DALBY EMBRACES NEW NORMAL
By Juliana McGahan
Dalby Bowls Club has survived another year in this most uncertain world we live in with the only “shut down” being in 2020, when all clubs and nearly the whole country shut doors to families and clubs everywhere. Dalby has been lucky to scrape through 2021 without any upset to the lives of everyone living here. Club members have returned to almost normal or as we say “new normal” ways. Play resumed and the club has hosted the Men’s Carnival, the Ladies Carnival, the “Arm” Bowlers Tournament and the biggest one of all, the Three Day Inter Palm Lake Resort Carnival.
Two teams from the Dalby Club went to North Dalby’s Carnival, in October to contest the two-day event and one team came out with five wins and the overall win. Congratulations to Sharon Knight and Allan Smith visiting from Helensvale, John McGahan and Garry Schulz.
Following the North Dalby Carnival, it was an early start for the Ladies Final Fours Competition. Although it is not always appreciated, there are often predictions as to who will win. It doesn’t always turn out as predicted. With one win for each team, the upset of the year happened. Margaret Read, Florence Henderson, Angela Rynne and Joyce Hall put everything they had into this game, running on empty and giving it their all, to win against the team of Wendy Usher, Val Dun, Lorraine Tebbit and Betty Vaughan, with a score of 26 to 7.
When players start this wonderful game of bowls at an advanced age, such as I did, at the ripe “old” age of 62, there are sometimes juniors starting out at the ripe “young” age of eight and nine.
If you are all of five feet nothing, you are on eye level with these juniors, and they don’t seem very intimidating. But what happens when you come up against them in seven- or eight-years’ time?
Carl and Bradley Flegler were an integral part of North Dalby Bowls Club in their formative years, before moving to Brisbane and now playing for Enoggera.
Whilst I was umpiring the North Dalby Carnival, I met up with the boys and just had to have this photo taken. The boys are now 6’4” or 194cm, but I have shrunk to 4’11”. This surely looks like I have gone back to pre-school. I must admit to getting a lot of laughs out of this photo.
