Sizzling 22nd Bowls Classic a real Gem of the Karoo
The 22nd rendition of the Gem of the Karoo Bowls Classic, held on the greens of the Graaff-reinet Bowling Club and sponsored by Tops @ Spar, was a scorching success.
Some of the 30 teams arrived on Thursday, 25 October to practice on the greens and enjoy the delicious snacks later in the evening.
The competition kicked off in earnest on Friday with three 15-end games, to determine the sides for the Cup (Spar) and Plate (Personal Trust) sections.
Even the extremely hot days could not detract from the quality of bowls played from the Friday to the Sunday, with three teams in the Cup only losing one game each, while in the Plate, two sides remained unbeaten.
Eventually, John Malan, Adre Barnard, Anton Giani and Richard Craddock from Cape Town walked away with the honours in the Cup competition with 10 points and + 55 shots.
Second place went to Terry Cawood and his team on 10 +
32, edging out the Hilton Cherry combination by one shot.
Willie Kilian, Nap Erasmus, Deon Matthee and Danie Scherman won the Plate competition with 6 game points and + 50 shots, with Wally Koetaan and his side being the runners-up on 6 + 10.
Under normal circumstances, one does not expect a "perfect 8" to be scored in such a major competition, but the Ivor Wakeford team did just that.
The Graaff-reinet Bowling Club extends their thanks to Mr Paint and Flashcor Printing for sponsoring this segment of the game in Graaffreinet.
It would be sacrilege if the "backroom" workers were not mentioned for their effort and time put in to make the Classic a major success.
Last, but not least, a big shout-out to Gawie Rossouw and Bentley for their work on the greens.