In Gundagai Bowls news, a very successful Dave and Mabel Tournament was held last week in beautiful conditions.

Bowlers travelled from far and wide to join in good bowls, friendship and laughter.

Winners of the tournament and congratulations go to Mark Niemkiewicz and Bronwyn Naughton. They were followed closely by Sue Snape (Clovelly) and Neil Armstrong, Tom French and Di Brennan and Dean Crampton (Tuggeranong) and Gail Rowland taking out fourth place. Ditch to ditch winners (utilising their local knowledge) were Jess Wright and Eric Weston.

The greens looked great thanks to the greens staff and volunteers. Catering was once again a huge success thanks to our many volunteers. A great tournament needs a great team and this was proven over the two days. Congratulations to all involved.

It was a busy day on the greens on Saturday as many club championships were contested.

In first of the Men’s Major Singles semifinal matches, Eric Weston was up against Grant Duncan. Shots were exchanged end to end early in the match before Eric found his form and pulled away to lead 11-6 after 11 ends. Grant then picked up three shots on the next end and then Eric took the next three ends and added seven shots to his total. On end 16, Grant reached double figures, however, Eric lead 18-10. Eric can smell victory at this point and continued to take each end until he reached his 25 shots on end 20. This saw Eric victorious winning 25 shots to 10.

In the second semifinal Mick Hostein and Mitch Peterson faced off. Mitch found his rhythm early and lead 4-0 after just two ends. Mick picked up two shots and trailed 4-2. It was difficult for either gent to get a rhythm going and by end 10 the score sat at 8 shots each. Mitch then found something and scored on the next four ends to lead 13-8 by end 14. However, Mick retaliated on the next four ends and took the lead 15-13. Mitch wasn’t going down easily and picked up the next six ends to take the lead 19-15. Mick then called on his reserves to take the following three ends and the lead 23-19. Both gents could see the finish line, however it was Houstein who managed to get there, taking the match 25 shots to 20.

The final of the Men’s Major Singles for 2026 will be held between Eric Weston and Mick Houstein.

In the Men’s Minor Singles Championship two games were played on Saturday. Peter Smith and Pete Gailey began their game by moving along in single increments. Smith had the upper hand and by end 11 was leading 9-2. Over the next few ends Gailey was able to pick up 11 shots to Smith’s 1, to take the lead 13 shots to 10. Smith then collected a couple of singles to narrow the score, however, Gailey scored multiples on the next end to pull away again, taking the score on end 20 to 17-12. Smith then picked up a three to pull closer to Gailey’s total, 17-15. At end 27 the score still favoured Gailey 22 shots to 16, meaning he needed 3 shots to round out the game. Gailey withstood the pressure of producing the shots and took the game 25-18 after 29 ends.

In the second match Peter (Jasper) Smith was up against club rookie Ben Reichel. Smith was on the scoreboard early and lead 5-0 after three ends. Reichel then settled into his game and took the next two ends to be behind 5-4. Smith then picked up the next three ends and led 12-4 after eight ends. Reichel managed two shots on the next end, however Smith reciprocated with four shots over two ends to take the score to 16-6 in his favour.

Reichel put together some nice consecutive ends collecting eight shots and narrowing the score 16-14 on end 14. At this point Smith was only able to collect the single shot on limited occasions as Reichel mounted a fight back. By end 18 the score was tied 18-18 and Reichel wasn’t going away. He continued to pick up shots and over the final five ends was able to outscore Smith and take the match 25 shots to 19.

The next game in the Men’s Minor Singles will be Pete Gailey up against Matt Armstrong, with the winner playing Ben Reichel in the final.

The first of the Ladies Major Single Championship games have been played where Bronwyn Naughton and Leonie Maynard faced off. Leonie was first on the scorecard, however Bronwyn quickly followed suit. After six ends the score was locked at 4-4. It was then that Bronwyn flew out of the blocks picking up some nice scores on the next few ends. By end 13 Bronwyn was leading 19 shots to 4, However, Leonie did not give up and was unlucky not to score on several ends. She then found a second wind and slowly but surely began to peg back Bronwyn score. By end 17 Bronwyn still held the lead, 20 shots to 8.

On the following end Bronwyn pick up a four and was seeking that elusive shot to reach 25 shots. Leonie fought hard and managed 4 shots on the next two ends, bringing the score to 24 shots to 12. On end 21 Bronwyn rounded out the game, taking the match 26 shots to 12 and making her way to the final.

Social bowls last Tuesday saw 12 bowlers participating in two games of triples. Les Attwood, Jann Brooke and Mary McCormick were up against Terri Craig, Pip Fitzpatrick and Wendy Nicholson. Les, Jann and Mary were off to a great start winning the first few ends. Terri, Pip and Wendy hit back and by end 5 scores were tied. It was then that Terri’s trio pulled ahead scoring on the next four ends. Les’s team didn’t give in and picked up the next couple of ends. The final score after 14 ends was Team Terri 11 shots to Team Les 8 shots.

In the other game Jess Wright, Judy Moore and Pete r Fitzpatrick tussled with Mark Niemkiewicz, Cecily Luff and Wes Wright. By end five Jess’s team lead 5 shots to 4, however, on the next end Mark’s team took the lead and were able to withstand some fine bowls from the opposition to maintain the lead throughout. By end 14 Mark’s team were in front 15 to 7, but a very handy five shot end from Jess’s trio narrowed the gap to 15 shots to 12. There were some great bowls played and by end 18 Mark’s team claimed victory 19 shots to 14.

Don’t forget twilight bowls begins this week. Like to give bowls a try? Just turn up at 6.30pm and we can get you started! Club bowls are available for use. Come along and join in the fun.

Congratulations are in order for the Southern Highlands Ladies team that participated in the Riverina Murray Shield over the weekend. Gail Rowland, Bronwyn Naughten, Jess Wright and Lynne French joined Sharon Armstrong, Mandy Shoard, Deb Akers and Anne McCauley to form the Southern Highlands team.

The ladies played great bowls to place second overall against the top bowlers in the Riverina Murray area. The Sharon Armstrong skipped team was the best performed team overall. This was a great achievement considering the Southern Highlands drawing pool is very small. Congratulations to the ladies on such a wonderful achievement.

Following the games the Inter-Region sides were selected. Congratulations to Bronwyn on her selection. She will be joined by Sharon and Mandy to represent Riverina Murray at next years event.

It was with a heavy heart that we began our annual Dave and Mabel tournament last week. Gundagai Bowling Club lost two bowlers within days of each other, just prior to the tournament. Jan Ingold and Ian Tout, both revered members of the club, were remembered for their contributions to bowls and the Gundagai club. Our condolences go out to the Ingold and Tout families at this time. May Jan and Ian rest in peace and play exceptional bowls in their resting places.