Players enter select group

THREE Helensvale players reached milestones for Queensland last week at the Australian Sides Championships in Darwin, NT.

Lynsey Clarke became the first female to reach 200 games for Queensland, more than 60 games clear of her nearest rival. Clarke played her first game for Queensland in the open ranks in 2003.

Nathan Rice became the fourth player to reach 300 games for the state after making his debut during 2000 in Canberra v ACT.

Kelvin Kerkow holds on to the most games played at 377 and is being chased down by current player Anthony Kiepe on 333. The late Artie Booth rounds out the 300 club on an even 300 games played.

After a few series on the sideline, Pam Fantini made her return to the Queensland team and in turn reached her 100game milestone.

Fantini is the fifth female to reach this honour after making her debut in 2005.

The Queensland women finished third overall with NSW calming the title. Broadbeach’s Cassandra Millerick was awarded the player of the series.

Our men’s team finished fourth after a last round draw with Tasmania and a last bowl loss to eventual winners Victoria. Rice was awarded the player of the series, capping off a busy month of bowls including the Commonwealth Games and BPL in NZ. with Brett Wilkie

The Inaugural State Arm Bowlers Championships were held at Musgrave Hill Bowls Club last week including open singles and pairs events. South Tweed’s Terry McFadden dominated the championships, taking out the Open Singles and Open Pairs Titles.

McFadden defeated Heather Hodgson from Paradise Point 25-14 in the singles final. He then teamed up with Bribie Island’s Geoffrey Geary to take out the Open Pairs Title after defeating Roger Goodridge from Broadbeach and Ron Schofield from Musgrave Hill 24-20 in the final.

The Gold Coast Tweed District men’s and women’s representative teams take to the greens on the Sunshine Coast tomorrow in the Domina BCIB QLD District Sides Championships. Twenty-one District teams from across the state will battle it out in sectional play for three days before being spit in five divisions for finals on Saturday. Both teams will look to defend their titles after winning their Division 1 shields last year.

The Queensland State Championships start on Monday also on the Sunshine Coast. Eleven State Titles will be up for grabs with $40,000 in prizemoney on offer.