2021 Zone 4 Junior Championships
TWENTY of the best young bowlers supported by family and friends stepped onto the greens at Club Dubbo to compete for the 2021 titles.
Spectators witnessed the skill and finesse of talented young athletes who pitted their endurance, keen eyes and amazing tactical skills against their peers.
Day one was the Pairs Championship and after the group stages, James Robinson (West Dubbo) and Sam Rich (Mudgee) played Tom Rich (Mudgee) and Lachlan Thompson (Gulgong) in the final. Tom and Lachlan rolled off to an 11-1 lead and held off their determined opponents to win by four bowls.
Singles’ were decided on day two when the five sectional winners went head to head. Cooper Mcmullen (Dubbo Macquarie), Sam Bowman (Coonabarabran) and West Dubbo locals Tom Rich, Lachlan Thompson and James Robinson were drawn against the three best cards – Tom Ashley (Trangie), Hayley Sharp (Forbes) and Sam Rich in the quarter finals.
Lachlan Thompson defeated Tom Ashley 21-9 in one semi; Tom Rich downed Cooper Mcmullen 21-20, in the other spine-tingling decider.
Lachlan was crowned Zone 4 singles champion after a strong performance against Tom.
In the Fours Championship, five teams played a round robin tournament. The winners were last year’s champions Sam Rich, James Robinson, Lachlan Thompson and Tom Rich who went through undefeated. Shelby Powell (Nyngan), Josh Toby (Trangie), Tom Ashley and Blake Barker (Bourke) finished second.
Tournament Director and Club Dubbo Bowls Manager Anthony Brown thanked Zone 4 Junior Convener, Jim Finn, State Junior Selector and John Rodis for the unstinting efforts in ensuring the event ran so smoothly.
“Our Club Dubbo Greens’ team Darren Connolly and Jay Stephenson did an amazing job in preparing the greens and surrounds which added to the overall success of the three days,” he added.
The Zone Champions will contest the State Championships at Warilla in the next school holidays.