Awards Night winners crowned
Bowls Australia would like to congratulate this year’s award winners, finalists, Hall of Fame inductees and acknowledge the support of event partner. Bowls Australia have crowned the year’s most deserving bowlers and administrators, and bestowed Hall of Fame induction on four past greats, at the sport’s night of nights on the Gold Coast.
Mantra Legends proved a fitting venue to acknowledge the contribution of the past and present stars of bowls during the 2015 Hall of Fame and Awards Night this evening, where 10 of this year’s biggest contributors to the sport of bowls across the country recognised in the categories of international bowler, male bowler, female bowler, under-18 male bowler, under-18 female bowler, coach, official, story, volunteer and Regional Bowls Manager of the year.
International Bowler of the Year
Matthew Flapper has earned a spot among the sport’s elite, recognised tonight as the International Bowler of the Year for 2014-15 following a scintillating Commonwealth Games performance.
Flapper was handed the plum role of skipping the triples and fours following an exhaustive selection process, and led by example on and off the paddock.
He repeatedly extracted the best out himself and his teammates in the testing Glasgow conditions, and played more than a few heroic shots to secure a podium result, which he backed up the next year with a clinical Trans Tasman performance.
Flapper has been lauded for bringing a new dimension to the Jackaroos contingent during his time in the sport’s top high performance tier and is a deserving finalist for the International Bowler of the Year award, as voted by his peers.
Having announced his retirement from international representation at the start of the month, winning this prestigious award was quite a swansong for this highly respected and admired former Australian Jackaroo.
Male Bowler of the Year
Ryan Bester has been confirmed as the Aero Bowls Male Bowler of the Year after the completion of the first full year of the National Player Ranking System.
It goes without saying that the Canadian international bowler enjoyed a stellar year on the green, having accumulated more points at Bowls Australia ranked events than anyone else in the country during the period of July 1, 2014 till June 25, 2015.
The points Bester recorded came from winning Tweed Heads Golden Nugget, prevailing in Queensland’s State Singles and triumphing at Broadbeach’s Blue Diamond Pairs, while he also added to his total with runner-up placings at the $225,000 Australian Open men’s singles and Ballina Summerland Singles, and finished third in the Pine Rivers December Pairs, Moama Prestige Classic Pairs and the South Lismore Classic Pairs.
Testament to his dominance, Bester finished the period with a staggering 368.5 points to be crowned Male Bowler of the Year, 86.3 points higher than the next best contender.
In addition to his title as Australia’s number one male bowler, Bester is also awarded a cheque to the tune of $3,000 courtesy of award sponsor Aero Bowls.
Female Bowler of the Year
Natasha Scott secured the title of Australia’s number one female player with her Aero Bowls Female Bowler of the Year victory.
Australian Jackaroos star Scott had a scintillating 12 months on the green, where she secured 265 points in the Aero Bowls National Player Ranking System, 42.4 points more than the second placed finisher.
Scott claims the Female Bowler of the Year title courtesy of four major victories throughout the year, which included the NSW State Triples title, South Tweed Classic Singles crown, Tweed Heads Golden Nugget trophy and capped off the period on a high note, by recording her first Australian Open title win, in the 2015 women’s fours discipline.
A number of other events contributed to Scott securing the coveted title of Australia’s number one female bowler, with a last 16 finish in the
Australian Open women’s singles and pairs disciplines, and NSW State Pairs and Fours events demonstrating her exceptional consistency at the sport’s premier tournaments.
In addition to her second Female Bowler of the Year title, having also won in 2012, Scott is presented with a $3,000 prize cheque for her consistency over the 12 month period, courtesy of award sponsor Aero Bowls.
Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year
Jamie-Lee has enjoyed an incredible rise to prominence on the back of a standout year on both the national and international arenas, where she earned the adulation of the entire bowls community as the Tourism and Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year.
On the junior stage, Worsnop started the year with a bang with a gold medal finish at the 2014 Australian Open’s under-18 singles in February, going on to represent her nation with distinction in March at the 2014 Trans Tasman test series in the junior disciplines, and continued her form through to October at the Australian Under-18 Championships in the Northern Territory, where she secured a singles bronze medal and triples silver medal.
