Awards Night winners crowned
Bowls Australia have crowned the year’s most deserving bowlers and administrators, and bestowed Hall of Fame induction on four past greats, at the sport’s night of nights on the Gold Coast.
Mantra Legends proved a fitting venue to acknowledge the contribution of the past and present stars of bowls during the 2015 Hall of Fame and Awards Night this evening, where 10 of this year’s biggest contributors to the sport of bowls across the country recognised 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.
International Bowler of the Year
Matthew Flapper has earned a spot among the sport’s elite, recognised tonight as the International Bowler of the Year for 2014-15 following a scintillating Commonwealth Games performance.
Flapper was handed the plum role of skipping the triples and fours following an exhaustive selection process, and led by example on and off the paddock.
He repeatedly extracted the best out himself and his teammates in the testing Glasgow conditions, and played more than a few heroic shots to secure a podium result, which he backed up the next year with a clinical Trans Tasman performance.
Flapper has been lauded for bringing a new dimension to the Jackaroos contingent during his time in the sport’s top high performance tier and is a deserving finalist for the International Bowler of the Year award, as voted by his peers.
Having announced his retirement from international representation at the start of the month, winning this prestigious award was quite a swansong for this highly respected and admired former Australian Jackaroo.
Male Bowler of the Year
Ryan Bester has been confirmed as the Aero Bowls Male Bowler of the Year after the completion of the first full year of the National Player Ranking System.
It goes without saying that the Canadian international bowler enjoyed a stellar year on the green, having accumulated more points at Bowls Australia ranked events than anyone else in the country during the period of July 1, 2014 till June 25, 2015.
The points Bester recorded came from winning Tweed Heads Golden Nugget, prevailing in Queensland’s State Singles and triumphing at Broadbeach’s Blue Diamond Pairs, while he also added to his total with runner-up placings at the $225,000 Australian Open men’s singles and Ballina Summerland Singles, and finished third in the Pine Rivers December Pairs, Moama Prestige Classic Pairs and the South Lismore Classic Pairs.
Testament to his dominance, Bester finished the period with a staggering 368.5 points to be crowned Male Bowler of the Year, 86.3 points higher than the next best contender.
In addition to his title as Australia’s number one male bowler, Bester is also awarded a cheque to the tune of $3,000 courtesy of award sponsor Aero Bowls.
Female Bowler of the Year
Natasha Scott secured the title of Australia’s number one female player with her Aero Bowls Female Bowler of the Year victory.
Australian Jackaroos star Scott had a scintillating 12 months on the green, where she secured 265 points in the Aero Bowls National Player Ranking System, 42.4 points more than the second placed finisher.
Scott claims the Female Bowler of the Year title courtesy of four major victories throughout the year, which included the NSW State Triples title, South Tweed Classic Singles crown, Tweed Heads Golden Nugget trophy and capped off the period on a high note, by recording her first Australian Open title win, in the 2015 women’s fours discipline.
A number of other events contributed to Scott securing the coveted title of Australia’s number one female bowler, with a last 16 finish in the
Australian Open women’s singles and pairs disciplines, and NSW State Pairs and Fours events demonstrating her exceptional consistency at the sport’s premier …
