Tag Archives: pennant matches

2024-2025 Bowling Report

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In Pennant this year we entered three sides in Weekend and two in Midweek. Due to a lack of available players the third weekend side had to be a 12-a-side team in Div 8. We also ran our usual Club Championships and a number of more social events and competitions that provided
all members with the opportunities to play bowls in the format and degree of competitiveness they liked. Summaries of the main activities follow.

Weekend Pennant

The first side started the season well, with a home win and followed it up by another success away, but then were only able to win three more matches during the competition to finish with a 14-5-9 record. Unfortunately, this resulted in the side ending up in seventh place on
the eight team ladder and therefore being relegated to Division 4 next season. Among the difficult times, one notable highlight was the 105 to 61 (44 shots) win over Middle Park. In that match, all four rinks were up, with President imon’s rink including Ahti ingh, Andy Owens and Terry Fitzsimons) winning by 20 shots (34-14).

The second side fared significantly better, finishing in fourth place with a 14-8-6 record and therefore remaining in Division 5 next season. They too achieved a 100+ side score during the year, with a 55 shot win (107 to 52) over MCC. But their biggest win of the season was one shot higher, with a 56 shot domination of Malvern (96-40) at home. The biggest winning rink for the season was skip tuart Kollmorgen’s including Peter Lee, Rex Magnusson and Susan McDonald), with their 31 shot (40-9) away victory against Malvern.

The third side (in the 12-a-side Division 8) struggled during the season with the weather (washouts), absent oppositions (2 forfeits) and our own players unavailability (1 forfeit). However, we still finished in fifth place on the ladder. Also, some magnificent results were achieved. In particular a 90 shot side win over Princes Park Carlton (110-20), which was also the highest score for a three rink APBC side on the available records. In that match we saw the highest 4 player rink win on record of 40 shots (45-5), from the rink of Joan Bacon, Bob Adler, Steve Smith and Jenny Condon. On the rink next door, another strong showing by Sally Dobson, Helen Lee, Judy Williams and Norm Armstrong resulted in a 33 shot win (38-5) for APBC. And, not to be overlooked, the third rink of Tony Edmonds, Lindsay Crozier, Brendan Harwood and Terry Norris also had a major win, with a score of 27-10. A great day to remember.

Weekend Match Committee: Rex Magnusson, Wayne Gill, Kel Edgar

Mid-Week Pennant

This year saw both teams playing in one division lower than in 23/24. The firsts had a solid season in a very competitive section in Div 3, winning seven of the fourteen rounds, including 2 away wins, and finishing in 6th place. Seventeen players took part, with four playing in all 14 games and four more missing only one game.

The Seconds, playing in Div 6, had an excellent season with eight wins and only one loss at home, finishing in fourth place. They unfortunately lost the elimination final but can be mightily proud of their achievements. There were 24 different bowlers who played for the team over the season, making it difficult to maintain stable rinks, so extra kudos to all involved! A special mention to Janine who topped the player rankings for the entire section (230 players) with 11 rink wins from the 14 games she played.

Midweek Match Committee: Tim Smith, Joan Bacon, John Mathews

Pennant is Back!

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Bowls Victoria Logo

Freedom is back! and pennant is back! Fling off your face masks and leap onto the green! Okay don't leap - there are still some rules, like those protecting our playing surface. Hats off to Bowls Victoria who have configured the compacted season at short notice and to our midweek selectors who have already posted the teams for this Thursday's 7-a-side match. Links to the results / ladders on Bowlslink for all the sections in which our sides compete can be found on the Competitions page. Good luck to all members competing this season - let's make it memorable for the best of bowling reasons.

Midweek Div 3 Semifinal

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Midweek Pennant Div 3 Semifinal

On Tuesday a cadre of supporters arrived at Elsternwick Park to barrack for our midweek second side as they sought to win promotion to division 2. Sadly, despite the much appreciated support, our side was unable to replicate their previous week's result against the same opponents at the same venue. A determined home side pulled away after the break and secured a comfortable win. This ends our only shot at glory in either pennant competition this season. We will need to regroup and reapply ourselves in preparation for the 2018/19 season.