Despite her success on the junior stage, Worsnop’s biggest achievement came against a star-studded field at the $30,000 Australian Indoor Championships, an event that has helped establish the credentials of some of the sport’s biggest personalities.
Winning through the treacherous NSW state qualifying for the Australian Indoor Championships as a 17 year-old was a feat in its own right, but Worsnop wasn’t finished there, going on to pave a path through the entire field.
She etched her name in the record books as the youngest ever winner of the nation’s premier indoor event in either gender, snaring a unique slice of history and the $6,000 winner’s cheque that accompanies the coveted national title.
By virtue of her Australian Indoor Championships victory, Worsnop was afforded entry into the World Cup at Warilla, where she got her first taste for senior international representation, and continued to demonstrate her resolve against world-class competitors with a bronze medal finish.
As a result her of scintillating performances, Worsnop was granted a special invitation to the Australian Jackaroos high performance squad, taking part in the New Zealand trial camp earlier this month to select the Asia Pacific Championships team.
Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year
Jono Davis is widely touted as one of the nation’s brightest young prospects in the sport of bowls, and that view has been further reinforced after a superb 12 months on the greens, and the BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year award.
Davis enjoyed a blistering campaign at the 2014 Australian Under-18 Championships in the Northern Territory, where he earned the boys’ pairs gold medal and took home the bronze medal in the blue-ribbon singles.
His performance saw him selected as one of five males in the Australian Under-18 Squad for 2014/15, and then picked from within that contingent to represent the nation as one of two under-18 boys in the Development Men’s event at the Trans Tasman test series in Christchurch, where he helped retain the Development Men’s trophy.
At a state level, Davis won the NSW State Junior Singles and was named the 2014 NSW Junior Bowler of the Year, but he also enjoyed a stellar year at open age events, with a semi-final appearance at the State Champion of Champions Singles.
Testament to his exceptional consistency, Davis finished the first full year of the new Aero Bowls Player Ranking System in 59th position, as the highest ranked junior male bowler.
Davis was bestowed the honour of representing Australia at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa last month, where he proved he had a golden touch in both disciplines on offer, claiming gold in the singles and mixed pairs, alongside fellow finalist Ellen Ryan.
Story of the Year
Tom Boswell and Terry Wilson are recognised with the Berry Bowling Systems Story of the Year award tonight on behalf of their Gold Coast Bulletin colleagues for the significant coverage their publication provided to the 2015 Australian Open and the sport of bowls in general.
The Bulletin has long been a beacon for bowls coverage, with Wilson providing traction for the sport in the regular column Pure Gold, while Boswell took a lead during the staging of the Australian Open to ensure the region was kept up-to-date with results and human interest stories of the 2,000 odd competitors.
Official of the Year
Bowls Victoria’s Bob Carlson’s committed and passionate for officiating was acknowledged with the All Sports Travel Official of the Year award.
As a member of the Bowls Victoria Laws and Rules Committee and Chairman of the Northern Gateway Regional Umpiring Committee, Carlson regularly displays his commitment and dedication to advancing all areas of officiating.
Carlson contributed his expertise at a range of events during this period, including the 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea, 2014 World Bowls Champion of Champion in New Zealand, the 2014 and 2015 Australian Opens, and the 2014 Australian Under-18 Championships.
Volunteer of the Year
NSW’s John Smith’s 13 years on the Bowls NSW State Match Committee, nine of which was as the Chair, helped him secure the City Club Volunteer of the Year award.
Similarly he served on the Zone Match Committee for 28 years, with 16 years as Chair, in addition to being Zone Vice President for seven years and President for last seven years.
Smith was recognised for his contribution by Bowls NSW, as the winner of their Volunteer of the Year award in 2014, and also was honoured with the Paul Trisley Award in 2015 for an outstanding contribution to the Hunter Academy of Sport in 2015.
Regional Bowls Manager of the Year
Sydney metropolitan’s Chris Wallace was presented with the Berry Bowling Systems Regional Bowls Managers during the 2014-15 period.
