Dale Haack came out victorious defeating Harry Craig 25 – 24. In B Grade Singles Peter Lawton defeated Mike Harrison 25 - 7.

On Saturday lots of games of Club Championship Singles were played.  Michael Kinnear defeated David Ling 26 – 14. Scott Hamilton defeated Brett Saroglia 25 – 17. Barry Saroglia defeated Peter Lawton 25 – 21. Toby Craig defeated Kendall Watts 25 – 21. Andrew Bell defeated Marcus Craig 25 - 4.

Also on Saturday morning B Grade Singles Harry Craig defeated Steve Summers 26 -1.
Saturday afternoon Club Championship Pairs Toby Craig and Marcus Craig defeated Vince Olsen and Todd Leys 26 – 7. Jonathan Bye and Wayne Handley defeated Geoff Hunter and Philip Brown 24 – 9.  Barry Saroglia and Gavin Milne defeated Harry Craig and Scott Hamilton 20 - 16.
  
On Sunday in the Club Championship Singles a game between Shane Kinnear and Toby Craig ended with Shane defeating Toby 25 - 18.

On Wednesday in Social Bowls Jim Bownds, Pat Bownds, Bruce Uhe and Sandy Daffara had a very close game defeating Alen Sanderson, Geoff Hunter, Arthur Griffith and Philip Brown 14 - 13.  In Sunday's Social bowls Mary Hedgelong, Sandy Daffara and Heather Brown defeated Arthur Griffith, Philip Brown and Mike Harrison 23 - 15.

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Contributed with thanks to Heather Brown. Photo supplied

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Excitement strikes as the upcoming CommBank Women’s T20I Series against New Zealand is announced to take place at the Harrup Park Great Barrier Reef Arena.

These two games of T20 between the Australian and New Zealand women will take place on September 19th and 22nd, marking a significant event, not only for cricket fans but also for the entire Mackay community.

After announcing the season line-up, Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said, “This is one of the most highly anticipated summers of cricket in memory with the eyes of the cricket world focused on the extended Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series and the multiformat Women’s Ashes.”

For Mackay, hosting the T’20 women’s series holds immense importance as it showcases the region's growing prominence in the world of cricket.

CEO of Harrup Park, Adrian Young, speaks on the magnitude of this occasion, highlighting the arena's ability to host a top-tier international cricket venue since its opening last year.

The dedication and hard work invested in the venue intertwined with the pride of hosting the two matches will be an outstanding experience for both players and attendees.

“This is very significant, this is first top tier international cricket series we’ve had since the opening of the great barrier reef arena last year,” Mr Young said.

“It’s a combination of a lot of hard work that’s gone into the venue so we’re extremely excited to have the games here in September.”

The anticipation rises as cricket fans eagerly await, with the potential of driving in up to five to six thousand attendees, which is said to be a beneficial economic stimulus for the region.

Adrian highlights that these games are also beneficial for younger generations, offering young boys and specifically girls the chance to witness their heroes in action and aspire to reach similar heights in their future sporting endeavours.

“Having games like this allows young boys and girls to look up to their hero’s and put their minds to play sport at an elite level, and inspire them on an aspirational level.”

As the countdown to September begins, anticipation builds, promising two days of unforgettable cricketing action within the Great Barrier Reef Arena.

Fans are encouraged to register on Cricket Australia's digital channels for access to priority pre-sale tickets, which will be available on June 4.

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CommBank Women’s Ashes Test Match, Tayla Vlaeminck and Kim Garth. Image supplied

Great Barrier Reef Arena set to hold two astounding games for cricket fans in September

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The last match decided a closely-fought final of first-division Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday night fixtures.

With the matches tied 5-all between Lexus and Jaguar, it came down to a decider between Andrew McHugh and Tim Sheehan, which Andrew won in four games.

Lexus got away to a good start, winning the first two matches in five-game marathons.

Andrew beat Vince Boeske 8, -4, -4, 10, 12 and Janice Kent got up over Tim Shehan 5, -8, 5, -6, 9.

Anne Sheridan opened Jaguar’s account with a win over Barry Patterson in the next match, but Lexus won the next three to take a stronghold 5-1 lead.

