Carla’s Corner – Edition Five
Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist and world champion Carla Krizanic continues to share her insights in her fourth column for bowls.com.au, as she lives through Victorian lockdown restrictions while eagerly awaiting the arrival of her second child.
Without any bowls to be played here in Victoria at the moment, I am instead daydreaming and reflecting on some of my favourite tournaments, so I thought I would share my top four in hope that next year some readers might consider squeezing one of these great events into their calendar.
If you haven’t had the chance to play the Victorian Open, then schedule it in for next year, regardless of where you are from it’s open to all and continues to get bigger and better every year. It’s a week of bowls, bowls, bowls and more bowls and that’s why I love it.
The Victorian Open is not your everyday tournament, it’s a festival of bowls, friendships and plenty of good times. One of my favourite memories is when Lisa Phillips and I played together in a tiny place called Dookie. This little town has a bowling green, a post office, a pub and not much else.
Having the chance to play at these small country clubs and meet new faces while enjoying their hospitality is what makes the event so special. We played at Dookie 10 years ago but here I find myself still thinking about the lemon slice one of their members made, I still haven’t found one that beats it.
Moama Prestige Pairs must be mentioned in a list of my favourite tournaments. The event runs like a well-oiled machine and nothing is ever too much to ask of the staff at the club.
Admittedly it’s a bit chilly in September on the Murray, but it is the perfect starter for our season and the competition is always fierce. You know it’s a good event when they continue to attract an array of interstate and international teams each year
Another sensationally run tournament that I love to enter is the Warrnambool Australia Day Ladies Pairs. I clearly think with my stomach because when I think about this tournament my first thought goes to the massive lunches and desserts they put on every year and then the struggle of trying to bowl after it. If you have a couple of days either side of the tournament then the perfect way to travel between Warrnambool and Melbourne is on the picturesque Great Ocean Road.
Finally, the Joy Johnson Memorial Classic held at the Yarrawonga Mulwala Bowls Club is a triples tournament like no other. The hilarious ladies who organise this event, who were great friends of Joy, put on the most enjoyable of tournaments where, sure bowls is important, but the laughs, jokes and shenanigans that go on in between are the real draw cards for the weekend.
So, those my top four events that you should not miss, I am slightly biased and they are all in Victoria but I hope that I have planted a seed so that next year, I might see you at one of them.
Take care and stay safe,
Carla Krizanic.