Wallace is based in the Sydney metropolitan region, where he has built a strong rapport and awareness of the 161 clubs that he services, which include assisting them win $110,000 worth of grants during the selection criteria period.
Renowned for going above and beyond in his role, Wallace also played an unofficial support role to other RBMs, who regularly sought out his expertise on a wide range of issues, and is a member of the sport’s National Development Advisory Panel, charged with providing strategic guidance and direction to the program.
Coach of the Year
Anthony Hockey has played a key role in developing Bowls WA’s playing personnel in both the men’s and women’s teams for the past six years, and is a deserving winner of the City of Gold Coast Coach of the Year.
Hockey was the Assistant Coach and Manager of the Bowls WA’s women’s state team from 2010 to 2014, during which they won the coveted Marj Morris Trophy in 2010 and were runners-up in 2011. Since 2014, Hockey has played the same two roles for the men’s state team.
Hockey was also instrumental in setting up the Bowls WA Academy as the inaugural coach, which identifies enthusiastic young players who boast potential to become future state and national representatives.
At a club level, Tony is a senior coach for both genders at Manning Memorial, who recorded a historic milestone this year, claiming both the men’s and women’s Premier Division Pennant Grand Finals, a first for the competition.
Hall of Fame
Audrey Hefford
Audrey hailed from the small township of Cobdogla in South Australia’s Riverland, but her achievements on and off the green in the sport of bowls cannot be understated.
On the international stage, Hefford debuted for Australia in 1983 in Hong Kong at cap number 25, before going on to don the green and gold at four more test series over the next seven years, including two Commonwealth Games campaigns, where she claimed a silver medal in the fours at the 1986 Edinburgh Games and a fourth place finish in the singles at Auckland in 1990, while a gold in the triples at the 1989 Asia Pacific Championships in Fiji also ranks among her highlights.
On the national front, Hefford also secured some of the sport’s top gongs, including winning the Golden Nugget, Australian Fours in 1971, and the Master Singles on five occasions between 1973 and 1990.
She also enjoyed a long and illustrious career at state level, representing South Australia on more than 200 occasions, and was the state Champion of Champion six times and State singles winner three times.
Off the green, Hefford was recognised in 1985 as the State Country Sportsperson of the Year, in 1990 as South Australia’s Sportswoman of the Year and the Riverland Citizen of the Year, as well as a five-time winner of the Riverland Sportsperson of the Year, and was an inaugural inductee into Bowl SA’s Hall of Fame.
Sadly, Hefford passed away on March 5, 2014 aged 85.
Dorothy Roche OAM
Dorothy became Australia’s oldest gold medal winner when she competed in the women’s fours at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games at the age of 61 years and 10 months, having taken up competitive bowls in 1975 when she was nearly fifty years of age.
In 1979, she won the Champion of Champions singles competition and the Alfa Romeo Sport-Star of the Year, while a round-robin match in 1984 where she and Merle Richardson defeated the sport’s leading male players, including world champion David Bryant, ranks high among her personal achievements.
Roche earned cap number 27 when she made her debut at the 1985 World Bowls Championships, with her illustrious international career spanning until 1993.
Testament to her exceptional consistency, throughout her career, Roche won a state-level game every year.
In 1988 she was captain of the gold medal-winning team at the Melbourne World Championships and two years later claimed the historic 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games fours gold, becoming Australia’s oldest gold medal winner. In that year she was granted the ‘Freedom of the City of Paramatta’ and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to lawn bowls.
Bob King
Bob began bowling at the age of 21 years, and achieved the honour of representing Australia 19 years later at the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games, where he returned with a silver medal from the fours event.
On the national stage, King was successful in winning two major titles; the Australian Pairs in 1985 and the Australian Singles in 1998.
During a long and illustrious career in NSW, King amassed a plethora of coveted titles, including the NSW singles five times, in 1979, 1980, 1984, 1993 and 1998, the NSW pairs twice, in 1979 and 1980, the State Champion of Champions singles in 1984 and 1994, and the State Open Pairs in 1978.