But Jaguar made a comeback from the dead to win the next four matches to level 5-all before Andrew finished off the 6-5 win with a hard-fought defeat of Tim -6, 8, 8, 8.

First division: Lexus (Andrew McHugh, Janice Kent, Barry Patterson) d Jaguar (Vince Boeske, Tim Sheehan, Anne Sheridan) 6-5.

In division 2, the Nissan team of Duncan Treloar, Simon Hogan and Will VanDeKaa scored a big 7-1 win over Isuzu (Mark Stam, George Camilleri and Steve Mathieson).

The season’s leading player George Camilleri scored Nissan’s only win over Simon Hogan.

Holden (Saisha Palod and Rohit Bansod) had a narrow 5-4 win over Fiat (Trent Day and YiLin Jiang) in division 3.

Standout matches were Saisha’s win over YiLin -6, 8, 7, -3, 7; and Trent’s defeat of Saisha 3, -9, 6, -5, 6.

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Mackay Table Tennis Division 1 night fixture winners were Andrew McHugh, Janice Kent and Barry Patterson. Photos: Supplied

Division 2 winners Will VanDeKaa, Duncan Treloar and Simon Hogan

Division 3 winners Rohit Bansod and Saisha Palod

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Last month, ahead of Easter, teams journeyed to Gargett for the Marian Mill Shield, engaging in three matches throughout the day. Mackay Club advanced to the Final at Marian Club.

Facing Northern Beaches, the team exerted a commendable effort but narrowly missed securing victory. Congratulations to all the players for their outstanding dedication.

On Saturday, April 6th, three teams will compete in the Wilmar Sugar Plane Creek Mill Shield at the Sarina Club.

Team 1 G.Luck, R.Bell, N.Hollt, R.Blanchard.
Team 2 T.Hollows, B.Paskins, E.Roberts, T.Mayfield
Team 3 A.Lovern, C.Marks, M.Coll, N.Wilson

Results:
Tuesday Triples;(22)
Winner of Winners:
Peter Nelson, Col Stevens

Winner of Losers:
A.Nayler, A.Lovern, N.Holt.
Thursday Scroungers (16)
Ric Dunn  def  Barry Paskins.
Ladies Championship Results:
K.Dunn,  R.Schatkowski  def  K.Catanzariti, V.Edwards
K.Catanzaritu won on Forfiet.

By Mike Irving

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Participants took part in three matches throughout the day and were advanced to the finals. Despite their loses, Mackay Bowls are ready to take on their next challenge. Image Supplied.

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The Mackay Contract Bridge Club Pairs has been played over the last three Wednesdays, with some interesting hands of cards being played. The winning Team – the Terrence Sheedy Team, consisted of Terrence Sheedy, Thelma Caruana, Max Holewa, Diane Holewa and Mick King.

Thelma, Terrence, Diane and Max (Mick absent)

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Weekly Results
Monday 25 March 2024 – 5 Table One Winner Green Points
N/S

E/W

1st
Debra Goodchild / Eric Goodchild
2nd
Sandy Patterson / Geoff Cowan
3rd
Monica Darley / Nancy Martin
4th
Helen Van Den Breok / Jan Harris
5th
Ian Cruickshank / Mary Cruickshank
6th
Terrence Sheedy / Janelle Conroy
Tuesday Evening 26 March 2024 –5 Table One Winner Green Points
1st
Sandra Morris / Diane Morgan
2nd
Eric Goodchild / Debra Goodchild
3rd
Janelle Conroy / Terrence Sheedy
4th
Shelley Lewis / Geoff Taylor
Wednesday 27 March 2024 – Mackay Teams, Week 3 of 3 - 10 Table Mitchell Red Points
1st
Terry Sheedy Team
2nd
Janet Hanson Team
3rd
Sandy Patterson Team
4th
Debra Goodchild Team
Wednesday 27 March 2024 – Mackay Teams – Final Results after 3 Weeks - Mitchell Red Points

