Australia’s best honoured at 2023 Awards Night
Australia’s best have been honoured at Bowls Australia’s virtual 2023 Awards Night, recognising the achievements of people from all corners of the sport across the country.
2023 Awards Night Honour Roll:
Audika Community Service Award:
Avalon Bowling Club & The Northern Beaches Vision-Impaired Group (NSW)
Right at Home Volunteers of the Year:
Terry Ledger (Club Mount Lewis, NSW) & Dennis Heath (Avalon Bowling Club, NSW)
Henselite Official of the Year:
Ryan Havercroft (South Perth, WA)
Apia Coach of the Year:
James Reynolds (Cabramatta, NSW)
DrinkWise Club of the Year:
Club Tweed (QLD)
MakMax Male Bowler with a Disability of the Year:
Jake Fehlberg (Bargara, QLD)
Geeks2U Female Bowler with a Disability of the Year:
Serena Bonnell (Club Tweed, QLD)
BCiB Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year:
Reese Finn-Young (Merimbula, NSW)
BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year:
Riley Gerick (Capalaba, QLD)
Tourism and Events Queensland Male Bowler of the Year:
Aron Sherriff (Broadbeach, QLD)
Experience Gold Coast Female Bowler of the Year:
Cassandra Millerick (Moama, VIC)
Australian Institute of Sport International Male Para Bowler of the Year:
James Reynolds (Cabramatta, NSW)
Australian Institute of Sport International Female Para Bowler of the Year:
Serena Bonnell (Club Tweed, QLD)
Commonwealth Games Australia International Female Bowler of the Year:
Kelsey Cottrell (Club Helensvale, QLD)
Australian Sports Commission International Male Bowler of the Year:
Aron Sherriff (Broadbeach, QLD)
Audika Community Service Award: Avalon Bowling Club & The Northern Beaches Vision-Impaired Group (NSW)
New South Wales’ Avalon Bowling Club and the Northern Beaches Vision-Impaired Group earns this prestigious award for their continued drive in engaging the community, particularly in relation to the coaching of bowlers with a visual impairment.
Since 2005, the club has run the community initiative that strives to encourage people with a visual impairment to be physically active and engage in a social community.
Peter Ward and Maureen Eves have championed this program, welcoming bowlers of all abilities thanks to accredited coaching sessions and a welcoming environment that helps people thrive.
Right at Home Volunteers of the Year: Terry Ledger (Club Mount Lewis, WA) & Dennis Heath (Avalon Bowling Club, NSW)
Terry receives this award thanks to his tireless work at Club Mount Lewis, where he is not only a board member, but is always seen running social bowls, competitions, coordinating raffles, assisting special needs bowlers and is the unofficial IT consultant of the club, constantly going above and beyond for the good of the sport.
Dennis’ work at Avalon Bowling Club is equally as magnificent with his drive to connect more people to bowls. Through his goal, he gives an abundance of lessons to newcomers, assists with the visually impaired and has weekly clinics with bowlers with Cerebral Palsy.
This is the first time since 2016 that two volunteers have been made recipients of the award.
Henselite Official of the Year: Ryan Havercroft (South Perth, WA)
South Perth’s Ryan is a highly respected International Technical Official that has contributed greatly to officiating at all levels of the sport.
He is an extremely active official in his home state and his dedication to his craft is unmatched. You will often find him sharing his knowledge with other officials thanks to his highly approachable demeanour and willingness to help.
In addition, Ryan is on hand to train new officials and helps run his club events, leading to his Bowls WA official of the year award in 2022-23.
Apia Coach of the Year: James Reynolds (Cabramatta, NSW)
James is one of the finest coaching exponents in Australia and dedicates his time to helping others realise their dream within the sport.
The New South Wales Pathways coach is a constant innovator and thrives on forging strong relationships with his pupils.
Reynolds holds ongoing training, planning and preparation sessions for his chargers that see them thrive on the national and international stage, with his in depth knowledge of the sport unparalleled.
James, a Right at Home Para Jackaroo himself, is one to often sacrifice his own time on the green in order to help those around him improve and is always on hand to support any one of his pupils from the bank.
DrinkWise Club of the Year: Club Tweed (QLD)
In the past 12 months, Club Tweed has demonstrated a real commitment to developing participation in the sport, all the way from grassroots through to premier-competition level.
The club is a driver of inclusivity and assists with initiatives to promote bowls as a sport for anyone, most notably with the rainbow versatility pairs championed by its member and Para Jackaroo Serena Bonnell. It is truly one of the most open clubs in the world.
The club works meticulously with state and national bodies and is a key player in national events, hosting the Australian Indoor Championships and owning BPL franchise, the Tweed Heads Ospreys.
MakMax Male Bowler with a Disability of the Year: Jake Fehlberg (Bargara, QLD)
Jake has enjoyed a scintillating year on the green across district, state, national and international levels.
On the national arena, the Bargara bowler would clinch gold in the vision-impaired pairs event at the 2023 Australian Open, as well as a silver in the singles.
Internationally, he would take silver at the Multi Nations before becoming the first para bowler to win a gold at the Commonwealth Games and World Bowls Championships thanks to his title on the Gold Coast in September.
In addition, Jake would win two gold medals at the International Blind Bowlers Association world championships.
Geeks2U Female Bowler with a Disability of the Year: Serena Bonnell (Club Tweed, QLD)
Serena has enjoyed yet another scintillating year on the green across all levels of the sport.
