Districts do the dance
The top 12 bowlers in each Queensland bowls district go head to head this week at the Gold Coast in 2016 District Sides. It costs a lot of money to come away to District Sides, in travel costs and accommodation, but there weren’t a lot of bowlers complaining today.
Everyone at District Sides – and there are some 500 bowelrs – enjoys playing bowls against other great bowlers.
Who wouldn’t enjoy lining up against a warrior like Australia’s No 1 bowler, Canadian international Ryan Bester from Broadbeach, a great supporter of Bowls Queensland events, the Broadbeach bowls coordinator skipping for Gold Coast Tweed district’s ‘yellow’ team.
(There are 21 bowls districts in Queensland but North West QLD women do not field a team at District Sides, and the tradition is for the ‘host’ district, in this case Gold Coast Tweed, to field two teams, to round out the men’s draw so no-one gets a BYE).
The men’s and women’s districts are split into two sections, playing at different venues.
The women are playing at Twin Towns and South Tweed Wed May 4 – Friday May 6.
The men are playing at Tweed Heads and Coolangatta Wed May 4 – Friday May 6.
A ladder is constructed as the rounds progress, the top four in the men’s and women’s competitions going through to a “Division One” final on Saturday May 7 at Tweed Heads.
(The next top four finishers will play a Division 2 men’s and women’s final round on Sat May 7, also at Tweed Heads. Division 3 men and women will play their finals at Coolangatta, Division 4 at Twin Towns and Division 5 at South Tweed.)
There are two more days of rounds after today: Rounds 4-6 will be played tomorrow (Thurs May 5) and Rounds 7-9 on Friday May 6.
At the end of Round 9, the field will be drawn for Saturday’s finals day.
In today’s action at Twin Towns, Maranoa Warrego women were delighted to finally win a round at a District Sides, winning over Cunningham today by three shots, 50-47. (The girls in green have previously won a rink at a District Sides, but until today, a full round had eluded them.)
At Coolangatta, Brisbane North men were ecstatic to win by the cruelist of margins, one shot, 63-62 after 69 ends, against Gold Coast Tweed ‘teal’ side, the two Sides going shot for shot over three rinks for the whole long afternoon as the shadows lengthened.
Click here for up to date RESULTS from today’s rounds (Rounds 1-3) https://www.bowlsqld.org/Events/State-Events/State-District-Sides-Championships#Results-336
