BIG WEEKEND OF BOWLS TO CELEBRATE CENTENARY
The Barmera Bowling Club has a massive weekend of bowls planned for later this month as part of their town’s centenary celebrations.
The club’s celebrations will be held from Friday, May 21, through to Sunday, May 23, with a number of different events scheduled over the three days.
As part of the event, the club will host now former Australian Jackaroos coach and 19-time Australian Championship winner Steve Glasson, multiple ladies’ singles world champion Karen Murphy, who has over 600 international caps to her name, and current Australian Jackaroo Wayne Ruediger, who has made 190 international appearances.
The Friday will include a meet and greet with Glasson, Murphy and Ruediger, along with others in attendance for the weekend.
Saturday will kick off with a junior clinic from 9am to 10am, before an adult coaching clinic is held from 10.30am until 12.30pm.
Following lunch, a Jackaroos versus Berri Barmera Council Allstars match will be held, with the game being played as a two bowls triples format, with three sets of five ends.
Then a Sportsman’s Night will be held, with a three-course dinner, with Glasson and Murphy to speak to the crowd about their careers.
An open fours carnival will be held on the Sunday, with a total of $2000 in prize money available for the top three teams.
Games will get under way from 9.30am, and then will continue from 1.30pm after lunch, before presentations and a farewell round out the weekend.
Barmera Bowling Club Carnival Co-ordinator Terry Butler said the idea of hosting this event originated from one particular conversation.
“One day at our opening we had the (Berri Barmera Council) Mayor Peter Hunt there and he mentioned that in 2021 was a celebration of Barmera’s centenary,” he said.
“He just threw a comment out there asking if we were planning to have a special event and nobody reacted to it very much, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking why can’t we get the Jackaroos to come to Barmera and play?”
Mr Butler said the possibility of the event actually happening quickly began to grow as he made enquiries within the bowls community.
“It was only in my head and I didn’t think much more of it, until I decided to ring James Wilson from Bowls Australia, and we had a good chat.
“I threw the idea out there and he came back with marvelous support and encouraged me to go ahead with it,” he said.
“I made some enquiries, continued dialogue with James, and spoke to our council about grants and that sort of thing and everyone continued to support the idea.
“One day I had to go down to Torrensville for a tournament and I stopped off and saw James at Salisbury at the first round of the SA Super League and we had a conversation.
“I told him what I was thinking and once again I got full support from him, so I thought this could happen, even though at this point in time I hadn’t actually spoken to our committee about it.”
Mr Butler said one key moment has stood out in the process of organising the event so far.
“My wife had to go down to Adelaide for an operation and I got a phone call from James, asking what I was up to, and he said come down to the Bowls SA office and meet Steve Glasson and Karen Murphy,” he said.
“I went in and we had a great chat with Steve and Karen and when I left, I was overcome by their keenness to participate and I have had nothing but support from them and Wayne Ruediger about making sure this thing goes ahead.
“At that point I went back and put it to the club committee, and they said keep chasing it and here we are.
“We are well on the way to having it all organised.”
Various tickets and passes are available for the various events over the weekend.
To find out more about what is set to be a big weekend of bowls, contact Terry Butler on 0419 172 504.