Team
Players
1st
Terry Sheedy
Terrence Sheedy / Thelma Caruana / Max Holewa/ Diane Holewa / Mick King
2nd
Janet Hanson
Janet Hansen / Alan Brown / Frances Brown / Janelle Conroy / Noel Bugeia
3rd
Debra Goodchild
Debra Goodchild / Eric Goodchild / Ming Ting / David Ting / Antonia Tarradas / Mick King
4th
Sandy Patterson
Sandy Patterson / Geoffrey Patterson / Joy Brunette / Don Poole / Kath Poole
Thursday Evening 28 March 2024 – 3 Table One Winner
1st
Kean Seaniger / Robert Carless
2nd
Terry Sheedy / Sandy Patterson
3rd
Janine Rodgers / Janelle Conroy
4th
Mick King / Patricia Garner
Saturday 30 March 2024 10 Table Mitchell Green Points
N/S

E/W

1st
Terrence Sheedy / Geoffrey Patterson
1st
Jan Harris / Mick King
2nd
Ian Cruickshank / Mary Cruickshank
2nd
Ian Gaskell / Carol Gaskell
3rd
Janelle Conroy / Robert Carless
3rd
Diane Stokes / Annie Lynch
4th
Monica Darley / Kath Poole
4th
Griffin Bancroft / Julie O’Neill
5th
Janine Rodgers / Nancy Wix
5th
Lorna Shuttlewood / Susan Wright

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Mackay Road Runners hopped to it on the Easter Weekend for another Easter Sunday Burrito Bolt social 5k, 10km from Mackay’s Zambrero’s. 

Nearly thirty local runners plus Southern Queensland athletes including Anthea Ford, John Seartson and Stuart Maish joined locals in vying for the fun food-inspired prizes.
 
It was a heavy shower of rain that set runners off on their run.  Mick Scholer put his club Vice-Presidency hat to good use as the master of ceremonies giving runners course directions to follow the Cathy Freeman path alongside the Pioneer River towards the Botanic Gardens and return.  Beck Scholer was the photographer for the afternoon and Jack and Elsie Quinn were in total control of drawing the lucky random draw tickets as well as distributing the prizes to the lucky recipients.  Thanks to all other helpers on the day including Jo Hughes, Natasha Joynson and Andrew Short.
 
Alana Knezevic had a sensational 10km outing as did her fellow runners in their individual events including the Quinn family, Lisa Burns, Grant Holmstrom, Adam Knezevic, Anthea Ford,  Lauren Connor, Carmel Mahon, Simon Henderson, David Isbister, Todd Turner, Leanne Connor, Kim Saron, John Searston, Andrew Short, Michael Scholer, Greg Dawes, Natasha Joynson, Sacha Hoare, Jeff Hoare, Jo Hughes, Colin Hardy and Derek Woods.
 
This Sunday’s annual Tilse Toddle 5k, 10km will commence at 4.30pm from 24 Johnson Street, West Mackay.  The scratch start event will be a handicap points race. Non-members are most welcome to join in however, there will be a $10 casual race day fee. 

For more information, visit Mackay Road Runners online or on Facebook.

Contributed by Janelle Tilse

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Sponsors Zambreros’ Deb, Elsie, Pete and Jack at far left + runners and supporters were dauntingly met with a drenching at the start of the Zambrero Easter Sunday Burrito Bolt social 5k, 10k, they forged on undeterred
Mick Scholer easily sprints the event due to some not so secret altitude training
Lisa Burns and Carmel Mahon easily stride out the final few metres in the social 10km
Zambrero sponsors Peter and Jack Quinn easily complete the 5km in their goal time

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The North Mackay Sinkers continue preparing for a major meet with the Masters Swimming Qld State Championships providing the main focus for April. As part of the preparation more sessions have been scheduled along with several club nights to assist race preparation. The most recent night held Friday 22nd March saw members swimming chosen events with 25, 50, 100 and 200/400m events available to improve starts, turns and race pace skills for the event.

Club Night: The start of the 25m event

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Coach Departs: The Sinkers also bid goodbye to club coach Igor Demin after some three years as the club's coach as he heads to a new horizon in the ACT with both a Swimming Australia and Masters Swimming Australia club coach position drawing him away from tropical climates. Coach Igor introduced members to a range of innovative and challenging sessions that were always diverse in structure to help members and the club reach goals. The Sinkers wish Igor and his family all the best in their new location and role.

