Award finalists and Hall of Fame inductees announced
Bowls Australia have today announced 19 of this year’s most deserving lawn bowlers and administrators as finalists in the sport’s night of nights, while also honouring four of the game’s greatest personalities with induction into the national Hall of Fame.
The prestigious Hall of Fame and Awards Night, which will be staged at Surfers Paradise’s Mantra Legends on Thursday, October 29, will see 10 of this year’s biggest contributors to the sport of bowls across the country crowned 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.
Finalists for the 2015 Awards Night categories are:
• Australian Sports Commission International Bowler of the Year – Aron Sherriff (Ettalong Memorial, NSW), Matthew Flapper (Ocean Grove, VIC), Wayne Ruediger (Grange, SA)
• Aero Bowls Male Bowler of the Year – Ryan Bester (Broadbeach, QLD)
• Aero Bowls Female Bowler of the Year – Natasha Scott (Raymond Terrace, NSW)
• BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year – Jono Davis (Dubbo, NSW), Jacob Nelson (Wynnum Manly, QLD)
• Tourism and Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year – Jamie-Lee Worsnop (St Johns Park, NSW), Ellen Ryan (Cabramatta, NSW)
• City Club Volunteer of the Year – John Smith (NSW), Patricia Reely (Helensvale, QLD)
• City of Gold Coast Coach of the Year – Bev Dowrick (Bowls ACT), Anthony Hockey (Bowls WA)
• Berry Bowling Systems Story of the Year – 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), Rob Greenwood (Messenger Community News)
• All Sports Travel Official of the Year – Sandy Wallace (Bowls SA), Bob Carlson (Bowls Victoria)
• Berry Bowling Systems Regional Bowls Manager of the Year – Mark Casey (South East Queensland), Chris Wallace (Sydney metropolitan)
Following the first full year of Bowls Australia’s Aero Bowls Player Ranking System, the recipients of the Aero Bowls Male Bowler of the Year and Female Bowler of the Year categories have already been decided, with Broadbeach’s Ryan Bester and Raymond Terrace’s Natasha Scott confirmed as Australia’s number one male and female bowlers respectively.
The annual ranking system period, which was effective from July 1 until the conclusion of the Australian Open on June 25, provided an enhanced points system across the spectrum of events approved as ‘national ranking events’, and gave more weight to higher finishing performances at major tournaments staged around the country, with the winners each receiving a $3,000 prize cheque courtesy of Bowls Australia’s preferred bowls manufacturer, Aero Bowls.
Testament to an outstanding year on the international stage, three Australian Jackaroos players have been named as finalists for the Australian Sports Commission International Bowler of the Year accolade, with three-time defending champion Aron Sherriff again recognised, as has Ocean Grove’s Matthew Flapper and Grange’s Wayne Ruediger for their performances on the world stage.
In the BCiB Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year award, 14 year-old Jono Davis, from Dubbo, has enjoyed a rapid rise through the sport’s ranks, selected as one of five males in the Australian Under-18 squad after he claimed the 2014 Australian Under-18 Championships boys’ pairs gold and singles silver medals, and will go head to head against Wynnum Manly’s Jacob Nelson, who secured the Australian Under-18 Championships singles golden medallion.
It will be just as difficult to split the finalists of the Tourism and Events Queensland Under-18 Female Bowler of the Year gong, with St Johns Parks’ Jamie-Lee Worsnop up against Cabramatta’s Ellen Ryan.
Worsnop won the 2014 Australian Open under-18 singles event, then later that year made history as …