Midweek Pennant Finals – down to the last bowl

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Sadly our midweek pennant 2nd side fell 5 shots short in their semi-final against a strong Armadale 4th side. The day, however, will be forever memorable due to the application of the BV heat policy. APBC 2 fell behind early but rallied a little to stay in touch as the final ends approached. Then with one rink finished and just 3 ends left to play someone noted that the temperature had risen to 37 degrees, bringing the BV heat policy into effect. Now, during sectional play the worst case scenario can have teams waiting around for a couple of hours if the temperature looks likely to fall back below 36 degrees and they don't wish to declare a draw. However, in finals play a draw is not permitted and teams may wait until darkness if they are reluctant to reconvene the following day. In this instance play finally resumed at 7:20pm, just half an hour before sunset.

At this point APBC 2 needed to make up 8 shots to draw and force a one end playoff by all three rinks. Rink 1 had two ends remaining and Albert Park managed to score +3 on the first. On rink 3 Armadale snatched +1 from a -4 position with a fine draw shot. This left Albert Park needing to score +6 on the final end and remarkably they were actually holding +6 with just one (opposition) bowl to come. It was a pressure shot in fading light, which had to finish within 1m of the jack to avoid a draw and deciding ends. Much to Armadale's joy the shot was made and Albert Park scored just +1 on the final end. It was a disappointing result but a fittingly tense finale after about 10 hours spent at the club!

Midweek Pennant Finals

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Last Tuesday APBC 2 fought hard for the one rink win that ensured a home semi-final. So on Tuesday, March 8 we will host Armadale 4 in a semi-final match from which the winner will gain promotion to Division 2. Success in that match would also see our side advance to the final, which will be held at Caulfield Park Alma on Thursday, March 10. The winner of that final will secure the section pennant.

Pennant Finals Place Secured II

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Our Saturday Pennant 2nd Side have now matched their Midweek Pennant counterparts in securing a finals spot. On Highett's new high quality TifDwarf green our side, weakened by trickle-down absences, encountered stiff opposition, losing two rinks and drawing a third. Nevertheless the losses were kept moderate and thanks to a fine win by our fourth rink an important overall win was secured. APBC 2 cannot now be caught by the club sitting 5th and have therefore secured a finals place. In addition, our main rivals for 2nd spot lost and dropped 14 points this week. Consequently an 18 point home win next week would see APBC 2 very well placed to secure a home green semi-final.

Pennant Finals Place Secured I

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Congratulations to our Midweek Pennant Second Side who, following a fine win on Sandringham's ultra-fast synthetic green, have now secured a place in the post-sectional finals. The clubs sitting in 4th and 5th places play each other in the last round and so cannot, mathematically, both overhaul our side. Ironically we would have preferred both those clubs to win this week to assist our bid for a home ground semi-final - that will now likely be determined by our last match, an away game against strong rivals Hampton Park. Meanwhile two of our Saturday Pennant teams are close to securing a finals place. The Firsts will take a huge step toward this if they defeat fellow contenders Middle Park on their green this Saturday. The Seconds are even better placed and will secure a finals place with a 12 point win or better this weekend. Of course they will be aiming for 18 points to help secure a home ground semi-final despite their main rivals each having a game in hand.

Sign Up

Albert Park Bowls Club Posted on by
Several important sign-up sheets have recently appeared on the noticeboard in the clubhouse. New members should note that the noticeboard, to your right as you enter the clubhouse, is the primary place to sign up for events and competitions. This is rarely possible by email and as yet never through the website. Although you should be advised of new opportunities via the Albert Parkers, and occasionally via the website, you will nevertheless do well to get into the habit of checking the noticeboard each time you visit the Club. So what has appeared there recently? Firstly with both Midweek and Saturday Pennant competitions about to start, two important sheets have appeared for both. First is the opportunity to sign up for these competitions, for which full and junior members are eligible. Most who are interested have already signed up but it is never too late. The second Pennant related sheets are those indicating unavailability. Ideally all participants are available for all 18 rounds of Pennant but realistically there are going to be absences and it is vital to make the selectors aware of any known absences as far ahead as possible. Secondly you will now find sign-up sheets for our Club Tournaments, also open to full and junior members. These include a diverse range of formats such as singles, pairs and triples. New members who have been enjoying early success with their bowling might like to consider signing up for either the Men's or Ladies' Minor Championships.