The final session with coach Igor was Wednesday 27th with most of the night's squad present for the photo

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Laps For Life Draws To A Close: The seven members participating in the Laps for Life swim and fundraising challenge have now completed the month-long event. The swimmers completed some 5,860 laps (50m pool) to record a total of 294 km for this event. Importantly the funds raised by the Sinkers was even more impressive with a total of $5,404 committed to assist youth mental health and suicide prevention. Together with the other 2 Masters clubs in Qld the grand total settled at $8,110 has been raised for the ReachOut foundation.

Easter Eggs On The Swimmer’s Menu: The Easter weekend allowed swimmers to swim outside the pool with Good Friday pool closures. Three Sinkers visited a popular Sinkers open water swim (OWS) Balnagowan location to check conditions before we enter our northern OWS season. This location is used for training as well as our annual river swim (Nov 3rd 2024) with a few Townsville, Whitsunday and Keppel Island destinations on the list of must-do events.
Saturday saw a great gathering of Sinkers that may have been eyeing the traditional after-swim social supplies of Easter eggs, hot cross buns, cakes and biscuits to accompany the eggcellent coffee at the Memorial pool.

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Balnagowan Good Friday
Some input for the Saturday session content prior to starting
Masters is not all swimming with social activity key to the club's popularity

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Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday morning fixtures March 26, 2024:

Division 1:

Jaguar (Branko Vucurovic, Peter Goodson, Kevin Abbott) d Leopards (Charlie Payne, Cheryl Pearson, Judy Zahn) 7-5. Judy d Peter 9, 8, -10, -7, 3.

Pumas (George Camilleri, Coral Morgan) d Tigers (Don Boettcher, John McGee) 7-2. Coral d John 8, -5, -5, 8, 7.

Lions (Tony Bowman, Pam Joyce, Bran Marshall) d Cheetahs (Donna Abbott, Iris Grasso, Val Austin) 10-2. Bryan d Val 5, -13, -10, 8, 5.

Division 2:

Lime (Helen Ware, Fred Saliba, John Hamelink) d Teal (Ken Best, Kim Daffy, Kim Challender) 8-4. Kim Challender d Helen -9, 7, 9, -9, -7.

Cyan (Robyn Bushell, Marie Taylor, Louise Gould) d Aqua (Judi Hicks, Gloria Vella, Josie Davis) 12-0. Louise d Gloria 5, -9. 13, 3.

Division 3:

Diamonds (Thelma Caruana, Myles Dutton) d Emeralds (Glenda Brookes, Trish Zamparuti) 6-3. Myles d Glenda 6, -8, -9, 5, 8.

Rubies (Sharon Muller, Allison Day, Glenda Dutton) d Sapphires (Carmel Cristaldi, Madge Saunders, Darryl Ross) 7-5. Sharon d Darryl 9, -6, -9, 7, 10.

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Glenda Brookes in action in Tuesday morning table tennis fixtures. Photo: Charlie Payne

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Sunday was a Social Ambrose and everybody was welcome. It was a great turnout, with 92 people taking to the course. Logan and Winston were the winners of the day.

Wednesday's comp was a Single Bogie. John Storrie won the men's, Brad Fleet was runner up. Freddy Lynch won the ladies', and Leanne Swan was runner up.

Easter weekend hosted two events, both sponsored by Lion Nathan XXXX.

Saturday was a Single Stableford Event.

Ladies' Winner was Grace Nott and Leanne Swan was Runner up, 3rd Place to Pauline Martin.

Frank Broucek won the Men's, and James Lockwood was Runner up, 3rd Place to Murray Cannavan.

The Joker Draw and meals return to Friday nights, all welcome, to book your table for dining in please call 47851206.

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Contributed with thanks to Linda Scells.

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Sunday Ambrose Winners Winston and Logan with Bowen Golf Club President Mike Brunker. Photo supplied

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Scott Mason had 40 points to win Tuesday's stableford by a shot from Aaron Prosser, while Diane Chard had 34 points to win the ladies' division by a shot from Elspeth Scotford. Pins went to Scott Mason, Aaron Prosser, Leanne Alexander and Heather Luvis.