On the national stage, the Queenslander took home a silver medal in the multi disability women’s singles discipline at the Australian Open and progressed to the semi finals in the pairs, while also being part of the First Division pennant title for Club Tweed.
Additionally, Serena is unquestionably a trailblazer and one of the biggest advocates for para inclusion and the sport of bowls more generally, vigorously promoting the inclusive nature of the sport and leading the way for para bowlers and the wider community.
She hosted a Rainbow Versatility Pairs at Club Tweed as an aim to showcase how versatile and welcoming bowls is.
BCiB Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year: Reese Finn-Young (Merimbula, NSW)
Reese’s season has been exemplary, with another standout Australian Open performance in June that saw her finish with a second successive title in the under-18 girls’ singles discipline, as well as the singles title at the Under 18 Championships at the 2022 Nationals.
16-year old Reese made more waves on the national stage this year, progressing to the final of the prestigious Australian Indoor Championships.
The future is bright for this rising star of the sport.
BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year: Riley Gerick (Capalaba, QLD)
Riley has enjoyed a breakout 12 months with strong performances across the national arena and his state of Queensland.
At the 2023 Australian Open, Riley stormed to the under 18 boys’ singles title to cement his place as one of the most in-form juniors in the nation.
At state level, the Capalaba product took home triples and fours gold at the Queensland under-18 championships, while also netting a bronze in the singles.
Tourism and Events Queensland Male Bowler of the Year: Aron Sherriff (Broadbeach, QLD)
Aron enjoyed a sublime 12 months, finishing as the number one ranked male bowler in the nation with 328 points, 66 points ahead of his nearest rival.
Aron’s season included two more Australian Open titles in the men’s singles and fours, as well as a silver in the pairs en route to becoming player of the tournament for the second time, an Australian Indoors singles title accompanied those, as did the Alley shield and a bronze in the 2022 Australian Championships triples event.
Sherriff would add another Bowls Premier League title to his account in February, as well as a sixth MVP award and an All Star nod to add to his list of accolades.
Major Events Gold Coast Female Bowler of the Year: Cassandra Millerick (Moama, VIC)
Cassandra’s memorable year included many achievements on her path to finishing as the number one ranked female bowler in the nation with 301 ranking points, 63 points clear of the nearest opponent.
Her year included her maiden Australian Open title, in the blue-ribbon singles discipline and a quarter-final finish in the fours, which earned her the place as the nation’s top ranked bowler.
Millerick would star on the state and national scene, clinching the Victorian Champion of Champions, a bronze at the Australian Champion of Champions and a maiden Bowls Premier League title in February.
Australian Institute of Sport International Male Para Bowler of the Year: James Reynolds (Cabramatta, NSW)
The inaugural winner of this category, Reynolds was an influential member of the Para Jackaroos lineup in 2023, representing Australia with distinction at the Multi Nations and World Bowls Championships.
James would clinch a silver at the Multi Nations before going on to make history at the world championships, teaming up with Damien Delgado to win a gold medal after an epic final against South Africa at Helensvale.
Recognised by his peers, the man affectionately known as ‘Jimmy’ not only exhibits outstanding behaviours on the green, but is a physical embodiment of the Jackaroos 24/7 mentality.
Australian Institute of Sport International Female Para Bowler of the Year: Serena Bonnell (Club Tweed, QLD)
The inaugural winner of this category, Bonnell continues to lead from the front and has been recognised by her peers for her representation of the country both on and off the green.
A gold medal at the Multi Nations would see the Queenslander selected for another major event at the World Bowls Championships, where she would earn a bronze medal to go with her Commonwealth Games silver.
A generous teammate, Serena is always on hand to support her compatriots and was in full voice on the Gold Coast despite her own event being completed, while also accepting anyone that wants to join the bowling a community.
Commonwealth Games Australia International Female Bowler of the Year: Kelsey Cottrell (Club Helensvale, QLD)
The international bowler award represents the highest level of peer recognition, voted on by all players and support staff at the conclusion of each international event, with points attributed to culture/attitude and performance.
Kelsey is clearly highly regarded as a player but importantly also as a person, whose leadership and commitment to culture has contributed equally to receiving this award as her ability on the green.
Kelsey recorded significant votes for her performances on the green at the 2022 Ireland test event, March’s Multi Nations and the 2023 World Bowls Championships, where she would notch up a third world title in the women’s triples, and was a clear standout in terms of attitude and culture, which has undoubtedly been recognised by the Jackaroos team.
Additionally, Kelsey would clinch the World Bowls Indoor Championships mixed pairs title with Aron Sherriff in May thanks to a sensational win over Scotland in the final.
This is Kelsey’s second International Bowler of the Year accolade, following on from her previous win in 2020.
Australian Sports Commission International Male Bowler of the Year: Aron Sherriff (Broadbeach, QLD)
Aron spearheaded Australia’s attack on the Irish test event, Multi Nations and World Bowls Championships throughout this period, and aided the Australian Jackaroos’ performances on the green more than any other individual, as recognised by the peer voting.
In 2023, Sherriff became Australia’s most successful World Championships male athlete by claiming two golds in the men’s triples and fours to take his tally to three, going with his fours triumph in 2012.
Additionally, Aron would clinch two World Bowls Indoor Championships titles at Warilla in May – men’s singles in a tight final win over New Zealand’s Andrew Kelly, and the mixed pairs with Kelsey Cottrell in a sensational final win over Scotland.
This is Aron’s second International Bowler of the Year accolade, following on from his previous win in 2019.