Bob has enjoyed great success at other high profile events and activities including playing in the blue-ribbon singles position at the 1981 Australia v New Zealand test series, appearances on the Jack High television program, 30 Prestige Invitational singles titles and six Prestige Invitational pairs gongs.
Bob King’s dominance through the seventies, eighties and nineties made him synonymous with the sport, and in 2007 he was one of the four inaugural inductees into the Bowls NSW Hall of Fame.
Donald Woolnough OAM
Donald’s contribution to the sport of bowls spanned numerous decades and across multiple levels, most notably as an Australian and Victorian representative, but also as a Bowls Victoria councillor, delegate and state selector, in addition to being a national selector, umpire and coach.
Woolnough’s greatest success on the international stage came at the 1976 World Bowls Championships in South Africa, where he guided the pairs to a silver medal and the fours to bronze.
He was also a prolific winner at state level, claiming the Victorian Country Fours in 1963, the Pairs in 1965, and accumulated more than 350 games for the Big V.
Off the green, Woolnough dedicated countless hours to the sport in his state and country, acting as an RVBA councillor and Victorian selector for 15 years, and club delegate to the association for 20 years, while at a national level, he served as a selector for four years, umpire for 38 years and coached the nation at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games.
Woolnough was given life membership to Bowls Victoria (RVBA) in 1998 and was inducted to their Hall of Fame in 2002.
He was also recognised for his contribution to the sport in 1995 when he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to bowls.
Sadly, Woolnough passed away on March 18, 2003.
Life membership
Betty Collins OAM
Former Bowls Australia and World Bowls Prsident Betty Collins OAM was presented with life membership of Bowls Australia during the evening’s proceedings.
Upon the formation of World Bowls in July 2001 Betty was elected Deputy President and, in 2003, was elected President of World Bowls. Testament to the high regard she was held in by the Member National Authorities, she was re-elected in 2006 to serve a second term.
During her tenure, she presided over the very successful 2008 World Championships, the first time the Men’s and Women’s World Championships were held together at the same time, at the same venue.
Betty was awarded the Australian Sports medal in 2000, became a life member of Bowls Victoria in 2001 and she was honoured with the Order of Australia Medal in recognition of her service to the sport in 2002.
Bowls Australia would like to congratulate all award winners, finalists, Hall of Fame inductees and acknowledge the support of event partners Australian Sports Commission, Aero Bowls, BCiB, Tourism and Events Queensland, City Club, City of Gold Coast, Berry Bowling Systems and All Sports Travel.
Finalists:
• Australian Sports Commission International Bowler of the Year
Winner: Matthew Flapper (Ocean Grove, VIC)
Runner-up: Aron Sherriff (Ettalong Memorial, NSW), Wayne Ruediger (Grange, SA)
• Aero Bowls Male Bowler of the Year
Winner: Ryan Bester (Broadbeach, QLD)
• Aero Bowls Female Bowler of the Year
Winner: Natasha Scott (Raymond Terrace, NSW)
• BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year
Winner: Jono Davis (Dubbo, NSW)
Runner-up: Jacob Nelson (Wynnum Manly, QLD)
• Tourism and Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year
Winner: Jamie-Lee Worsnop (St Johns Park, NSW)
Runner-up: Ellen Ryan (Cabramatta, NSW)
• City Club Volunteer of the Year
Winner: John Smith (NSW)
Runner-up: Patricia Reely (Helensvale, QLD)
• City of Gold Coast Coach of the Year
Winner: Anthony Hockey (Bowls WA)
Runner-up: Bev Dowrick (Bowls ACT)
• Berry Bowling Systems Story of the Year
Winner: Tom Boswell and Terry Wilson on behalf of the Gold Coast Bulletin publication and their contributing colleagues (Jack Harbour, Shya Laughlin, Suzanne Simonot and Lucy Ardern)
Runner-up: Rob Greenwood (Messenger Community News)
• All Sports Travel Official of the Year
Winner: Bob Carlson (Bowls Victoria)
Runner-up: Sandy Wallace (Bowls SA)
• Berry Bowling Systems Regional Bowls Manager of the Year
Winner: Chris Wallace (Sydney metropolitan)
Runner-up: Mark Casey (South East Queensland)