Wednesday's stableford winner was Diane Chard who had 35 points to beat Tiina Randmae by a shot. Two pins went to Diane Chard and one to Ann Gardel.

Brent Daniels had 38 points to win Thursday's competition by a shot from Brendan Spann. Pins went to Joe Taylor, John Roser, Nathan Holohan and Aaron Prosser.

The Easter Saturday stableford was taken out by John Wallace with 40 points.

His A Division runner up was Blake Lovelock on 36. Andrew Smart turned his form around to win the B division with 38 points; one ahead of Martyn Goodey. Noelene Spurway won the ladies' division with 34 points ahead of Tina Badenhorst on 31. Two pins went to Jon Miller, and one each to John Wallace, Ash Law, Jill Farinelli and Heather Luvis.

Levi Holmes had 35 points to edge out Jason Bourke for the main prize in the Sunday competition. Tiina Randmae had 32 points to beat Anna Winterbourn by a shot in the ladies' division. Pins went to Jason Bourke, Diane Chard, Peta Thomas and Anna Winterbourn.

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Contributed with thanks to the Proserpine Golf Pro Shop.

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There were two important matches played over the past few weeks, and they were important for very different reasons.

The first was between Art McMinn and Jayden Lloyd, and the other saw Jamie Maher pitted against Joe Wilson for the second time already this season. 

Both Jayden and Jamie looking to kick start their campaigns by securing their first wins of the year, and the task was a tough one as both Art and Joe have been playing well.

Art started his match off against Jayden by jumping out to a 3-nil lead.

Jayden managed to nick back-to-back legs to narrow the lead to one, before Art took over again, hitting 3 x 140’s to secure 3rd place on the ladder with a 7/3 victory.

Jayden with some work to do.

Jamie had a massive task taking on the in-form player of the comp in Joe, but he didn’t let it phase him, jumping out to a 4/2 lead early with a very solid 70 average.

However, Joe showed why he’s going to be a strong contender for the title this year, as he backed himself and clawed the match back from Jamie, who was in control at the time, to level it up at 4 all.

At that stage, Jamie just couldn’t wrestle the momentum away from Joe, as he was just scoring too big at the right times, hitting 4 x 140’s in those last 3 legs, and ultimately running out a 7/4 winner with a solid 60 average. 

Top of the league for Joe. Jamie can be happy with his performance but will need some wins soon to resurrect his season.

The Premier League is sponsored by Mika Airlie, Whitsunday Tattooing and Master Butchers Whitsundays.

Don’t forget our Genesis Cup which is a one-day event open to all. To get involved simply message the club through our Facebook page.

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Art McMinn securing 3rd place in the league on Sunday at the Bowls Club. Photo supplied

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The PWRUC Raiders Rugby Union Women and Men teams showcased their potential in the MRU 2024 pre-season shorter version hit outs in Mackay on 16 March 2024.
 
Raiders Women’s first game missed a little game day cohesion, which was expected “Our team showed resilience in their first game, with positive effort given the limited practice time due to recent weather”, coach Sainsbury said.
 
The second game saw improvements, especially in defence, with Captains Maddy Spruce and Lily Sainsbury leading by example.

The team welcomed new debutants Kendra Shields “who looked comfortable out there amongst it” and Summer Foreman who graduated from Juniors to the Seniors ranks.
 
Sainsbury highlighted, “as a squad we’re looking forward to women playing rugby in the MRU and what this 2024 season unveils.”
 
Raiders Men triumphed 14-12 in their first match against Bowen Mudcrabs, dominating the first half and spending most of the time in Bowen's playing half.

Jack Briskey and Landry Bezombes scored tries and converted them successfully. Coach Rota expressed satisfaction, "we played well and were happy to come away with the win."
 
Despite challenges in the second game against Moranbah Bulls, where they played with only 14 players due to injuries, the Raiders held their ground.

Captains Waikato Nepia–Katipa and Rhys Ward “showed good leadership both on and off the field throughout the day”.
 
Rota mentioned he’s “excited to see where the season takes us with such a young squad”.
 
Official MRU Rugby Union Season start Saturday 6 April, with both teams heading to Bowen for the 1st game of MRU Round 1.

