The 130th Bowling season of Carlton Cornwall Bowls was officially opened on Saturday 1 October. The atrocious weather put paid to any attempt to play bowls let alone get on the green. The executive resorted to Plan B and the official opening was held on the Club’s indoor green carpet.
The flag was ceremoniously raised by Junior Club Captain, Allen Lockie. The honour of rolling the first jack was given to Milroy Fernando, one of the newest juniors at the club. In fact, Milroy is so new he has not yet been on the green. The honour of rolling the first bowl was undertaken by Karen Hema, National Champion and Auckland Bowls player of the year 2021/22.
Following the official opening, the club enjoyed a Champions Dinner. This was an opportunity to acknowledge all those in the club who champion the sport of bowls and to honour those that had achieved National titles during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.
President Gerard Hulst addressed the throng. He thanked the members for their ongoing support of the club and for all their contributions. The National Title holders were then named and congratulated individually. There were two rights of reply by the Champions. Firstly, Karen Hema remarked that just knowing that your club mates are there in support, either in person or via live stream, gives the players a lift.
Karen added that this support was also given to the juniors who recently competed in the 1 5yr Centre events. Secondly, Linda Ralph thanked the club for the organisational and financial support given to the players / teams who competed in the National Champion of Champions events. Linda remarked that being able to focus on bowls rather than accommodation and travel is a big part of achieving success.
The highlight and star of the night was the special cake that Jess had acquired from her secret bakery. The honour of cutting the cake went to the eldest member of the club, Roger Harris, (cut on his behalf by Val Bolsover) and the honour of eating the first piece went to the youngest person present, 11-month-old Ava Stanaway.
