Coolum Beach set to host the Australian Champion of Champions
All the State and Territory champions will converge on one of the Sunshine’s Coasts’ premier bowling clubs; Coolum Beach Bowls Club this Wednesday to challenge for an Australian title. Coolum Beach Bowls Club is primed to host its biggest event yet, according to the club’s sports development officer Troy Somerville.
The Elizabeth Street venue has welcomed some major carnivals in the past, including state championships, but the looming Australian Champion of Champions is something to behold.
“This will be the biggest event Coolum (Beach Bowls Club) has ever held,” Somerville said.
“Every year we hold the South-East Queensland number 3 and 4 Pennants Playoffs which is pretty good and we have had state championships at the club but this is the first time we will have had a national championship event.”
Rotated between the states, the event only comes to Queensland once every eight years.
“We’re getting all our volunteers ready for it. We’ve got to have our umpires and scoreboard attendants and to be a marker at this level you’ve got to do a marker’s course,” Somerville said.
“Even though you might have been playing bowls for 30 years, they still want you do a marker’s course so that everybody does it (marking) the same. So there’s a fair bit of background work that goes into it before it’s showcased.”
The event essentially attracts the best men’s and women’s players from each state.
“You’ve got to win your club singles, then the district title, then the zone title and then your state title to be eligible to be able to play,” Somerville said.
“It’s one thing to win your club singles but then to go right through, that’s pretty big.”
The venue seized the hosting rights for the September 16-18 tournament, somewhat by chance.
“Mostly because of my contacts at Bowls Australia over the years,” Somerville said.
“I happened to be at an event and overheard (officials talking about the event) and I said Coolum would be interested in hosting it.
“They came back the next day and said ‘yep, no worries, it’s yours’.
“I was in the right place at the right time and just knowing those people in those positions, it seemed to work out.”
Somerville, 41, was a former Australian under-25 player, a state selector, zone selector and committee member in New South Wales before relocating to the Sunshine Coast in 2012.
He worked at Mooloolaba Bowls before linking with Coolum Beach Bowls. He said the club could host many big events in the future.
“I know we will be a success because we tick all the boxes. There’s plenty of accommodation nearby, it’s a good area, we have really good food, which is a big plus, and good greens,” he said.
