne in their bid to win
back to back titles. Tasmania was the surprise package at last year's
tournament, winning the blue-ribbon singles event and the pairs with Rebecca
Quail playing in both finals. Quail who won a gold and silver medal at the 2004
Commonwealth Youth Games, is set to defend her titles, again combining with
Candice Hodgetts in the pairs. New South Wales is expected to again provide
plenty of tough competition in the girl's event as the state won the
overall trophy in 2002 and 2003.
NSW and SA foreground, WA mid, Qld at
Rear
While the
Queensland girl's team is relatively settled, the boy's side has undergone
somewhat of a shake-up with just two players, Jamie Nordoff and Michael Smith,
back to defend the title. Ray Lanham, Jamie Smith and Queensland triples
champion Brent Cheyne fill the remaining places. South Australia--which won the
boy's title in 2002--will also be in the mix with Austin Cunningham and Max
Kleinig joining previous participants Mark Haines, James Gregory and Braydon
Norris. Many leading bowlers have kick-started their careers at the Australian
Junior Championships. Current Australian Bowls Squad members Brody Pitham, Alex
Murtagh, Lynsey Armitage, Jessie Eva, Melaney Macaulay, Cottrell and White have
all won national junior titles.
Tasmanian girl
Victoria and NSW girls
Event sponsors and administrators
Photography by
Steve Solomons
Page by Weblight
Studio (Australia)
Contact
us
Umpire
John Johnson. One of the officials who made the event such a success
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