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Contributed with thanks to Karla Houston.

Get into Raiders Rugby - Trainings held at Whitsunday Sports Park
Men: 6:30pm - 8:00pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays
Women: 5:30pm - 7:00pm, Wednesdays
Facebook/Messenger: Proserpine/Whitsunday Rugby Union Club

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Congratulations to Tora Delac, Jy Parkinson, Noah Malty and Ehsan Helou for qualifying and nominating to compete at the Australian Age Swimming Championships on the Gold Coast.  
On Wednesday night’s Club Night, swimmers and coach, Mark Erickson, were presented with their special Cannons shirts and the Cannons wished the team all the best.  
During the last week of school, 17 Cannonvale Cannons swimmers were selected for the NQ Team to compete at the Queensland School Swimming Championships held in Brisbane.  
Congratulations to Jacob Bell (NQ Team Captain), Holly Perrin, Remy Hedges, Anisa Helou, Ehsan Helou, Noah Maltby, Tora Delac, Don Algie, Jax Clayworth, Harris Delac, Ruby Harland, (NQ Team Captain), Nelson Malady, Isaac Pisaniello, Andie Reynolds, Indi Smith, Levi Smith, Alex Trefz and Kate Thomson (Manager).  
Special mentions: 13 – 19 years: Ehsan and Noah swam excellent Breaststroke times, swimming PBs and making the finals for the 50m, 100m and 200m Breaststroke. Ehsan was presented with a bronze medal for 3rd place in the 50m Breaststroke final. Holly swam super Backstroke and made the finals for her 100m and 200m Backstroke. Jacob swam extremely well in his varied program. His best placings included: 4th place in 400m IM, 6th place in 400m Freestyle and 1500m Freestyle.  
Special mentions: 10 – 12 years: Don swam extremely well, achieving 5 PBs and swam 9th place in the final for 100m Breaststroke. Jax swam fantastic times in his 100m Freestyle, 200m IM and 100m Breaststroke achieving PBs over 3 sec. Jax made the finals for 100m Butterfly and achieved 9th place in Qld.  
The Cannonvale Cannons Swimming Club would like to commend all the swimmers who represented NQ and thank the wonderful parents who officiated – Andrew Bell, Kristin Pisaniello and Danny Delac.  

Contributed with thanks to Raylene Rasmussen.

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Cannons competing in the NQ School 10 - 12 year old’s competition
National Team 2024. Photos supplied

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Tuesday saw Tony Whitehorn and Arthur McManus beat the all-star field.

On Wednesday afternoon Warren Mills, Billy Gordon and Mervyn Stewart won the day while Rick Galea went home with the prestigious Health Hub award. 

Wednesday night Business House Bowls saw a great win to the Burrows Girls.

Saturday and Sunday saw Manny Isgro, with his team of Russell Jackson and John Fielding win the two bowl triples for the second year in a row.

Saturday morning saw Andy McDougall go up against Russell Jackson and Tony Whitehorn while Di Jackson was beaten by Ash Warland in the B Division final.

Sunday afternoon social bowls saw Rick Galea and Alan Pershouse with 18 points, beat Arthur McManus on 17 points with Ian Furner and on 16 points Billy Gordon, new member Tye Webber with skipper Tony Kelly in third place.

Contributed with thanks to Mark Mawson.

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Triples Champions - Manny Isgro, John Fielding and Russell Jackson. Photo supplied

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Sunday Social: I. Thatcher, Wendy Coles and Gus Munro defeated Keith Kirk, Daryl Tuttle and Steve Roome. Glen R, Ross Scanlon and Lloyd White had a drawn game with Gordo, Ray Muir and Jane Gilbert.

There was one game of Scroungers: Ron Gould won against Lee Welsted, Brit Neal.

Wednesday Social: Ron Gould, Robyn Stitt and Gavin Charles defeated Dave White, Rob Robba, Lloyd White. Allen Williams, Wendy Coles and Jane Gilbert defeated Ray Muir, Helen Jacobsen and Steve Roome. I. Thatcher and Gus Munro defeated MaryEllen Pratten.

Contributed with thanks to Joan Edwards.

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