Champion of Club Champions Pairs winners crowned today!
Congratulations to Club Helensvale men and Cleveland women on their win of the Champion of Club Champions Pairs!
Men
The Club Helensvale combination of Aron Sherriff and Steven Tong surged to an impressive gold medal victory in the Pairs final of the Bowls Queensland 2021 Champion of Club Champions played at Mackay’s South Suburban Bowls Club today, defeating North Toowoomba 28-23.
Sherriff and Tong started slowly up against North Toowoomba’s Hayden Vogler and Jake Rynne who took an early lead with three shots going into the third end, only to be succeeded by Sherriff and Tong getting five shots in end three. From then, it was Vogler and Rynne scoring and Sherriff and Tong narrowly beating their score by one or two shots until end 13 when the Bushranger boys pulled out five shots to lead the game 17-14.
The Helensvale combination focused and bowled five neat shots to a 19-17 lead in the 15th end, followed by shot for shot, with Vogler & Rynne trying to narrow the lead but Sherriff & Tong held firm to close out the contest 28-23. Each duo pulled some five shot ends; Helensvale with three (one in the 19th end) and North Toowoomba with two. The standard of bowls was first class as an enthusiastic crowd followed the action.
Steven Tong said he was gobsmacked, it’s awesome to play with Aron and Club Helensvale as well.
“It’s been a long campaign to get where we are, really good, the guys were good and everyone we played against was good.
“There were a few fives, we always back ourselves, that’s all we can do.
“I had an operation three weeks ago, so I haven’t been able to bowl for three weeks!
“Yesterday, all through the pairs I was skipping, but yesterday I got a bit sore and we were able to switch it around which we were able to do which is good, and obviously having Aron up the other end is a good thing.
“So, I didn’t do any practice, but I normally try to practise between five and 10 hours a week for an event like this.
“I’m a little bit tender, a few times there when I held my breath when I saw the bowls coming down but I’m just glad to be able to play for Helensvale and thanks to our supporters, Bowls Queensland and to everyone who has entered the event.
“Also to Aron, who is a good mate to play with.”
Steve’s tip for up-and-coming bowlers is to “get yourself a coach; the sport is mentally based, it’s a very strategic game, so just put in the time and a lot of practise and have fun, the game’s all about having fun”.
Runner-up Hayden Vogler said it was an interesting game, with lots of numbers.
“We gave it our all, they played better one way, we played better another way, we lost a bit in the middle of the game but they came back strong with a five in the third last end of the game.
“We were holding a three in the second last end which gave us a chance but that’s all you can do playing against such quality players.’
Jake Rynne said he felt good.
“It was touch and go the whole game, there were some big scores.
“Bit tricky out there but it was a good quality game.
“Good to make the final, it’s always a good game when we play Aron and the Helensvale boys.
“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into this sort of event.
“I live in Dalby and Hayden lives in Toowoomba, so we don’t really get the chance to practise together, but we played well together in the pairs.”
In the bronze medal match, Emerald’s John Henman and Andrew Paskins took an early lead in the first half of the match against Urangan’s Peter Wright and Tony Smith with a score of 12-6 by the 11th end. Emerald kept going strong, while Urangan notched up another three shots in the rest of the game, leading to Emerald defeating Urangan 23-9.
In a closely contested Women’s Gold medal match, Cleveland’s Karen Goldsworthy & Kay Smith held off the determined Hervey Bay team of Wendy Jamieson & Pauline Rose to win 19-14. Cleveland was clearly ahead by the fifth end with a score of 6-3, but Hervey Bay scored a nifty two shots in sixth end to be just one behind at 6-5. The game started to turn in the 13th end when Cleveland took four shots and was surging ahead on the leaderboard 14-9. Hervey Bay kept focus and while they continued notching up on the scoreboard, the Cleveland duo remained ahead and took the game 19-14.
Karen Goldworthy said she was really excited to have won gold with Kay.
“I was runner-up in this same event 10 years ago and I never thought I would get here again, so it’s a real thrill.
“My partner Kay has played well all the way through.
“The greens were running well and as long as you took your grass, it would draw in.
“We had some really hard games coming through, especially the heat yesterday.
“It was good to play against our opposition in good spirit, it was really good to play against them.”
Karen’s tip for up-and-coming bowlers is “to play in many events, I used to play in everything, you learn a lot and everyone is really nice, even when I was starting out you used to get nervous when you played big events like this with big names but you find you just keep on going out there, having a go and then you end up here”.
Runner-up Wendy Jamieson said she was rapt to have been in the final.
“This is the second final I’ve been in, the last one was seven years ago in the over-60s pairs event with the same partner, so two silvers now and I’m happy.
“It was quite hard yesterday with the conditions changing so much, the fact that it was so hot when we went out, even for the second day.
“We’re so happy to be here.”
Wendy’s tip for up-and-coming bowlers is to “just stay focused, play one bowl at a time, I have always played with that intention”. Also to remember that “it’s a great game, it’s a challenging game, you can’t always win the shot but if you had it there before that took it off you, you know you’ve done what you could do”.
In the bronze medal match, Kawana’s Katelyn Inch and Julie Keegan started slowly with Brothers Edmonton’s Christine Populin and Terese McAlary notching up the first two shots but Kawana came in strong and by the seventh end were an even 5-5 on the scoreboard. Kawana kept up the pressure, while Edmonton managed to gain one extra shot in end 12 but Kawana was on a roll and defeated Edmonton 28-6.
The prestigious Champion of Club Champion Singles gets underway first thing tomorrow, with the finals to be played on Thursday.
For all scores see: http://bowlsqldonline.org/#!/eventPublic/resultdisciplines
For more video coverage of the Champion of Club Champions so far, go to our Facebook page videos or https://www.bowlsqld.org/2021-champion-of-club-champions/
Gold Pairs Men: Club Helensvale’s Aron Sherriff & Steven Tong (gold) def North Toowoomba’s Jake Rynne & Hayden Vogler (silver) 28-23
Bronze Pairs Men: Emerald’s John Henman & Andrew Paskins def Urangan’s Peter Wright & Tony Smith 23-9
Gold Pairs Women: Cleveland’s Karen Goldsworthy & Kay Smith def Silver Pairs Women: Hervey Bay’s Pauline Rose & Wendy Jamieson 19-14
Bronze Pairs Women: Kawana’s Julie Keegan & Katelyn Inch def Brothers Edmonton’s Christine Populin & Terese McAlary 28-6.
Thank you to the South Suburban Bowls Club and the Mackay Regional Council for their support during this event so far.
Gold: Steve Tong & Aron Sherriff (Helensvale) 
Gold: Karen Goldsworthy & Kay Smith (Cleveland) 
Silver: Hayden Vogler & Jake Rynne 
Silver: Pauline Rose & Wendy Jamieson (Hervey Bay) 
Bronze: John Henman & Andrew Paskins (Emerald) 
Bronze: Katelyn Inch & Julie Keegan (Kawana)
Helensvale: Aron Sherriff & Steve Tong 
Thuringowa: Gary Costigan & Mark Edwards
North Toowoomba: Hayden Vogler & Jake Rynne 
Cunnamulla: Allen Wharton & Kevin Mitchell 
Woodford: Lewis Schiulaz & James Schiulaz 
Urangan: Peter Wright & Tony Smith 
Across the Waves: Ian McMah & Mick Tobin 
Emerald: John Henman & Andrew Paskins 
Cleveland: Karen Goldsworthy & Kay Smith 
Kawana: Julie Keegan & Katelyn Inch 
Hervey Bay: Pauline Rose & Wendy Jamieson 
Clermont: Shirley Harvey & Cathy Wilson
