Therese Hastings – an amazing bowler
Bowls WA Hall of Fame 39th Inductee As a member of the Kardinya, Mosman Park and Manning Bowling Clubs Therese Hastings has had a remarkable playing career and is following that up in an equally successful coaching role for both WA and Australia.
Hastings may never have played bowls if not for a knee injury in 1994 playing netball saw her join husband Ian on the bowling green at her first club Kardinya. A natural sportswoman she quickly excelled at the game winning three club singles in her formative years before eager to play at the highest level she transferred to Mosman Park, who were a strong first division side and equally keen to have the promising bowler join them.
After leading for just four weeks in first division pennants she was then elevated to play as a third. During her first year at Mosman Park Therese won yet another club singles title and then attracted the interest of the state selectors when she won the Women’s Master Singles that same year. She was invited to state training as an outside player and it was at this time that Therese started wondering how far she could go in the game. She was the named in the 1997/98 development team where she continued to improve her game further before being asked to trial for the state team.
Therese made her state debut in the 1999/2000 National Side Series held in Melbourne. At this point of time the event was a seven a side competition and Therese was selected to play as a second to Roma Dunn in the fours team. In a rare down point for her career she never performed to expectations and after getting another chance was dropped after her second series the following year.
However every cloud has a silver lining and had she not been dropped, she may never have got as close as she did in playing for Australia. At this time the men’s and women’s associations around Australia were being forced to amalgamate, however New South Wales refused. As punishment they were not allowed to compete at that year’s side series but national representatives had to play at the side series to be considered and Australian legend Karen Murphy was left without a team. So to fill the vacancy left by New South Wales, Bowls Australia entered a development team filled with the best talent not already playing. Since she had been dropped from the WA team, Therese was eligible and was selected as part of the team. At the side series she was so impressive that she earned herself a spot in the Australian squad. Despite training hard and winning events such as the Australian Open Pairs, three state singles championships and playing in the Trans-Tasman development team Therese was never able to crack the Senior National team when many a good judge thought she deserved to. The highlight of Therese’s 172 game state career came in 2010-11 when the Western Australian team won the National Side Series in South Australia.
Individually and with team mates she has won every thing there is to win in the sport and in most cases she has won events multiple times. She is amongst a rare handful of bowlers to have won every state title possible and as a four time bowler of the year certainly puts her in a special category as one of the best the state has ever seen on a bowling green.
Her working career as a school teacher and a proud mother of four children has stood her in good stead and as her playing career wound down she took to coaching with great aplomb. Her hard work with WA representative sides and more recently Australian players is ensuring the next generation of bowlers continue to have great success on the green. None more evident than rising star Kristina Krstic who Therese has coached and mentored over several years into an Australian Representative and Under 25 World Champion.
Bowls WA will induct Therese Hastings into the Bowls WA Hall of Fame at the Annual Dinner and Awards Night at the Crown Entertainment Complex on Friday May 25th where she will be saluted as the champion she is in front of a packed audience celebrating her tremendous achievements in the sport of bowls within Western Australia.
Therese Hastings achievement in bowls
National – Australian Open Pairs 2007 and 2010
Australian Open Over 60’s Pairs 2016
Australian Coach of the Year 2016
Australian Coach
State- WA Representative 187 games
Australian Sides Series 2011
WA Bowler of the Year 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2014
Singles Champion 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2014
Pairs Champion 2012 and 2016
Triples Champion 2001, 2009, 2011 and 2015
Fours Champion 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017
100up Singles 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2017
Champion of Club Champions 2015
WA State Under 18 Coach
WA State Coach
Bowls WA Board Member
